Everyones worrying about money at the moment. I can't say I've any sympathy for those ministers of Parliament required to pay back allowance claims considered dubious - they've been on a gravy train for decades. It so happens the cash shortage might well impact on me. Not because my benefits are under threat, but because job opportunities aren't going to be so readily available in the future. Typical of this situation is the farce over a few stones.

Years ago there was a church just across the square from where the library stands today. It was an unloved stone building with a greek portico and pillars. Although it was once a listed building, and thus protected, the church authorities eventually decided that it didn't look right in the modernesque redveloped town centre and had it removed from the list, and it was duly demolished afterward. Jesus, it seems, doesn't have bottomless pockets for the upkeep of old buildings either.

Anyhow, the stones were bought and taken to site in Wales for a construction project that fell through. With some optimism, Swindon Council recently bought the idle stones back for a modest