THANK goodness there is a glimmer of light in the whole business of compensation.

For far too long accidents have been a thing of the past because someone or something always has to be blamed.

But life really is not like that. Sometimes fate takes a hand, an incident occurs and it's not necessarily the fault of an organisation or individual.

Now, the Court of Appeal has dismissed a claim for £150,000 damages against the Royal British Legion for a woman who broke her leg after falling into a hole.

The hole was left when a maypole was removed from a village green two years earlier It was filled in but later became exposed.

However, Judges felt that an intrinsic part of rural life would be ruined if the damages claim was allowed to stand.

They argued that, in some cases, accidents do happen and no-one should be to blame.

Every year, hundreds of millions of pounds are paid in compensation against schools, hospitals and playgroups, with much of this money pocketed by solicitors who now actively seek potential claimants.

It really does not seem that long ago that we Brits were a far more stoic nation. We were prepared to accept that unfair things did happen in life and that you took the rough with the smooth - a truism even traditional wedding vows still acknowledge.

Yet, as we have become increasingly more selfish and less prepared to shoulder the responsibility for our own actions, we have looked for someone else to be blamed for what happens to us.

Because we seem to demand a perfect life, dedicated to our own needs, many of us refuse to accept anything less. What happens to us defines us and moulds our character.

Life is about taking risks, which sometimes don't pay off. So what? If we don't just get on with it and make the best of what we've got, we simply dilute any level of personal achievement and adversity to be met and conquered.