Drive you steady now, this is Naarfuk

Posted by on May 31, 2006 in updates | 2 comments Deep in Naarfuk, life moves at a much slower pace. It is great to see this has been reflected in the village of Deopham where its welcoming sign ask motorists rather quaintly to “drive you steady”. I imagine this use of local dialect instantly puts a smile on the face of drivers, who are more used to official warning signs urging them to reduce their speed. You would surely have to...
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Thinking caps on for Ross Clark

Posted by on May 31, 2006 in updates | 0 comments The highly esteemed Spectator and Sunday Telegraph writer, country walker and fellow Cambridgeshire inhabitant, Ross Clark, is asking us all to put our thinking caps on. He is writing a book on bizarre rules and regulations. There must be zillions of them. Please email any examples to rossjclark@aol.com.
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Farmer profits by dealing in death

Posted by on May 30, 2006 in updates | 6 comments Where will these gallows end up? A Suffolk farmer who diversified into building gallows is attracting huge support in the UK, including several high-ranking police officers. Is this something we should be concerned about? The gallows are exported to dictators Robert Mugabe and Colonel Gadaffi, among others, by David Lucas, who also builds chairs and tables. It seems that gallows building is a...
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Why Prescott should be sacked

Posted by on May 29, 2006 in updates | 6 comments What exactly is the DPM juggling? Stripped of his department, John Prescott demonstrates the importance of still enjoying a close relationship with his colleagues. While us lesser mortals were working hard last Thursday, and Tony Blair was on his way to Washington, the Deptuy Prime Minister rallied his staff for a team building game of croquet. These included his private secretary, special...
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Farm payments cock-up made one man a millionaire!

Posted by on May 29, 2006 in updates | 0 comments It’s great to see Iain highlighting Defra’s gross inefficency. I wonder if his parents are aware that they stand to lose up to 20% of their European farm payments because Tony Blair wants the money to be diverted into environmental projects instead. Iain has mentioned one example of Defra cocking up. Despite having degrees, it seems their staff can’t add up At least one farmer...
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One of life’s true eccentrics

Posted by on May 27, 2006 in updates | 3 comments Sheep impressionist Robin Page Robin Page, former TV presenter of One Man and His Dog, is one of life’s true eccentrics. He genuinely doesn’t care what people think about him. Last week he made sheep impressions in mockery of Lib Dem colleagues at South Cambridgeshire District Council where he sits as an Independent councillor. He was no doubt mocking their demise, the poor little...
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Our Third World hospital – are our unions going soft?

Posted by on May 27, 2006 in updates | 2 comments King’s Lynn’s debt ridden hospital Now I really know we do have a Third World hospital in our midst. Staff at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn – a stone’s throw from the royal residence in Sandringham – have been told to take their rubbish home to help save money. This follows a reduction of bin collections from five times a week to one, albeit for...
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Government’s shameful tagging scandal

Posted by on May 27, 2006 in updates | 0 comments Being tagged As more shameful stories about about escaping foreign prisoners hit the headlines, it appears that more than half of our tagged offenders rip off their electronic device. We cannot even keep track of those we are supposed to monitor in order to protect the public. Sacked former Home Secretary Charles Clarke’s local rag, the Eastern Daily Press, has reported how more than...
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Tennis players in Iraq slaughtered for wearing shorts

Posted by on May 27, 2006 in updates | 0 comments Nassir Ali Hatem – killed for wearing shorts This national Iraqi tennis player wanted to help restore a sense a pride to his country by being a top sportsman. But tragically, he paid with his life – for wearing shorts. Nassir Ali Hatem was with his coach Hussein Ahmed Rashid and fellow player Wissam Adel Auda when the gunmen struck. Witnesses said that a Sunni militant group...
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Ringo bids for Chelsea’s Green Goddess

Posted by on May 26, 2006 in updates | 0 comments Cheerful Charlie Barbara and wife stare wistfully at The Green Goddess Today I wished I had an elongated ET type neck as I sploshed among the nation’s good natured garden lovers at The Chelsea Flower Show, trying to get the best view. And guess whose garden this voluptuous Green Goddess will grace when the show ends? A little bird told me Ringo Starr was bidding against another celebrity....
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Chelsea, here I come

Posted by on May 25, 2006 in updates | 6 comments Before the transformation The same spot five weeks later I’m paying my first visit to the Chelsea Flower Show tomorrow. People invariably say: “Rather you than me, it’s like a rugby scrum”, and this is why I have always been put it off. However, three years after transforming my own garden, with some remote advice from a very talented plantsman, I decided to head south...
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My kids drink full fat milk and they are not fat

Posted by on May 25, 2006 in updates | 5 comments A pinta good stuff My two sons drink full fat milk and they are not fat. How is banning whole milk in schools going to help fat kids fight the flab? Surely it is their unhalthy diet at home, their inactive lifestyle, spending hours stuck in front of a TV instead of playing sport and snacking on junk foods that has caused them to become obese. Will butter be denied next in favour of low-fat...
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“Plodcasting” hits Cambridgeshire

