星空传媒

A shopper is reported to have got rather more than he or she imagined after buying an unremarkable pair of old boots at a boutique that raises funds for homelessness charity Shelter. Instead of being stuffed with old newspaper, the shoes are thought to have contained two diamond rings put there by the previous owner for safekeeping.

Shelter is appealing to the lucky shopper to do the decent thing and return the boots. Apparently it鈥檚 offering a pair of brown velour flares and a bodywarmer as a reward.

鈥淚 have a cunning plan 鈥� doh!鈥�
A Northern Consortium conference had good news for all those who struggle with strategic planning.

Royal Mail Group chair Allan Leighton believes most strategic plans should be scrapped, as strategy only makes up 10% of 鈥渁nything that counts鈥�. 鈥淚f your strategy can鈥檛 be written on a sheet of A4 you have no chance of it ever happening. So throw it away,鈥� he told delegates. The only problem is that you still have to deliver, of course.

Ma帽ana, ma帽ana
Poor housing minister Lord Rooker. He got a scolding from Liberal Democrat housing spokeswoman Baroness Maddock in the House of Lords last week.

The formidable baroness finds it 鈥渆xtraordinary鈥� that the Labour government has still not managed to get licensing for homes in multiple occupation onto the statute book, despite it getting a mention in the 1997 and 2001 manifestos and the housing green paper.

Rooker could but stammer: 鈥淲e are actively pursuing this legislation, which will be introduced as quickly as possible.鈥�

And my other one鈥檚 got bells on.

Consultants to the rescue
This week鈥檚 firefighter strikes may have been called off, but Tower Hamlets council is still prepared for any eventuality.

If further strikes go ahead as planned later this month, most people are scared they won鈥檛 be able to rely on the famous fireman鈥檚 lift spiriting them away to safety from a blazing building. However, residents of high-rise tower blocks in east London will be more worried about a different type of lift 鈥� namely the ones in their buildings that frequently break down with people trapped inside.

Aware that it won鈥檛 be able to dial 999 and have firefighters save the day, Tower Hamlets council has trained a number of consultants to fix the erratic machinery if necessary. All very considerate, but will these same consultants be able to do other crucial jobs such as rescuing cats from trees and 鈥� dare I say it 鈥� fighting fires? Could this be another example of the privatisation of public services by stealth?