24September

(More: The Royals, a new BBC promotion, Inside, and just how much are this week's releases now worth?)

Paul Spencer, Stephen Spencer, and Scott Rosser took their group's name from Dario Grady, manager-for-life of Crewe Alexandra. Sunchyme was a bunch of samples - the chanting from Life in a northern town, some steel drums, a bundle of beats - and made something rather special. It's a very upbeat song, with a clear debt to Deep Forest, and one that ostentatiously celebrates life in all its forms. That explains why it fell off the radio in the first week of September, when controllers found that living was the last thing on their minds. There were plenty of mixes of this track, including one by Sash; this became the third number 2 hit he would work on so far this year.

So, with a song celebrating life as this week's highest new entry, is it time to stop celebrating death? Perhaps not; the best-selling single of the week was Elton John's Candle in the wind '97. And it's not just by a short margin: while Dario G's 85,000 copies would have made an above-average chart-topper by 1997 standards, it was beaten by a margin of slightly less than One And A Half Million copies. One store in Bristol was selling the record from the back of their delivery van, not even bothering to unload the single into the store. Most of these sales went to people who left us rather worried: one man from Oxford said, I'm buying eight or nine copies for family and another copy which won't be played, as a collector's item.. James Masterton would go on to call this a kind of social duty completely unrelated to what's actually in the package.

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26September

We don't intend to make a habit of reprinting speeches verbatim from the European Parliament, but this one from Tom Wise (UK-East, Europe se Manger) bears repeating. Particularly as it is covered by parliamentary privilege, and hence can be repeated as a matter of news coverage.

Madam Chairman, Mr Commissioner,

When the EU talks of a common foreign policy on energy, you need to be very aware of exactly who you propose to do business with. President Putin is on record as saying "The Commission should be under no illusions. If it wants to buy Russian gas, it has to deal with the Russian state."

Gazprom is not a private company. It is a state-controlled tool of Russian foreign policy. It is, moreover, in the hands of President Putin's political henchmen and, allegedly, organised crime. Take, for example, Alisher Usmanov. This gentleman, the son of a Communist apparatchik, is Chairman of Gazprom Invest Holdings, the group that handles Gazprom's business activities outside Russia. He is the man we are doing business with. He is the man who cuts off gas supplies if client states dare to question Gazprom's demands. Allegedly a gangster and racketeer, he served a six-year jail sentence in the Soviet Union in the 1980s, his eventual pardon coming at the behest of Uzbek mafia chief and heroin overlord Gafur Rakhimov, described as Usmanov's mentor.

Usmanov bought the newspaper Kommersant. Three months later the journalist Ivan Safronov, a critic of the Putin regime who just weeks earlier had been vigorously interrogated by the FSB, as the KGB is now called, mysteriously fell to his death from his apartment window, still clutching a recently purchased bag of shopping.

According to Craig Murray, the former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan, it was Usmanov who ordered the cutting off of supplies to Georgia earlier this year. Please take note, Madam President, the Kremlin has now refused to sanction the construction of a pipeline to the EU over Georgian territory. These are the people you want to do business with. These are the people around whom you want to mould your foreign policy on energy. Commissioner, good luck. You will need it.

This is an official transcript, supplied by Europarl. It replaces a provisional transcript from amused cynicism.

Background to this post.

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26September

Newsround reminds us that it's twenty years since the invention of Chucklevision, starring Paul and Barry Chuckle. Blimey, remember how the early shows included Billy Butler's Armchair Theatre, presented from his armchair? 46 minutes later came the first ever Going Live!, devised by and starring that icon of stage and screen, Gordon The Gopher. Meanwhile, a question that's puzzled us for the past fifteen years: did the brothers Chuckle adopt the names Andrew Livingstone and Fine Time Fontayne to become the stars of seminal Radio 5 show Nigel and Earl Sort Out the World?

Michael Brown on the great anti-Labour alliance. http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article2979858.ece We encourage such thinking, not least because it helps to break down the myths between parties. Not all Conservatives wear top hats and monocles; not all Lib Dems wear kaftans and open-toed sandals.

Dave Farquhar discusses how to get the right medicine. We congratulate him for his victory, but we wonder why such a convoluted process was necessary. It is difficult to believe that this would happen under a centrally-funded healthcare system, and it's yet another argument for proper things.

Dominic Lawson reminds us that Derek Wanless, twice asked by Mr. The Soup Dragon to review the future of the National Health Service, is a director of Northern Rock with specific responsibility for risk management. Yes, folks, the NHS is in the hands of the man at least partially responsible for the biggest bank run since the 19th century.

