Pensioner Organises Rave at Golf Club

Late last month the authorities in North Yorkshire were alerted to potential trouble at a smart Golf Club in the Yorkshire Dales.

Mrs OS decided to comandeer the R Golf Club so that she and her friends ("The Mafia") along with some family could celebrate her 90th birthday.

Having already received well over 50 birthday cards, Mrs S was pleased and surprised to receive several more. Everyone enjoyed looking at an interesting collection of photographs complied from across the years.

Most of the attendees were so keen to attend the rioutous event that they arrived before the bar had even opened. The bar however soon opened and a good time was had by all.

Mrs S had received so many good wishes for her birthday that a thank you notice was placed in the R Advertiser. She said "I am totally surprised by the number of cards and good wishes I have received. How did so many people know it was my Birthday?"

Additional reporting by our North of England staff.

Naughty Blogger - Bad for the Environment

After the nesting birds a couple of weeks ago, the grass round our flats was cut yesterday. The trouble is, I think it has been cut every month and it is supposed to be mid winter. Global warming is not a myth.

Still winter is good, because winter (for now anyway) means skiing. I got back last Saturday from a week in the Italian Dolomites. Fantastic skiing and company, if slightly spoilt by the flight times meaning staying overnight at the hotel. Central Line (good), Victoria Line (packed), Gatwick Express (Expensive), Mono-rail to Gatwick North Terminal (Free), night in hotel followed by 4.30am check-in (tired), Astreus charter flight (32 breakfasts light but otherwise good) followed by three hour coach transfer to resort. Global warming is not a myth.

This morning I am flying Up North for some family stuff. The plane (an Embraer EMB-145) is the closest I shall ever get to being on a private jet. Still at least I got an email from BMI last week to tell me that they were taking more money from my credit card due to a tax increase. All because of that nice Mr Brown's sop to the environmental lobby, even though I bought my ticket an eon ago. Anyway the increased tax is nothing to do with the environment, it's just because he is like a mugger- he takes your money just because he can. Don't think we haven't noticed. Global warming is however not a myth.

Oops. I thinks I'm being bad at the moment. Naughty CentralUser.

Strange place to nest at South Ruislip

South Ruislip station, at the West end of the Central Line, has been going through the process known by some people as refurbishment.

Refurbishment involves the installation of various vertical poles for (among other things) platform lights, loudspeakers, Help Points and signs to be attached to.

Now, and you'll have to use your imagination here, the other day I saw a pair of blue tits attempt to start building a nest in a hole drilled in one of the lamp posts. The birds could barely fit through the hole and there cannot be much space inside.

A subsequent visit by me made me think that the birds had obviously continued their work as there was a slight lip of mud starting to protrude over the bottom of the hole.

I do hope that Metronet, the refurbishment contractors, have no plans for the hole. Somehow I don't think the 'Blue Tit Nest' was on the plans.