Freak hailstorm deluges Ottery St Mary

There can be no doubt about the most important story in my two counties yesterday and that was the freak weather of the preceding night that impacted on East Devon. It was a very severe thunder cum hailstorm centred on Ottery St Mary where most damage was done. Although Ottery took the brunt of the storm other nearby villages such as Feniton and Tipton St John also had a fair measure of flooding. The pictures I've seen on TV and on the internet give the impression of snow drifts but in reality the two foot deep or more "snow" was compacted hail. Although a belt of heavy showers had been forecast to come down from the north west during the night for some reason this very localised storm developed and stayed over Ottery St Mary for two hours or more. It has been suggested that up to 4 inches of rain descended on the town during the night with cars being moved in the floodwater and a number of people having to be rescued from their homes.

Rather like Boscastle in 2004 this weather event was both extreme and localised. Here in the Tamar Valley this October has been relatively benign and it takes some believing that the Ottery area has just suffered in the way it has. A couple of questions here: are these extreme weather events becoming more frequent or is it just a case of dimming of one's memory of what happened in the years, even decades, past? And if in truth extreme weather is now more prevalent can climate change be a factor.

Reverting to Boscastle for a moment, where it rained heavily on the night of the Ottery incident as well - enough to cause some flooding to a small number of properties, their huge storm occurred in the relative heat of August. It's also known that the topography of that part of Cornwall lends itself to the creation of such weather events, made all the worse by the steep narrow valleys leading down to Boscastle Harbour. The ambient conditions in East Devon this week are very different as we continue to be subjected to a cold stream of Arctic air.

On November the Fifth of course Ottery St Mary delights in having one of the country's more bizarre events when residents run round the streets carrying blazing tar barrels on their backs! Preparatory to that the town's carnival is scheduled to take place this Saturday. I understand that the organisers are optimistic that these celebrations will proceed as normal.

BBC demonstrates its worst side

There is quite a furore, rightly, at the moment about telephone calls left on a mobile and subsequently broadcast live on the BBC's Radio 2 network. This had happened apparently on the Russell Brand Show - there had been an expectation that actor Andrew Sachs (best known as hapless waiter Manuel in Fawlty Towers but also someone who has narrated various documentary programmes) would appear on the programme but for whatever reason he wasn't able to come. So Mr Brand, accompanied in the studio by Jonathan Ross, decided to call Andrew on his mobile. They were unable to speak to the actor so left messages on his voicemail, in fact they did this four times. Brant made lewd comments about Andrew's granddaughter during the course of these telephone calls and the excitable Ross used the 'F' word apparently. This was an absolute disgrace in itself but what made things even worse was the fact that all of this was pre-recorded and the BBC saw no problem in broadcasting it.

Reading this you might think that I am a prude: I'm not. I confess that under stress I have used the 'F' word, I've known those with an obviously limited vocabulary use this word in every other sentence but just accept that as the way they are - no problem. If people want to talk to each other in a highly sexual manner and they are clearly not offending others then again no problem. But I very strongly object to these two highly paid twerps (and the BBC are using your money and my money remember) using this sort of language and thinking it smart or funny - it's not. And as for the Beeb letting this go out live, well Lord Reith must be turning in his grave right now. The way I understand it with the BBC, when it comes to making an editorial judgement, if there is doubt then the matter is referred up the line. Was this done in this instance?

So what to do now. Via the internet I have heard Brand make a most insincere apology about the incident, the most insincere apology that I can remember anyone uttering. I believe that Ross has also made an apology of sorts to Andrew Sachs. This is what I would like to see:

• Brand and Ross to each make a donation of at least £100,000 to a charity of Mr Sachs's choice (they can easily afford it) as a condition for their continuing to get employment with the BBC
• The person who is found to have decided that this programme should go out on air in the form that it did should be sacked.

Will this happen? Better not to hold your breath. Today's general attitude that anything goes anywhere is just not acceptable.

Calendula, snapdragons ... and a violet

I have a wooden trough outside my front door kindly made by my neighbour (thank you David) and I'm pleased to say that the snapdragons and English marigolds (calendula) that are in it are still flowering nicely. These just happen to be two of my favourite species of garden flower and enjoy a long flowering period. I have remarked before that I had attempted to grow calendula from seed but quickly lost them to the slugs; the ones presently in flower together with the snapdragons were established plants and have not suffered damage from pests. They certainly give me a lot of pleasure, something which I hope those walking along my road can also enjoy.

