Possible sighting of great white shark

A holidaymaker from Yorkshire claims he saw a great white shark off Cornwall's coast at the end of June. Using a mobile phone he recorded footage of something about 200 yards from Porthmeor Beach at St Ives. Cornwall coastguards have rubbished the suggestion of it being a great white and say the claims are "scaremongering". Other experts are slightly more cautious but were saying that the visitor was more likely to have seen a basking shark or a mako or a porbeagle shark.

The sighting was about a month ago it should be noted. I see that ITV are showing a film called 'Jaws' tonight. Now there's a coincidence!

Through train from Minehead to Bristol

Now this is somewhat outside my usual geographical area but I think it's worth a mention nevertheless. The privately owned West Somerset Railway is operating a summer train service on 3 days a week between Minehead and Bristol Temple Meads. I think at one time the nationalised railway were very sniffy about private line rolling stock running over their tracks but evidently if there has been a problem in the past (insurance maybe?) everything is OK now.

We are told on the WSR website here that the trains "will be worked by class 31 diesel locomotives dating from the late 1950's." So will we ever see trains running from Wenford near Bodmin through to Plymouth or a service connecting Kingswear to Exeter. Interesting possibilities!

A trip to Truro and a taste of Cornwall

A couple of days ago a friend and I had to see someone in Truro. This gave me the chance to see the newly completed Goss Moor Diversion about which I had previously blogged. What a relief that is I must say but the single carriageway section of the A30 between Temple and Bodmin now needs to be sorted. I think in the old days of nearly all single carriageway roads it was a feat of endurance to say set off on from London to go on holiday to the beaches of Cornwall but people did.

Truro, like other cathedral cities I guess, has that comfortable 'we are doing alright' feel to it. In the middle of the city we popped into the 'Halzephron Herb Farm' shop after we had done our business. They had a wide variety of herbie concoctions in pots. With a supply of bread sticks it was possible to dip in and try some of these delights; I particularly liked the garlic and lemon mayonnaise and opted to buy a jar to take home. Having just finished the last of the coleslaw with today's salad I might just open it tomorrow. They state that it should be used within two months after opening. It is quite a small pot so can I make it last two months?! I suspect not. To know more about them go to their website here.

Cornwall and Exeter to be unitary authorities

Unsurprisingly the weather which led to such severe flooding in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire has been THE story of the past week but of course other events have been happening in the meantime. One such was the decision by the government to provisionally grant unitary status to Cornwall and to Exeter. Caradon and some of the other district councils in Cornwall had canvassed people's opinions as to the rightness of this proposal; I have to say I voted to retain the status quo.

Lets put aside my normal aversion to change for the moment. From an atlas it can be seen that Cornwall is much longer than it is wide. Geographically we are a long distance from Truro which is where the county council operate from. I am quite concerned that decision makers particularly in such matters as planning are going to be so far away.

Pause here while I check the road distance to Truro. It's just over 50 miles which is a fair distance. I'm just not comfortable with the decision making being that far away. Taking away one layer of bureaucracy should reduce council tax I must admit. But I'm always sceptical about the assumed value of such savings.

As to Exeter going it alone it's understandable that Devon County Council aren't too happy as the county will become proportionately more rural (I think it might leave Exmouth as its largest town). It would be interesting to know whether the County Council would retain County Hall which of course is in Exeter itself. Such a retention might not set a precedent because - and this is second hand information - Kingston upon Thames is still the seat of power for Surrey even though the town is now part of Greater London. I would have guessed it was Guildford rather than Kingston but what do I know!

One day shows cancelled

In Devon and Cornwall, as indeed in other parts of rural England, the summer sees a plethora of agricultural shows. The two big ones of course are the multi day Devon County and Royal Cornwall Shows. They are done and dusted for this year and I remember that the Royal Cornwall at Wadebridge was warm and sunny for the three consecutive days on which it ran in June! In a bad summer such as this we tend to forget the few days of good weather.

Another successful show was the one day Stithians Show in West Cornwall; I could be wrong but I think it is the largest one day event of its kind in the two counties.

However there are a lot of shows in the Devon calendar that have had to be cancelled: these include the North Devon, Mid Devon, Okehampton and Woolsery Shows. Honiton is teetering on the brink but with a much better forecast in the offing for next week I think they will be all right. The well organised Yealmpton Show went ahead a couple of days ago but yesterday the organisers of the Totnes Show (always the day following Yealmpton) went ahead in the rain in the morning only to have to cancel lunchtime as the elements defeated them.

