http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/ Top stories for Barlow's brief http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1059344_why_sir_nick_is_not_a_profligate_freeloader I’VE KEPT relatively quiet on the Sir Nick controversy, not least because it’s all so contradictory. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1059344_why_sir_nick_is_not_a_profligate_freeloader Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1059343_will_next_armed_robbery_be_a_police_station I REALLY don’t know the quality of detective work in Cheshire Police, but their PR is in urgent need of attention. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1059343_will_next_armed_robbery_be_a_police_station Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1059342_its_night_owl_bingo JET LAG’S a weird thing don’t you think? At lunchtime I couldn't keep my eyes open, now I’m writing this week’s column wide awake at 2am. You find out all kinds of things you never knew when you could sleep. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1059342_its_night_owl_bingo Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1059340_stupid_questions I’M CONSIDERING changing my mobile phone network and rang a new provider to ask how I could check coverage in our area. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1059340_stupid_questions Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1058312_im_looking_forward_to_a_great_british_summer IT’S summer; Lulu’s coming to Macc; MPs are heading for home (the one they paid for not the one we paid for); Cheeky Girl twin Gabriela plans to marry the Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik so there’s still a Cheeky Girl spare for anyone who needs one. Heather Mills is living in New York and Gordon Ramsey has gone to LA so it’s not all bad news. Mrs B’s bought sunscreen for the pig but not for me; you can see where her priorities lie. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1058312_im_looking_forward_to_a_great_british_summer Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1057354_pass_your_test_and_drive_a_supercar_the_same_day I WAS heading home down the Wilmslow bypass in the rush hour traffic when the car on my inside lane suddenly swerved right. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1057354_pass_your_test_and_drive_a_supercar_the_same_day Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1057353_answer_is_so_easy WHY are civil liberties groups working themselves into a lather about the record number of inmates in British jails? It’s no mystery: we have more criminals. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1057353_answer_is_so_easy Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1057349_my_old_surgery_is_dead_good I DROVE past my old doctor’s surgery today and saw to my horror it has become a funeral parlour. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1057349_my_old_surgery_is_dead_good Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1057347_if_the_medicine_didnt_kill_us__well_then_we_had_to_be_cured GUESS what I found in the back of an old cupboard? An ancient bottle of camomile lotion. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1057347_if_the_medicine_didnt_kill_us__well_then_we_had_to_be_cured Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1056329_wardens_only_impact_is_driving_retail_away I WAS travelling through Wilmslow last week and remembered I needed a pair of trainers. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1056329_wardens_only_impact_is_driving_retail_away Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1056326_can_judges_put_us_in_the_picture_over_their_sentencing_priorities YOU may recall 47-year-old Shaun Greenhalgh living in a Bolton council house with his 84-year-old father, wheelchair bound mother and aged aunt. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1056326_can_judges_put_us_in_the_picture_over_their_sentencing_priorities Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1056324_why_im_all_for_corporal_punishment ALTHOUGH I’ve never regarded myself as a loyalist, I have to say Her Majesty’s unblemished 55-year reign under the microscopic scrutiny of the world’s press is mighty impressive. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1056324_why_im_all_for_corporal_punishment Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1054416_youths_breaching_their_asbos_are_spared_jail PROPOSALS from the Sentencing Guidelines Council suggest young offenders breaching their Anti-Social Behaviour Orders should be spared jail if they have been led astray by ‘peer pressure’ or claim to have unsupportive parents. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1054416_youths_breaching_their_asbos_are_spared_jail Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1054415_3million_pay_deal_for_running_royal_mail_into_the_ground HAS there ever been a more clueless managing director than Adam Crozier? Having achieved absolutely nothing at the FA he’s somehow managed to generate the first operating loss in Royal Mail’s illustrious history. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1054415_3million_pay_deal_for_running_royal_mail_into_the_ground Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1054414_can_you_tell_me_who_this_piffy_is I WAS passing Pete’s Chippy when an old chap on the opposite side of Duke Street asked if it was open. I shook my head and he replied: "I’m fair clemmed." http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1054414_can_you_tell_me_who_this_piffy_is Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1053447_our_maternal_instincts_have_gone_to_the_dogs AS I read that wonderful front-page story in the Macclesfield Express of the golden retriever nursing a litter of kittens I though about our own dog Bustle. