Why I've Been Away

Well, that and having a part-time job. And Facebook. And general disorganisation.

And a long list of excuses.

Welcome back!

The Evening Stanners

Kemble to Swindon Line to be Re-Doubled

Where the current line singles off, just south of Kemble station

Amidst all the budget waffling that occurred this week, there was one very good piece of news for my home county of Gloucestershire: namely, that the money has been found to re-double the stretch of line between Kemble (Gloucestershire) and Swindon (Wiltshire).

The work will see the doubling of a 12.5 mile stretch between Kemble and Swindon

First, a bit of history. Kemble used to be an important railway junction, with two branch lines going to Cirencester and Tetbury. However, these disappeared in the mid '60's, and the line between Kemble and Swindon was singled in 1968. The rest of the line would have been singled as well, but after realising a decent diversionary route was needed for trains running between Cardiff and Swindon, they left it at that.

Indeed, it's mainly because of Cardiff that the line is now being re-doubled: the electrification programme between London, Cardiff, Bristol, Bath and Oxford means that the Severn Tunnel will have to be shut for a long period of time. During the closure, all Cardiff trains would have to run via Kemble and Swindon, which means the whole route needs to be double-track in order to cope.

Stroud MP Neil Carmichael with First Great Western and Network Rail managers at Stroud Station

No-one's quite sure when the work will start (probably by next year), but it will definitely be finished by March 2014. This will hopefully see two trains per hour, with one between London and Cheltenham Spa, and the other a shuttle service from Swindon to Cheltenham. It should also see journey times significantly reduced as well, and with new bi-mode trains to be introduced (which can run on both electrified and non-electrified lines), it's welcome news for Gloucestershire railway users.

Moreton-in-Marsh station: a train to Oxford waits at the platform

There will also be improvements for commuters in North Gloucestershire as the redoubling of the Cotswold Line gathers pace. New platforms at three of the stations (Honeybourne, Ascott-Under-Wychwood and Charlbury) are being built, and the line is being doubled between Moreton-in-Marsh and Evesham, as well as between Ascott-Under-Wychwood and Charlbury. Work should be complete by August 2011.

We'll have to see what other improvements will be made in the coming months - with only nine to speak of, Gloucestershire could do with some more stations - but this week's budget was definitely a step in the right direction.

The Evening Stanners

I go Ice Shuffling, And Alan Johnson Comes Down With A Bump

So. Ice skating.

It's INSANE. How do people manage to glide around so effortlessly? Apart from practising for hours on end, obviously. I was getting the hang of it by the end of the session, but still: this would explain why we idolise Torville & Dean so much. If you can do something well when it looks impossible to many, then you clearly have talent.

Sadly, a similar task lay in store for Alan Johnson when he became Shadow Chancellor last October, but he was skating on thin ice from the start. (You're fired - Ed.)

Hands up if you're surprised by this news

Johnson was relatively affable and a well-known face, but a politician who is not in control of their brief will find things difficult at the best of times. It is a great shame that personal issues have brought his career to a shuddering halt, and is something you would not wish on your worst enemy. That said, you wouldn't wish the rumours about him on Twitter on your worst enemy, but that hasn't stopped some. Personally, I was surprised at anyone that he resigned, but after his surprise absence from PMQs yesterday, perhaps it was more obvious than I thought.

So, will Ed Balls, his replacement as Shadow Chancellor, give Osborne a run for his money (or rather ours)? He certainly has a better knowledge of economics, and Osborne will find his questions harder to deflect. But whilst it might be tempting to mercilessly attack the Government's policy, voters showed in their rejection of Gordon Brown that a big clunking fist does not always get the desired results. Ed Balls now has the brief he wants: the key to Labour's success is to not let it go to his head.

The Evening Stanners

Prime Minister's Questions

My MP (as in the one I work for) had the first question at PMQs today, which doesn't happen often! You can listen to it here.

For those of you who'd rather not listen to MPs shouting their heads off, here's the question (and answer in full):

Q1. [34265] Andrew George (St Ives) (LD): If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 19 January.

