GRIPPING STUFF!!

Can't tear myself away from the telly this morning.
Still waiting for the Berwick and Wansbeck results to come in!
Cards on the table - I have enormous respect for Alan Beith, not something that one could say for many politicians, but I have always found him to be a totally genuine man who has suffered more tragedy in his lifetime than any one person should ever have to deal with and yet has continued to serve his constituency diligently and honourably.
One little anecdote: When I was headteacher at Linton, we sent an invitation to him to attend our Christmas production of Snow White, never expecting to hear from him at all. But, not only did he reply to our invite, he actually agreed to come along even though it meant leaving the House late on in the afternoon, flying up to Newcastle and flying straight back to London after the show. He was accompanied by his son, who tragically died shortly afterwards. At no point did he use the opportunity for his own ends - he came along like any other member of the audience and happily let himself be upstaged by the late arrival of Posh and Becks! (That's another story!) A couple of days later he sent a thank you card to the kids telling them the show was so good it ought to be put on stage in London - you can imagine how they felt about that!
Aaah - It's just been confirmed that we have a hung parliament and that no party can now win outright. It'll be fascinating to see what happens next!