Blog
MPs abuse of parliamentary privilege
MPs should not be above the law, and The Sunday Times’ front page report today that three Labour MPs under police investigation were trying to weasel their way out of answering to a court of law about alleged expenses fraud will leave all decent people feeling a...
Copenhagen disaster forces John Gummer to quit
John Gummer’s decision to stand down at the next general election did not come as a great surprise to me. Our next parliament must modernise and I believe there will be many changes in the way it works in an attempt to start winning back public trust following...
Memories of a special nativity – Merry Christmas
This favourite photo sits on my bookcase, memories of a special nativity 13 years ago when my youngest son James was four. He is pictured as a shepherd kneeling in the front row with the striped sheet wrapped round his head. It was taken during a unique nativity...
The wonders of walking, is it the new rock’n’roll?
My last Toastmasters’ speech a couple of weeks ago was about the many wonders of walking; my joy of belonging to The Ramblers’ Association and the Ramblers Group in Cambridge. There were many smiles when I told the audience they could literally walk into love,...
Is Helen the UK’s top fundraiser?
At a time when fundraising is close to crisis levels for some charities due to the credit crunch, Helen Bearfield- Smith has raised a staggering £1 million in two years in East Anglia for Teenage Cancer Trust. It means that a new specialist unit at Addenbrooke's...
My delayed Freedom of Information response
I am still waiting for a response to a Freedom of Information request I submitted on 1st November. I had an acknowledgement the following day stating: “Your request is being handled under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), and you will receive...
Gordon Brown and Margaret Thatcher on climate change
Margaret Thatcher, 6 December 1990 at the 2nd World Climate Change: “The threat to our world comes not only from tyrants and their tanks. It can be more insidious though less visible. The danger of global warming is as yet unseen, but real enough for us to make...
A festive treat to rival Pamela Anderson
I’m taking my music loving pa-in-law to an amazing Christmas show tomorrow in a tiny Norfolk hamlet which attracts 130,000 people a year, boosting the local economy by a cool £8 million. The £2.5 million Christmas Spectacular in Thursford is pure thrilling...
Why can MEPs switch jobs so easily?
Around 200 eager beavers have applied for the safe Conservative seat of West Suffolk to succeed Richard Spring. I believe they include a recently elected MEP. Being elected an MEP back in June was a huge privilege, and I do not understand how they can now renege on...