Remember the name - Heather Brooke

Heather Brooke - that's not a name that resonates with the majority of folk in this country I imagine. But there are reasons why it should. Heather is a journalist and writer living in London whose single minded determination ensured that we would have the chance to find out just how much our MPs are costing us and what specific claims they are making on the public purse. By winning a High Court battle against the House of Commons there is now information in the public domain that would never have materialised otherwise.

What has happened now is the 'official' version of MPs expense claims has been published, but with a huge amount of information blacked out, as to addresses for example. However thanks to someone leaking the information 'The Daily Telegraph' has been churning out 'uncensored' information for many weeks now and, notwithstanding today's publication of expenses for all MPs, I do hope that the DT carry on with their good work.

One point about all this I want to briefly dwell on, and it's a point worth making strongly I feel, is the still enormous power of the individual. In these days of big government, big corporations, of big committees it seems so easy to believe that the individual has no chance to change history. But, thank God, that perception is wrong. A recent example was that of Joanna Lumley who deployed considerable finesse in ensuring Gurkhas could reside in the UK. Without taking anything away from her Joanna did benefit from being someone well known. But Ms Brooke wasn't, and I guess still isn't, a household name. Yet the action of this one persevering woman has changed the way Parliament, or at least the House of Commons, does its business for ever. I believe we should be eternally grateful to Heather Brooke; she has a website "Your Right To Know" here.

Penhallow inquest returns open verdict

The last four weeks has seen the inquest into the deaths of the three victims of the horrific Penhallow Hotel fire in Newquay. The tragedy happened at the height of the holiday season in August 2007 and I blogged about it at the time. Now I've not had the time to follow the minutiae of the proceedings at Truro but the coroner Dr Emma Carlyon told the jury that they had to pass an 'open verdict' notwithstanding a lot of evidence of this being an arson attack. It's the lack of absolute certainty as to this being the case that was the determining factor here apparently.

So relatives of the deceased have yet to get final closure: police have a prime suspect but don't have the necessary proof to take things further at the moment. There had been questions about the response of Cornwall's fire brigade to the incident - they seem to have been exonerated as to the failure to save the three who perished, such was the ferocity of the blaze and the speed at which it took hold they had absolutely no chance of saving the one man and two elderly ladies.

There had been a change in the law whereby premises such as the Penhallow could make a self assessment as regards fire risk and precautions rather than someone from the fire brigade coming round and ordering certain actions to be taken. It seems that the Penhallow had been repeatedly advised that the fire precautions were inadequate. By citing Rule 22 of the Coroners Rules it was possible for some witnesses to avoid answering questions where there may have been legal consequences at a later date. One thing that could have been done by the Holdsworth Hotel group, owners of the Penhallow, was the placing of smoke alarms in each bedroom - remember the fire broke out in the early hours of the morning when a lot of folk would have been asleep. In the great scheme of things how much would it have cost to carry out this relatively straightforward procedure. When I moved to this cottage 14 years ago I put a smoke alarm in on the very first day, it's that important. It's a battery type and it's essential that one uses the Duracell sort of battery, some of the ordinary batteries are at risk of flattening before one is fully awake.

Mention must be made of the bravery of two sisters, Kirsty and Emma Schofield, who ran along the corridors knocking on doors and helping people to get out. It's quite possible that the death toll could have been worse but for their heroic efforts.

In writing about the Penhallow blaze before I mentioned that I had something close to a phobia about being in any location where I am squashed in with my fellow human beings be it a hotel, sports stadium or whatever. I don't like huge crowds anyway and for me when it comes to venues "small is beautiful" every time.

Wildlife success story on The Lizard

I suppose that when 'The National Trust' is mentioned first thoughts for many will be of grand country houses in their ownership. Not surprising really given that these properties are the most obvious interface between the Trust and the public. Now I am as interested in the built environment as anyone but they are also a very major landholder in England and Wales and their decisions can have a profound effect on what happens to nature in this larger estate.

The National Trust have developed a huge expertise in nature conservation: one aspect of this is their small biosurvey team which looks at the natural history of the sites owned by the Trust. They have visited over 1000 so far. Going back 30 years they recorded what they found at Lower Predannack Farm, a 70 hectare holding on the west side of the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall. Back then the results were very poor but careful management on this tenanted farm including grazing of the cliff tops has led to radical improvements to the wildlife regime. I believe that clauses favouring wildlife tend to get written into the tenancy agreements for the Trust's holdings these days and there is no doubt that the NT has developed huge expertise in this area. The Lizard is well known for certain rare clovers, as well as many other special plants, and it seems that controlled grazing, a frequently used technique of the Trust, has delivered spectacular results at this site.