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1053447_our_maternal_instincts_have_gone_to_the_dogs Tue, 10 Jun 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1053446_like_it_or_not_were_not_winning_the_war_on_drugs SO, SOME poor unsuspecting Chinese man has been arrested on the Macclesfield premises of a cannabis farm. Ah Tong Lin was in debt to Chinese gangsters for his illegal passage to England and ended up in the dock like a frightened rabbit. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1053446_like_it_or_not_were_not_winning_the_war_on_drugs Tue, 10 Jun 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1053445_macc__theatre_of_the_absurd WHEN it comes to the absurd you can always rely on Macclesfield folk. If you thought Cheshire County Council had gone ga-ga spending a reported £60K of your money removing just four newts from Fallibroome High School you are not alone. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1053445_macc__theatre_of_the_absurd Tue, 10 Jun 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1053443_salary_scandal WHAT'S the appropriate salary for a Prime Minister running the fourth largest economy in the world with a population of 60 million? You’ll be interested to know that Gordon Brown earns £189,994. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1053443_salary_scandal Tue, 10 Jun 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1052386_our_roadworks_are_simply_childs_play YOU COULD be forgiven for thinking that the Moss Lane, Park Lane, Ivy Road area of Macclesfield is a work experience scheme for aspiring civil engineers who haven’t yet left school. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1052386_our_roadworks_are_simply_childs_play Tue, 03 Jun 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1052385_would_poet_browning_be_averse_to_the_outbreak_of_wilmslow_rats "THEY fought the dogs and killed the cats, and bit the babies in the cradles ... http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1052385_would_poet_browning_be_averse_to_the_outbreak_of_wilmslow_rats Tue, 03 Jun 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1052384_fighting_crime_is_not_a_popularity_contest CHESHIRE’S chief constable Peter Fahy certainly does not court popularity. A few months ago he condemned supermarkets and breweries for promoting cheap booze, he hit out at feckless youths and irresponsible parents, and now he speaks out against inequality within his own organisation. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1052384_fighting_crime_is_not_a_popularity_contest Tue, 03 Jun 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1052383_what_a_waste IF YOU were planning to sell a business, would it be useful to increase prices by 12 per cent, keep your customers in the dark and make the business appear as profitable as possible before maximising your selling price? http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1052383_what_a_waste Tue, 03 Jun 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1051458_why_lord_tim_is_a_breath_of_fresh_air_in_a_world_of_spin WELL, well, well, Lord Tim Hudson, the Prestbury born 1960s California DJ, will be back on air with his own radio show on Canalside Community Radio in October. I can’t wait. Tim’s a walking, talking Technicolor tornado. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1051458_why_lord_tim_is_a_breath_of_fresh_air_in_a_world_of_spin Tue, 27 May 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1051454_browns_ideas_are_borne_of_the_fear_and_cynicism_of_politics HAVE you noticed how politicians under pressure always produce excellent ideas? Sadly, it’s only when their position is under threat they feel the need to give the public what they want. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1051454_browns_ideas_are_borne_of_the_fear_and_cynicism_of_politics Tue, 27 May 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1051446_there_was_a_time_when_kids_had_some_bottle THERE’S something about the whole recycling movement that makes me feel uneasy. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1051446_there_was_a_time_when_kids_had_some_bottle Tue, 27 May 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1051445_better_check_your_mobile_phone_bill_from_o2 A READER called me to relate the story of an order she placed for flowers. Returning from the airport with her husband in their car, she suddenly remembered a friend’s birthday. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1051445_better_check_your_mobile_phone_bill_from_o2 Tue, 27 May 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1050485_council_inaction_is_destroying_town "A TRAFFIC jam when you’re already late, a no-smoking sign on your cigarette break ..." http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1050485_council_inaction_is_destroying_town Tue, 20 May 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1050484_posh_restaurant_was_more_like_a_kiddies_play_centre IT WAS Mrs B’s birthday last Saturday. I wanted to make a special effort and decided to book a table at one of Cheshire’s top restaurants. I didn’t reveal where we were going; I wanted it to be a surprise… it was. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1050484_posh_restaurant_was_more_like_a_kiddies_play_centre Tue, 20 May 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1050482_tories_must_learn_from_labours_mistakes THE votes are in and the people have spoken. East Cheshire Conservatives will have an overwhelming majority in the new assembly (wherever that may be) but it would be wrong to conclude this was a vote for the brilliance of Tory policy…it was not. