Congratulations to Elon Musk for becoming the richest man on Earth for a while.

It happened when Jeff Bezos left the Earth for a while, but you have to take the wins where you can get them.

This week has seen another step forward in humanity’s abilities when the man behind Amazon took a rude-shaped rocket up to the edge of space. He’s not the first billionaire to make a trip like that. It was only the other week that Sir Richard Branson made a space run.

Newham Recorder: In 2008 Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson holds a model of a craft which could take tourists into spaceIn 2008 Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson holds a model of a craft which could take tourists into space (Image: PA Archive/PA Images)

The Virgin trip took over 90 minutes, whereas Jeff’s Blue Origin craft only took 11 minutes. I suppose that’s the benefit of going Prime.

Newham Recorder: Steve Allen says after a few months of living with your partner you’re done with the hugging phaseSteve Allen says after a few months of living with your partner you’re done with the hugging phase (Image: Steve Allen)

Can you really say you have been to space if you were only there for a few minutes? I once caught a connecting train at Peterborough station but if someone talked about Cambridgeshire I wouldn’t chime in with: “I’ve been there.”

The cost of a seat on that ship was $28 million. For that much money I’d want them to stretch it out a bit, take the scenic route.

I am amazed that we can send rich humans into space and yet I can’t get down the A12 near Gallows Corner without wasting a quarter of an hour there. That’s four minutes longer than it took Jeff to get into space.

We’re heading for a time where the ultra-rich have space travel while the rest of us sit in congestion and pay a congestion charge for the privilege.

The only thing that makes me feel better about that is that we won’t be inside something shaped like a blow-up toy you’d see on a hen night.

Good luck to the space travellers, but can’t we have some better infrastructure down here please? It’s literally not rocket science!