The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron): This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

Andrew George: The NHS is facing massive reorganisation, while at the same time seeking the greatest savings in its 62-year history. Respected professional medical bodies warn about the risks to public service of giving private companies the easy pickings. Before pursuing that gamble will the Prime Minister reflect carefully, informed by clinicians and the coalition programme that we agreed last May?

The Prime Minister: We will listen very carefully to the professionals, but the reason for making modernisation of the NHS such a priority is simply that this country now has European levels of health spending but does not have European levels of success in our health service. Of course, what we want is a level playing field for other organisations to come into the NHS. What we will not have is what we had from Labour, which was a rigged market.

Thanks for reading,

The Evening Stanners

(P.S. Apologies once more for the gaps between updates: it's been very busy of late! I shall be going ice skating this evening, so hopefully I'll be able to tell you all about that tomorrow, barring any injuries I sustain.)

Widespread Surprise As Union Leader Denounces Cuts

Any idea who this man is? Until today, I didn't either: but after hearing his name on the radio, I have subsequently found out quite a lot about Mr Len McLuskey, leader of the Unite union. For one thing, he's been a trade union activist for most of his career. He was also heavily involved in the British Airways strikes that occurred earlier this year. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, he's belligerently left-wing. Put these facts together and what have you got? A letter to the Guardian, that's what:

"Britain's students have certainly put the trade union movement on the spot. Their mass protests against the tuition fees increase have refreshed the political parts a hundred debates, conferences and resolutions could not reach.

We know the vast rise in tuition fees is only the down payment on the Con-Dem package of cuts, charges and job losses to make us pay for the bankers' crisis. The magnificent students' movement urgently needs to find a wider echo if the government is to be stopped.

The response of trade unions will now be critical. While it is easy to dismiss "general strike now" rhetoric from the usual quarters, we have to be preparing for battle. It is our responsibility not just to our members but to the wider society that we defend our welfare state and our industrial future against this unprecedented assault."

Preparing for battle? It would appear that McLuskey's advocating violence, as it were. Supposedly Ed should be shouting for Osborne's head on a stick at PMQs and prodding Camilla with a stick in order to get us out of this mess? Of course not: violence solves nothing, and has the unhelpful effect of alienating those who would otherwise side with you. But let's move on to the integral part of this letter...

"A key part must be a rejection of the need for cuts. "What do we want? Fewer cuts later on", is not a slogan to set the blood coursing.

So I hope Ed Miliband is going to continue his welcome course of drawing a line under Labour's Blairite past, in particular by leaving behind the devotion to City orthodoxy, which still finds its echo in some frontbench pronouncements that meet the coalition's cuts programme halfway at the least."

Right. I see. Dear Mr McLuskey, are you Arthur Scargill in disguise? Are you seriously suggesting that overthrowing the Government with widespread strikes will somehow make us more stable as a country? Even the Guardian's editorial thinks you've lost the plot. More to the point, Ed Miliband has subsequently come out and denounced your "overblown rhetoric" as "wrong and unhelpful". He might as well have said, "Stop trying to make me look bad, I'm trying to write a Policy Review here".

So, poor old McLuskey, in a desperate bid to influence the Labour Party's policy on cuts, has simply been left looking rather silly. Maybe he should go on strike until someone takes him seriously...

The Evening Stanners

Labour Need To Smarten Up

Is this, dear readers, what the Labour Party has been reduced to in recent weeks? It would appear so. Yesterday in the House of Commons, a Labour MP decided that what the public really wanted to see a discussion on was the dress code of MPs.

The most controversial issue in Parliament?

According to BBC News, "Thomas Docherty, new MP for Dunfermline and West Fife, raised a point of order suggesting several MPs had been spotted wearing denim in the House.

Later he told the BBC the point had been "semi-serious" but some women MPs had been "rocking up in a mixture of denim and knee length boots".

Deputy Speaker Dawn Primarolo said all MPs knew they should dress smartly.

MPs laughed as she suggested Mr Docherty speak to those concerned directly, adding 'I'm sure they would welcome it'."

The scandal of some coalition MPs, eh? First they hike tuition fees, now they're wearing denim. Clearly we need Labour to stand up to these fashion criminals before the country goes to the wall!

Or, perhaps more helpfully, they could start drawing up some policies. After all, if the Tories can come up with something like this notebook for Christmas, the signs aren't good...