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1050482_tories_must_learn_from_labours_mistakes Tue, 20 May 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/technology/s/1050478_is_hospital_right_to_sell_off_its_crown_jewels THERE is no greater fan of Macclesfield General than I. There’s little I wouldn’t do to support my local hospital but sometimes tough love is the most appropriate. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/technology/s/1050478_is_hospital_right_to_sell_off_its_crown_jewels Tue, 20 May 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1049472_its_no_picnic_for_the_treetop_teddy_bears WITH Cheshire’s roads in perpetual chaos, schools under threat and selection procedures in turmoil, isn’t it comforting to know that county councillors have their eye on the ball? http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1049472_its_no_picnic_for_the_treetop_teddy_bears Tue, 13 May 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1049471_rats_to_fortnightly_collections REMEMBER when politicians told us high rise flats were the housing of the future before pulling them all down 20 years later? http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1049471_rats_to_fortnightly_collections Tue, 13 May 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1049470_shadow_elections_were_a_bit_dull SO, DID you cast your vote at the local elections? It was a mite confusing don’t you think? Initially I thought I was voting to elect ONE councillor; then I understood I could vote for THREE but if I voted for TWO it might negate my ballot paper but it didn’t, so I could. It was all a bit bizarre. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1049470_shadow_elections_were_a_bit_dull Tue, 13 May 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1049469_silk_road_memorial HAVING been pulled over by Cheshire Police for driving ‘too slowly’ down the Silk Road, I’m well aware of the 70mph speed limit. It’s the fastest road for miles around with motorists rocketing in both directions. It’s a freeway and stopping for anything other than an emergency is obviously forbidden. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1049469_silk_road_memorial Tue, 13 May 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1048485_mps_are_in_need_of_leadership_lessons AS A KID, I often sat in our parlour listening to trade union meetings. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1048485_mps_are_in_need_of_leadership_lessons Tue, 06 May 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1048484_no_justice_for_the_lawabiding FOR ALL those police officers, magistrates, judges, solicitors and politicians who believe public scorn in the criminal justice system is unwarranted: read on. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1048484_no_justice_for_the_lawabiding Tue, 06 May 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/s/1048482_truth_is_stranger_than_fiction I’M WRITING a new book and, as regular readers of my column, I thought I’d ask your opinion. This is the story so far: http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/s/1048482_truth_is_stranger_than_fiction Tue, 06 May 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1048481_making_a_hash_of_our_reputation TAKE a look at the amount of cannabis growing in that house on Bridge Street. It was only discovered after firemen attended a blaze. Had that lot gone up in smoke, the whole of Cheshire would have been stoned for a month. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1048481_making_a_hash_of_our_reputation Tue, 06 May 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1048480_whats_so_special_about_wardens FOR THE past number of years, Macclesfield Borough Council have been shedding their responsibilities like snakeskin. Housing, highways, you name it… they don’t want it. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1048480_whats_so_special_about_wardens Tue, 06 May 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1047580_police_must_give_us_what_we_want I WAS ruminating today on the demise of the village bobby. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1047580_police_must_give_us_what_we_want Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1047579_why_im_going_to_adopt_a_lowkey_approach_in_future_ IT’S A strange thing laying your life bare week after week in a local newspaper. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1047579_why_im_going_to_adopt_a_lowkey_approach_in_future_ Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1047577_how_to_keep_our_hospitals_clean_is_not_brain_surgery I’VE HAD a rather worrying call from a lady who’s just had an x-ray at Macclesfield General. "The staff were wonderful," she told me. "And the patient care was excellent." http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1047577_how_to_keep_our_hospitals_clean_is_not_brain_surgery Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1047575_are_workmen_on_another_planet DRIVING into Macclesfield yesterday morning, I encountered a team of workmen erecting temporary traffic lights on Byrons Lane. When I returned at 3pm, the lights were working, but the men were not. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1047575_are_workmen_on_another_planet Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:00:00 -0000 http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1047574_residents_must_continue_to_fight SOMETIMES I feel like that little boy in The Emperor’s New Clothes. http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/barlow/s/1047574_residents_must_continue_to_fight Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:00:00 -0000