I'm writing about this now as the most recent survey by the biosurvey team has just been published. Interestingly, and I suspect no coincidence, is the fact that this Sunday's 'Countryfile' programme majors on the Lizard area. Apart from its fascinating geology and wildlife I find that there is something 'other world' about it, something I've noticed before about peninsulas and one of the reasons I love them so much. Another aspect of peninsulas to be enjoyed is the obvious fact that they are on the road to nowhere else and thus are spared the heavier traffic you find elsewhere. Slightly different with the Lizard as you will find the hordes descending to visit the southernmost this and the southernmost that but you can quickly get away from the tourists if you so desire.

One further thought - although the National Trust have been very successful in using the likes of moorland ponies and Dexter cattle to get a good grazing regime (it has helped with the short turf that the recently returned to Cornwall choughs for example particularly like) but other places such as our high moors are getting less grazing. So ramblers for example are finding places like Dartmoor increasingly affected by scrub which also has the effect of hiding more of the archaeological treasures to be found on the uplands. Worryingly more farmers seem to be getting out of livestock and, in just a few years, I can envisage quite a different landscape as a result of changes in farming priorities.

Joanna Lumley becomes a Shelterbox Patron

Fairly recently I wrote about a TV programme in which Joanna Lumley achieved a childhood ambition to see 'The Northern Lights'. This was before the stunning success she achieved in leading the campaign to secure rights for Gurkhas wishing to settle in this country. I have long realised that under that soft silky exterior was a woman of steel and was unsurprised when she put that attribute to such good use in skewering Phil Woolas and Gordon Brown over that issue. She did it with great style it has to be said.

In this blog I have sung the praises of 'Shelterbox' a few times - their website is here by the way. If you were to click on news and scroll down to the early part of this month you will see an entry stating that Joanna is becoming a patron of the charity. She is known to be very enthusiastic about the work that Shelterbox have done and continue to do and having her now identified so close to the organisation is absolutely brilliant news.

Piers Corbyn got last weekend right

I've made plenty of blog entries in the past about maverick weatherman Piers Corbyn and his forecasts. To tell the truth I haven't been following him much lately but when I turned to his weatheraction.com website the other day (can be viewed here) I was in for a pleasant surprise. When I first crossed swords with Piers he had a very amateur looking website, he would suddenly change to a different size font or a different colour and it was all scripted in a very 'tabloid' way. Well now his site has a much smoother and more professional look about it thank goodness! Interestingly, as can be seen from his homepage, he is now broadcasting on YouTube. Although not the most comfortable man in front of a camera, but a darn sight better in his broadcasts than Gordon Brown it has to be said, I have to congratulate him on using this medium. The number of viewers are pretty low at the moment but it's early days I guess.

In the past I've flagged up some real howlers by Piers and have been taken to task by some of his loyal disciples for, in their eyes, being unfair to him. Well I can only report what I see and the failure of Piers to admit his bad mistakes allied to his arrogance didn't help me to warm to him. One would no doubt have to buy his monthly forecasts and compare what they said with the reality over an extended period to make a really good judgement. It's the forecast he makes of the most severe events that get into the public domain and consequently get the most attention.

The end of May saw Piers make a forecast of a number of extreme weather events for the month of June, not just here but worldwide, and this can be read on his website and was repeated on the YouTube video. Regarding the UK he said this: Around 06- 09 June 09 (Ew0928) Most of Ireland & Britain (espec E/SE) & adjacent Europe (eg Netherlands/ Belgium/ N France). Major thunderstorms hail & local floods with whirlwinds likely (80% confidence). I would say that is a pretty impressive bit of forecasting Mr Corbyn. Last weekend we had some rain in my part of the Tamar Valley but in the Dawlish, Exeter to Tiverton area it was much much worse with severe thunderstorms and associated flooding. Looking at the weathermaps other areas further east have suffered as well it would seem.

I'm pleased to give credit where it's due!

My take on the elections

The political events of the last few days here in the UK are keeping bloggers and other commentators very busy so I'll put in my twopenneth for what it's worth ... First then the council elections: previously there had been a two tier system in my county but it's 'One Cornwall' from now on in whereas my local authority area had been 'Caradon'. For this ward there were plenty of applicants for just one seat on the new council. I had voted for Dorothy who was standing as an Independent but she was to come second. Now some of my political views are quite different from hers especially on the EU but I was quite deliberately voting for the person here; this was a classic example of me casting politics aside and voting for the person who I thought was the very best one to represent my and other people's interest. However it was not to be because it was Russell who won. Now he had been long established as a member of the old Caradon District Council and because of length of service had already gained 'a head of steam' as it were. This can make things disproportionately difficult for a newcomer to try and get elected. Incidentally he was fighting under the Conservative banner whereas in days past he was a LibDem. Call me a cynic ("You're a cynic Brian!") but I just felt he had a feeling of which way the political wind was blowing and moved accordingly. Perhaps I'm maligning him.

