• Actually dresses like a countryman and wears waders rather than wellies from Harrods
• Chats to a Sikh chap who has brought down some mates from his temple in Slough to help the locals rather than give PR puff to selected hacks
• Suggests  we pay for massive works to lessen flood risk by not sending taxpayers money to corrupt third world regimes via bloated “charities” led by fatcat troughers

Strange how a man totally outside the Westminster bubble of the chattering class is able to hit the spot while Cameron, Clegg and Miliband, surrounded by legions of spin doctors and “brilliant” young interns fresh from Oxbridge  often appear to be 2/3 steps behind…

Snowdrops….the sign that spring is on it’s way. There were huge clumps of them growing on the grass verges in Somerset at the weekend and in our son’s garden…..

Murphy lives here.

He is 13 years old, was a rescue cat whose first home was obviously a living hell so he never has been particularly cuddly. Our grandson Oliver once summed him up perfectly as “the grumpiest cat in town.”

He has been hit by a lorry, fallen out of trees and accidentally clunked by a brick. In his younger days he saw off legions of other cats who dared to trespass into his territory plus one or two dogs. Now, however, apart from catching the odd rabbit just to prove he can still do it when push comes to shove, he prefers to take it easy, especially in front of a new log burner that, in the nature of cats, he assumes has been provided purely for his own comfort.

So, with all those crises ripping across the globe, Murphy just switches them out of his mind….maybe there’s a lesson to be learned here…..

My how those Somerset farmers have changed….

Yeo Valley pitched their commercial especially for the UK X Factor – it comes to something when a lot of viewers find an advert more interesting than the over ramped narcolepsy inducing Simon Cowell TV dross…..and The Wurzels are still going strong after forty years or so. Great music, their gigs are always sold out but they would never ever win X Factor….probably a moral there, somewhere….

….but a cake for a recent wedding in Croydon. But I am sure it would have gone down well with William and Kate – and Pippa Middleton. It’s a cake with a difference. At the top is a single tier version of the traditional wedding cake for the bride, groom and nearest and dearest. Underneath are scores of richly decorated cupcakes for the guests. A neat idea and it went down well with everybody.

It was designed and made by Vicky who runs a very successful internet cake business, The Small Cake Shop. Originally based in Croydon it now operates from a country cottage in Somerset.

Orders are shipped for next day delivery in the UK. Regrettably no deliveries can be made outside the UK but Americans and others can order for family, friends and colleagues currently living in the UK.

Corporate orders are particularly welcome.

For further details go here

The cakes are delicious and I can vouch for that personally as Vicky is our daughter in law and always rustles plenty up when we visit. Indeed she rarely has to advertise because most of her business comes from repeat orders and recommendations. Nevertheless every small business can do with a boost so I am sure all inquiries will be welcome.