EXCELLENT to see the 9th/12th Lancers being given the Freedom of the Borough the other day, an event their second in command, Major Andrew Simpson (no, not him) described as a “significant honour” for the regiment.
Mayor Conroy was on hand to confer the honour at a ceremony which included rousing speeches from The Mack and Terence Wire, but oddly (despite a listing to do so) a non-appearance, never mind utterance, from the eminent Professor Glynane. In fact, our snout tells us there wasn’t a single Lib Dem at the ceremony to support either the regiment or the (Lib Dem) Mayor.
Aufona was briefly reminded of a hissy fit the Lib Dems had a few years back after they were offended by a Remembrance Day sermon at a service at All Saints.
What made this no-show especially strange was that it was the Lib Dems who, back in January, proposed a motion to, yes, give the Freedom of the Borough to the Lancers. Nothing like seeing your work come to fruition . . .
PS: Quote of the week surely belongs to Mayor Conroy, who has been celebrating 20 years of twinning with the German town of Marburg: “This civic engagement makes a contribution to international understanding and secures lasting peace in Europe”. Brilliant, brilliant speech-writing.
PPS: Still on Mayors, we’re hearing John Caswell will take the chains of office in May 2014. It’s the Tories’ turn and he’s the frontrunner.
Earl Spencer popped up, briefly, this week to tell the world how he hoped son Louis would look forward to taking over the 14,000-acre Althorp estate: “I’ve gently brainwashed him over the years. But I’ve said to him: ‘You’re a young man from a different generation and you may not want to live here, but please don’t sell it’.”
Has the Ashleigh and Pudsey bubble burst? One punter tells us they arrived at Northampton’s Waterstone’s for Saturday’s noon book signing to find an empty desk, a pile of books and no sign of a dog.
It was before 1pm and, yes, they’d done a runner because of a “low turnout and bad weather”.
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