In a year that has cost me a lot I find myself scratching around to think of the small positives. I have found one. It’s potholes.

After a week of sub-zero temperatures we’d normally find ourselves driving on crumbling roads. The water gets in the cracks, it freezes and expands, and then melts leaving a crack. It’s fascinating science but it’s far more annoying when you feel your wheel bang into a hole that’s been left.

By late February we have holes in the road and the daylight hours are short enough to make sure we can hardly see the potential hazards coming up. We find ourselves dodging the holes using The Force.

This year I haven’t suffered that. It’s because I haven’t been driving anywhere because my stand-up career is on hold, but still, there is a positive.

I’d hope that this year could see an improvement in the pothole situation. Swindon Borough Council is set to receive £4.9m of government funding to pour into potholes.

You’d hope they don’t pour it in literally, but that might not be as pointless as some of the fixes you see on the road.

I have seen potholes repairs where they have cut up a square around the hole and filled it in. The corners will last till the next bout of cold weather and then they start peeling up again.

The cynical part of me thinks this system was developed to make sure the pothole fixers are in work again 12 months later. If you need to fix your last fix you’re in a job for life.

I am still grateful that the money is being given to work on the roads. These days the car driver is considered the villain of the piece. There are probably people who think that potholes should be left, like Mother Nature’s naturally occurring speed-humps.

If we are thinking about saving the planet surely we should try to avoid having our cars braking needlessly to avoiding swerving into traffic to miss a pothole.

Walking, cycling and using public transport are all great, and when it is easier to do one of those options I’ll leave the car at home, but we should entice people out of their cars, not punish then for not cycling three junctions of the M4.

The good news is, potholes affect all road users including cyclists, motorbike riders and even those people you see on e-scooters. We can tell ourselves that we’re spending this money on making the roads better for them and secretly help the motorist without having to feel bad about it.