Just before lunch we took a short stroll along the river bank and were pleased to see our first violet out. I remember last year seeing a violet in the same patch right at the start of November. The forecast for the coming week is for a blast of cold air from the Arctic with maybe some night frosts so this could well inhibit any further flowering. Going back to last year again I recall that after that one initial flower there was quite a pause before seeing any more.

Although there are plenty of leaves to scuffle through when out and about, looking across the valley it looks as if the woodland hasn't seen much in the way of leaf fall yet. I suppose it won't be long now though before the trees are in their winter garb.

Turning cups into pencils

Recently I saw a particularly interesting item on TV (may have been on 'The One Show', not sure). It described a new use for those plastic cups that get sent to landfill in their thousands after office folk have drunk from them just once. Unbelievably someone in this country has devised a way through various processes of converting these cups to lead pencils!! Well not the bit you write with perhaps but the part that surrounds the graphite which usually consists of wood.

I never cease to be amazed at man's inventiveness and would say that not only are we good at this in Britain - we are absolutely brilliant. In the past on 'Dragons Den' I've seen some really intriguing products and very often it's just things like lack of marketing acumen that hinder their uptake.

This country's ingenuity has a very proud record and is something we must make maximum use of over the decades to come, especially when it comes to sorting out environmental problems.

Pete Goss off in his latest adventure

Following a very pleasant weekend yesterday was thoroughly miserable in the Tamar Valley but the wet weather proved to be no deterrent to yachtsman and adventurer Pete Goss as he set off from Newlyn on his latest voyage. The boat he and his companions are sailing in 'Spirit of Mystery' is a replica of the 37 ft 'Mystery', an open Mounts Bay lugger built in Newlyn.

It was in the late autumn of 1854 that seven Cornishmen set sail from the same port for Australia in search of a better life than the harsh one they were enduring at home. Peter is attempting to recreate the same journey using a similar boat and like them navigating by sextant and the stars. One small difference though is that 'Mystery' has a crew of just four: in addition to Pete there are brother Andy, son Eliot and brother in law Mark.

As in the case of the epic 1854 journey there will be a stopover in Cape Town. Goss is hoping his timing is right so that other members of his family can meet up with them in South Africa at Christmas.

One crucial difference between the two voyages 154 years apart is that today we have an incredible communications system. This will allow those captivated by Pete Goss's dream to follow his progress. Much more information can be found on his website by clicking here. It just remains for me to wish him the very best of luck on this really exciting project.

Why we need Obama not McCain

The world seems to have been particularly fascinated with the unfolding of the Presidential race in the USA this year and I'm no exception. The first thing to say is that whoever wins it will not be a Bush or a Clinton, thank goodness for that at least. I'm no expert on American politics and can't claim to fully understand the policies of Barack Obama and John McCain but there are two very very powerful reasons why I hope that Obama wins:

• McCain is old and not in the best of health and there is real concern that he might not live through one let alone two presidencies. If he were to die in office then Sarah Palin would become President, that really would be scary.
• McCain can be very charming but his Achilles heel is his violent temper. A great strength of Obama is that he has shown himself to be totally calm and in control of himself. He also I think is prepared to take soundings from his advisers and act with good sense in a crisis. I'm old enough to remember the Cuban Missile Crisis when President Kennedy faced down Kruschev and the Russians. Hopefully we will never see anything like that again but it would be good to know that there was someone in The White House who would take a measured decision if the necessity arose.

So there we have it: it is definitely Obama for me. Now he has received support from Colin Powell his position looks even more impregnable. Obama's main concern now must be whether his country still has racist undertones. I think and hope that America has moved on enough for that not to be a major factor in the voting. In just over two weeks we will all know the answer.

Nationalised banks and repossessions

As I understand the situation, we currently have in this country a mix of nationalised, part nationalised and non nationalised banks. Oh, and to make things even more complicated, some of our banks like HSBC are no longer British owned. Alistair Darling and his colleagues have been talking about the rescued banks operating at arm's length from the government however you want to interpret that phrase. Over the coming weeks and months we will hear more and more about the state owned banks and the dreaded 'R word' - Repossessions. Already there is publicity about the repossessions that Northern Rock is enacting: unsurprisingly with their past 125% mortgages (to be strictly accurate a combination of mortgage and loan taken out together) some of their borrowers are particularly at risk. So now we have government minister Yvette Cooper trying to put some pressure on banks and building societies to try and rein in the number of repossessions and see if other solutions are possible. The thing is that the government are having an increasing problem in this area - the perception by the public will be that we the owners of Northern Rock are doing the repossessing and they won't quite believe the arm's length description.

