I’ve always had sympathy for people who have to do difficult but necessary jobs, like traffic wardens. So it with much soul searching that I have to ask are Teignbridge Traffic Wardens on commission? (or Enforcement Officers to give them there official title), is parking enforcement a money raising scam?

I’ve been contacted by a resident who was booked for parking on their own land! What is worse... the ticket was only cancelled after Land Registry evidence was provided. I read on FB of a resident having to remonstrate with wardens as they sought to book cars displaced by the closure of Fore Street to replace a bridge, early on a Sunday morning. There are many other examples of a lack of common sense and refusal to use any sort of discretion.

Alex Hilton AKA Recess Money is in the news for saying he’s lost faith in Ed, but I wonder if this isn’t the Mayor of Baltimore getting revenge.http://labourlist.org/2012/02/losing-faith/

In 2009 Tory Chris Grayling compared parts of Britain to The Wire (a crime series set in Baltimore). Alix created a spoof Mayor of Baltimore website with a fake press release, which suggested that if we Brits compare Baltimore to TV series The Wire, Americans may as well compare Britain to Midsomer Murders – where the bodycount is astronomical per capita (http://midsomermurders.org/bodycount2.htm). The Guardian, The Independent, The Baltimore Sun and bloggers all got hooked, lined and sinkered by this hoax

Teignmouth Town Council, tonight unanimously rejected the “Western Extension” option of Teignbridge’s Core Strategy. This option would cover the fields in this picture with buildings.

There been no curtailing of “the right to worship … a fundamental and hard-fought British liberty,” as Eric Pickles has suggested in the Bideford Council prayer case. In fact for the National Secular Society (NSS) this is a Pyrrhic victory. Mr Justice Ouseley rejected the main part of the NSS case, that incorporating prayers into its order of business the council was unlawfully discriminating against Councillor Bone and abusing his human rights.

Mr Justice Ouseley said: "A local authority has no power under section 111 of the Local Government Act 1972, or otherwise, to hold prayers as part of a formal local authority meeting, or to summon councillors to such a meeting at which prayers are on the agenda." However the Judge added: "The saying of prayers in a local authority chamber before a formal meeting of such a body is lawful provided councillors are not formally summoned to attend." So we’ll just carry on as normal at Teignmouth Town Council.

Eric Pickles is well aware of the limits to the powers of councils. As Bradford Council leader in the 1980s he tried to have a ticketing system to control who entered the public gallery for council meetings. The judge quickly declare Eric's idea ultra vires – and contrary to "a fundamental and hard-fought British liberty" l