Tim Harford on Northern Rock, stag hunts, and formalised trust.

Celbacy and drugs and rock 'n' roll - Naadia Kidy finds the hedonists who only slip behind the bike sheds for a cigarette.

The Indytab suggests that travellers will soon be able to enjoy elevenses in London, dejeuner in Brussels. Only if they're prepared to eat rather late: two hours on from 11.30 in London is 2.30 in Belguim.

Unless, that is, they've been confused by Venezuela's new time zone, moving from UTC -4 to UTC -4½. This restores the situation as it was between 1912 and 1964; prior to that, each locality measured its own time.

James Masterton on the utterly knuckle-headed way the UK government treats immigrants. It's no wonder that Honest Ron's Fake Passport Service (delivered by an out-of-work-jockey) is so popular.

Thomas Sutcliffe argues for an end to tips in restaurants. We're behind him all the way, not least because we heartily approve of transparency in all things, including employers paying their staff an honest wage through normal channels.

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27September

Third Eye Blind was a four-piece band from St. Francisville, and was the nominal opening act for Oasis when they came to town in April 1996. As usual, Oasis were tedious and boring, but their support act were brilliant, taking the end-of-concert encore instead of the nominal headliners.

Later that year, the group signed to Elektra records, and released their first album in 1997. On its surface, Semi Charmed Life was a bouncy pop album; dig a little deeper and it reveals its themes of melancholia and a lack of control. For instance, the title track (music and lyrics: Stephan Jenkins) is about a drug user and their sexual activities, and perhaps their wish for continued thrills.

As far as the UK was concerned, this was it for the Blind. The group mined four more radio hits from their debut album, and another four from 1999's Blue. Their 2003 album Out of the Vein was lost in the wash as Elektra merged into Atlantic, and a contract-ending compilation double album, A Collection was released in 2006; this last work has not received a UK release. Liner notes for this compilation confirmed that Semi charmed life really was a response to Lou Reed's Walk on the wild side.

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28September

G****e has called for the United Nations to set global privacy regulations. The world's largest advertising bureau is taking a high-risk gamble, hoping that the ultra-lax regulations applicable in its venue of choice become the world standard, rather than the tough rules in force in Europe, Canada, and other civilised countries.

Here's a shock: G****e wants the world to adopt the lowest possible privacy protections it can find. In this case, the slackest approach to privacy is a proposal by APEC.

APEC's idea has the dubious merit of being new and shiny, having been created out of thin air in 2004. They have the disadvantage of being made as a throwaway idea by Australia and the failed colonies, wishing to have something, anything, to argue against the EU's tough data protection principles. The APEC principles have so many exceptions and caveats that we cannot honestly regard them as providing any recognisable protection for personal information. For instance, there's no requirement to define the purpose of collection, all that's required is that collectors say they're collecting, and to whom they might sell info. For instance, there's no requirement to force data collectors to discard data they no longer need, merely to ensure such data they have is accurate. For instance, there's explicitly no right to for people to see their own data, never mind amend it if it is wrong.

APEC's ideas are just that, ideas. APEC is a talking shop, an excuse for war criminals and racists to erect steel barriers around the centre of some city and talk about how they're killing the world. It has no force of law, and no power to impose even this nugatory standards on its member countries. We can compare and contrast to the EU, which has set the gold standard in data protection, outlining an onerous set of principles, forcing them into law against the squeals of big business and their lapdog governments (particularly in the UK), enforcing them rigorously, and reviewing them to ensure that they remain fit for purpose.

Crooked Timber speculates that G****e is after certainty, so that it knows what it can and can't do. There is absolutely nothing stopping the firm from saying, as it doesn't know which rules to follow, it will follow the most restrictive ones, so it can be certain of being legal everywhere. This would be legal creep from the EU to the rest of the world, something we're not too keen on, but it would bring about an end that we do like.

There's nothing stopping G****e from proving it cares about its customers, except one thing: doing so would cost it money. A profit-making concern won't give up its profits without a screaming fight. It's the reason why big business cannot bear to give anything back to its customers. It's the attitude summed up by we don't care how people do it, so long as they use our products.

It is our view that the APEC privacy guidelines are not worth the paper they're written on. We insist on high standards, and will not do business with companies that are not prepared to abide by the EU data protection principles in their entirity. EU companies have to do this, and we will respect others who do.

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29September

Yesterday's Grauniad webties had a long piece on how Thursday's by-elections should give Mr. The Soup Dragon cause for concern about calling a general election in the next few weeks. Thanks to the unique way in which Het Grauniad's webtie is mis-structured, we cannot find hide nor hair of this piece on the morning after.