Car parking at shows is one of the big problems after excessive rains, even more so when the parking is on a slope. The question of whether to cancel or go ahead with a show is an unenviable decision that has to be made. This is particularly so when you decide to go early on the decision to give farmers and traders the maximum notice.

On a smaller scale in our neck of the woods tomorrow sees the Latchley, Chilsworthy and Cox Park Show taking place and the weather outlook is fair but I doubt that I shall have time to visit. Last year they suffered the most horrendous weather although of course that July was much better overall.

These country shows are a great shop window for the countryside and its ways - a good chance for townfolk to get some understanding of the rural economy. It should be compulsory for all DEFRA ministers to attend at least one during their tenure and the same applies to their senior civil servants.

Napoli oil pollution - council replies

Following the most recent concerns about oil loss from the MSC Napoli the leader of East Devon District Council, Sara Randall Johnson, has defended the reaction of that council. She points out that council staff were active last weekend in helping to deal with instances of reported oil pollution. Also that other staff have been frequently walking the beach to check for any new oil. There are she says warning posters dotted along the beaches of East Devon.

I have to say that I haven't been to these beaches since the Napoli incident started but the pictures I've seen show some pretty horrible oil pollution on them. What isn't clear of course is whether these patches of oil pollution are very localised or whether they are all over the beaches. One always has to make a considered assessment of media reports because they normally prefer to paint a bleak picture when this sort of event happens. Whatever, getting oil on shoes or clothes isn't fun at all.

Oil contamination from MSC Napoli

In my opinion the work done in dealing with the Napoli has been mostly a text book operation. But in one respect there has been particular cause for disquiet. MSC Napoli was beached again after it was discovered that she wasn't in a fit state to be towed away in one piece. From that point on, and particularly with the process of splitting her in two with explosives, there has been leakage of residual oil. Latest reports suggest very unpleasant contamination on the beaches with Seaton being highlighted. I don't know if the Maritime and Coastguard Agency decided to take a bit of a gamble on this but I'm now wondering if greater preventative and remedial measures should have been taken. Another question for the County Council enquiry to consider.

Chawleigh School closes

I had previously blogged about the fact that Chawleigh Primary School was under threat of closure and sadly the start of the school holidays last week meant the bell has rung for the last time for the 15 pupils. Next term will see them going across the valley to the larger school at Chulmleigh.

There are two particular observations I want to make: firstly I'm glad in a sense that it was left to an independent adjudicator to make the fateful decision, if it was me I wouldn't have known whether to let my heart or my head decide. The other point is that the pupils will move on to a comprehensive school eventually. Going from a very small village school to a comp with huge numbers of students could be too much of a culture shock. It was bad enough for me I recall after the 11 plus moving up to a school with just over 200 on the roll, how I would have fared going to a large comprehensive I don't know!

Second World Heritage walk

Last Saturday saw me lead the second of the World Heritage walks starting from Gunnislake station, and arriving at Calstock in time for lunch at The Tamar Inn. As before we let "the train take the strain" for the uphill return to Gunnislake. Unbelievably we had another dry weather window - organising these things well in advance you know you are taking pot luck with the weather.

I managed to organise the available time somewhat better than on the first walk I'm glad to say: what's that saying about 'practice makes perfect'.

Once again I tried to maintain a light touch without blinding people with science. Perhaps just as well as I might have tied myself up in knots! Very lucky that this particular jaunt is short enough to be within most people's capabilities whilst having enough interest to I think whet their appetites on the subject of mining heritage.

Committee attacks ministry over hostage crisis

This weekend saw the release of a report by Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) over the handling of the hostage crisis in which 15 sailors and marines were captured and subsequently released by the Iranians.

There has already been an enquiry about the whole incident, one result of which was to absolve anyone from blame, particularly as to who gave our service people permission to sell their stories to the media. The FAC found that situation totally unsatisfactory and want the "guilty" named. I couldn't agree more with them. It is totally and utterly wrong for individuals who are so ready to accept praise when things go right not to accept personal responsibility for crass decisions. What bugs me is that Defence Secretary Des Browne on the one hand says that the buck stops with him regarding the hostage debacle but then has to be repeatably asked to say "sorry" in the Commons and is left in post! Similarly Margaret Beckett has cost the country literally hundreds of thousands of pounds with her appalling handling of rural payments to farmers. She then got promoted to Foreign Secretary by Tony Blair whereas she should have been sacked. But this is characteristic of this government I'm afraid.

