It would be trite to paraphrase Aaron Sorkin and say that: “The mayor of Ribble Valley was not the target” but unfortunately many local people are thinking that last week’s terrorist arrests were because a bomb was due to go off to coincide with the Mayor cutting the ribbon at Homebase.

So instead let’s begin by concentrating on those stubborn things called facts and find out where we are. Read the rest of this entry.

Yesterday afternoon things were starting to wind down for Easter. In the sleepy market town of Clitheroe it had been the most exciting week in ages due to the demolition of the chimney at the local cement works, and the fact that our first ever Homebase DIY store was set to open the next day.

In my role as leader of the opposition on Ribble Valley Borough Council I had two meetings that afternoon, one with the council leader where much of the discussion centred on how the media covered local events and one with the IT Manager about various technological advances.

The irony of these two meetings was not lost on me by the end of the day and as events unfolded during the evening I made a conscious decision not to blog but to try and stick to putting the facts on twitter. Read the rest of this entry.