The preap's retained psephologist, Polly Pegonthenose, took the results in the week's half-dozen by-elections (mostly in safe Labour seats), and generalised up to an entire country projection. Without using the standard disclaimer, It's just a bit of fun!.

Now, swingometer fans, what were Polly Pegonthenose's errors? That's right, Vine, she's using far too small a sample. You'll get there yet, I'm sure. The average Butler swing on Thursday's results was +8%, sufficient to generate a thumping big majority for Dave The Eager Young Space Cadet. The three-party transfers were +6% from Labour to the Conservatives, -2.8% from Lib Dem to Labour. That's right, Labour lost votes to both other major parties.

Pop those numbers into any credible seat-by-seat calculator, and remebering, it's just a bit of fun, we find Labour loses 90 seats, the Tories gain 88, leaving Mr. The Eager Young Space Cadet about 20 seats short of an overall majority. Labour + Lib Dem would still be 10 short.

Serious psephologists, and this commentator, prefer to take a longer rolling average. Here's the score based on the last three months:

No significant changes there, we would expect a wander of 0.5% in any direction at any time.

The conclusion is precisely the same as last week: if the council swings were repeated nationally, Mr. the Soup Dragon wouldn't lead the largest party.

We can look more closely: from this starting point, Labour would need a 3% swingback from Conservative voters just to become the largest party. Alternatively, they could concentrate on winning back the 5% of people who have defected to the Lib Dems: achieving that in isolation would also leave the parties roughly level. Doing both leaves Labour about 25 short of an overall majority.

Even looking at just September's by-election results, we still find a 4% swing from Labour to the Conservatives, and the Lib Dems able to coalesce with either major party.

We repeat our bottom line conclusion from last week: if Mr. The Soup Dragon were to call an election this autumn, he would be taking a needless risk, an entirely reckless gamble.

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30September

The headlines

size	accounts	13924752	217075	1.58%
size	accounts_active_1	408368	-99752	-19.63%
size	accounts_active_30	1726643	-14080	-0.81%
size	accounts_active_7	1082151	6182	0.57%
userinfo	total	13910417	217464	1.59%
userinfo	updated	8611454	95834	1.13%
userinfo	updated_last1	150495	-46254	-23.51%
userinfo	updated_last30	979579	-1384	-0.14%
userinfo	updated_last7	569383	5472	0.97%

New accounts slip back down to their usual 1.5-2% range, but accounts_active_30 continues to fall.

Six Apart has a new Chief Scapegoat, Chris Alden. He replaces Barak Berk O'witzless, after seeing his Rojo creation bought up by Six Apart, and promptly killed at the first decent opportunity.

It was alleged that Six Apart began automatically charging credit cards without the explicit consent of the customer. Staff claimed that this was due to user error, but many customers stated that they had explicitly turned automatic debits off. Remarkably, such abuse of financial information would not be an obvious breach of Six Apart's proposed privacy policy. It would, however, represent a flagrant breach of law for all users in the EU and Canada, and we assume in other parts of the world as well. Customers who have been charged incorrectly may wish to seek redress (specifically, chargebacks) from their credit card issuers.

Six Apart introduced a waste of space: thumbnail graphics for external links. These are delivered by a third-party company, and can be blocked: add spa.snap.com/* to your Adblock or LMHosts lists.

In an act of supreme pettiness, Six Apart removed the logon box from its precious navigation strip. In theory, this forces customers to use a page containing advertisements when they wish to logon; in practice, customers with an ounce of sense will have bookmarked a permanent member's user information page, and will use that. This negates many of the reasons for the navigation strip's continued ubiquity.

Six Apart introduced XFN™ data to the Userprofile pages. The implementation is more miss than hit, assuming that everyone listed on the customer's Reading list is a friend. The XFN™ definitions require:

friend - Someone you are a friend to. A compatriot, buddy, home(boy|girl) that you know. Often symmetric.

Two other definitions in this category are available: acquaintance and the still weaker contact.

Six Apart is forcing its customers to declare a certain relationship. Simple accuracy and good manners require that people must be able to define their own relations, perhaps by using a simplified version of the demonstration XFN™ creator. We wonder why Six Apart has rushed to publish inaccurate data without allowing the submission of correct data; a cynic would say that the company wished to impose its view of the social graph over that of its customers, something we've previously argued against. That attitude riles us about the company's policy of Identity Theft Through Open ID.

