Blog
Chip fat fuel championed by MacDonald’s
You could one day be driving a car fuelled by chip fat, just like MacDonald's plans to do with its delivery vehicles in the UK. This has thrilled my Euro-MP Robert Sturdy, who is a firm believer in biodiesel, and hopes it will boost rapeseed production in...
The missing – Elizabeth Swann
It is now 33 years since Elizabeth Swann went missing in early 1974. At the time she had been staying with a brother in Birmingham. Elizabeth said she had accepted a receptionist job in Gloucester and that she intended to hitch-hike there to take it up. She has...
Is Ruth Kelly going to be the next Margaret Beckett?
The reason I ask is because I remember seeing Ruth Kelly sitting on the front benches looking very smug as Tony Blair made his final speech as Prime Minister last Wednesday. She must have known that her political future was safe - despite her unremarkable...
Blair’s new website
Tony Blair has launched a post Downing Street website stating this is where we can keep up to date with his news. Only there is nothing on it yet, not even a brief mention about his new position as Middle East envoy. There is a link offering contact...
Rebels and dissenting back benchers
I have just stumbled across an excellent blog which records the dissenting actions of backbenchers who disobey their whips called Revolts. Its most recent post describes how in less than an hour of Gordon Brown leaving Buckingham Palace last Wednesday,...
The missing – Ylenia Carrisi
Ylenia Carrisi is the daughter of Italian singer Albano Carrisi and Romina Power, whose father was the American actor Tyrone Power. Ylenia was last seen in the French Quarter of New Orleans in January 1994 which she was visiting. She was 24. At the time of her...
Off to Nottingham uni
I'm taking my son David to the open day at Nottingham University today. I can still remember him on his first day at school. He had just turned four and was the youngest boy in his class. I was the one left standing at the school gates feeling bereft....
Conservative women and Africa
Gordon Brown is not the only one to include Africa on his agenda by appointing Mark Malloch Brown as a new minister for Africa, Asia and the UN. It is a hot topic which will be debated at the Conservative Women's Organisation's conference in November....
The missing – Damien Nettles
Damien Nettles went missing after a night out with friends on the Isle of Wight in November, 1996 when he was just 16. He had parted company from them at around 10.30pm. He was last seen at around midnight walking along the High Street in...