Let's put ourselves in the shoes of the lenders for a moment. With increasing worries about security of employment and house prices continuing to plummet it's not too surprising that these lenders are getting so jittery and choosing the repo option. Apart from death and divorce I would think that repossession must be one of the most traumatic events to touch one's life. Even after the repossession takes place (and there is going to be a degree of time lag in this process) the lender will typically try and auction the property off. By that time the value of the property will have dropped further and there is no guarantee that it can make its reserve price. In a nutshell the repossession system isn't good for any party. I don't remember how all this worked out when a similar situation occurred under the Conservatives in the nineties, but this time it's the bailing out of lenders that's added a complication. Expect the media to turn their attention to this subject more and more.

I think that last Saturday was the third successive occasion when the 'Western Morning News' incorporated a thinner property supplement, just 32 pages again. Bradleys, who seem to be leading the way on incentives, are inviting buyers to visit their Launceston office within a 4 hour time slot next Saturday and here I'm quoting directly "many of our properties have special incentives available for sales agreed on the day, ranging from car incentives, holiday vouchers, cash back, solicitor fees and stamp duty paid." Reading between the lines potential purchasers would have to decide this week whether to go ahead on a purchase if they want to avail themselves of one of these incentives. Personally I would loathe to be under that sort of pressure to buy a home; there is always the prospect that a potential buyer would make a decision they will regret later just to avail themselves of apparently 'something for nothing'. For me the very serious matter of purchasing a property shouldn't be distracted by these giveaways, but of course I undertand why it is starting to happen in a bigger way.

Two pleasing walks close to home

The weather forecast suggests some fairly dire weather is in the offing for Devon and Cornwall tomorrow but at least the weekend has been largely dry in the Tamar Valley. Taking advantage then of the pleasant October weather of the past two days we have enjoyed a couple of walks close to home which avoided having to take the car anywhere. First up on Saturday morning was a stroll in the Calstock - Cotehele - Bohetherick area. I have to admit that we cheated by getting the 09.13 bus to Calstock first; we gain being in Cornwall in that we are able to use our senior citizens free bus pass at that early hour whereas our neighbours in Devon have to wait until 9.30 before using theirs! My friend had spotted details of a self guided walk in the latest edition of the Tamar Valley AONB newsletter. In essence this started and finished at Cotehele Quay, a circular walk taking in the lovely National Trust hamlet of Bohetherick. The NT and the AONB I know are keen to make this area a little more accessible to the walker and it incorporated a path that I hadn't done before. A wonderfully peaceful ramble it proved to be with that special quietness of weather which seems to be unique to this season. A word of warning to those who would like to follow in our footsteps - although most of the walk is easy going that part descending the north facing slope of the Morden Stream valley was surprisingly steep in places and, no doubt partly because of the lack of sunlight, tends to be pretty wet. With less rain than usual in the last week or two walking boots proved adequate but after a really wet spell I would think about wellingtons! To seasoned walkers such as ourselves conditions underfoot weren't particularly concerning but to others, less confident about going off the beaten track, it might be a bit of a problem. In fairness though the directions supplied did permit a shorter version of the walk and some of the difficulties I've mentioned could be avoided using this option.

This afternoon saw us follow the path on the west bank of the Tamar upstream past Gunnislake Clitters Mine site and then tend left up the mossy walled lane to North Dimson. From there one follows a quite sharp descent back to the river path just north of Gunnislake New Bridge and then it was just a case of following the very familiar track back home. The mix of green, orange and brown in the foliage of the trees at the moment is quite something to behold, all the more so as we lucky to have a rich diversity of species.

One point I should mention here is that in our area the sweet chestnuts that have fallen have been disappointing in size and ripeness. Now this is no great problem for me because with nuts it's a matter of "I can take them or leave them". For my friend though, very much a nut fanatic, it's been a disappointing crop of chestnuts so far this year.

