Titbits – Chestnuts, Churchill and the Chief Executive

◆ Big news at the Town Hall: the flume is in! And competition is raging between Cllr Kam Adams and Mayor Philip Glanville to be the first down the water slide at the new Britannia Leisure Centre.

◆ Cllr Ian Rathbone made so many references to “this is an old chestnut” in a council meeting that Cllr Sharon Patrick was moved to ask: “How many chestnuts do you have, Ian?”

◆  “Without quoting Winston Churchill…”, began Philip Glanville in conversation with our reporter. This seemed to portend something big, but the Mayor’s thought then petered out with the mumbled excuse of “I’d just get it wrong, Ed.”

◆ Addressing Hackney councillors shortly before his retirement, Chief Executive Tim Shields offered some forceful advice: “My response to those people that criticise is you have a choice – if you don’t like it, go and get yourself nominated, and go and get yourself elected. If you can’t be bothered to do that, then just shut up, go away”. Here’s hoping Hackney citizens will take this suggestion with a pinch of salt.