Busy

Chaos. There is no other word to describe the working day today.

Massive county council cuts meant five pages of special coverage in our newspaper, which created pressure that threatened my normally stable heart rate.

I'm really not sure about these cuts. For example, eleven libraries in Gloucestershire are facing closure - but isn't the library one of the ingredients that makes us a civilised society?

The council went out to the public and asked them what they felt should be cut and what should be saved.

I'm sure I'm right in saying that, in the first place, the majority of people have only a sketchy idea at best which services each of our councils provide. And I would argue that very few people understand the complexities of council finances and how services function.

Yet this council has based it devastating cutbacks on the responses it has received in its public consultation.

Democracy is a good thing. But, in my opinion, it only has real credibility if its participants are reasonably well informed.

I can't help feeling our council has staged a cowardly passing of the buck. And we will pay the price.

One library that could well close is in a poor part of Cheltenham. It is not only used for book borrowing, but also by kids whose families cannot afford computers. They access the internet there to look for courses, find jobs etc. Not for much longer.

Anyway, political rant over. Once I had returned from Cheltenham, Mrs Dailykeith and I enjoyed a very pleasant evening welcoming our friend Jane, from Cornwall - the first guest at our flat.

The photo is of Christ Church, Cheltenham - a magnificent structure that looks particularly striking lit up at night. It's on the long walk back to the station.