Tamar on National News

The other evening I had sat down to watch the early evening news and suddenly did a double take: was that the banks of the middle reaches of the Tamar I was seeing? Yes it was as it turned out. The beeb have been doing a short series on the national news about alien species in this country and it was Japanese Knotweed, which appears to love riverbanks amongst other places, that was the subject of their attention. In Devon and Cornwall we have more than our fair share of this awful weed and the film showed some experts cruising along the river in 'Gloria' owned by the Calstock Ferryboat Company. I couldn't see whether it was Josh or Alec doing the 'driving', should I bump into them there might be a bit of leg pulling - appearing on national TV, whatever next! Incidentally I have a special feeling for that boat as 'Gloria' was built in the year I was born, although she has moved about a bit before finding a home on the Tamar. I think that she has withstood the passage of time better than me!

Japanese Knotweed is particularly in the news this week with the announcement that we are looking to import a very small (about 2mm in size) insect that just happens to love eating this particular plant. Those in the know have tested them with other plants but no it is the Knotweed that they go for. Now bringing in an alien to deal with the control of another alien may ring a few alarm bells, one just has to hope that the experts have got it right. Turning to a biological solution to deal with a problem like this would seem to be the right way to go though, presumably this is how the dreaded Knotweed stays in check in Japan.

It's a great pity that the Victorians had this mania for bringing exotic species into this country.

Harriet Harman becomes Harassed Harman

I watched PMQs at noon today and, this time with Gordon away continuing to save the planet's financial systems or some such thing, it was the Deputies doing the talking. Now in previous encounters Harriet Harman had performed confidently when taking on William Hague giving as good if not better than what she had got. With Brown's perceived adroit handling of the banking crisis she might have imagined that today's PMQs would be a breeze. Unluckily for her it was anything but, in reality she put on a simply dreadful performance and she knew it. Stumbling over her responses, getting "Hon" and "Rt Hon" mixed up when answering her questioners, and generally looking less than competent Hague and Cable easily got the better of her in my opinion. Contrasting with Brown at the last PMQs when there was cheering and waving of order papers her statements were received in near silence from the MPs sat behind her. She certainly looked harassed through the half hour I thought.

Currently the fortunes of the political parties are in a very volatile state. Brown may be walking tall right now but he would do well to remember recent history. It was only in the summer of 2007 little more than 12 months ago that he seemed to be almost walking on water. He did his statesmanlike thing when addressing the crises of the summer: terrorist outrages, flooding, foot and mouth, matters he dealt with competently enough but I don't doubt that others would have coped just as well. Then Cameron called his bluff on the election that never was and everything started to unwind for Brown. Of course Labour are spinning the line that all our financial woes are down to either the American sub-prime market or those evil bankers but it was "nothing to do with us guv". How well they can sell this and how well they deal with the upcoming recession might well decide the result of the next General Election.

42 days - down and out

As expected their lordships in the Upper House crushingly defeated that part of the Counter-Terrorism Bill that would have extended the pre-charge detention period to 42 days. Apparently Home Secretary Jacqui Smith got a bit stroppy about this when she made an emergency announcement yesterday evening stating that this controversial aspect will now be dropped. Even if Brown was to invoke the Parliament Act there just wouldn't be a guarantee that it would get through the Commons again. Trying to recover something from the shambles Jacqui Smith said that a separate draft bill re 42 days would be prepared so that it could quickly be enacted if needed in the future.

In reality the defeat in the Lords is a real snub to Brown as he had staked a lot on it, he may now be ruing the various offers he allegedly made to various MPs at the time of the earlier vote when he was trying to get them on board. There is another aspect of the bill that has been dropped I'm pleased to say: a proposal to ban the public from a coroner's inquest in the interests of national security and also the option of the Home Secretary being able to replace a coroner with their own appointee. Freedom lovers will have to be vigilant though because the ages-old coroners system is likely to be reformed and these ideas from the government may well resurface.

Mentioning inquests reminds me of the discredited Hutton Enquiry convened to look into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly. A proper inquest was never carried out. Just a reminder then of how we were sold short to cover the government's back:

• A proper inquest would have had the power to order witnesses to attend (Hutton wasn't able to do this)
• A proper inquest would have ensured evidence was given under oath (This didn't happen under Hutton)
• A proper inquest into a death surrounded by such controversy would almost certainly have been attended by a jury. In the case of Hutton we only have the say so of one doddery old judge that Kelly committed suicide.

If the original proposal in the Counter-Terrorism Bill ever saw the light of day again then there is a risk of another whitewash episode.

