Dropping like flies

Andrew Mackay has just said he won't stand at the next election. The right decision and the pity is that he took a week or so to come round to it. Had the hard word from Dave this morning.

Still goggling, however, at Sir Anthony Steen (500 trees on the taxpayer), who is also standing down and accused his critics of jealousy over the size and splendour of his Devon home. Quite beyond parody, even for a fictional knight of the realm and (real) hater of the lower orders and envy politics. Actually, it made me want to give this up, since there is nothing left to ridicule - what could be more ridiculous than thinking such a claim was ok? I marked Steen out as a wrong'un a long time ago: prior to his 20 odd years as MP for Totnes he was for nine years the MP for Liverpool Wavertree - when the city returned Tories - and the owner of a coffee shop in snooty Allerton Rd on which was emblazoned "Steens, A Conservative Establishment". Such a minuscule vision scale.

Meanwhile Nadine Dorries has blown her chances of high office, or any office, in the coming change of government. Injudicious comments about The Daily Beast (leave it to the professionals, love) and an assertion on the wireless that MPs are near to suicide over the expenses revelations. Intemperate, and they'll be after her all the more now.

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The young Valences have come to visit. Stopping in Jamaica Rd for some fish and chips last night, they were almost caught up in a nasty little gang fight, with one lad being belted with fists and bottles outside the chip shop before getting away to Bermondsey Tube. A broken half-bottle of vodka lay in the road. The scrap came from nowhere and was over in seconds. Like a whirlwind - frightening and compelling to watch. Some of the blows landing on the lad were terrible.

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This morning to Portobello Rd market where there is a nice stall that sells old maps on the corner of (is it?) Denbigh Mews. The chap who runs it clearly hates what he is doing and makes sarky comments to customers, who are thus discouraged, to his further annoyance. A perpetural circle of hell. Bloody idiot.