There was a Green Party candidate, Nigel, who picked up a fair number of votes. All credit to him for going round knocking on doors to talk to people. I was out when he called but was able to chat with him briefly when I was walking up to the village and would like the chance to talk green politics in depth with someone like him one day. Over at Totnes in Devon's South Hams Paula Black from the Greens won a seat on that council.

Both Devon and Somerset County Councils turned from LibDem yellow to Tory blue so far as overall control is concerned. Nationally of course the South West is seen as one of the LibDem strongholds and could prove to be a real battleground in a General Election - whenever that election comes don't be surprised to see Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg paying our region a considerable amount of attention!

Votes were split for the new Cornwall single authority with the Tories now by far the largest party but not having an overall majority. The five LibDem MPs might be getting a little worried and I shouldn't be surprised to see a very close result where I live in 'SE Cornwall' where my present MP won't be standing (nothing to do with MP's expenses, Colin Breed had made the decision a long time ago).

Moving on to the European Elections the drubbing received received by Labour all over Britain is the big story of course. In the South West Region they were particularly poor, losing their one MEP and UKIP, who came second overall in the whole of Britain, did really well to return 2 MEPs this time compared with 3 for the Tories and one for the LibDems. Not only were Labour fifth in this region being beaten by the Greens but in Cornwall they dropped a further place as the Cornish Nationalists (Mebyon Kernow) surged ahead of them. For the governing party to finish sixth in one county is unbelievable!

Making a judgement on who to vote for in the EU elections is a really difficult one to make I reckon and obviously it's an opportunity to give Gordon Brown and Labour a real kicking. I voted for Libertas who want to instigate very radical reform of the EU and have that referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. They did poorly everywhere I think, partly because having joined battle very late in the day they just aren't well enough known to the voting public.

I suppose I had better make a quick mention of the BNP. They have now got two MEPs up north, gaining many votes it would seem from disaffected former Labour people. I think I'm right in saying that parties of a similar ilk from other parts of Europe have made gains in these elections. The impression I got watching the BNP being interviewed on TV was of the interviewers finding the process very distasteful. I'm trying not to be biased but Nick Griffin and his colleagues seem to be people you just wouldn't want to meet alone.

It would be good to get off purely politics for a while - there are a lot of other things I want to write about believe you me!

Brown's bare faced lie

Once again Gordon Brown has demonstrated his total lack of judgement: this time in convening a Press Conference yesterday in the aftermath of awful Labour results in the local elections and a hasty reshuffle of the Government. So why did he do it? There's no particular reason or convention so far as I can see to have a televised session with the media in these circumstances. Any Prime Minister would find it tiring enough to do a reshuffle in a day without having to talk to the press but in this instance with the PM on the ropes and he not being able to carry out all the changes he desperately wanted to surely he was putting himself in a no win situation.

Brown prattled on about his honesty and almost in the next breath told a massive barefaced lie - that he had never had any intention to sack his Chancellor! Surely he must have realised that someone would raise this question, a question that no PM would feel comfortable about answering honestly. It doesn't make sense to put yourself needlessly into that position. I'm reminded of the times in 'Dad's Army' when Wilson would say to Mainwaring "Do you think that's wise?" when the latter was going off on some madcap plan. But it seems that in the Brown bunker there are only 'yes men' with nobody cautioning Mr Brown on his actions. The 'YouTube' embarrassment was another case in point.

How can Brown go on talking about cleaning up our parliamentary system when he is prepared to lie so brazenly. Many commentators now are flagging up his psychological flaws ( I think it was one 'A Campbell' who originally used the phrase "psychologically flawed" in relation to Brown). The worrying thing is that Gordon just cannot accept he can make mistakes, that others with a differing viewpoint just might be right. Whatever he says he will do things for narrow political purposes rather than what's right for the country, witness the 10p tax rate removal which was to leave millions worse off. It was only the courage of Frank Field and a few other backbenchers who were prepared to stand up to the government bully boys that saw this wrong being righted.

