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<\/a><\/p>\nIn fact, it\u2019s been such a great week we\u2019ve had not one, not two but three barbeques! I know that\u2019s not unusual for some of you who barbeque most days including the Christmas turkey but for those of us in the usually soggy British Isles it\u2019s quite an achievement. Thursday we barbequed a butterflied, marinated leg of lamb which was delicious and on Friday we went to the Walton\u2019s for an exceedingly excellent barbeque up to Dave\u2019s usual high standards \u2013 there were seven of us around the table and sufficient food (i.e., chicken, sausages [two varieties], lamb burgers, ribs and prawns) to feed several hundred. Delicious. (And, before you ask, I did in fact have a bit of both salads as well \u2013 just a bit though. Well, there wasn\u2019t enough room on the plate after I had gathered all the necessary meat). And then yesterday we went across to Nick & Lucy’s where we had yet another barbeque – swordfish (gorgeous), lamb (delicious) and chicken kebabs and, to finish, ice cream cones! Perhaps I’ll barbeque the world’s greatest hamburgers this evening if the weather stays fine!<\/p>\n
Big news of the week (well, big news of last week, actually) \u2013 Ms Playchute has manufactured and dispatched her very last playchute (or so she says). As you will know, she stopped making bespoke playchutes more than eighteen months ago, much to the bitter disappointment of the dozens who have enquired in the intervening period. However, she has continued to make play parachutes from time to time for a charity which sells them to groups working with disabled and handicapped children and adults. They supply the fabric (a very inferior-quality fabric with nothing like the strength or vibrancy of Penelope\u2019s rip-stop nylon) and they only offer a couple of sizes. When they get an order they send through the details to Ms Playchute who knocks it up and dispatches it to the customer. Pen told them some months ago that she was closing down and would no longer be able to make their playchutes but they kept coming back with \u201cjust one more little one, please!\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s Sod\u2019s Law, I suppose, but this final one caused her considerable heartache \u2013 she had ran out of her usual industrial strength thread and had to make a visit to Banbury to procure some \u201cordinary\u201d thread. Unfortunately, this kept snapping and fraying on her industrial strength sewing machine. The shrieks and curses which emanated from her office embarrassed even me! Still, it\u2019s gone and that\u2019s an end to it!<\/p>\n Ms Playchute and I had a pleasant enough evening out in Oxford on Monday \u2013 we went to a French Property Seminar. There was some fizzy wine and titbits and then a short presentation about buying a property in France. It was delivered by the same woman who addressed a seminar we attended in London a year or so ago. Still, it was a handy reminder of some of the issues we need to think about and, of course, it provided an excuse for a meal out \u2013 no vouchers this time so we had to pay full price! At these events the various representatives of the agents want to sit you down for a few moments and grab all your details. We were accosted by a lovely young thing named Georgia who was probably a few years out of Roedean or Cheltenham Ladies College for whom everything we said was \u201camazing\u201d or \u201cperfect\u201d including my e-mail address! Please, oh please, save me from such Hooray Henrys and\/or Hooray Henriettas.<\/p>\n I am sure that few of you will have rejoiced in the manner in which we did (and seemingly much of the country) when we heard the news last week that the idiot Gove, the secretary of state for education, had been removed from that position in the cabinet reshuffle. Cameron is gearing up for the election next May and it was obvious to everyone, apart from Gove, I guess, that he had to go.<\/p>\n He had to go not because his policies are crap (which they are) but rather because he managed to achieve something even the worst of his predecessors never got close to achieving \u2013 he pissed off everyone. He pissed off the teachers (which in and of itself is no big deal and something which most education secretaries manage to do to some extent), he pissed off headteachers (not great but again not a huge deal), he pissed off school governors (oops \u2013 that\u2019s a little bit more serious), but most importantly, he pissed off parents up and down the country and therefore had to go to be replaced by a non-entity who Cameron hopes will do nothing stupid in the next few months and just keep her head down and mouth shut.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth mentioning that Gove was not \u201csacked\u201d or even \u201cdemoted\u201d, according to Cameron. He has been doing a great job! Instead of being sacked or demoted he has been asked to take over as Conservative Chief Whip, a very, very important job which just happens to mean that he is no longer a member of the Cabinet and his salary is some \u00a336,000 less than it was previously. But still, he\u2019s not been demoted!<\/p>\n Ironically, on his first day in the new job, he managed to lock himself in the toilet. For those who care, there was an interesting (and lengthy) article about his \u201cJekyll and Hyde\u201d personality in the Guardian<\/a> the other day.<\/p>\n Former education secretary went from inclusive, compassionate Conservatism to partisan power struggles and divisive policies<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Gove is, in fact, the manifestation of the \u201clie\u201d that is \u201ccompassionate Conservatism\u201d. \u201cCompassionate\u201d and \u201cConservative\u201d are two opposing terms and it\u2019s clear from their actions that the Tories have no compassion for anyone from the \u201coiky\u201d middle and lower classes.<\/p>\n We had a couple round to view Penelope\u2019s Playchute Palace on Friday. The agent is keen that they show prospective purchasers around rather than have us do it \u2013 they say that potential purchasers will be more open and honest with the agent than they would be with us. Fair enough. As it happened, we were out to the Walton\u2019s barbeque on Friday so it was quite convenient. When we got back I was expecting to find a sealed envelope on the kitchen table with an offering of double the asking price but, funnily enough, the envelope was nowhere to be found. I guess they didn\u2019t have a pen or any paper with them \u2013 I suppose we\u2019ll get a phone call any second now.<\/p>\n It seems hard to believe that a year ago we were gearing up for the XCstravaganza celebrations. Perhaps it\u2019s time to remind ourselves how splendid an occasion that was:<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n