Bravery awards for Napoli rescuers

On Friday the MSC Napoli hogged the local headlines as a result of the successful splitting in two using explosive charges. Appropriately at the same time as this terrific news we learn that three rescuers from RNAS Culdrose have been awarded medals for the daring helicopter rescue which saw all 26 crew airlifted from the stricken ship back in January.

So all praise to Jay O'Donnell who will receive the Queen's Gallantry Medal and to Guy Norris and Martin Rhodes who will each receive the Queen's Commendation for Bravery in the Air.

We are reminded yet again of the vital role by the rescue helicopters this weekend as they have been very active in rescuing people from rooftops - reminiscent of Boscastle - as a result of horrendous flooding in the South West Midlands. Places such as Tewksbury and Pershore are virtually islands. I have spoken to brothers in Herefordshire and Worcestershire and they are OK. Both intensity of rain and duration seem to have contributed to the problems. This time most of Devon and all of Cornwall escaped the downpours, the main body of rain being just to the east of us. I understand that crews from St Mawgan and Chivenor are amongst those retrieving people. If ever there was a really good invention then surely it is the helicopter.

MSC Napoli split in two. Next move awaited.

Well it was just after midday today and it happened - the third set of explosive charges were set off on the Napoli and they were enough to separate the longer bow section of the ship from the stern with its large accommodation block. Dramatic video footage is on the Radio Devon website.

For some time now the intention has been to move the towable front end to some suitable port for recycling and to cut up the stern section where it is, this latter operation taking about a month. There is now a suggestion that the parts of the dismembered rear section could be placed in/on the bow section and the whole lot towed away in one go! Now that's an interesting option. It should be remembered that to a certain extent the authorities are in uncharted territory as to how to dispose of this particular wreck.

Providing any further loss of oil can be controlled I think that the continuing operations on the MSC Napoli will be a tourist attraction certainly for day trippers. Yes the oil on the beach and oiling of any seabirds is cause for concern but I wonder if long term more visitors will come to Branscombe, since the village has been so constantly in the news.

Outsiders could be under the impression that Branscombe itself directly overlooks the Napoli but in reality much of the village is slightly inland and I think you would have to walk right to the coast to witness what's going on.

I've no doubt that the Devon County Council investigation into all aspects of the Napoli saga will be well reported in the local media and I've also no doubt that I shall follow this with the greatest of interest!

Cash for Honours

According to BBC News tonight nobody is going to be charged as a result of the 'Cash for Honours' investigation. If true this will be extraordinary! It has been suggested that an official announcement is due to be made tomorrow.

MSC Napoli separation - not quite there yet

Yesterday saw the second series of detonations on MSC Napoli and it had been hoped that they would be enough to finally break the ship completely in two but, although much weakened, Napoli is still in one piece. The plan now is to have another go tomorrow with more explosives: maybe a case of "third time lucky".

Of more immediate concern to locals, visitors and tourism providers is the oil washed up on the nearby beach. The trouble with the wretched stuff is that no matter how careful you are it is all to easy to pick up on shoes etc. With a lot of adverse publicity in the media would be holidaymakers are cancelling in some instances. And, rather like the time of the foot and mouth horror of 2001, it is difficult to get folk to understand that problems are localised.

We are told that the conditions around the vessel do not permit placing a boom around it at the present time but that the intention is to place a boom around the stern after separation. The nearby rivers Brit, Axe and Sid have been boomed.

Talk is of the stern taking about a month to cut up. On a positive note it was suggested if I recall correctly that unloading the containers could take at least 9 months. So I suppose it could be argued that they are up on the clock as we are about six months from the original beaching.

MSC Napoli - second day of explosions

Yesterday an attempt was made to split apart the Napoli by setting off explosions just forward of the accommodation block where her hull has already been rent. There was a perception that this would not be sufficient; this proved to be the case and so today, just after 2 pm, they detonated more explosions. I've not had confirmation that Napoli has been totally split in two but would imagine that she is now sufficiently weakened for the tugs to pull her apart.

Branscombe will be keeping its fingers crossed!

Explosives detonated on MSC Napoli

At about ten past two this afternoon explosives were remotely detonated on the MSC Napoli in an attempt to cut the deck plates close to the accommodation block where the ship's hull is already severely fractured.

