Twinkling Dragon's Eye

Last night's Dragon's Eye was probably the best I've seen. It shocked me, then amused me and then depressed me. I'd have gone to bed in an emotional turmoil, except that Lembit Opik was not on the Question Time which followed - after being announced as going to be on. My turmoil was pushed to one side by the obvious question, 'Was he pulled by the Lib Dems?' Perhaps he was unwell? I've already posted that the Lib Dems in Wales launched their Assembly election manifesto without Lembit, and that Mick Bates has airbrushed him from his 'surgery ads'as well.

Back to Dragon's Eye. The interview with Derek Williams was gripping. Mr Williams, from Blaenau Festiniog is a convicted sex offender who escaped jail because the judge had received a 'communication' from the Home Secretary - today's lead story in the Telegraph. What a way to run a criminal justice system! It seems that criminals are now to be sent to jail, only if there is room - and depending on what the Home Secretary has put in his latest 'communication' to judges. Over recent months there has been bad publicity for the Home Office, following prisoner escapes. Perhaps the idea is that if criminals are noT put in jail in the first place, it will reduce the number who escape. Lateral thinking by the Home Secretary?

And then we had the Assembly Culture Committee Report, which threatens the Football Association of Wales with a takeover. No - I'm not joking. Well, since the Dubai Government are considering buying Liverpool, why not? On the programme were Rhyl FC's ferocious central defender Ann Jones, Cardiff baseball expert, Owen John Thomas and North Wales' erratic utility player, Eleanor Burnham. They seemed to be justifying the Committee's Report at the same time as they were denying it. It should be an entertaining read. To be fair, the 3 football 'experts' in the studio made David Collins look like a pillar of reasonableness - which is a sort of acheivement in itself.

And the last item which left me so depressed that I cannot bring myself to comment on it. In fact I have forgotton what it was. My body telling me that it must be time to move on.

P.S. I am told by a reliable source that Lembit was withdrawn from QT for a fair enough reason - and that he will be appearing at a later date. So that's another wrong tree I was barking up