Labour trounces EU Transparency Bill

One of the consequences of the present financial mayhem in different parts of the world is that a number of incidents can happen at the same time that get little attention in the media but which I think ought to be reported. Thank heavens for blogs! By good fortune I've now picked up a story relating to a 'ten minute rule bill' that the government made sure didn't progress in the House of Commons last Wednesday. It was Mark Harper, Conservative MP for 'The Forest of Dean', who introduced the bill and, to quote from his website, "The European Union (Transparency) Bill would have required Ministers to be more open about the origins of Bills and the extent to which laws passed by Parliament are as a result of EU decisions." You can read a little more background about both Mr Harper and this bill by going here. Mark quite reasonably points out that his intended bill was not intended to take sides regarding the EU but to indicate just how much (or how little come to that) of our legislation was emanating from Brussels. In this so called democracy I cannot see any reason why such a bill should not be enacted.

As with the referendum that never was Labour are treating the electorate in an absolutely disgraceful way. Cameron has said that the next Tory government will allow a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty; let's see Mark Harper's proposal in their manifesto as well.

An historic day for the banking system

Like I guess a good number of other people I don't fully understand all the technical side of today's bail-out of the Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Lloyds/TSB. And of course the 'telephone number' figures quoted go right over my head, more relevant perhaps is the percentage of each bank now owned by the taxpayer. General agreement then between the main political parties that the rescue plan is the least worst option.

Joint general secretary Derek Simpson of the union 'Unite' has demanded that there be no repossessions so far as the nationalised and part nationalised banks are concerned. Now this whole matter of repossessions is a very fraught subject apart from the obvious trauma of those who are directly affected. If the defaulters to the banks are allowed to stay in their homes (perhaps some system could be in place to change the mortgage to a rent, there's an idea worth mulling over) then those other folk repossessed from homes where the lender concerned hasn't been the recipient of public cash will understandably cry "foul" I would have thought. In a nutshell we wouldn't have anything like a level playing field. On the other hand if people are thrown out of their homes when the lender is RBoS, etc then the general population(and Mr Simpson) wouldn't be too comfortable about that! And of course if children are involved then an obligation to rehouse falls on the local authority does it not.

There's a lot more one could write about these interesting times but it's getting late in the evening and I've no intention of continuing this blog tonight. Other things are happening but they can wait for tomorrow.

Another sat-nav mishap

It was at the start of this week that I was on one of my hobby-horses: sat-navs and the mishaps that relate to their use. The latest of these that I've heard about occurred at lovely Maenporth beach just south of Falmouth. This time it wasn't a case of being wedged in a lane but it seems that the sat-nav sent the French driver and his monster articulated lorry down the little road that passes Maenporth when perhaps it shouldn't have done; the driver used the beach to try and turn around and in doing so the tractor unit of the lorry got somewhat stuck in the sand! Locals with shovel and tractor assistance managed to get him free in the end.

Thanks to the 'Falmouth Packet' there is a short video here from which you can appreciate the driver's predicament.

Beautiful weather for Goose Fair

It's been gloriously sunny here in the Tamar Valley and I would think that just over the border Tavistock has enjoyed much the same. Although gardening has been the way I've enjoyed the great outdoors today I could have slipped into Tavistock for its annual Goose Fair, which I think is one of just two such named events in this country (I have a feeling that the other one has its home in Nottingham). Having been to Goose Fair on two or three previous occasions and not desperate for the sort of retail therapy it provides I decided to give it a miss. One of the features I have enjoyed on previous visits is to listen to the patter delivered by salesmen getting people to buy bundles of towels or whatever off the back of a lorry! A real education.

I would imagine that the sun has drawn the crowds so that would be a blessing for the organisers. The weather is such a lottery and I can remember instances of good and bad for this the second Wednesday in October. With the funfair decamped in one of the main car parks until the end of the week parking will be a bit of a headache in the town for a day or three. Fortunately there is no need for me to drive in there while the fair is on.

October forecast from Piers Corbyn

On the 16 August I had written a piece about the rain we were then enduring and I mentioned that I wasn't really keeping up to date regarding the prognostications of maverick forecaster Piers Corbyn. For those interested you can read what he thinks on his website weatheraction.com, or at least it's possible to get a very brief overview of the weather he thinks we are going to get. To get a very detailed monthly forecast from him you have to be prepared to pay for it. He once sent me a complimentary forecast, I'm not sure which month it was now, but I can't expect him to do this on a regular basis, particularly in view of my sharp criticism of him at times!