Why a notebook, I hear you cry? Bascially, it all stems from Ed Miliband saying that Labour were going to start with "a blank sheet of paper". Perhaps not the best phrase to have used in hindsight, because the Tories have gone for it like footballers go for scandalous affairs, and are actually selling this to their members as a 204-page notebook for a fiver. The joke being: it's blank.

Admittedly, I've heard better political jokes in my time, but the Tories may well have a point. Apart from proposing the graduate tax as an alternative to higher tuition fees, and rambling about "the squeezed middle", Ed is a man who appears to be big on Clegg-bashing but small on policy. Indeed, for someone who wrote the Labour manifesto, he's having difficulties coming up with new ideas: Labour's Policy Review remains unwritten.

The more pressing issue, however, is that Cameron is having a much easier time against Miliband than he was against Brown, who didn't even get voted leader by his party. Ed frequently tries to score points by painting himself as progressive, but the truth is he can't lay a finger on Cameron at present, and is frequently heckled into a state of confusion and irritation: Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday 1st December being the best example so far. What's more, some progressive bloggers are already damning his current strategy. If he's not careful, the confusion may spread throughout his party: but for now, he appears to be safe. Whether he can win the next election, however, is open to serious debate.

The Evening Stanners

Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol

One thing I do get asked about my internship is, "Are there any perks?". Well, every now and then an event comes up that my MP isn't able to make. In this instance, it's quite common for staff to be allowed to go instead: unless it's expressly for MP's of course, or if the event is particularly snazzy. So whilst I do occasionally get to meet someone like Bill Bryson (famous travel writer, for those not in the know), the chances of me meeting someone like the Queen are somewhat remote. (Besides, my fellow FECCLES alumni, Edd Insley, has already beaten me to that particular anecdote: some people get all the luck, don't they?)

A good example of such an event is the one I went to last night at the BBC TV Centre: the premiere of the Doctor Who Christmas Special. Obviously I can't give too much away (or make you go green with envy about meeting Matt Smith, because he wasn't there), but it's certainly worth making space for on Christmas Day! Suffice to say it went very well and that quite a few MPs enjoyed it (MPs being fans of Doctor Who? Is that allowed? - Ed). Also, I appear to still have the security wristband on from yesterday. Hmm.

A warning to anyone who wants to work in the BBC TV Centre, by the way: make sure you've got a good sense of direction, or you may be lost for a week. Rather like when Jeremy Clarkson tried to navigate his way round the building in a very small car, with hilarious results.

Thanks for reading,

The Evening Stanners

PS Oh go on then, one tiny spoiler alert for you: sharks.

Nick Clegg Cares About Sheffield Wednesday

It's a news story that's almost as random as the photograph, boys and girls...

Nick Clegg: Long-term solution for Sheffield Wednesday must be found
Wed, 17 Nov 2010

Commenting on the news that Sheffield Wednesday FC has avoided a winding-up order by being granted a 28-day adjournment by the High Court, Deputy Prime Minister and Sheffield Hallam MP, Nick Clegg said:

“Today’s adjournment is welcome news for Sheffield Wednesday and will hopefully give the club the time it needs to attract the required investment.

“It is, however, only a stay of execution and much more needs to be done to safeguard the long-term future of this wonderful football club.

“I have been in regular contact with both the club and the bank over the last few days and I know how hard everyone is working to find a way forward. I will continue to help all parties in any way I can to find a workable solution to the club’s plight.

“I know how much Sheffield Wednesday means to the fans and the city itself and a successful long-term solution must now be found.”

Personally I'd be surprised if Clegg actually knows where Wednesday are in the table at the moment: but then, he may well have other things on his mind at present. However, it does seem to suggest that while he misjudged the public mood on tuition fees, he does still talk to people on the ground. The question is, would he get in for free at Hillsborough?

On a sports related note, David Cameron actually made some Premier League predictions on the BBC Sport website quite recently: it's worth watching for the last prediction alone. Liverpool 0-6 Aston Villa? Hahahahaha. Let's hope he's slightly better at predicting economic growth (it finished Liverpool 3-0 Aston Villa, in case you were wondering).