I don't know at this stage whether this action has resulted in any further pollution.

The intention tomorrow is to cut through the vessel's longitudinal joists with the hope that the forward part can be dragged away.

Watch this space!

Heritage walk was OK I think.

Last Tuesday, in association with the Calstock Development Trust, I had the pleasure of leading a walk of about three miles looking at some aspects of the World Heritage Site for 'The Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape'. We started fairly early in the morning at Gunnislake Station walking on the level to Albaston before dropping downhill through the Danescombe Valley and along the river frontage to Calstock. A prearranged buffet lunch was laid on at the Tamar Inn and then a short walk uphill to Calstock Station for a train ride back to the start.

Apart from the fact that the route was full of interest my intention was to minimize any uphill walking, provide a local hostelry with some business and also use the Tamar Valley Railway which in the early afternoon is always appreciative of extra custom!

Fortunately the rain stopped just as we were about to start the walk which made the stroll far more enjoyable. Everyone was happy with the experience, at least I think they were (!). It is amazing just how rapidly time goes and I was conscious that I would have liked to have said more. Having said that they had probably heard enough of my voice for one day! I was at pains to point out that I was an enthusiastic amateur not a seasoned professional. And one thing I won't do is spout an array of statistics like an out of control machine gun - that's not me.

The whole thing will be repeated next Saturday for those who find a weekday a no-no. I'm sure that there will be one or two refinements to the first walk but, all in all, I'm fairly happy.

Wood Energy Ltd wins top award

'Wood Energy Ltd' - perhaps not a household name but nevertheless this company based at Oakford just north of Tiverton has recently won a prestigious award. They have won the Ashden Award for sustainable energy and were presented with their award by Al Gore last month at the Royal Geographical Society in London.

They describe themselves as "the leading national supplier of high efficiency automatic wood-chip and wood-pellet boilers. Systems...are suitable for almost any application from offices to hospitals; country estates to industrial processes".

In my neck of the woods they have supplied a 3MW wood-chip boiler to heat the extensive greenhouses at Kernock Park Plants in the Tamar Valley. Two schemes in West Cornwall have been the National Trust's Penrose Estate office, where they were restricted in their design by being in a listed building, and the historic Trelowarren Estate.

It seems that each installation is very site specific to the needs of the customer.

We are lucky to have these modest sized companies in this country who are at the cutting edge of their technologies and so far as firms involved in energy efficiency products and projects are concerned, well Devon and Cornwall are leading the way. This country is really really good at these innovative technologies, one of our greatest strengths in my opinion and something on which we can lead the world.

I'm sure that the future for Dr Robin Cotton and his colleagues at 'Wood Energy' will continue to be bright,

MSC Napoli photos on website

If you are an MSC Napoli connoisseur there are hundreds of photos on the Marine and Coastguard Agency's website here. All too much for me! More interesting I think are the links to photos on the Radio Devon website in my entry on last Thursday (the 12th).

Attempt to break MSC Napoli in two.

Here we go again with the Napoli story! According to the Man from the Ministry, Robin Middleton, when the Napoli was moved seawards and examined by divers they discovered that the crack in her hull was up to 3 metres wide in places (or 10 ft in 'the old money' I'm used to). No wonder he made the quick decision that she couldn't be towed away then and there!

It seems that they are attempting to pull the two sections apart and at least tow away the forward part. How successful this might be and when is unpredictable. Unfortunately some oil has leaked out and washed up onto Branscombe beach. I suspect that in reality it isn't very much but already some birds have been caught up in it; my feeling is that the quantity of oil has a very disproportionate effect on the sea with Napoli being beached even closer to the shore this time.

Devon County Council bless them have a specific Napoli website here. Otherwise Radio Devon's regular news bulletins are a good way to get the latest Napoli news. Who knows - the ship might have successfully been split in two while I'm typing this!

MSC Napoli to be beached - again.

Followers of the saga of the MSC Napoli will be aware that following the successful operation to relieve her of her cargo the ship was refloated at the start of this week. By moving her off the sandbank near Branscombe and taking her slightly seaward it was possible for divers to at long last have a look at the structural damage she had sustained. The crack in her hull just forward of the accommodation block is evidently much worse than originally feared so, for safety's sake, Napoli will be beached again. Effectively her back is broken. She won't be on the move for the moment that's for sure.

