Richard Fisher

I reckon these passengers didn’t expect to have to wait quite so long!

Audley End station staff have clearly caught the Halloween spirit.

News that a Tory M.P. (and Government whip) has written to universities asking for details of staff who teach courses covering BREXIT seems to have a disturbing parallel with something in Philip Pullman’s new book “La Belle Sauvage.”

Pullman conjures up an invidious organisation ” The League of St Alexander” which encourages children to report on parents and teachers who hold and express views that are regarded as heresy. How long before the Tories start something similar for students, reporting on lecturers who dare to question the wisdom of leaving the EU?

Our holiday in the Lake District had a new highlight this year: a visit to the theatre by the lake in Keswick. This excellent professional theatre is accompanied by a café that also serves incredibly good pre-theatre evening meals. It was also an opportunity to catch up on some Terrance Rattigan and see a very good production of “After the Dance,” beautifully staged with some excellent performances.

A very enjoyable evening all round, and an opportunity to add some variety to all the walking. It’s good to see a theatre like this doing so well and I recommend it highly to anyone visiting the Northern Lakes.

So, the party that warned of a “coalition of chaos” has spent £1Billion securing its own coalition. For many, the general election was a case of  wanting to write “none of the above” but in the end having to decide between two deeply flawed programmes for government. The fact that neither secured an overall majority was a fitting result, but leaves us drifting and weak as the BREXIT process moves forward.

So what can we hope for? Hopefully a sensible approach to the European single market and the customs union. Hard BREXIT may well soften, which should pull us back from the edge of the cliff.

Sadly, the damage that Cameron and May have inflicted on our United Kingdom will not all be fully mitigated by a change of emphasis as we leave the European Union (assuming we actually do). But at least we may be able to salvage something from the wreckage.

Corbyn or May? That’s the choice most people face in the election tomorrow, unless there’s a Liberal Democrat candidate in your constituency with a strong chance of winning. Scots of course could opt for Sturgeon, but she’s a bit tarnished with the SNP’s track record looking increasingly dodgy, particularly on education.

Labour have done an effective job, running a good campaign but still not overcoming the obvious shortcomings of their leader. Corbyn might attract large crowds, but Labour campaigners are still finding him toxic on the doorstep. They must be wondering what “might have been” if they’d had a leader who looked like a potential prime minister.

The Tories’ campaign has been a disaster and they deserve to lose, but probably won’t. The flip-flopping on policy hardly augurs well for the forthcoming BREXIT negotiations. May is damaged, whatever the result.

Tim Farron has fought a valiant campaign, but has failed to make the headway that the LibDems had hoped for. There is still a good chance they will have more MPs once the votes are in, but equally they might end up with less. Hopefully there will be enough to form the base from which an alternative political programme can be promoted once the true impact of Brexit becomes clear.

So, Corbyn or May? For most people, it’s a rotten choice!

His face just says it all!

If Theresa May had any doubts about the wisdom of calling a General Election they will have been swept away following yesterday’s local elections. Clearly the Tories are in potential landslide territory while Labour are failing to provide anything that resembles a viable alternative. We desperately need an effective opposition!

Thank you to the Manager at Greater Anglia who contacted me, apologised, and explained what action is being taken following the incident when the coach I was travelling in on Monday stopped short of the platform at Bishops Stortford station.

This matter is now resolved and it is clear that Greater Anglia take these incidents seriously.

Just come across a tweet from SWTIC with a great picture of Saffron Hall, Saffron Screen and Saffron Walden County High School