(More: the full stats, a new CEO, expansions on the Snap shat, and on XFN™)

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30September

A week where only two charts has a new number one. Highest new entry in Germany comes from Monrose - Strictly physical lands at 6, with Cinema Bizarre also coming straight into the top 10. We're worried about the French: Lucky Twice the highest new entry at 8, Akron and Amy Whingebag enter at 10 and 11, and Gullia's Oops j'aime pas l'anglais comes in at 14. Kent goes in at 2 in Norway - they're also number 2 in Sweden, but we're wondering why the Norwegians have put Whitesnake's twenty-year-old hit Here I go again into their top twenty. Local talent rules in Estonia - Laura takes the top spot with Muusa, and there's a top twenty entry for Tanel Padar. Strange scenes in Ireland, where 2005 X-Factor winner Shayne Ward has the new number 1, If that's OK with you, and he has the new number 14, No you hang up. Sugababes enter at 10, High School Musical at 12, and we're pleased to see the entry at 20, not so much that it's Bus stop, but that it's recorded by Penfold DM. Crikey!

20 19 Åvril Lavignnesøn - When you're gone
19 15 Julien Dore - Moi ... Lolita
18 12 Marquess - Vayamos campeneros
17 re Hard-Fi - Suburban knights
16 18 Rihanna - Shut up and drive
15 NE Sugababes - About you now
14 17 Ich + Ich - Von sielbern stern
13 10 Culcha Candela - Hamma
12 13 Kayne West - Stronger
11  4 Mika - Big girl (you are beautiful)
10 20 Scouting For Girls - She's so lovely
 9  6 Mika - Relax (take it easy)
 8  8 24 New Pence - Ayo technology
 7 11 K T Tunstall - Hold on
 6  9 Sean Kingston - Beautiful girls
 5  7 Robyn - With every heartbeat
 4  3 Stacey Ferguson - Big girls don't cry
 3  5 Plain White Ts - Hey there Delilah
 2  2 Timberyokel - The way oi are
 1  1 James Blunt - 1973

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30September

The two debut acts this week are Colbie Caillat, who we've seen described as the new Jewel, whose Bubbly makes 72. That's about average for Ms. Kilcher. Bristol City FC and the Wurzels put One for the Bristol City in at 66. There are also entries for the Holloways (Two left feet, 74) and Chamillionaire (Hip hop police, 73).

On Friday of last week, the Dismal channel was scheduled to show High School Musical 2. It was also scheduled to show it on Saturday, Sunday, and every day since. The various songs are available as individual tracks, and ten of them make the top 100, six hit the top 75, all credited to the characters rather than the singers. Troy puts Bet on it at 65, Sharpay has Fabulous at 64, Chad and Ryan say I don't dance at 57, Gabriella and Troy have Gotta go my own way at 40, and the Cast put Everyday at 59 and You are the music in me at 26. The last time a single project had six in the top 75 was the Elvis Reissue Project, which managed it in three weeks during February and March 2005. Only the Manic Street Preachers (Sept 1997), Oasis (12 times between June 1995 and January 1997), the Prodigy (April 1996), The Jam (3 weeks in 1980, 5 in 1983), and Elvis again (two weeks in Sept 1977 and two in November 1957)

Some very well-established acts appear in the lower reaches: Annie Lennox has her first solo hit since 1995 as Dark road enters at 58. Bob Dylan last bored the pants off of us in 2000, Most likely you go your way shows his poor command of English and lands at 51. It only feels that Leann Rimes has been here forever: her 62 weeks on the top 40 include 30 for How do I live. That criminal record has caught up with her in the video for Nothing better to do, new at 48. Joy Division's utter classic Love will tear us apart was a number 13 in 1980, a number 19 in 1983, number 19 again in 1995, and now number 46. Gabrielle (the British soul singer) has had only one top 40 hit since 2001: that's not going to be increased this week, Why makes 42. And The Stereophonics put It means nothing in at 41. Please let this be on full release. We shuld also mention rising acts Katherine Nash, whose Mouthwash is up 10 to 47; and Air Traffic, new at 45 with No more running away.

Will I Am climbs 17 to 38 with I got it from my mama, and Jennifer Lopez is in at 34 with Do it well, which she palpably does not. Only three of her singles have ever missed the top 5. A good week for Jordan Catalano, his band 30 Seconds to Mars hit number 28 with The kill, one place behind Jonny Trunk and Wisbey's You are the music in me. At 35 seconds, it's the shortest song ever to chart in the UK, and has been promoted by Danny Baker and Scott Mills. Ketevan Melua has the second-highest new entry at 23 with If you were a sailboat, and gains bonus points for correct use of the subjunctive.