Piers is his own worst enemy - his ego makes it very difficult to admit his numerous errors, apart from which that wouldn't be good for business I suppose! He is for ever bad mouthing the Met Office and those who believe in man made global warming whereas he should be elaborating on his theory that it's the sun, stupid that drives our climate and it's nothing to do with CO2 levels.

We are well into autumn now so I've had another look at his website. The first thing to note is that the information he displays for free has got increasingly vague, he used to indicate which parts of the month would host the most significant weather events. That info is certainly not in his October 2008 summary. To tempt you to get the full forecast for the month Piers has the following on his home page: "October 2008. Unusually Cold with sleet and snow at times on frequent Northerly winds. Often foggy. Milder later... a major damaging storm." Forecasts from Piers should come with a health warning regarding their veracity. For instance if there is a light dusting of snow for a couple of days in The Cairngorms then that's evidence for the snow part of the forecast. OK I'm exaggerating a little of course but not by so much as you might think.

At the moment his October prophecies aren't looking too promising, but there's still another 24 days to go so don't give up yet. Going back to last month for a moment it will be recalled that it was very much a month of two halves - to start with it was exceptionally wet and then from mid month onward we enjoyed some lovely quiet settled weather. With Piers you very often get the feeling that the end of the world is nigh: he issued a severe weather warning on September 6. He suggested that the deluges of 5th/6th were a foretaste of worse to come from the 11th. Then "The last two days of the month should be finer". On 16th September Piers came out with an update because the blocking high was stopping the nastiness coming in off the Atlantic but his opinion was that this period of settled weather would be short lived. On the 25th he had to issue yet another update to say that the good weather would in fact continue till almost the month end.

For goodness sake Piers you are making short term forecasts now rather than the long term ones you are for ever boasting about. How can I take you seriously?

Difficult balancing act for Cameron

All the boys and girls who represent us in Parliament have had their summer holidays and autumn conferences so this week has seen the start of the new session in the House of Commons. At the Tory jamboree in Birmingham David Cameron made a decent effort I thought to be statesmanlike and not too critical of Gordon Brown in view of the worrying financial situation the World is facing. But tomorrow, being Wednesday, means Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) and I wonder if, in the bear pit of the HoC, his restraint will continue. In a nutshell I think that Cameron has a very difficult balancing act to maintain, maybe there will be a temporary cessation of hostilities.

Brown may have gained a little breathing space for the moment and his position is not under immediate threat but he is trying to recover from a very weak position. I can foresee plenty of banana skins for him to slip on, but the major problem for all parties is just not knowing how the effects of the continuing 'credit crunch' will pan out.

One thing is for sure: I am not going to predict the result of a general election that is unlikely to take place for another 18 months. For the sake of the country it's good that Brown is not having to constantly look over his shoulder to see if a potential assassin is likely to strike, he has more than enough on his plate without that particular worry.

Possible help to resolve sat-nav woes

I've had several rants on this blog about sat-navs so it is nice now to have a bit of good news regarding the problems there have been with them. By and large they seem to work for the private motorist although I did relate a particular incident in East Devon where the car arrived at a brook when trying to traverse a totally unsuitable road: the car's owner had the embarrassment of burning out the clutch when trying to retrieve the situation. No it's their use by lorry drivers who seem to think that what has been designed for the humble car is also applicable to their needs that has really raised my ire.

At long long last there appears to be progress on sorting out this issue and this is thanks to the counties of Somerset and Suffolk. Software has been designed that can be downloaded onto a sat-nav which will take into account unsuitable roads for commercials and also such matters as weight and height restrictions. Who would be better than the local highways department to know all about such things. As I understand it this is a trial in these two areas at the moment and I would hope that it could be rolled out nationally in due course. Of course adjoining counties would need to talk to each other to ensure compliance where roads cross their shared boundaries.

Previously I had written that I understood from radio phone-ins etc that there were sat-navs for lorries already. If this is the case then it's possible that they are more expensive and if it's the HGV drivers footing the bill they may well be going for the cheapest option. My feelings about misdirected lorries aren't arising from any personal experiences, it's just that when I see something so obviously wrong I want to make a bit of a fuss about it! If you think I'm a bit OTT on this then read this piece here about lorries finishing up at a crematorium in Wales through being misguided by their sat-navs. Search around the blogs and many other examples of unintended consequences come to light.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: any damage to roads or buildings caused by juggernauts going where such vehicles shouldn't go must be paid for by the haulier, there is no room for compromise on this issue.

