ON grabbing a quick chat with the two by-election candidates after their Chamber of Commerce session on Tuesday it occurred to me afterwards – as it always does post interview now I’m old and medicated – there were a couple of questions I might have asked but didn’t. The first – who’s more intimidating, farmers or chamber members, and the second, the next ExCo election will be pre-Christmas – would you be keen to take up the challenge?

In this week’s paper is an excellent feature on mental health services in the Falklands and the review going on at the moment.

Wednesday
As part of the high-pressure world of investigative journalism, we have to take pages up to the Print Shop several times a week. Normally Lisa or Nick do the honours, and if they are unavailable then Fran. I tend not to do it because, as Lisa has explained, I am too handsome and charismatic to waste on the trip, and I should stay in the office in case we get an unexpected visit from King Charles or Elton John.
It’s not because I would find some way to make an arse of it. Let’s be absolutely clear about that right from the off.

Editorial by Deputy Editor Nick Roberts….

MARK speaks on page 7 about the fact that “Neoliberalism means deregulated markets, privatisation, austerity and as little state influence in the economy as possible,” and that in the UK “we pay for dentists, care homes, further education and eye tests, and we fund shareholder payouts from rail, telecoms, water, gas and electricity.”

Regarding the matter I wish to talk about this week, I am not certain in my own mind, which is hardly the thing for a polemicist. Take a view and hit it hard, that’s generally the form in this column. Still, we’re all friends here, so let’s try something different. I’ll put forward my concerns as briefly as I can, and if you think I’m getting it completely wrong, I’d be very interested to learn more about the subject. Grateful, even.

Saturday
And so we join this year’s proud list of other places that people thought were already cities. Bangor, Colchester, Doncaster, Milton Keynes, Dunfermline, Wrexham. Also apparently somewhere called ‘Douglas’ on the ‘Isle of Man’, which is plainly made up. Oh yes, it’s definitely a real place, it’s a city now, the city of Jim, on the, er, the Island of People.