Shropshire Star

Peter Rhodes on banning strippers, hugging presidents and the ultimate eco-funeral

We need friends in this wicked world and so it's good to see Rishi Sunak and France's President Macron hugging each other so warmly. Why this instant rapport? It's probably because Sunak brings one vital quality to the table. He's not Boris.

Published
Edinburgh – strip-free city?

Yes, Prince Harry may appear a bit odd in his live, soul-bearing interview with a trauma expert. But, given that Harry lost his mother in a road crash when he was 12, was forced to accept Camilla into his family and went on to kill 25 strangers, isn't it odd that he's not a lot odder?

The Daily Sneer. On Radio 4's Today, you could almost hear eyebrows flying off foreheads in shock at the news that Nicola Fox, the British woman appointed Nasa's chief scientist, was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. Hitchin, for goodness' sake. You got the impression that, as far as the Beeb is concerned, Hitchin is a place where the only job opportunities would be straw-sucker or village idiot. It was a demonstration of the national media's irritating London-first mindset, as if everything outside the M25 is second-rate. The irony is that while they sneer at a little town like Hitchin, we provincials look at dirty, violent, shoe-box living London with a mixture of horror and pity. The provinces are not only a better place to live but have contributed more than their share of Great Britons.

Here's a thought. Do you reckon the woke people who think it's acceptable for drag queens to lecture schoolchildren about sex are the same sort of woke people campaigning for Edinburgh's strip clubs to be closed?

A survey reveals that one in five bank customers have to travel an hour or more to get to and from their nearest branch. No surprises there. No other industry spends so much money creating an advertising image of a caring, community-based service while treating its customers with utter contempt. My branch? Due for closure in June, since you ask.

My eye was caught by a reader's suggestion, in the Sunday Times, of a form of eco-burial that would not only save the planet but also improve the infrastructure. Have yourself buried in a pot hole.