Ozy out training - gloves on and no place for the sun to attack!!!

In a press release delivered this morning the Cancer Society warns that summer time motorists should consider wearing gloves to reduce their risk of developing skin cancer – even when their car windows are closed.

Apparently, plain, clear vehicle glass blocks only 37 per cent of UV-A radiation. Therefore there is extreme risk of sunburn on long frequent trips when your arm is exposed to sun through side windows.

“The International Agency for Research on Cancer says sunscreen should never be the first line of defence unless it’s exposed skin that can’t otherwise be covered,” said its adviser on skin cancer control, Judith Galtry. She went onto say that as an alternative to putting sunscreen on their hands, “they may wish to use driving gloves”.

It might surprise some people but I am in favour of this idea. In most areas of society gloves are incredibly fashionable and, apart from underwear, they are the item of clothing that transcends class and status. Golfers use them, surgeons use them and even the rubbish man who collects by garbage on a Thursday morning wears them. So now it is time that people started wearing them in their cars.

As a fashion leader within New Zealand I have been wearing gloves for sometime and not just in the car. Our ensuite window faces the east and therefore gets the early morning sun. This can mean some nasty sunburn in areas where sunburn should reach if you happen to spend to long in the bath, or a little too much time in front of the mirror. That is why I actually put sun screen, a hat and a laying of clothing before entering the shower.

Added to my unique bathroom routine I have been wearing boxing gloves while out training on my bike. For me this kills two birds with one stone. Firstly, I block out all those nasty UV Rays and secondly, if there is any road rage I am at the ready.

So I urge people not to see this as another pathetic effort by a small lobby group within New Zealand to tell us what we should be wearing and where we should be driving. Incidentally, do gloves apply to the people of Invercargill for the 3 days they see the sun in the summer??? Instead embrace the gloves and get out driving.