Oh! what a tangled web we weave.

It's a given that if, for example, you run a fruit and veg stall you will take stuff home with you at the end of the day. The local butcher will not be popping into Tesco to pick up some steak on the way home. Viewed in this light A4e boss Emma Harrison's decision to use her unemployed "clients" as slave labour in her company office makes sense. I suppose this is how she viewed it. Just a perk of the job. Bit like the landlord pulling himself a pint. Certainly nothing that would justify being forced to step down from her position as Cameron's Family Tsar. Mind you, how many people would want to have Harrison coming round the house when they were having a bit of trouble with one of the kids? And that's another thing - was Harrison called in to help with the unfortunate issues that have befallen Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman's family? I know Caroline, teenage boys can be a problem.

VIP Lanes? Sorted!

From those wonderful people at Anarchist Media Project

Top boxers in Brits abroad brawl.

I don't know! No sooner do I post about the Brawl In Porthcawl and what a well disciplined sport boxing is in general when Chisora and Haye kick off at the post fight Chisora - Kilitschko press conference. This comes on top of Dereck Chisora's pre fight slapping and water spitting. Cue outrage and moral indignation from press pundits and huge sighs of relief at Tory HQ as those wonderful Battling Brits distract attention from bankers bonuses, NHS reforms and suchlike trivia. The trouble with British heavyweight boxing at the moment is that we lack the restraining influence of Herbie Hide.

Drought Olympic Mayan Link Revealed.

The Environment Agency have published figures that suggest that there is a serious risk of drought in a wide band of the country stretching from the South Coast up as far north as Lincolnshire. Low rainfall, emptying reservoirs and a depleted aquifer all indicate that this year could be the worst drought since 1976. Already the talk is all about UK agriculture adapting to a Mediterranean climate and we prepare for the prospect of our once lush countryside being transformed as a few goats browse in amongst the Ambridge olive groves. Not only will the 2012 Olympics be remembered for the Transport for London meltdown and a total security lockdown of the capital but now, while millions of gallons of bottled water is sped along those VIP lanes, the rest of us will be queuing at standpipes to fill our buckets and saucepans as well.

Worst since 1976? For me at least, '76 and '77 tend to blur into one. There are historical (and pharmaceutical) reasons for this. 1976 was an Olympic year of course and one that the city of Montreal will not forget in a hurry. For the good folk of Montreal the Olympic legacy was a financial disaster, an unwanted stadium and a debt that took the next thirty years to pay off. As well as the driest summer on record, '76 also gave us punk and I was beside myself with excitement about it. '77 was a Jubilee Year of course as well as being the year that punk, and the Pistols in particular, got increasingly notorious (and recuperated). We also had above average rainfall! So there you have it. 2012 is essentially two years for the price of one. We are getting a draught, a jubilee and an Olympics. Not only that but this year is the end of the Mesoamerican Long Count (or Mayan) Calendar with all that that entails; end of universe, punk not dead etc.

All of this stuff about the Mayans was discovered by the renowned archaeologist Michael D Coe, uncle of our own Lord Coe of Olympia. Look it up - don't take my word for it.

I tell yer, and to quote Her Majesty, "there are forces at work about which we know little."

A question of corruption.

What do we mean by financial or political corruption? We can all offer examples of what we consider to be corrupt behaviour but where do we draw the line? A corrupt police officer takes a backhander from a journalist but is that any more corrupt than running a private security firm? If we went to the doctor and they told us that we could only be treated for a considerable sum of money - would that be corruption or just private medicine? If the necessities of life can only be obtained by crossing the right person's palm with silver is that corruption or a wholly admirable entrepreneurial spirit? You can't smell sweet in a sewer.

Royals are keeping our end up in the scramble for top property.

You don't need to be a financial genius to understand that economic downturns do not impact equally on all of us. The trade in art, fine wine and super yachts is perfectly healthy and the top end of the London property market is as buoyant as ever. Recently we have had an influx of rich Greeks who quite understandably feel that a large house in Belgravia might be a better use of a few million Euros than say paying tax in Greece. For years now properties in the posher bits of London have been being bought up by wealthy foreigners. Arab princes wary of all this "spring" malarkey, Russian oligarchs hedging their bets in case they fall out with Putin, all have been hoovering up London real estate like it was going out of fashion. How gratifying in the face of all these incursions from abroad to see that our own wonderful royal family are not being left behind in the property development racket. The crown estate (who deal with tacky commercial matters for the House of Windsor) are in the final stages of their £300m redevelopment of the old Regent Palace Hotel. Posh shops and exclusive restaurants will share the space with offices (Al Gore's new bank is taking over the top floor) and luxury apartments. There's no doubt about it - when it comes to austerity we really are all in it together.

The Brawl in Porthcawl.

Compared to many sports, and certainly compared to premier league football these days, professional boxing is a disciplined affair. The very nature of the game encourages self control so respect for opponents and never losing your temper are axioms of the ring. This holds true almost all of the time but on the rare occasions when things do turn sour the result can be not only a "disgrace to boxing" but, and nobody wants to admit this, hugely entertaining at the same time. Both Brian London and Welsh heavyweight Dick Richardson were good value for money fighters but when they got together in this 1960 match at Porthcawl they surpassed themselves.

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/big-fight-big-brawl

Switch to full screen, turn the volume up and enjoy the full British Pathe experience. The girl with the ices will be round shortly.