Two police officers were told they were breaking the law by caring for each other's children.

More 'Big Brother' from Labour.  The regulations were never intended to stop informal arrangements, and it's just further evidence of a Government which believes the state is better at bringing up children than parents.  Once again, we need common sense not  loopy laws.

See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8277378.stm

Local Lib Dems are spinning how their party’s policies will give residents more say on open spaces.

Why should people spend time trying to save post offices when the postal unions keep going on strike?  

E-cops Update: Cambridgeshire Constabulary's marketing team would like your help.  They are currently looking for people to come along and take part in a focus group about their website.  

If you'd like to take part, and you're available on either 10-12pm or 2-4pm of Tuesday 29th September, and you can get to police headquarters in Huntingdon, please contact Niki Humphrey on 0345 456 456 4 Ext 8106 or by email niki.humphrey@cambs.pnn.police.uk

Sessions will last approximately 2 hours and refreshments will be provided.

You don't need to have ever looked at the site before to take part as they will have computer access to it on the day, but if you are already a visitor, then they'd love to know what you think.
 

A great day out, with games, displays, food and even an open air history festival.  Supported by both kind weather and enthusiastic participants.  See www.cherryhintonfestival.co.uk/.

A great evening at the Cavendish Laboratory, showcasing how science can be fun. 

Stacey and I sat in on presentations about crime scenes, water and polymers...  if that sounds very dry when seen in the written word, the presentations were done with verve and enthusiam while the polymers were fun to watch!  As a sideline, a James Bond gadget poster explained which of the fictional spy's toys were truly fictional and those that could work.  It gave the simple, helpful scientic explanation for each item that even an historian by background - like me - can grasp. 

Although history will always be my subject, Physics at Work won me over to the sciences for the evening.  I hope for many young people that it can capture them for life.

The weblink is http://www-outreach.phy.cam.ac.uk/physics_at_work/2009/about_paw.php

I had a wisdom tooth operation at Addenbrookes Hospital this weekend.  The staff did a knock-out job, in my case literally, and I am one tooth less after a short spell under anaesthetic.

Thank you.  They did great work.

Both the baby and I are on the same food, for a short while.

Richard

There is a move to begin General Election counts on the Friday morning and not as soon as the polls shut at 10pm on the Thursday night. 

*There is one recent exception, 1992:  "The Conservatives knew the result before midnight, Labour accepted the result in the early morning, and the BBC did not concede until well into the next day".

As the story of nods and winks behind the release of the Lockerbie bomber come out,  this looks like Labour's Suez moment. 

In 1956, the Protocol of Sèvres was a secret understanding between the UK, France and Israel to choreograph events so that the two European countries could intervene in the Suez Canal zone. 

Like the Lockerbie release, there was always a grim pragmatism behind the policy.  While today it is helping Libya join the rest of the world and win big trade contracts for the UK.  Then, the realpolitik aim was to secure the canal zone for oil imports and stop the march of dictat nationalisations of European assets in the newly independent countries of the world. 

The American government was not consulted about either action.  It pulled the plug on the Suez gamble.  It remains to be seen what will happen about Libya.

Richard Normington

The East Area Committee met at 7pm last night and, as usual, the planning applications were heard well after the 9pm watershed.  Yesterday was quite good in its own terms, not reaching the 11.50pm closure time of a previous one.   

Added to the late-night nature of the meeting, you  then have the perplexing system that forces those councillors who have taken public views to  vacate their places at the table while others remain to deliberate.  It certainly gives a new meaning to the  term  ' silent majority. '  This depleted group then goes through the items, trying to finish the meeting before midnight.   The applicants and their opponents will have sat for several hours to reach this point to watch a  decision  go through on a handful of votes.