THERE is precious little on the TV news to brighten these dark days, and even less to laugh at. Mostly, we get disturbing statistics on mortgage foreclosures or redundancies, or shifty-looking bankers talking in trillions while trying to wriggle off the hook or, even worse, our Prime Minister flatly refusing to take the blame for anything at all.
But every now and then, not very often, we get a news item that is nothing short of a gem, a pearl beyond price. I refer, of course, to that incident when a splendid lady called Leila Deen hurled a bucketful of green slime at Mandy (also known as Lord Mandelson) and caught him fair and square, full frontal, bull's eye! Bless you, Leila.
Then far from scuttling away, the lovely Leila stood her ground and let fly verbally, leaving Mandy in no doubt about her opinion over the proposed new runway at Heathrow. Only then did she make her dignified exit, her head held high.
Most of us will have already seen this on TV, but in case you missed it, don't be too concerned, you may be sure it will be repeated again and again. One national daily even went so far as to carry the headline 'The moment that cheered up Britain'. Didn't it just!
The odd thing was, no-one at the scene made a move to detain or even restrain young Leila. Where were the police at the time? Helpless with laughter, no doubt, but this was an assault on an English lord, for goodness sake. And even more extraordinary, no charges have been laid against Leila. Not yet at any rate. Now surely that must tell us something.
We need more Leilas in Britain, we need her in Okehampton. Now there's a thought. Come one down to Oke, Leila, you're sure to like it and you will find . . .
We've an old mill by the stream, Leila Deen,
We've got cider and thick cream, Leila Deen,
We've got pasties, beer and wurts, you can eat until it hurts.
You're a proper maid, we love you, Leila Deen.
L-E-I-L-A D-E-E-N
Richard G Williamson
Cranmere
Castle Road
Okehampton