Gordon Brown is the ultimate 'Jekyll and Hyde' person. Those who know the private side of his character like J K Rowling and Mariella Frostrup speak highly of him but as a leader he is absolutely awful. People say he can't connect with the ordinary person but that might be down to shyness and insecurity. Yet he having had the misfortune to lose a child displayed massive empathy to the Camerons when their son Ivan died. It's interesting to compare Brown to the possible next leader of the Labour Party, the former postman Alan Johnson. Now the genial Mr Johnson is the sort of guy one would happily talk to over a pint in the local but as to Gordon ... It was the same with Blair and Brown, for all Tony Blair's many faults he was the sort of chap that could relate to a very large part of the population, something difficult for Brown to do.

With most of his authority gone and the Euro poll results out on Sunday evening how much longer can Brown survive?

Final salvage work on the MSC Napoli

It was almost two and a half years ago that it was deliberately grounded off Branscombe in East Devon but today saw the removal of the remainder of the 'MSC Napoli' getting under way. The contract to lift that part of the stern section still at the site is expected to be completed in the next couple of months. Two huge barges are now at the scene with appropriate lifting equipment. So it really looks as if the end of this saga is in sight.

Hopefully the worldwide publicity that followed the beaching of the ship will be of some benefit to Branscombe in the longer term. It has certainly put that lovely little spot on the map!

Health and Safety has gone mad again

'Health and Safety' - there's a provocative phrase! The reason I'm blogging about it now is because of what I saw on a walk last Sunday morning. As I mentioned in my last piece we had super weather last weekend and I decided to cross over into Devon and walk down river to Morwellham and back, about six or seven miles I suppose. Now the Tamar Valley AONB has been engaged in developing trails through the woods on the eastern bank of the Tamar: I had always been able to walk over to Morwellham from here but they are extending the path network and inevitably incorporating some Health and Safety work into the proceedings.

The outward route I followed is a high level one, mostly through quite dense woodland, but there are three rocky outcrops in particular from which one can obtain far reaching views. But there are almost vertical drops from these vantage points into the valley below and, for someone like me not too comfortable with heights, it's sensible to not get too close to the edge. The first of these viewpoints 'Chimney Rock' is almost opposite my cottage and if I lean forward slightly and crane my neck I can see it from this chair. Further downriver and just north of Morwellham one passes in quick succession 'Pleasure Rock' and 'Morwell Rocks', the other two vantage points on my walk. With commonsense there shouldn't be any accidents, my only worry would be of young children running ahead of their parents and getting a little too exuberant. So a degree of physical checking at these three locations might seem to be in order.

In their wisdom the authorities have fenced of these viewpoints in their entirety but it's possible to climb the wooden post and rail fences to stand on the rocks if desired. My attention had previously been drawn to the safety measures at Chimney Rock because prior to the dense woodland coming into leaf some of the fencing there was readily visible from the Gunnislake side of the Tamar and, quite frankly, was an appalling addition to the view. On arrival at Chimney Rock on Sunday I could see that there was far far more fencing than was necessary but I noticed that the centre of the three rails had been removed on four bays probably by locals as it it is well visited by people in the village. The AONB had conceded that the Chimney Rock fencing had been overdone and that they would alter it. Much of the same 'protection' was visible at 'Pleasure Rock' and 'Morwell Rocks', in the case of the last mentioned there had been a short fence that acted as a warning to take care but there was no problem in walking either side of it to access the top of the outcrop. This had seemed a sensible compromise to me but evidently now not good enough.

Now all this was way too much in my opinion but there was worse. Along certain lengths of the path there was more of the post and rail fencing, in some sections with sheep netting attached. One particular section that was fenced was a wide track, on the level and without precipitous drops. For the life of me I just cannot understand why it was done. It was just as if they had some fence posts, rails and sheep netting left over and they thought "we need to use this up". Granted that there are potentially dangerous mine workings in the woods but they shouldn't affect walkers on this path. (A really large open shaft fairly close by is very securely fenced off and I don't have a problem with that).

The decision making process regarding Health and Safety on this walk seems totally bizarre. I think I shall be asking questions of my friends at the AONB sometime about this.

Holiday weather glorious but wet today

We were very fortunate with the weather over the bank holiday weekend here in the south west but a blip today as rain off the Atlantic passes across us. The forecasters had promised us sun and warmth for last Saturday and Sunday, absolutely correct as it turned out, but had warned of a marked deterioration on Monday with the chance of outbreaks of heavy thundery rain. Well these didn't happen here or over much of the region and apart from a little dampness early in the day the weather wasn't bad. These outbreaks of rain were forecast to move north from France and seem to have broken up somewhat leaving us predominantly dry. I've noticed before that bad weather from this direction is notoriously difficult to predict accurately whereas the front that is affecting us as I type and moving west to east is a much more reliable piece of weather for the Met Office to get right.

