It s all over WELL, that s another one out of the way, then. Everyone is totally fed up with cold turkey, turkey curry, turkey casserole and sandwiches with turkey in. Even the poinsettias have started to look a bit sick. A sure sign that Christmas

It's all over

WELL, that's another one out of the way, then. Everyone is totally fed up with cold turkey, turkey curry, turkey casserole and sandwiches with turkey in. Even the poinsettias have started to look a bit sick. A sure sign that Christmas is over.

I hope everyone got what they wanted, or, if the old guy in red couldn't quite manage the yacht and the Ferrari, that the slippers fit. I'm quite pleased with my socks, especially when I see that they are special ones to cut down on foot odour.

Good thinking

I SEE Cambridgeshire County Council is cutting expenses by shedding jobs. Job cutting in gigantic organisations usually means getting rid of the people who do the hands-on stuff and hiring more pen pushers to keep an eye on the contractors they get in to do the original work. Not so in this case. The council is cutting a number of top jobs and is looking to save £300,000.

The pay can't be too bad at Shire Hall though. How many top jobs do you think they are having to cut to save £300,000? 10 or 15 maybe? No, there are three posts going.

In round figures that works out at £100,000 per year per post. No wonder the Council Tax keeps going up!

It makes you wonder what the total wage bill will be even after the reorganisation.

Generous lot

WHEN it comes to donating money voluntarily the people of Soham are never backward in coming forward. On the four Saturdays of December members of the Soham Rotary Club stood outside the Co-op and Budgens collecting for the town's MAGPAS First Responder scheme. The final total for the collection was £2,207 which should keep the volunteers in equipment for a while.

The collectors in their yellow tabards were certainly difficult to miss and one chap, as he reached into his change pocket yet again, was heard to mutter, 'I know why you lot are called Rotary, you're always standing around'.

Changing weather

THERE'S something very soothing and peaceful about the gentle clatter of a wind chime on a warm summer evening as you sit with a book and a cool glass. Somehow they're not so calming when we have the kind of winds we've been subject to over the past few weeks. Instead of a rhythmic and musical background noise there's a full-scale racket that can drown out a whole gang of motorcycles at full throttle.

The other piece of unusual weather we had was the fog. Luckily it's gone now, so all you safety- conscious drivers can turn off your high intensity lights and give the people you meet or who are following you a fighting chance of seeing past your vehicle.

Have a go

AS we rush into 2007 there are some regular events to look forward to again. Probably the biggest is the carnival on what we used to call Whit Monday. After a few quiet years it is now back with us at full pelt.

Of course, the event doesn't just happen; there is a lot of work involved both beforehand and on the day. As with a lot of events some of the organisers are getting a little long in the tooth and are looking to take a back seat. If the carnival is to continue to be a good day out and to raise money for local charities committee chairman Kim Botting could do with a bit of help. If you can spare some time to attend a few meetings call Kim on 01353 624493 any evening. If meetings are not your thing but you can spare a few hours on the day he'd still love to hear from you. It's amazing how therapeutic bashing posts about can be!