Anne Pickles

For the first time...should I vote or not?

It’s a toughie. Well, for me it is anyway. For the first time in my adult life, I’m wondering whether I should use my vote.

Last updated 6 November 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Not the best time for the BBC to be racist and sexist

Tweets and texts and clangers that drop loudly in the night have landed many a red face in the soup – as BBC Cumbria has discovered to its embarrassment. (14 comments)

Last updated 6 November 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Bangers, butter, baked spuds. Thanks for the memories!

REMEMBER, remember the fifth of November? Actually, I think I do.

Last updated 30 October 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

If only all the big guys could act like this

From beneath the arsenal of bitterness aimed at tax-avoiding multinationals and power-greedy corporations came a little glimmer of light the other day.

Last updated 30 October 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Switch on the Northern Lights, we’ll deal with the rest

It’s not often I’m given cause to count my blessings and find I have more than Joanna Lumley. Smug – and happily so. No other word for it. Not so posh, not so old, not so anxious for another Ab Fab Christmas special to put a turkey on the table, not so bound up by all that bothersome London stuff. And then there’s the bother of travel.

Last updated 12 October 2012
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

Rules jam-packed with EU mischief

Jam photo There’s cause to wonder, all of a sudden – who was the last person to fall victim to a killer jam jar. (7 comments)

Last updated 9 October 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Stuff the mushrooms, I’m staying loyal to my butcher

I’m no Delia. With long dark wig, sticky lip gloss and breast implants, I’d never be mistaken for Nigella either... not even on one of her fat days.

Last updated 5 October 2012
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

National treasure always believed over little girls

The sad, sordid story of Sir Jimmy Savile’s now tattered reputation is one of a string of badly missed opportunities.

Last updated 2 October 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Great idea but rubbish timing!

THE good news is October is Walk to School Month – which is a really, really splendid idea.

Last updated 2 October 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Skinny dipping for charity? Just put your money in a tin

In a conspiratorial whisper, she made me promise never to reveal her secret to her daughter. Goodness knows why – she was going to reveal everything else to all and sundry, without a qualm.

Last updated 28 September 2012
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

Not a lifeline. It’s off the hook Vince

Nice guy and everything, but hasn’t Vince Cable just managed to confirm that the transgressing banks are now well and truly off the hook?

Last updated 25 September 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

We’re both proud plebs but that’s it!

No. Again, no. And to be absolutely clear – absolutely not.

Last updated 25 September 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

UK's don’t ask, don’t tell policy

annesept25 Nobody suspected she was pregnant – least of all, the mother herself. So, when a British servicewoman gave birth to a baby boy at Camp Bastion on Afghanistan’s frontline, the ensuing furore was almost comical in its spinning, screaming chaos. (1 comment)

Last updated 21 December 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

It ended in tears last time, let’s not go there again

kate022 It’s that sense of deja-vu that makes the Duchess of Cambridge’s stolen holiday snaps such a heart-sinking disappointment. (13 comments)

Last updated 19 September 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Shops shouldn’t stop Carlisle United scheme

Some seem to think Carlisle United’s dreams of a new 12,000-capacity, all-seater stadium at Kingmoor Park are dead in the water. (13 comments)

Last updated 18 September 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

It’s Biggs and it’s not clever

IF YOU’D been tepid about the idea of a drama series concentrating on the life Charmian Biggs in the beginning, you’ll be stone cold and turning off by now.

Last updated 15 September 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Parade’s at a loose end over on BBC2

PARADE’S End (BBC2) makes Downton Abbey look like Coronation Street with tiaras.

Last updated 15 September 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

America’s answer to the Leveson Inquiry

jeffdaniels159 There were so many loose ends to tie in the finale of The Newsroom (Sky Atlantic), it’s amazing it didn’t come with a free knitting pattern.

Last updated 15 September 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

A host of golden daffodils, too many to tweet about

I wonder if William ever stopped to ask his sister Dorothy: “Hey, Dot – how much do you reckon a word’s worth?” He being a master of poetic artistry and she his constant, as close – some say too close – support and encourager, both must have had a passion for language.

Last updated 14 September 2012
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

Jury of public opinion has passed judgement

burglars119 It probably shouldn’t come as any great surprise to learn that some judges are distanced markedly from most other people’s grasp of reality.