I'm sure that I have mentioned before my opinion that bank holidays don't have so much bad weather as they get credited with. More a case of the miserable ones getting remembered and our imagination reckoning they were all like that! It would be interesting to get some statistics to back me up on this one.

This is a fabulous time of year to visit Devon and Cornwall with our deep lanes smothered in wild flowers before the fresh fronds of bracken start to dominate. An interesting comment too from weather forecaster David Braine who mentioned that this is an exceptional year for buttercups. This is something I've noticed too - here in the Tamar Valley there is a lot of low intensity agriculture and there are many meadows where the yellow of buttercup almost rivals that seen in fields of oil seed rape! A slight exaggeration perhaps but they are doing perhaps almost too well in my cottage garden.

It does seem that high pressure will shortly return to dominate our weather and to those visitors staying on in my two counties through this half term week - Enjoy!

Some thoughts on MPs expenses

There has been a huge amount of comment on and off line about the information revealed by 'The Daily Telegraph' on our MPs ACA (Additional Cost Allowance) and their expenses generally and there are one or two points I want to make about the whole sorry saga:

• I have thought for a some considerable time that the MPs we elect to our Parliament very much mirror society in general. Thus we have a few that are outright crooks, a significant number who are honest and hardworking and then a great wadge of people in the middle who probably don't think of themselves as bent but who are happy to use the system to their maximum advantage. Thus like many other groups of people.
• I don't think it's even a third, certainly much less than half, of our MPs who have come under 'The Daily Telegraph' spotlight so far. In the interest of natural justice I think that the expenses of all MPs have to be exposed. We know that when the 'official' figures are produced for our consumption then these statistics will be very sanitized and therefore won't expose the same lurid details as have been published in The DT.
• I recall Benedict Brogan, who moved to the Telegraph from the Mail shortly before this story exploded, saying that there were 25 people working full time on this scoop. It is a very complicated business, for instance enquiries have to be made at the Land Registry regarding ownership of property and whether there is a charge (mortgage) on said property. Despite the reporters best attempts there will be the odd error creeping in but I'm confident that 95% or more is accurate.
• Because of the looseness of the rules it is a nightmare for the leaders of the parties to pass judgement on what is or is not OK. However fairly obviously it is easier to throw back benchers to the wolves than those who are ministers or shadows.
• Gordon Brown is in a particular pickle. Opinion seems to be that he will wait until after the elections of 4 June to make a government reshuffle. If, as seems quite likely, Hazel Blears gets the boot following her "YouTube if you want to" newspaper criticism of Brown, her dismissal following the exposure of her expenses claims will be seen as yet again Brown being dilatory. Like him or not, David Cameron appears to be quicker off the mark than the Prime Minister although he has problems enough with his own errant MPs.
• Some folk, such as the Archbishop of Canterbury and Tory MP Nadine Dorries, feel that the DT revelations have made their point and that the continued drip drip of information being published by the paper is not good for the democratic process. What hasn't been mentioned yet is whether the DT will go on with the story right through the first week of June i.e. the week of the elections. What they might reveal that week could be even more controversial in the sense that really bad stories about Tory or Labour MPs on election day for example could be interpreted as showing huge bias toward a particular party. So maybe that week the DT might just keep researching the perceived misdemeanours of our MPs with a view to publication at a later date. At the end of the day when every MP has been investigated perhaps they will issue a supplement with the Sunday Telegraph listing all the MPs so that we can compare and contrast.

These then are just a few of my thoughts on this business.

Totnes MP Anthony Steen standing down

Following on from the revelations regarding the expense claims of Anthony Steen, the Tory MP for Totnes, in 'The Daily Telegraph' Mr Steen has wisely decided to stand down at the next General Election. Mr Steen is one of those slightly eccentric old buffers that one tends to associate with the Conservative back benches. He had said that claiming the expenses that he has over the years was cheaper than having his mortgage paid for his country pile. Therefore he fails to see any problem at all with the extravagant expenses that he has picked up courtesy of the taxpayer. Bloggers, and that includes those supporting his own party, are having a right old go at him on the back of a most bizarre interview he gave on 'The World at One' today. He reckoned nobody had any business knowing about the detail of his expenses and it was all the fault of this wretched 'Freedom of Information' Act! He also stated that it was jealousy that caused the information to be published by the DT. There are times I think that he is on another planet.