Posted by on May 24, 2006 in updates | 5 comments Switched on Chief Cons Julie Spence Switched on Cambridgeshire police have started podcasting as a way to reach out to modern audiences. In less than a week, more than 130 people have downloaded a four minute statement from Chief Constable Julie Spence about latest police statistics. They are believed to be the first force in the country to offer postcasts; it was the brainchild of their web...
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David Miliband’s latest challenge

Posted by on May 24, 2006 in updates | 2 comments Will David Miliband support British farmers? The UK government is poised to hit our cash-strapped farmers even more. Proposals have been announced today that will allow our government to divert up to 20% of EU income earmarked for farmers into rural development schemes. This was personally proposed by Tony Blair at the end of his failed EU presidency in Decembcer 2005. I am a big lover of the...
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My early morning dip

Posted by on May 24, 2006 in updates | 4 comments My 15-year-old son David is on study leave at the moment, preparing for his 10 GCSEs. He seems pretty laid back about them. It means he is around the house all day and pops in to my study where I am always beavering either at my work or blogging. In my pre-blog days (hard to remember them now), I often started the day with an early morning dip at my gym. It’s difficult to recall the number...
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Appearances can be deceptive

Posted by on May 23, 2006 in updates | 6 comments I like to buy fresh produce from market stalls if possible, even though it isn’t cheaper than supermarkets where you are allowed to hand pick each item of produce. Market stalls often display those dictatorial “Do Not Touch” signs, where the fruit is piled artistically in a pyramid fashion and could be ruined in one wreckless move. I came home today and checked the luscious...
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The Conservative road to happiness

Posted by on May 23, 2006 in updates | 8 comments Mark of Winning Minds It was brilliant of David Cameron to remind us that we should be thinking more about our happiness and well being. Money does not buy happiness, just look at the McCartney/Heather Mills break up. Although in theory this should be simple, and some might have it in abundance, the reality is that the stress and pressures of modern living leaves people feeling really screwed...
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The world’s No 1 ?? ??? ??Blog

Posted by on May 23, 2006 in updates | 0 comments Chinese bloggers on bikes While China sets out to play a leading role in world trade, it may have mixed feelings about having the world’s No 1 blog. And a very curious one it is too. Check it out for yourself, it is called ?? ??? ??Blog It is apparently something to do with Sina whose site attracts celebrity bloggers. It is a terrific achievement considering the censorship bloggers there...
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The Tories alternative to nuclear power

Posted by on May 22, 2006 in updates | 3 comments Zac and Cameron talk green issues People in the UK have a deep loathing and mistrust of nuclear power, just like incinerators, regardless of how “safe” experts say they may be, they always will. I believe that’s why Conservatives, actively encouraged by the gold list environmentalist Zac Goldsmith, are reportedly favouring renewables in the form of decentralised energy as...
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The Euro vote – Turkey shows its modern face

Posted by on May 21, 2006 in updates | 8 comments Turkey’s modern woman Sibel Tuzun Turkey’s blonde bombshell Sibel Tuzun failed to win the European vote last night at the Eurovision Song Contest with her rendition of Superstar. This was no great surprise, it was a dreadful song. I believe she was chosen to represent her country as a political ploy, to demonstrate that they have embraced modern European life and would be perfect...
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The sleaze piles up even higher

Posted by on May 21, 2006 in updates | 1 comment It can’t be long before there is a second edition of The Little Red Book of New Labour Sleaze. There is certainly no shortage of material. Today’s splash in the Sunday Times blasts Tony Blair for the government’s record on sleaze, it’s pretty damning stuff. His own sleaze watchdog Sir Alistair Graham accuses the prime minister of failing to uphold standards in public life...
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That little red book again

Posted by on May 20, 2006 in updates | 3 comments Have you ordered your copy? That little red book which everyone is talking about now has its own website launched today at www.newlaboursleaze.com You can read some wonderfully incisive and sharp excerpts, enjoy the robust reviews and admire the witty cartoons – as well as ordering a copy or two. If you follow the links, you will come across my name, as well as the other political...
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Temtping Fate set to blog

Posted by on May 20, 2006 in updates | 3 comments Liza and Geoff discuss blogs and dating Liza Moore’s fab job running the Cambridge based introductions agency Tempting Fate gives her a fascinating insight into what makes people tick. So I have successfully persuaded to her start writing about this and I’m sure her cheerful, incisive, practical and empathathic approach will make her blog a great read; it should be up and running in...
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“Hold the front page”, my last minute call for The Little Red Book

Posted by on May 19, 2006 in updates | 1 comment Promo for The Little Red Book The Little Red Book of New Labour Sleaze has now been published, a mere 17 days after Iain Dale and Guido Fawkes announced their plan as a memorable 9th anniversary gift for Tony Blair. Political bloggers were asked to contribute a list of top 100 scandals since 1997 – and they immediately set to work. Besides containing material that has been well...
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Blair takes a mighty tumble

Posted by on May 18, 2006 in updates | 0 comments Tony takes a tumble on this screensaver Thanks to my new Fenny Friend Alan Drew in Switzerland for answering my plea and creating a UK version of this screensaver which shows Blair taking a tumble or two. Just move the mouse around him if he gets stuck and needs a...
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