LONG arm of the law (Part 2): Last week I published photos of Wisbech police pushing a broken down lorry during Rose Fair and these photos also came from the same occasion.

That busy inspector chap, Andy Sullivan, was having no nonsense from an unlicensed trader and ‘helpfully’ escorted both him and his unwanted assortment of curly toy snakes out of town.

SKYLARK showground entrepreneur Paul Salter is once again displaying breathless enthusiasm for one of his events, this time an international motorbike show next month.

“Here ends the news release for this week, ending Friday July 16”,he notes at the end of what I can only presume will be the first of many more 700 word press releases to ensure we know what to expect.

AN odd tale from Peterborough court where former postman Wayne Daniels of Whittlesey admitted dumping 400 letters in a field.

He suffers from dyslexia and he claimed he was struggling to read the addresses, said his defence solicitor Fran Tyler.

He said it was “an impulsive action born out of frustration.”

He was let off with a community work order and counts himself luckier than another postman who was before the same court six months earlier after being convicted of stealing sex toys and underwear from his round.

He got six months inside.

YOU can’t keep a good press officer down so thanks to Angela Cooper of Pegasus PR who enthuses over research which predicts Wisbech will be the hottest UK town in July and August.

She says the research comes from Positive Weather Solutions who have spent ten years researching the average hours of sunshine in the country to predict which towns and cities will be the hottest each summer.

We share the 34 deg C accolade with Basildon and Eastbourne whilst Whitley Bay and Newcastle Upon Tyne can expect to be coolest with average temperatures of just 23 deg C.

Angela’s enthusiasm for weather is not altogether altruistic for I discovered she acts for a tanning lotion company and her press release comes with a warning about which parts of the country are the most irresponsible and which the most cautious when it comes to sun protection.

Will Angela be disappointed I haven’t informed you of the name of the �5.99 bottle of sun cream she recommends? Probably.

IT’S that time of year again with the visit next Wednesday of the judges from Anglia in Bloom popping into Wisbech to see how this year’s effort has turned out.

They will, of course, see the changes, notably the number of arson gutted buildings in the town but hopefully will take these in their stride as they see the remarkable transformation elsewhere that has been enacted by the local bloom committee.

There is much at stake and new features include the Beatrix Potter Garden next to St Peters, the sleeper beds adjacent to Freedom Bridge and a wildlife garden created by residents in Alexandra Road.

EXPECT a good turn out in Wisbech tomorrow when Christine Bonner of Tydd St Giles, the mother of Cpl Darren Bonner who was killed in Afghanistan three years ago, strides into town to raise money for the Royal Anglian Regiment Benevolent Charity.

This is the third year Christine has undertaken a walk and she will be joined by a group of soldiers from the 1st Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment.

Her ten day walk ends in Chelmsford on Sunday July 25 but if you want to show your support tomorrow, head for Cold Wharf Lane.

Christine says the death of her son “made my whole world fall apart and my life was changed for ever” but her redoubtable spirit has seen her herself since into fund raising, her first year raising �35,000 and last year her efforts added a further �44,000 to the cause.

“Walking with the lads is very therapeutic for me”, she says. “I feel closer to Darren, and I feel proud that I am part of the Royal Anglian Regimental family and know that I will always have people who genuinely care here”.

MORE from Jamie Robb who drops me a note of thanks for publishing his concerns for Bar Drove and he says “it certainly has ruffled some feathers down The Stitch, Friday Bridge, anyway.”

Jamie, like many correspondents once they get a taste for it, now has another concern and that is a questionnaire, for which he says he was randomly selected, from Cambs Fire and Rescue Service.

“There are about 30 questions on a tick box format and some questions I am not sure of the relevance” he says.

“I resisted the temptation to put at the end that I was a Gay Black Disabled Welsh Woman with a salary of �150,000+ (then my anonymity would have been blown as they would have thought I worked for FDC, in diversity).”

What miffed him was the question which stated that for each Band D council tax payer it costs the fire service �1.11, and he wonders if this is before or after the questionnaire was commissioned.

His pre paid envelope will be heading back to Glasgow and he wonders whether in these times of fiscal belt tightening “should our money be spent on such surveys?”

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MORE mischief and merriment from Hew Dunnit who tells of an overheard conversation at the Hog & Sausage and claims that FDC is run by a gaggle of March Grammar School (MGS) old boys.

Hew says his informant claimed to be a contemporary and he named several including Cllrs Owen, Murphy and Melton.

“My informant also claimed that he remembered some of them as amongst the naughtiest boys at school, and further remembered that Tit Owen had escaped through Cedric Potter’s (Head Master) study window to avoid a thrashing!,” says HD.

“Can you confirm any of this?”

Sadly, no, Hew but I’m sure we are about to find out.

MY dear friend Jane Melloy pops up in the inbox with an irresistible and welcome invitation.

“The good people of Tydd St Giles invite Brakespeare to join us again for our annual summer garden fete in the garden at Fourways on July 24 at 2.00p.m”, she says in a tone which suggests a response in the affirmative is anticipated.

“We so enjoyed his visit to the village last summer, even though he proved a little elusive!” she writes.

“We are also having a display of archive material, old church registers, photos and entries for the art competition in the church between 10.30am and 2.30pm on that Saturday. We do hope Brakespeare can join us and enjoy the fun.”

Louise Stebbing of Skylark Studio is opening the fete by announcing the winners of an art competition but Jane has kindly invited your diarist to present the prizes at the opening and to judge to children’s cake decorating competition.

The gardens are magnificent, the company wondrous and I feel becalmed upon a sea of Fenland hospitality already. See you there, and hope you can all come, too.

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NOT that I’m one to gossip, mind you, but I felt it only right that those of us who have paid a parking fine in the past year can now welcome a new member to our ‘club’,

I heard from local and reliable sources that Councillor Alan Melton, the leader of Fenland District Council, collected a parking ticket during a recent visit to Wisbech.

What added irony to the fine was the fact he had arrived there just after 7am to meet traders to discuss parking on the market square and then engage in a live discussion on the subject during a BBC Radio Cambridgeshire interview.

When Alan eventually returned to his car after what, if I recall, was a stormy encounter over the issue he found a zealous PCSO had booked him for overstaying his welcome in The Crescent.

SPOT the deliberate mistake? Obviously someone didn’t but photographer Brian Purdy has been joyfully testing his colleagues this week with this photo of an Emblings bus spotted in Wisbech this week.