"We're not that bad, Prime Minister!"

Thanks for reading,

The Evening Stanners

They Work For You: Worth Checking Out

Hello readers!

Ever wondered how to actually find out what your MP is doing in the House of Commons, or even who your MP is? One easy way of doing it, as I have found out whilst working in Parliament, is to use the excellent website that is They Work For You. It allows you to do several things:

1. Find out who your MP is according to your postcode: so if you type in TR10 9EZ and click search, you get George Eustice (Conservative), the MP for Camborne and Redruth.
2. Set up a feed to your e-mail account alerting you as to when your MP speaks in the House, with a link to the debate in full.
3. See how your MP has voted on various issues, such as tuition fees.
4. Examine their expenses claims.
5. Find out what their interests are: in Ben Bradshaw's case, it's the National Lottery and Arts Councils.

So definitely worth having a look at if you want to find out more about MPs. Fun times!

Thanks for reading,

The Evening Stanners

Interning: The Story So Far!

So then: what have I been up to these past three weeks? The short answer: working for Andrew George MP (St Ives and the Isles of Scilly) in his Westminster office, which is next to Big Ben.

Andrew George MP: representing Cornwall for over 13 years!

The long answer? Well, I could tell you, but I'd probably have to kill you. Or at least, make sure you never talked to a journalist. But I can confirm a number of things that the general public are probably aware of anyway...

1. MPs are, as a rule, EXTREMELY busy. This obviously depends on their role: if they're a new MP you will probably see them quite a lot; if it's Cameron or Clegg you're trying to spot, fat chance. You get used to seeing familiar faces after a while though: Alistair Darling and David Miliband have been spotted by yours truly from time to time.

2. An MP's diary is INSANE.

3. Cornish people write the nicest letters: one of them sent a typewritten letter. How awesome is that, eh? :-D

4. Movember (where men grow moustaches to draw attention to prostate cancer) has been well supported by many MPs: Mike Crockart, Roger Williams and Tom Brake to name a few!

5. You can work in Westminster for about six months and STILL not know where a room is.

6. I have lost count of how many letters we receive.

7. Bob Russell (MP for Colchester) has made a special chocolate bar for Lib Dems, and I have proof!



8. There are 650 MPs in total.

9. I have met... about 20, give or take. Mostly Lib Dems, like Charles Kennedy and Simon Hughes: but also Neil Carmichael (Conservative MP for Stroud), Nic Dakin (Labour MP for Scunthorpe), and Barry Gardiner (Labour MP for Brent North).

10. I am loving every minute of it, eeeeeeee :-D

That's all for now folks, but there may be more shortly!

The Evening Stanners

Liar, Liar, Phil's Been Fired

Just when you thought the General Election was fought fairly and squarely (if you ever thought that, that is)... it wasn't.

Behold what I read on BBC News, people!

"Two High Court judges have ordered a rerun of this year's General Election campaign in the Greater Manchester constituency of shadow immigration minister Phil Woolas.

Mr Woolas won the Oldham East and Saddleworth seat by 103 votes over Liberal Democrat rival Elwyn Watkins.

But he has been found guilty of knowingly making false statements about Mr Watkins in campaign literature, and faces a three year ban from the Commons."

Feel free to read more here, by the way. Have to say that's pretty crazy though: the scandalous thing is that Woolas seems to telling whacking great fibs is, um, well within the rules. Well, when you worked under Tony Blair, I suppose that would be instinctive, but still. If you read this article from the Daily Mail (oh the horrendous irony), his manipulation of the "white vote" is nothing short of horrendous. As Elwyn Watkins put it himself, "Politics has to be better than this. Making up lies about your opponent has no part in politics."

We'll have to see what happens on Monday: but it looks like Woolas is about to pay rather dearly. Still, never mind Ed: it's not like he's your Shadow Immigration Minister, is it?

Ah. Bother.

The Evening Stanners

All Hail Ed Milibad

Reading Nick Robinson's latest "newslog", it would appear he's had his worst week yet. If that's the case, then heaven knows what's happening to Ed Miliband. If you watched Prime Minister's Questions, you'll know what I mean.