Mr Steen has a bit of form on not being the best of people on the PR front. Some little while ago his car was spotted parked all day in a 'disabled driver' parking bay at Newton Abbot station. It turned out that Mr Steen was tight for time getting the early morning train, most of the normal parking spaces were full but that this 'disabled' one was free. So he took it. Now it may be that someone from another party recognised his car and decided to alert the media and cause him a bit of hassle. It was the poor response by Mr Steen that made the incident something much more than it should have been though. Lots of grumbles about not enough parking spaces and if I remember correctly it took some time for him to come out with an apology. Yes he is a bit of an oddball and he hasn't done himself any favours with today's very strange interview.

The town of Totnes itself is very alternative but only forms a small part of the constituency in terms of population. Nevertheless it would be quite interesting to see how a 'Green Party' candidate would fare here at the next election.

UPDATE: Subsequent to my writing this piece there has been an apology from Mr Steen. So praise for that. Unfortunately for him though it's his original ill-judged comments that will be remembered rather than him saying sorry.

Martin Clunes visits some islands

The other evening I watched the third of a trilogy of programmes on the box during which Martin Clunes has been visiting a very small selection of the islands lying off the coast of Britain. Having viewed the first two in the series I was particularly interested in this last one because having hopped across the channel to visit Guernsey and Sark, he followed up with St Michael's Mount and the Isles of Scilly. The remit for this series seems to have been to find some of the most individualistic islands out there and the often quirky people who inhabit them. This is really right up my street, or watery strait perhaps I ought to say.

Martin is of course particularly well known as the grumpy humourless Doctor Marten but in real life could hardly be more opposite. Absolutely full of bonhommie and schoolboy enthusiasm he made an admirable companion as he hopped from island to island. I had seen him in an earlier series about dogs, animals for which he has a real passion, and they also were good programmes. It would be great to see him do more of this sort of work, perhaps a series on people who collect unusual things - many years ago I knew a chap who collected matchbox tops and he was kind enough to show me his enormous collection.

I digress ... Back to Martin's islands. It was particularly interesting to see Sark; Martin got talking with a part time plumber there, who is also a part time policeman and a part time fireman. As is fairly well known it's bicycles and tractors only on that island so his panda car was in fact his tractor! I love this sort of thing. On the transport theme it was interesting to note that some of the millionaires on Guernsey displayed their wealth with some of the most upmarket cars you could wish to see - on a small island with a blanket speed limit of 35 mph! Do they get out of bottom gear? It was nice that he moved on to St Michaels Mount, rather like Burgh Island off Devon's south coast a 'part time' island cut off from the mainland when the tide comes in. The Scillies were his last stop. From St Mary's he moved to St Agnes not the more obvious Tresco. St Agnes was chosen I think because it's the most south westerly of the inhabited islands. He went even further out into the great Atlantic when he hitched a lift on a Trinity House helicopter to land on the helipad on top of the Bishop Rock lighthouse. For someone who like me isn't too good with heights I have to admire his pluck in doing this. At the start of the first programme Martin had gone to the furthest northeast outpost of the Shetlands so has certainly gone from one absolute extremity to the other.

I have become very choosy over my TV viewing but these three programmes with Martin as genial guide ticked the boxes for me.

Michael Martin to announce resignation

Well, we had the Speaker's statement yesterday afternoon to the House of Commons and what an embarrassment it was! It was evident that he has totally lost it now and does not have the respect of the House thus making his continuance in post untenable. Now we hear that Mr Martin will announce this afternoon that he will be stepping down from his post but it is unclear just when he will depart. I'm afraid to say that this delay in resigning makes a weak man look even weaker - nothing to do with snobbery but it's pretty obvious that he is not up to the job.

Unbelievable scenes in the House of Commons yesterday, he has totally lost his authority and has become a laughing stock. Sadly he has been the instigator of his own misfortune. We are being told that it was as long ago as 1695 when a Speaker was last given the heave-ho! Of course there are deputy Speakers so if Martin were to go immediately then business could still carry on under one of these deputies. I don't think he will go quite that soon, the predicament for Martin is just when should he stand down. No doubt he would like to stay until the next General Election but is that realistic? We won't have long to wait to find out from the man himself.

Speaker Michael Martin to make statement

The Speaker of the House of Commons is due to make a statement at 3.30 this afternoon. So will he do the honourable thing and resign now, say that he will leave his post at the next General Election or not give any indication of resigning at all. The fact that there is a motion down, signed by several prominent MPs, for him to go is indicative of the loss of confidence the H of C has in him. Even if such a motion gets debated but defeated his moral authority will be totally damaged if a significant number of members want him to go. With Martin we should remember he tried to make the Sergeant at Arms the scapegoat when the police were let in to arrest an MP and he also spent huge amounts of taxpayers money in the courts to try and thwart the release of expenses details under the Freedom of Information Act. Add in the unwarranted and personal attacks on MPs Kate Hoey and Norman Baker and the fact that he consistently allows Gordon Brown to not answer questions at PMQs and it can be seen that he is not fit to continue in office. How can he continue in post when he is part of the problem so far as the population's seething anger with our parliamentarians is concerned?

