" The Times We Live In" ( part 2: 14 Months Later!)

It's cool getting compliments. And it's extra cool when they come from one's son. One of mine says he REALLY liked my June 19th (20007!) posting ( " The Times We Live In") when I trawled the Times for juicy news.

SO in his honour, I had another go today, while eating lunch and watching the return from maternity leave of Newsreader Sophie (who looks very well; I like her blonder look) as she read The One Oclock News . Here goes. I hope that son of mine is concentrating.

Hmm. Boodles is selling a twirl of diamonds on a delicate platinum chain ( from £9000) Sorry, I got stuck on page 3; it's an Ad, obviously, and its gorgeous glitter socked me in my eye. But forget that.

This One Is Important: Foreign Secretary David Miliband has a new haircut. He's lost the famous white tuft at the front of his fringe. I bet he looks about 17 now.

AND did you know: M/Chester is 2nd Happiest Place In Britain ( after Powys, Wales)?? A Powys inhabitant says: " We don't have a single Tesco ( though we've planning permission ) and we don't have M&S. Perhaps that helps." ......
Oh Dear! I can name a few Per Una-ites who'd be far from happy about that. There'll be a lack of colourful cardigans/merry mismatched buttons / floaty assymetrical skirts on the average Powys sheepfarm . But then what they've not had, I don't suppose they miss.

The research is by folk from Sheffield and M/Ch (!) Unis; they assessed data from the British Household Panel Survey and the last census. I won't say who was bottom, just that It Wasn't In England, Wales or Ireland...

NEXT: A doctor who can't hear is actually leading research into ear cells that hold a cure to deafness. That's fantastic! He's John Brigande of Oregon and he hopes very much for success in his lifetime. I nearly said" I bet he does" ( but then I didn't) Hopefully this work will aid tinnitus sufferers too; I know this can be a nightmare.

Back to Politicians: it seems ***( see end of post) Mayor Boris, criticised for his flapping jacket at the Olympics Closing Do, said: " I reached instinctively for my middle button and then thought, sod it!" So his jacket flapped as well as his hair... but he did a great job flapping the flag, didn't he?

Now A Serious Note: A Ryanair plane flying to Ireland had to land in Germany: mushroom soup leaked on a passenger from an overhead locker, causing him/her to suffer an allergic reaction...( glad it wasn't leek??) Hmm. Oh Dear.

NEXT: The brilliant Matthew Parris has discovered The Best Age Of All. It's 59. Did YOU know? And to celebrate this birthday, he's horsetrekked, paraglided, chased alligators, caved with vampire bats ( that's just for starters) Until now, Parris thought no age could beat 18. THIS such positive news is heartwarming and will be appreciated by many..

WORLD NEWS: An elderly lady at a Stockholm airport, was whisked down a luggage shoot by accident. She got her check-in instructions wrong. She lay down on the belt but was discovered in time.Perhaps she was just tired with all the hanging about.

And a Swiss Witch ( try saying that!) beheaded in 1782, has been exonerated. It was declared that Anna Goldi, last woman beheaded in Europe as a witch, had been a victim of " judicial murder". I hope her family is pleased.

AND in Times2, there's a great piece by Alice Thomson. She writes about the raising of boys in today's society. It's worth reading . Having had brother/sons/grandson, I feel that so much of it is SO right.

AND TO FINISH: see " The Last Word": It quotes an African proverb: " If your mouth turns into a knife, it will cut off your lips..."
Scary, but true...

**And back to Mayor Boris: his " Who Do You Think You Are?" on TV last week, gave an inkling into a rather different guy than the one we think we know. It was more revealing than it realised.