It's not that I despise Labour, but they don't half pick some bad leaders, do they? When you consider they've only had one who's never lost an election (Tony Blair), and five who never won an election (Hugh Gaitskell, James Callaghan, Michael Foot, Neil Kinnock and Gordon Brown), it really doesn't look good for the current man in charge. I would like to think his brother could be doing a better job, because the more I watch "Red Ed" (or at this rate, Thick 'Ed), the more I'm convinced he's not up to it. Gordon Brown at least had the ability to be dogged and determined, but if Ed wants to actually make Cameron look silly, he's going to have to do better than make jokes about photographers. As for lambasting Cameron about tuition fees: um, who came up with the idea of tuition fees, Ed?

Oh yes, that would be Labour. Rather like pushing a stone down a hill and then complaining when it appears to speed up. Or did you assume that it would always be Labour calling the shots here? It might have been better to draw attention to the fact that raising tuition fees might lead to MPs in constituencies with a high student population being sacked: Nick Clegg, for example, could be under threat in Sheffield Hallam, thanks to the "Right of Recall" Act.

Or better yet, if you're going to have a crack at Cameron for hiring too many staff, how about the fact he needs no less than six security guards on hand when he goes to a restaurant in Oxfordshire? (This happened the Friday before last when I was in Woodstock: never have I seen so many Land Rovers following one solitary man: a little OTT, perhaps?) Ah yes, I know why: because it was Labour who introduced the idea of having ridiculous amounts of security, like giving sub-machine guns to police officers at railway stations.

Policies, man. You need to have some. Get it sorted. And to think I voted Labour last time...

The Evening Stanners

Tuition Fees: More About Oxford

Welp, turns out I was slightly mistaken about the wealth of Oxford University. Our special correspondent Sarah Barrett (aka Saz) has the inside scoop...

"Oxford certainly could NOT survive without its students, as it barely is with them, and is currently in massive debt, especially colleges which don't have massive traditions of 'old boy' networks to keep them... alive on private donations. Hence why certain representatives are fairly keen to see tuition fees rise, and why we love International students so much especially at postgraduate level (they pay higher fees). However not all the dons want higher fees, in spite of the fact currently on average Oxford falls short of about £8000 per undergraduate.

What is the real problem is the government's ridiculous idea to more or less cut funding from all of the Arts, and only provide for what they deem 'valuable' ie the sciences (and i suspect only really physics and chemistry), engineering, medicine and 'some' modern languages."

Oh those poor Internationals. "We don't hate foreigners if we can exploit them", you might say. And how on earth is Oxford falling short of £8000 per undergraduate? It's a bit cheeky of Universities to tell you how to "manage your debt" when they can't do it themselves. If I'm correct, that's a debt of... (multiplies 8,000 by 300) about £2.4m per college. YOWSERS.

Incidentally, this article from 2004 on how neck-deep in debt Oxford is does explain a lot, and also explains how colleges are actually run as financial organisations. Who knew, eh?

Whilst we're on the topic of Oxford and politics: if Bigotgate didn't humiliate Gordon Brown enough for you, the Laura Spence Affair almost certainly will. Ye daft cloon, Broon...

The Evening Stanners

Your... tuition fees... THEY'RE OVER 9000!!!

In which Goku is Lord Browne, Vegeta is head of the NUS, and Nappa is a fresher. Obviously.



Ah, nerdy times.

I am slightly bending the truth, mind: it's up to 9000, not over. Still, makes for grim reading if you're a student, I imagine... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11677862

So, the idea is: more loans to pay off the fees, but then you only have to start paying them back once you're earning £21,000 a year, which is an improvement on £15,000 a year. But annoyingly, better off students will be able to avoid the loan. Which makes universities less exclusive... how?

Then again, Universities were not exactly designed with inclusiveness in mind. They were designed for the elite, and therefore for the wealthy. Even super-smart people like Dr Samuel Johnson weren't allowed to stay on brains alone: the good doctor had to drop out because his family were to poor to pay the fees. Indeed, with the most powerful social networking site around belonging to a college dropout (Mark Zuckerberg), maybe the way forward is to not complete your course. Still, seems unlikely.