Gordon Brown's reshuffle

Most of the media have been preoccupied with the return to Cabinet of Peter Mandelson in Gordon Brown's reshuffle. Bearing in mind that Mandy is a hate figure to many it's hardly surprising that his rehabilitation is the big story. This has meant that some of the other movements in, out and around government aren't getting all the attention they deserve. Here in no particular order are some of my thoughts about the changes (excluding Mandelson):

• The break up of Defra leaving a smaller department to concentrate on food and farming is very welcome. Defra was too big and unwieldy for one person to head up even when Labour's main geek David Miliband was in charge. And it was a fact that when Margaret Beckett was the Defra person she was so preoccupied with climate change that farming was pretty well off her radar. She also treated farmers with contempt and when it came to the party conferences they were lucky to get a mention. More about Beckett later.
• A new department combining energy and climate change headed up by Ed Miliband. Again a sound move with these two subjects being a good fit. But will we see any abandonment of wind farms with the frequent changes of wind speeds and hence power output and instead the development of tide and wave energy? Don't hold your breath on this one.
• The separation of Defence and the Scottish Office. The earlier combination of these two under one minister displayed an appalling lack of judgment by Gordon Brown. OK with devolution the Scottish Office job might not have been a big one but the perception that Defence (we are currently still involved in two wars remember apart from maintaining a garrison in The Falklands) only demanded a part time minister demonstrated just how bad Brown is as PM. His namesake (Des) Browne was poor at the time of the Iranian Hostages affair - he admitted that the buck stayed with him but Blair didn't sack him and he continued in post in Brown's first cabinet. We are told that Des didn't want any other job in the reshuffle; like Ruth Kelly he is a committed Roman Catholic and when the Fertilisation and Embryology Bill comes back they will be clear to vote via their consciences. Solid performer John Hutton moves to Defence, a big improvement then in this key position.
• Geoff Hoon has moved to Transport, Ruth Kelly's old job. This former barrister has been one of those amazing survivors of the Blair and Brown eras: his temporary amnesia at the time of the Hutton Enquiry when his most frequent reply to his Lordship was "I don't remember that" doesn't seem to have hindered his continuance at the top table! I heard the other day that Hoon's father and grandfather had railway jobs and it will be fascinating to see if he displays any leaning towards our train services as against other forms of transport.
• Caravan fanatic Margaret Beckett is back. Not good. She takes over Housing from Caroline Flint. Beckett to my mind has typified the worst of New Labour although she had her roots in Old Labour of course. Here is a woman who has managed to cost this country literally millions of pounds in fines to the EU with the ridiculously complicated model of the Rural Payments Agency set up in England for which she bears responsibility. Her punishment? She was promoted to Foreign Secretary, what an insult to farmers. Regarded as a good stonewaller she will no doubt be the one to once again be wheeled out to speak to the media when something nasty happens. Make sure your alarm is working Margaret: the Today programme on Radio 4 starts early. Gordon of course prefers Andrew Marr to interview him on Marr's Sunday show - it's generally recognised that Andy only bowls gentle full tosses when the Prime Minister is in the Studio.

I don't know if the ministerial futures of the always impressive Dorset MP Jim Knight or the far less able Ben Bradshaw from Exeter have been sorted yet but no doubt we will know shortly.

One person who will be especially pleased about the return of Peter Mandelson will be satirist and impersonator Rory Bremner. Rory seems to take particular pleasure taking the mickey out of Mandelson and now he's back from Brussels we can expect to see and hear more of Mandy again when the Bremner show resumes.

More evidence of house market slowing

I've mentioned before on this blog that I have at least a cursory glance at the property supplement in the Saturday edition of the Western Morning News. Well today that hasn't taken very long because it has been slimmed down to 32 rather than the usual 40 plus pages! One house that particularly caught my eye was a restored period cottage on the bank of a very small creek that shortly discharges into effectively a small tributary of the River Dart. I decided to do a little bit of forensic investigation not because of any desire to purchase you understand but for my own amusement. The agents have decided to go down the route of having an 'Open House' next Saturday, a ploy that is increasingly being used by estate agents. Intriguingly they are confining this to one hour, from 2pm to 3pm. Aha I thought, I know this location (I've also looked at it on 'Google Earth') and I know that the creek will dry out completely at low tide. I then checked today's tide times and realising how much later high tide would be in a week's time soon deduced why that particularly short time window was selected. One particular thing I like to think about when looking at these property details is the little matter of the main aspect of the house. To me which direction your main rooms are facing is of more than academic interest; in this instance all I can say is that it would pay to be an early riser to benefit from the sunshine.

