The annual check up.

 About this time of the year I take my car to see - Jeff a car mechanic who is a person I trust. This of course is the sine qua non of the relationship. So back in 2003 - I asked neighbours to recommend a car person - who was both good at their job and trustworthy? Jeff was the winner by a good margin. So 23 years on - Jeff has the pleasure of the annual car - check up. I made the right decision back then. 

Finding their feet.

 The new Labour government, under Andy Burnham - is still finding its feet. He will make an important speech at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, later today - setting out his vision for the country. It will be a - difficult sell to his party, that has little financial room to manoeuvre. Nevertheless he will attempt to set out the - path forward that gives - hope for the future and the steps to achieve this goal. The Tories will be watching the speech - to try and define their tactics for attack. In particular on the controversial issue of - tax and spend. The Labour Party - manifesto in 2024 - gave him little room for raising taxes in this parliament. So a difficult - balancing act. 

Can the Royal family survive?

 There is increasing concern about the longevity of the Royal family and whether it will survive into the future? The current controversy about Earl Spencer’s book about his sister Diana, and her untimely death in Paris in August 1997 - has reopened old wounds. In particular the reaction of the then prince Charles, now King Charles - to her death. Andrew Lownie - the author was interviewed by Lewis Goodall, on the Newsagent podcast and was very informative. The institution has a deep - proclivity of kicking the ball into the long grass. However that strategy may have worked when the late Queen Elizabeth was alive, but not any longer. They must come - clean about what they knew and when they knew it regarding - Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein. Unless they do urgently then the - rot will continue. 

70 Up.

 An ITV programme started way back in 1964 - when a group of young people were selected to be part of a - social mobility study. They were followed up each 7 years to see how they were developing, both socially and psychologically. It’s just concluded and last night on ITV - we had some of the participants - speaking to camera about the experience, good and bad. Some found the whole thing a - trial and something to be endured and the - public exposure problematic and disturbing. Others were more sanguine and it wasn’t so difficult. There was some criticism of the director - who was less than objective and had his own particular agenda - regarding class. Having said this - I watched the programme with great interest - to see how the participants had developed. The end of an interesting experiment. 

Crime in London.

 We often hear from the mayor of London that crime in general and violent crime in particular is on the decline. However, there is a new form of crime and that is the - league table of violence. In order to get a high place and more points you must commit - serious crimes like - stabbings, shootings, and even murder to get a high place on the board. All this is happening in south London in and around Brixton. This league table is fuelling increases in violence and has led to a number of murders. They take pride in - being top of the league table. How extraordinary - there could be pride in violence and even murder. 

Papua New Guinea and a very rare animal.

 In an extremely remote part of north west Papua New Guinea, there is a tree animal that has rarely been seen and not yet - filmed or properly recognised or identified by Zoologist. However in a brilliant series starting on BBC2 on Sunday evening - we had a good look at this extraordinary animal - the Tankile. Simon Reeves in Wilderness goes to this inhospitable area - off the beaten track to try and both see and film the tree kangaroo - the Tankile. It’s lived in the tree canopy for many millions of years - without being disturbed. Only local people have been fortunate enough to have seen it. We were in luck as the local guide - who knows the terrain and places - where they are more likely to be see the Tankile was invaluable. It’s the most lovely looking animal, like a small bear with brown fur, small head and piercing eyes and long tail for balance in the trees as they climb. They were able to - film, take blood samples, take various measurements and basically - document this very rare animal. The very first time this has been done. However, unfortunately there are parts of the pristine jungle - that are being illegally logged for big money - so in the long term the Tankile is under threat. Just at the very point - when we see this rare animal for the first time. 

Testing our resolve.

 There are reports in the press about the possibility of - Russia testing the resolve of Europe. Would Putin, be so stupid or is it all part of his political and military manoeuvring's. The NATO rules say under article 5 - an attack on one is an attack on all. So in theory there should be a collective response to any attack. But no doubt there is plenty of - wriggle room by some countries - not willing to put their troops in harms way. We in this country are hardly able to summon up many troops at a moments notice. Other countries on the boarders with Russia, might well feel differently. There are at least 8 countries with a land border with Russia, including: Norway, Finland, Estonian and Latvia. We know from the war in Ukraine that Russia is a - belligerent neighbour. So all bets are off as Putin, could be reckless and do something stupid.