The extremely frustrating thing is that places like Cambridge and Oxford seem rather keen on the idea of squeezing every last penny out of their students. This is probably because both places could actually survive rather nicely without students: they would simply become research facilities. One would like to think the top two universities in the land would take better care of their students, instead of just assuming that's up to the Student Unions, or if/when the Government tells them to.

In any case, judging from the fact that Mr Vince Cable had to call off a visit to Oxford last week because of protests, I doubt this is the last we'll hear of higher tuition fees. Especially as it seems to have cross-party support.

Widespread student discontent, anyone?



The Evening Stanners

Internships Ahoy!

Hello readers!


And yes, it has been far too long on my part: but then, when you're working full-time at a youth hostel in a town with very little internet (thanks Stow on the Wold), it's to be expected. Or maybe I'm just falling behind with the updates. Either way.


So, what's happening in politics? Well, for one thing, the House of Commons have given me a whole bunch of forms to sign. Woo. Still, I've got through them all, have sent them off, and can now rest easy; safe in the knowledge that I have NOT been involved in espionage. Apparently they need to know stuff like that.

So, just to refresh your memories: the MP I'm working for is Andrew George. He's a Lib Dem, his constituency is St Ives (which also includes Penzance, Hayle and Helston), and he's been an MP since 1997. Impressive, no? You can find his website here: it's updated frequently and is relatively easy to navigate, which sadly is not always the case when it comes to MP's websites. I'll hopefully be starting my internship sometime next week: more news shortly, I hope!

In other news, Gordon Brown decided to make a speech in the House of Commons yesterday. Seven months ago this would not have been surprising: but suffice to say he's been very quiet since last May. He was pressing the government to build aircraft carriers in his constituency: and um, yeah. That was about it. It will be quite interesting to see how long Brown sticks around for as an MP: but my guess is he'll quit in 2015. We shall see!

The Evening Stanners

Dead Miliband

"We're part of a new generation" - that makes their brother quit frontbench politics. Hmm. It has not quite been the result people expected: but whilst the outsider winning a leadership contest can be a good thing, it has a tendency to end badly sometimes.

See Iain Duncan Smith, for example. No-one expected him to be Tory leader in 2003, going up against Messrs Portillo and Clarke. As it was, he somehow found himself being the lesser of three evils, and at the top of the pile. However, at that range it's easy to get shot at: and with IDS, the target was painted in neon. The Tories shifted massively to the right, and became so toxic that they became a political joke.

Will Labour become the same thing in the years to come? It's hard to say. The problem is that we don't even know who's going to be in the Shadow Cabinet. Because, for some reason, the Labour MPs are electing their own cabinet.

Quite frankly, this makes no sense. Surely the leader picks his own team? Why does he need 257 people helping him to make the decision? It's surely going to lead to more infighting, and Labour has lost a lot of good and able politicians thanks to that. The most bizarre twist is that, amidst all this, Neil Kinnock has risen again in prominence, mainly due to singing Ed Miliband's praises.

Kinnock? Seriously? This is a man who could not beat John Major in the 1992 general election: which compared to 1997, does not exactly seem difficult. Yes, he was Labour leader for nine years: but he never looked like beating Thatcher. Made her look uncomfortable at times, granted. And a damned sight better at leading Labour than Michael Foot, naturally. But whilst it makes sense to have Kinnock advising you on how to reform the party, it does not make sense to give the impression that he is influencing national policy: because ultimately, Kinnock did not have the ability to convince people that his policies were better than anything the Conservative governments had in mind.

Ultimately, a shift to the left does a lot to gather attention: but battles are won on the centre ground. One piece of possible good news, though: Ed Miliband wrote the manifesto for the party that came second at the general election. The person who did that in 2005?

David Cameron, PM.

Miliband's either destined for No. 10, or destined to end up like his biggest fan Kinnock. At least he's doing better than his brother, eh?

The Evening Stanners

Constable Time

Curse you QPR! Or should that be QP Yarr? I think it would have been better if Ipswich had lost 3-0 to a team of pirates. Much more acceptable, Jim lad. Unless of course, you're a ninja, in which case it's unacceptable. But enough of pirates vs ninjas!

