More from Stoneleigh

Given the popularity of the photos posted yesterday here are some more...

A weekend at Stoneleigh Abbey

A small selection of Terry Morris's wonderful photos from last weekend...

A weekend in the country

To Parrox Hall for a fabulous weekend with Harold, Rebecca and a host of other interesting people. This bit of Lancashire has a windswept beauty of big skies, black soil and ancient villages. Parrox, Harold's ancestral home, is an unspoilt house complete with its Jacobean furniture, panelling and flags. Even the country house uber-snob Hugh Massingbeard praised its intactness. One or other of the four poster bed, damson gin or the Parrox ghosts delivered me to some of the best sleep I have had in ages. Much needed.

The weekend passed with roaring fires, a little roaring drunken-ness, good dinners, a bracing shoot and fine company. Apart from an unfortunate duck, the wildlife of North Lancashire remained relatively unscathed by my gun. Honour was served all round.

Economical with the Werrity?

In many ways Liam Fox has played a blinder -- he is still there toughing it out and sounding both contrite and outraged at the same time. He was good in the House yesterday. At the weekend Tories I was speaking to gave him until Tuesday, today in other words. He hasn't gone yet (11.00am).

Do not let discussions of his -- up till now excellent -- performances, however, obscure some of the quite amazing revelations. The 40 meetings, including 18 overseas trips; the warnings; the business card; the sudden transformation of Mr Werrity's expertise from health policy to defence; the lack of business success in Mr Werrity's enterprises; the decision of a well-to-do politician to take in a lodger in his Parliamentary expenses-supported flat; the chance meeting in Dubai that needed such careful planning; and of course the twists and turns in explanations of all the above.

The ultimate question usually comes down to being one of judgement rather than misdeed. That is the one that really does make me wonder.

And finally, Mrs Liam Fox appears to have disappeared. Where is his loyal Tory wife when he needs her?

Steve Jobs RIP

It seems to be rarer and rarer to find individuals who really make a difference -- here's one who did.

Truffles

To Abergavenny food festival yesterday with Frances, Elisabeth and new friend Nancy Durham. Lovely day heavy rain and strong sunshine. Lots of old food festival friends like wine supremo Floyd Mills  and some great new ones like the wonderful Gower brownie makers.

Best of all was finding a supply of fresh truffles straight from Italy. Drove home intoxicated with truffle aroma and, as Elisabeth says in her classic book on these black diamonds, blessed with a racing heartbeat and an enlivened libido.

A great night

Tuesday evening to the Albert Hall for a truly memorable prom. Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony performing Mahler's 5th and a bit of Wagner and -- for the critics -- Anne Sophie Mutter playing Rimh's Gesungene Zeit.

The music was fantastic, as really I had expected, but somehow going to the Proms adds an extra whizz to the evening. We are so lucky that all these marvelous musicians come from all over the world to entertain us so royally.

Santa and his CRB

Apologies for coming over all Daily Mail, but read this plea from a Museum Organiser...

"Santa is returning to our museum in December but we are unsure whether he needs a CRB check or not. We will have two freelance team members playing the role in a Santa’s Grotto based in a family-friendly museum. The children attending the grotto must be accompanied by an adult at all times and there will be other members of staff present throughout each session. Santa will only be in the museum at weekends and the week before Christmas.

We asked the CRB people and they said:

If an individual is working or volunteering as Father Christmas in a specified setting e.g. schools; childcare premises including nurseries; residential homes for children in care; children’s hospitals; children’s detention centres, and is undertaking that work frequently (once a week) or intensively (4 or more occasions in one month) then they will be eligible for an Enhanced CRB check.

This scenario is not intended to cover a Father Christmas who might be employed in a department store or shopping centre as they are not listed in the SVGA 2006 as specified settings.

I called the helpline number to clarify whether a museum was a specified setting but was advised to google it and see what came up. That wasn’t that helpful so instead I am appealing to anyone out there who knows the answer."

So not only do we have hopeless laws but hopeless people paid to administer them... 

Why does Sky keep beating the BBC to the story?

When I blogged in March, in admiration of the Sky New's team's work in Zawiyah at the beginning of the Libyan revolution I could not have imagined the endgame I witnessed last night. Once again Sky News was well ahead of the BBC with Alex Crawford and the team at the heart of the rebel advance.  As it happened. It was riveting stuff.

They didn't just get lucky on the night. The frontline access they had, was given to them because of contacts with and the trust of the Zawiyah rebels. This was built by built Sky people on the ground, getting stuck in. Not through endless meetings back in London. Concentrate on and spend the money where it shows. Pretty much journalism 101. Something the many layers of management in BBC News have either forgotten or never knew in the first place.

I am very confident the team's efforts will not go unrewarded. They have certainly been recognised.

Perfect Pembrokeshire

Pounding the Pembrokeshire coast on a scorching Sunday has to be one of the great weekend activities. There was enough breeze to make it comfortable and to give a texture to the inky blue of the sea. The heat unlocked the evocative smells of the cliffs -- pineapple weed, chamomile daisies and dusty heather. I felt like I could have walked forever. Making my way back inland I lingered in St Davids. With its ancient stone roofs and pastel renders it was one of those days where you could have been in the south of France not the west of Wales.  

A Level Results

There is something so depressing about the annual news cycle. Same old same old. You imagine the drowsy hacks recycling last year's copy and going back to sleep. A Level results are perfect. For months ahead we could have predicted:

• Record number of passes, A grades or whatever
• Education ministers praise hardworking students (trying to take credit for themselves)
• Standards fall allegations
• UCAS swamped
• Lots of bright state school kids don't get into Oxbridge
• Pretty posh girls at independent schools leaping for joy pictured in Telegraph, Mail etc

This year though the refreshing news and revelation from Chris Cook in the FT that the posh schools pimp their tottie around the press months ahead of results day. I wonder if that is what parents pay all that cash for? I only hope that the photographers in attendance have all their CRB checks up to date. As for the editors, string 'em up, it's the only language they understand.

English riots

I have almost resisted the temptation to blog about the riots and the collapse of civilisation as we know it. I surprised myself by agreeing with Boris Johnson who described them as a huge own goal -- that is true. I was not surprised talking to a friend at the BBC to hear about the enormous handicaps placed on their reporters by health and safety bureaucracy, over-staffing, daft correctness like the "protesters" gaffe and centralised diktat -- no wonder Sky News outperformed them at every stage.

The most memorable episode for me however was a call from my Maasai "brother". He got in touch from Tanzania to offer his sympathy and to ask why we were doing this to ourselves. He was genuinely shocked.