It's always been a source of wonder to me how the more expensive properties are priced. The one I've been describing has a guide of £1.5 - £2 million. These upmarket agents, all posh suits and expensive brochures, seriously underwhelm me with these 'guide' prices, it's almost like plucking something out of thin air. The top and bottom limits of the guide are half a million pounds apart for goodness sake so what is that supposed to mean? My own interpretation is that they assume that there will be a bidding war with the price moving upward. But is this realistic in today's financial climate? Another point about the 'Open House' scenario here is that it really needs some decent weather, if next Saturday is anything like today then it could finish up wet and windy, not ideal.

Turning now to my local weekly paper (East Cornwall Times) I see that a Tavistock estate agent is flagging up 16 of the properties currently on its books. Half of these are shown as "New" but the other 8 have "New Price" shown against them. One of these I know has already seen over 20% shaved off its original asking price. Where will it all end I ask myself.

David Cameron's Conference speech

Last week Gordon Brown made his conference speech to the Labour Party faithful, yesterday it was the turn of the Tories with David Cameron. I have to admit that for me Cameron did a good job. He always was going to have the advantage over Gordon in the presentational stakes and of course as the Tory conference follows that of Labour he could always amend his message to respond to what had happened before. There seems to be some consensus that Brown has been benefiting from the current financial turmoil in that he appears to be the solid experienced man with good international contacts, the right person (in his opinion at least) to navigate the country through the turbulent waters. It might be remembered that last summer when confronted with the abortive terrorist attacks, the foot and mouth outbreak and the flooding Brown was receiving a lot of praise with the way he responded. But I have pointed out before on this blog that this adulation was misplaced and that many another person could have done just as well under the circumstances. With the present problems in the banking sector it seems that Brown has been given some breathing space for the moment with a temporary truce in his party as regards trying to force him out. So Brown has again taken on the mantle of the person to be trusted to make the right decisions in our time of need. Hence his reference to this not being the time for a novice.

Cameron did a good job I thought in countering the experience argument although trying to draw a parallel with Margaret Thatcher in 1979 was pretty misleading bearing in mind that she had had ministerial experience in the Heath government compared with his relatively short career as an MP! But mention of her name let many of the Tory faithful get dewy eyed with their memories. As with Brown last week Cameron kept the jokes to the minimum, he smoothly ensured that his wife Samantha got a mention or two and he did look like a Prime Minister in waiting I thought. It has been suggested that Cameron and many in his Shadow Cabinet have never really had to struggle financially and therefore how could he empathise with the most downtrodden in society. I don't think that this is necessarily true and I suspect that some criticism in Cameron's case is because of envy of his wealth. He comes across as someone able to communicate at all sorts of levels - he is certainly a person I feel I could talk to!

Back to his speech I think he is right to stay 'policy light' - it could be nearly two years before the next election and in this fast changing world goodness knows where we will be when that day arrives. Much better the broad brush approach adopted indicating the general direction in which he wants to travel. Lots of plus points included the accent on personal responsibility, the promise of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty and the reiteration of the policy outlined in my last post of an improved railway system at the expense of a third runway at Heathrow. Good to see that he wishes to remove the more crazy excesses of the bureaucratic system. He was right to talk about our troops very early on in his address, I'm not sure that I agree with him about our continued presence in Afghanistan but he was absolutely correct to highlight the fact that our forces have been let down in a number of ways - of course this was a very popular sentiment with his audience. Interestingly no mention of Iraq, only Afghanistan.

I believe that Parliament is back next week. What will be fascinating now is how Cameron approaches PMQs in view of the current world financial problems. Usually Brown is very wooden at this weekly event and doesn't come over well. What is certain is that all parties will be taking a very keen interest in the polls this weekend and in the weeks to come. Nothing sharpens the mind like the threat of losing what you thought was a safe seat when the electorate have a chance to voice their opinion - where it really counts!