I am in Ipswich at present - visiting the gal, of course - and will shortly be heading to Manningtree in order to explore Dedham Vale, which is also known as Constable Country, due to its high concentration of policemen. I mean, because some guy painted there and everyone was like, "Check out the hay wain on that!"

So yes, more reports on that shortly. In other news!

1) I am in the process of getting my internship with Andrew George sorted, eeee! His assistant is just checking dates for me and will get back to me after the Lib Dem conference in Liverpool, which takes place this week.

2) I was in Zummerzet on Monday, visiting such awesome places as Dunster, Minehead, Williton, Cannington, The Quantocks, and, er, Taunton. Hmm. But if you do get half a day free, do visit Dunster: proper little old-school village with a yarn market, a whacking great castle and a deli that does good cornish pasties. Tasty times! It was also good to see Uncle Clive and his family: we went to the Tandoori in Williton, and if the chocolate mousses are always that good, I may have to move there, hehe.

3) I watched the IT Crowd with my cousins Thomas and Amy. It was awesome. "Damn that mash looks tasty!" And it turns out I can play "London Calling" on left-hand guitar! Who knew?

Thanks for reading, more this evening, with...

The Evening Stanners

Swanage! And other news...

Hello again, readers! Earlier this week, I was at YHA Swanage in Dorset: which is an excellent county, and I urge you to go there at once. For one thing, Swanage has a steam railway that runs to the delightful village of Corfe Castle; for another, it has a pier and some lovely beaches; but mostly, you should pay it a visit because it is a town that is just about the right size. And if that wasn't enough, the Red Lion pub appears to have a very generous quiz machine: we won four pounds on a pub quiz game that never really threatened to become difficult.

Also in this week's update:

1. I didn't get the Cambridge job. Bah. Apparently they decided to go with someone who lived locally, which does make a lot of sense from their point of view: and I would have had difficulty finding somewhere to live in Cambridge.

2. I am moving from YHA Salcombe in Devon to YHA Stow-on-the-Wold in Gloucestershire. Yay! This puts me within about an hour's reach of Stroud, and only 100 minutes from London; which is nowhere near as long as it takes to get from Salcombe to ANYWHERE.

3. I will therefore be leaving Salcombe behind on Monday, sniff. I will almost certainly miss the place, though being in a remote location without a car has had me yearning for somewhere closer to home.

4. I may be starting an internship with the Lib Dem MP Andrew George (St Ives) in the not-too-distant future. I shall keep you posted!

Thanks for reading, and do not under any circumstances burn the Koran. I recommend burning your old school books instead: much more satisfying, I would imagine.

The Evening Stanners

Boscastle and Those Crazy Buses

So. Boscastle is extremely windy these days!

But still, even though the phone signal for O2 there is not exactly brilliant (think walking thirty minutes up a hill), you can't help but love it. The hostel has been fantastically refurbished since the floods; the people are friendly; and the local church not only acts as a sanctuary 24/7, but has free tea and coffee put out for weary travellers. You can't ask much more of a place, can you?

Liskeard, home to my friend Dan McCormack, was also well worth the visit: The Bean Cafe does excellent capuccinos, and the Tourist Information Office people seem to know pretty much everything. This could also be said of the staff at Bodmin's History Museum, though not so much of Cornish bus drivers: that's the last time I take the 584 from Camelford to Wadebridge instead of the 594! Lesson learnt for the future, methinks.

Well done to anyone who got their GCSE results by the way :-)

More updates on Friday!

The Evening Stanners

Internship Interview Ahoy!

That's right, the Evening Stanners might well be working with an MP: IF! If... he gets past the interview stage on the 31st August. Eep! But yes, if all goes well, I may well be working for Julian Huppert, the Lib Dem MP for Cambridge.

Coming up this week: Bodmin! Wadebridge! Boscastle! And maybe Liskeard and Totnes, depending on the weather. We shall see!

More updates tomorrow you groovy people: but now, to revise current Lib Dem policy. And hope I don't suddenly shout something like "VOTE TORY" during the interview. Though that seems extremely unlikely :P

Thanks for reading! Also, despite the media's desperate attempts to create a story, Charles Kennedy is not defecting to Labour: though whether he'll defect to Have I Got News For You is another question entirely.

The Evening Stanners