Titbits — Charity knit-picking, turfed out terrapins and hipster hassle

■ Should charities be seen but not heard? Hackney-based charity the Howard League for Penal Reform has slammed the new Minister for Civil Society for saying that charities should “stick to their knitting” and keep their noses out of politics. Brooks Newmark made the comments in response to the growing fears in the third sector over the impact of the Lobbying Act on campaign work. Chief Executive of the Howard League, Frances Crook, said that Mr Newark’s comments were “insulting”, “sexist” and “Victorian”. “Does the new charities minister imagine we live in Downton [Abbey] land, handing out baskets of homemade pudding and socks to the poor?” she asked.

■ Jules Pipe and Hackney Heroine Pauline Pearce squared up in the Telegraph recently to argue over the role that the hipster has played in Hackney’s rapid ethnographic changes. Round one saw Pauline Pearce claiming that those born and bred in Hackney could no longer afford to live here OR buy coffees. Mayor Pipe stepped into the ring to defend the “hapless Hackney hipster” writing that demonising those who are “spending their money in local businesses” is “profoundly unhelpful and divisive”. He seemed less interested in the style of resident’s trousers than whether or not their pockets are lined with gold. Question is, why a pub debate needed to take place in the pages of a national newspaper?

■ ‘Voracious’ terrapins dumped in the pond in Clissold Park are finally being rounded up. The chilly Clissold waters might have prevented them from breeding but the geriatric survivors have been happily munching on aquatic plants and eating other pond-life for years. Not good for bio-diversity, says the council and the Environment Agency. The terrapins now face eviction but a spokesperson for the Environment Agency said he was confident all the terrapins could be rehoused. With Hackney’s housing waiting list it’s a good thing they have a roof over their heads.

■ Hackney Council car which is fitted with CCTV cameras and ‘lurks’ on double yellow lines on Cecilia Road in Dalston before its warden issues motorists with fines has been ridiculed by local residents. The Town Hall says the car has to park there to monitor the dangerous junction but now it’s facing its own charges – of hypocrisy.