As I understand things he can get a golden handshake of £100,000 if he stays till the next general election - which could be a year away. So a positive disincentive to resign right now. Prior to the release of all the damaging revelations by 'The Daily Telegraph' I had always believed that Brown would wait till the last moment to go to the country. But what happens if Labour come fourth in the European and Council elections on 4th June and his party makes his continuance as Prime Minister untenable, or what happens if he has a complete nervous breakdown. Let us say that the affable former postman Alan Johnson were to be slotted into that position, such is the feeling of the electorate at the moment that he would have no option but to call an election just as soon as possible. I think Mr Johnson would find it well nigh impossible to reverse Labour's fortunes in just a month or two.

With all the shenanigans of our MPs hogging the headlines a visitor from Mars might not be aware that we are also in the worst economic crisis since the Second World War, that we are losing service personnel in an almost unwinnable war in Afghanistan and that in the next decade or so we might well face a shortfall in essential food and energy supplies. We are at a crossroads so far as our parliamentary system is concerned. Will we see a number of independents on the ballot papers as anti-sleaze candidates like Martin Bell had previously done. I think that is quite likely to happen and would be welcome.

Passing loop at Penryn to open tomorrow

When an improvement takes place to facilitate improved train services and I hear about it I like to give it some publicity. It's great news then that a passing loop on the Truro to Falmouth line ('The Maritime Branch') is due to come into effect tomorrow. The loop is located at Penryn; together with a number of improvements to that town's station a much enhanced service will result. In fact I believe that the number of trains each day will more than double!

With the University of Cornwall and National Maritime Museum located at Falmouth it is a vibrant area. I must get down that way some time to see how things are developing.

Both Torquay and Exeter win promotion

I know that I've said it before on this blog - that I have almost no interest in sport, but all the same I want to record the outstanding success in a play off this afternoon when Torquay beat Cambridge to return to the Football League. The score in the Wembley match was 2-0. They might have been expecting to play Exeter City next season but congratulations to Exeter too because they have already secured promotion into the next division. And well done Plymouth Argyle who have retained their Championship status - just.

All three of our clubs have something to smile about then!

Turbulent weather messes up plans

We are not having the best of weather this weekend! There was heavy rain in the small hours of Sunday morning and although it brightened up (temporarily) at breakfast time there was a quick return to the wet stuff allied to a very strong wind. All of this knocked my carefully laid plan for today sideways. I had arranged a walk for our local history group in the Minions area of Bodmin Moor led by Dave, a professional archaeologist and topographical historian, who I reckon understands the landscape of the area as well as anyone out there. But weather is absolutely critical at this location and what we have experienced today has certainly vindicated the decision to call off the walk first thing this morning. Now I used to be pretty lucky when organising outdoor events but seem to be jinxed regarding this particular walk - this is the third year of asking and each time it has been diabolical on the day! Previous to that, in 2006 it must have been, Dave led a walk in the same locality on what proved to be a perfect summer day weatherwise and this second walk was intended to complement the earlier one but I'm wondering if we will ever make it!

Just in case anyone might think I'm moaning I have to say that nobody is losing money on this postponement except perhaps 'The Hurlers Halt' at Minions where we would have enjoyed a cream tea. Contrast my situation say with those organising a village fete for good causes. If they have a washout then that can play havoc with their finances. So for me and fellow potential walkers a little frustration today but nothing worse.

Yesterday was again very breezy with some showers but luckily between 12.30 and 2.30 it was dry. Why those times so important? Well the 'Rubber Band' (formerly known as 'The Calstock Rubber Band' were in attendance at Morwellham Quay, the latter hosting a food and craft festival over the weekend. I would normally go there anyway to enjoy the music but out of the blue a few days before Rosie had popped the question "Would I like to play the tea chest double bass with the band?". Well "yes" and "thank you very much" after I had recovered from the shock. This 'instrument' is normally played by Mike but his job often precludes him from playing on a Saturday afternoon. Yours truly duly turned up with a red 'L' plate dangling around his neck and I have to say that I enjoyed the experience and am grateful for the rest of the band for accepting me!! I wouldn't for a moment judge my small contribution as being immaculate but I guess I had the advantage of being quite familiar with that part of their extensive repertoire that they played yesterday and this helped to settle my beginner's nerves! Although under a roof we were open to the elements on three sides and with the wind whistling through there was much use of clothes pegs to retain music to stands.