In a previous entry I had expressed my concern that she should be thoroughly examined whether or not she was moved. Devon County Council's enquiry into all the events pertaining to the MSC Napoli is due to start later this year and the evidence the diving experts can produce will be fundamental in trying to ascertain the cause of Napoli's problem in the first place. The quality of the repairs after she had her first mishap is really important to determine if possible.

Looking back through the blog it is interesting to see just how often I've made an entry on the unfolding Napoli story. Starting with the dramatic rescue of her crew in the English Channel which I blogged about on 18th January this is I think the eighteenth time the MSC Napoli has been the subject I've written about. Phew!

It's been great to have comments from fellow bloggers Roger Thomas from Scotland (Applied Planetary Engineering) and Shaun from middle England (Shauns Bicester Info Blog). Thanks chaps!

This isn't the end of Napoli for me of course but as a reminder of the story so far here is a link showing a series of photos taken as the clean up began. And another link here of photos of this week's refloating.

Goss Moor diversion fully open

I had previously noted that part of the A30 diversion around the north side of Goss Moor in mid Cornwall had opened. Now the contractors have completed the whole scheme from the west end of Bodmin Bypass through to the next section of dual carriageway at Indian Queens. It is great to get this done before the school holiday build up of traffic. Two particular Eco friendly aspects of this construction are well worth noting. Firstly the new route, although slightly longer than the road it has superseded, has taken away traffic from Goss Moor itself; previously the moor had been bisected by the main road, not an ideal scenario for this very special habitat. Secondly, a considerable amount of china clay waste from the nearby tips was used in the building of the diversion - that's got to be sensible whatever way you look at it. So road schemes can produce benefits for the environment!

Smoking ban

From a purely personal perspective I'm pleased that the smoking ban in public places in England came into force on Sunday 1st July. I guess I've been fortunate in never having had a desire to smoke but I'm very conscious of the smell resulting from the habit and am increasingly concerned about the possible health effects from inadvertently inhaling other people's smoke.

Much has been made by some of the smoking lobby of supposedly another infringement of people's liberties. But what about the rights of the non smoking fraternity? It had been suggested that pubs could choose whether to be 'smoking' or 'non-smoking' so you had a choice. This might work in a town but not in a great many villages where there is just the one pub. Yes I realise that for many smokers who regard a fag to go with their pint in the same way I think of bacon and eggs - just isn't right if one of those magic ingredients is missing, being deprived of their fix spoils their drinking experience. But this is one instance where I think those concerned with health and wellbeing have got it right.

On the minus side this is yet one more law that is demanding on those who have to administer it. In this case it is our hard pressed councils; will this mean more staff are required? And I'm sure that there will be some anomalies so we can expect some clever solicitors exploiting loopholes. With so much complex legislation around these days it is inevitable that some folk will get caught out even though they don't intend to break the law.

Alan Johnston freed

Out of the blue this morning it was announced that BBC correspondent Alan Johnston has been freed by his Arab captors in Gaza. Alan was taken almost four months ago and one has to admire the fortitude shown by his parents under the almost unbearable circumstances.

What also strikes me is the total unpredictability of so many of these groups and militias in the melting pot of the Middle East. Very difficult to understand when looking through western eyes. But for the moment the main thing is the happy outcome here.

Speedway success for Harris

Back on 30th June I had noted that Devon had won the rugby championship. I'm totally disinterested in rugger but wished to applaud Devon's success nevertheless. Another sport I don't follow is Speedway but I want to put on record an impressive win by a local lad who has made good. Cornishman Chris "Bomber" Harris won the British Grand Prix at Cardiff apparently so well done to him. He has ridden for Exeter Falcons and for St Austell. Even though it is a minority sport compared with soccer or cricket say it was pleasing to see the Harris story being the lead item on the back page of the Western Morning News yesterday.

Gordon Brown's cabinet

Just wanted to make one or two comments about Gordon Brown's first cabinet. Whilst waiting to see to see who was going to get what job my greatest concern was whether David Miliband would still be at DEFRA and if not who would be slotted into his old job. It didn't take long before it was announced that Miliband would be Foreign Secretary (once again taking over a job from Margaret Beckett and can only be better). So who would be the man (or woman) at the helm at DEFRA? It turned out to be Hilary Benn, son of the left wing conscience of the Labour Party Tony Benn.

