Two items of news caught my attention at lunchtime, in between the cheese roll and Robert Mugabe.
Prince Charles is running his Aston Martin on the waste products from wine making.
Portugese police have officially abandoned the hunt for Madeline Mcann.
Why these two items? Well, they both announce (a) genuine news, as opposed to opinion or gossip and (b) they are both welcome to my ears.
Charles has very odd 'green' credentials. On the one hand he grows organic produce, supports traditional and ecological building techniques and talks to his flowers. He also occupies huge properties and is part of an incredibly pampered and energy-guzzling extended family. But to fill his Aston Martin's tank with a waste product and reduce C02 and keep a glorious part of Britain's motoring heitage on the road is very commendable. And ingenious. And unfair. Because I would love to run my sports car on wine, or chip oil or chicken manure but because it is ultra modern and very fussy about it's tipple I am held by the PM's £1.20 a litre ransom.
Anyway, well done Sir.
The other item of good news - finally we might see an end to the Mcann self-publicity machine that has wasted so much police time, generated so many vacuous column inches and highlighted the pitiable ability of some of the middle classes to absolve themselves from reality. Initially a genuine tragedy, then a media feeding frenzy, now a self-perpetuating and self-indulgent bandwagon that has not only passed it's 'sell by' date but is now, quite frankly, a bore.
So Mcanns (and I cannot be bothered to remember your names), go in peace and leave the rest of us in peace as well!
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