So a two hour slot for us in the festivities with a short refreshment break in the middle. But, and here is a problem I've noticed before, the time allocated to us meant that the first half was played to a very small audience and that it wasn't until we got into the second session that the numbers of listeners started to grow. The Rubber Band are really noted (unintentional pun) for their very lively bouncy music and it is always great to see audiences react to this. A good time had by all I reckon.

Huge problems ahead for Hazel Blears

Hazel Blears, affectionately referred to by some as "the little chipmunk" is in a spot of bother methinks. First of all it was her thinly veiled criticism of Gordon Brown, the "YouTube if you want" piece in 'The Observer'. A lot of pent up anger from Brown I imagine to come her way, you cross that man at your peril - he is really vindictive. But it isn't her likely sacking that ought to be her biggest worry. No it's her manipulation of the system regarding second homes. Roll back to 2004 when Ms Blears sold her flat in London making a profit of £45,000. Because, so far as the tax people were concerned it was her main residence, she wasn't liable to pay capital gains tax. But just a few months before she was claiming parliamentary allowances for it as her second home. So effectively it was a win-win situation for her. To me this is quite clearly fraud - a criminal offence. Her behaviour seems so flagrantly wrong and I believe that she has to be prosecuted for what has happened.

Gordon Brown slow off the mark again

Both the mainstream media and bloggers are having a field day with the steady drip drip of information coming from 'The Daily Telegraph' regarding MPs allowances and expenses. For this particular post I'll just confine my attention to one small aspect - Gordon Brown apologising. Today it's the turn of the Tories to be in the spotlight and David Cameron sensibly pre-empted this by saying sorry for the misdemeanours of members of his party. Now we have the news that Mr Brown has just apologised on behalf of all the political parties over this scandal.

Interestingly then GB has said his bit after DC, even though the first revelations were about Cabinet members, to be followed by other Labour MPs. So did Brown make his apology today because politically he had to following the remarks made by Cameron? One must remember that saying sorry is something very very difficult for Gordon to do; it wasn't very long ago that there was again a long delay in apologising for the 'Smeargate' affair and I had the feeling then that Brown was told that he really had to do the necessary even though it went against the grain for him.

This reluctance on Brown's part might be either forgotten or not noticed by many people but sadly for me it is yet another indication of why I think he shouldn't be our Prime Minister.

Traditional events welcoming summer

Early May in Cornwall sees traditional events associated with particular communities welcoming in the summer. Two of these - Padstow's 'Obby 'Oss Day and the Flora Dance down west at Helston - are known the world over. I have to admit that I didn't go to either of these this year, I have been to Padstow for the First of May celebrations before but have yet to watch the Flora Dance which takes place on the eighth i.e. today. They were blessed with dry weather as indeed we were for the May Day Revels last Monday evening at Calstock. I explained what goes on with the Calstock event when I wrote about it 12 months ago. See here. This time we omitted the follow up in the Tamar Inn with its music and singing but instead enjoyed the walk back home through the flower bedecked lanes. As to the 'Revels' themselves we followed the Giant through the village whilst playing the traditional revels music. This time I was given something to blow, not sure what it's called but it is a whistle shaped object (thanks for the loan Jean!). I have a feeling my notes were a little flat at times, or possibly most of the time, but hopefully in the general cacophony of sound that wasn't too noticeable! Although members of 'The Rubber Band' lead the music it is open to others to join in the merriment. After the procession reached the Quay it was straight on with the children dancing around the maypole, the acting out of a mummers play and then the Giant going off down river in a boat never to be seen again. (Well not quite true the last bit - he always mysteriously appears the following year!)

The atmosphere for this event is quite, quite brilliant. It really does bring the whole community together in just the way it should. What an absolute pleasure to have been there!

Record turnout for Gig Championship

There were I understand good challenging conditions for the hard fought World Gig Rowing Championships on the Isles of Scilly this past weekend. Now in its twentieth year this contest gets ever more popular with 2009 seeing no less than 119 gigs taking part. The nearest boat to my home competing was 'Zeus' from the Calstock Club but at the end of the day it was the entry from Par Bay that won the men's event whilst the ladies from The Roseland club were first home for the women.

This is fantastic for the economy of the Scillies of course - I believe that the resident population pretty well doubles for this weekend. I've never been into rowing myself but can nevertheless see the attraction of the sport. Well done to the Isles of Scilly for hosting this competition once again.