Now Hilary Benn represents that great rural constituency of, ahem, Central Leeds. He is also a vegetarian of long standing. So should these points be held against him? Certainly not! He may have little or no connection with the countryside but I guess that applies to most of the Labour heavyweights. The thing is that Benn has immediately jumped into the lion's den by attending the Royal Show at Stoneleigh and appears to have made a favourable impression; certainly hearing him on 'Farming Today' on Radio 4 earlier I was pleased to note that he is prepared to listen and learn and very importantly engage with farmers.

Although I'm a carnivore I have total respect for vegetarians. Benn was asked about his own vegetarianism and replied "Judge me by what I do - not by what I eat. If we work on the basis of mutual respect, we shall get on fine". Heartening words because rearing of livestock is the backbone of farming in Devon and Cornwall: our farmers have great expertise in this area and of course the south west is brilliantly adapted for growing grass, as good as anywhere I guess.

Another point in Hilary Benn's favour is that he was the Overseas Development Minister and has seen at first hand some of the farming systems and environmental problems in the third world. He also comes over as one of the more decent men from New Labour. Let's hope his tenure is not interrupted by an early election. Personally I think Gordon Brown won't be tempted to go to the country this year - firstly it would be a big gamble, he hasn't waited 10 years for this prize only to risk throwing it away after such a short incumbency. Secondly, the longer he waits the greater chance there is of bringing more troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Thirdly if charges are brought in the 'Cash for Honours' affair then people will constantly be reminded of labour sleaze, better to get that sorted and hope it becomes history. Lastly the labour party is to all intents and purposes bankrupt and would have real problems financing a general election right now. From Gordon's point of view it makes sense to try and regain trust in the party and rebuild his membership base. But you never know with politicians!

Interestingly Brown has deputed various ministers to be the voices speaking up for the different regions of the country. Thus we have Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw, who has moved from DEFRA to the Health Ministry, as the spokesman for the southwest. How this will work in practise I don't know, we shall just have to wait and see.

I shall finish with Gordon Brown's worst appointment. He has unbelievably retained Des Browne as Defence Secretary. It was Browne who admitted the buck stopped with him over the debacle of the navy personnel captured by the Iranians but who didn't resign (so buck stopping is all empty rhetoric) and who had the words "I'm sorry" almost forcibly dragged from his lips by the Tories. Now he also has the responsibility of looking after Scotland's interest. There could well be a problem here because a decision has to be made over the future of the Navy's shipyards - watch out for any bias toward Scotland.

What a week that was!

What a week that was! Well not especially so for me I have to say but in terms of happenings on the national scene it most certainly has been a momentous week. Not only did the Glastonbury Festival end in a mudbath (I've already commented about this) but there has been really serious flooding in many parts of the country. Although the greatest amount of damage appears to have been in and around Sheffield with therefore a lot of media coverage very many other places have suffered particularly in 'middle England'. Worcestershire was one of these but I am pleased to say that one brother living in that county has not been affected, likewise another brother in Herefordshire. I've luckily never suffered flooding but for those who have had to evacuate their homes because of flood water well my heart goes out to them. The loss of personal possessions, the fact you can't live in the special comfort of your own home, the sight of all the mud when the water does drain away, it must be unbearable.

Wednesday saw Tony Blair receive a standing ovation in the commons after his final PMQs and David Cameron got the Tories to join in! Then off to the Palace to surrender his position as Prime Minister to be followed by Gordon Brown who was asked by the Queen to form a new government. In his first speech outside No 10, and with his wife at his side, GB repeatedly used the word 'new'. We shall soon see I expect how new he really is. Comment on his new cabinet will come on another blog entry. Suffice to say that the glitzy showbiz feel of Tony Blair has already gone - I don't think we'll see Gordon Brown taking his summer hols at the home of some pop star or another. Certainly he is a very different creature to Blair and that their often fractious relationship has survived till now is remarkable.

On the terrorism front Brown and his new home secretary Jacqui Smith have already had to deal with threats that are thought to be Al-Qaeda inspired: two Mercedes cars with explosives ready to be detonated have been found in London but were fortunately made safe before the terrorists could do their dirty work. Then two Asian men tried to cause mayhem at Glasgow airport by driving a jeep at the main terminal meeting with the evident intention of causing an explosion. Two men were arrested as part of that incident considered to be related to the two failed attempts in London to cause mass carnage. There have now been further arrests.

Yes, it certainly has been a week!