Only a minority hold these views, thankfully

Last weekend, there was a group of people in the town centre extolling what they believed would be the advantages offered by the Brexit Party. I disremember the precise wording of their slogan but it had something to do with changing things ‘for good’.

To judge by the murmurings and conversations I overheard, the

‘for good’ part was taken by some to refer to excluding ‘foreigners’, ‘immigrants’ and ‘illegals’.

If that were to be the case, not just the NHS but our schools, our scientific bodies our sports and, indeed, every conceivable sector of our national life would very soon collapse. To talk to some of them, you might think that Merlin should wake from his centurieslong sleep and that King Arthur with his round table and band of noble knights should sweep all these ‘undesirables’ back to the godforsaken places whence they came.

I thank my stars that such people are in the minority and their message disregarded by anyone with more than two brain cells.

A sure and welcome sign that Christmas and the new year are fast approaching is the annual appearance of the fabulous array of calendars and diaries on offer in County Square. This year, the display is not being run by the oriental lady who is usually there but she has made way for a genial chap who does an equally good job. Of course, now that the wretched hallowe’en is over and done with, all the shops are pushing their Christmas offerings to the fore. Last week, Mrs B and I began the Christmas build-up by indulging in a couple of boxes of mince pies. One was a Tesco’s own product, the other from Mr Kipling. Although they were different, they were equally good. As the weeks go by, we shall doubtless sample others in the hope of finding the ultimate mince pie of the year.

Friends of the Earth examined and ranked towns’ Climate Friendly status. We as individuals and the council as a body should all be congratulating ourselves that, of all the towns in Kent, only Ashford and Tunbridge Wells scored a praiseworthy 80%. We scored particularly highly in terms of recycling and home insulation but not too well when it came to renewable energy.