Enrique Ingleseas climbs 38 to 20 with his cover Tired of being sorry. Jack Penate's Second minute or hour climbs 31 to 17, and we've worked out who he's ripping off with this song: himself. Feist has the second-fastest climber within the top 40, 1234 is up 24 to 16. This week's Elvis Presley Entry At Fourteen is Hard headed woman, new at 15. That's blown it! Amy Whingebag's Valerie is up 29 to 12; it's actually a cover of the Zutons song, not Steve Winwood's.

Fastest climber within the top 75 this week - indeed, one of the fastest of all time - is Let me think about it, Ida Corr and Fedde le Grand, up 59 (FIFTY-NINE) places to 5. Shame it's such a rubbish record. Speaking of which, last week's number one from Sean Kingston drops to 4, and 24 New Pence and Justin Numberwang slip a place to 3. Highest new entry honours to Shayne Ward. It's been a year since his last single, during which time he's scoured Europe's hit-writers for the best songs around. No you hang up and If that's OK with you are the result, and their combined weight puts them in at 2. Kudos to Jessica Poptastic for the tip on this work, and on the number 1...

It's not enough to keep the Sugababes off the top, About you now becomes the group's fifth number 1 single, and one of the five best number 1 singles of the fast-aging year. It's the first single by British performers to reach number 1 on downloads alone, and only the 17th by a UK all-female band (following 8 by the Spices, two by the CE Slappers, one from Atomic Kitten, and a duet with said Slappers). Oh, and it's the biggest ever move to number 1, beating Captain Sensible's 33-1 climb from June 1982.

On the albums chart, the Foo Fighters' snoozeworthy Echoes Silence Patience and Grace is the new number 1, displacing James Blunt and Amy Whingebag. Ian Brown puts The World Is Yours in at 4, with Ryandan's eponymous album in at 7, and PJ Harvey's White Chalk at 11. Enrique's back up 7 at 17, and Jose Gonzalez has In Our Nature new at 19. Fightstar make 27 with One Day Son This Will All Be Yours, Mark Ronson's up 19 to 29, and Joni Mitchell's Shine is new at 36. Other newies: Down Over the Under at 46, Milburn These Are the Facts at 51, and Jamelia's hits album at 55. We've no idea who Iron and Wine are, in at 74 with The Shepherd's Dog.

 1 35 Sugababes - About you now
 9  7 Scouting for Girls - She's so lovely
16 40 Feist - 1234
17 48 Jack Penate - Second minute or hour
19 11 Robyn - With every heartbeat
24  6 Babyshambles - Delivery
27 re Jonny Trunk and Wisby - The ladies' bras
28 52 30 Seconds to Mars - The kill (rebirth)
36 28 Hoosiers - Worried about Ray
39 30 Newton Faulkner - Dream catch me
43 18 Enemy - You're not alone
45 NE Air Traffic - No more running away
46 re Joy Division - Love will tear us apart
48 NE Leann Rimes - Nothing better to do
49 16 Ian Brown - Illegal attacks
53 39 KT Tunstall - Hold on
54 33 Hard-Fi - Suburban knights
56 38 Reverend and the Makers - He said he loved me
58 NE Annie Lennox - Dark road
60 42 Mika - Big girl (you are beautiful)
68 43 White Stripes - You don't know what love is
70 59 Åvril Lavignnesøn - When you're gone
72 NE Colbie Caillat - Bubbly
74 re Holloways - Two left feet

.. 29 Luciano Pavarotti - Nessun dorma
.. 32 Billiam - Beautiful ones
.. 44 Milburn - What will you do
.. 51 Natalie Imbruglia - Glorious
.. 61 Moby - Extreme ways
.. 63 Fightstar - We apologise for nothing
.. 69 Ryandan - Like the sun
.. 70 Natalie Imbruglia - Torn
.. 75 Editors - An end has a start

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30September

This week, we've been watching and hearing...

• Not Going Out (BBC-1) A boring librarian? They'll be asserting there are principled Labour MPs next.
• Michael Palin's New Europe (Prominent Palin / BBC-1) Through Macedonia and Bulgaria to a rather poor time in Turkey. It's a valid place to visit, but it's hardly Eastern Europe as defined as behind the Iron Curtain.
• Blue Peter (BBC-1) Very not convinced. A new set gets about ten seconds of behind-the-scenes gubbins, there's a long and badly-executed feature about Gethin and Andy posting bills, a long and badly-executed make to tie in with CBBC's Dr. Who, and films from Bolivia and a just-off-the-beach car rally. Oh, and an apology from Zoe, but not that she's still on the show.
• The Protestant Revolution (The Fourth Programme) Religion in the visual arts. This didn't appeal; watching straight after Palin didn't help.
• Dispatches: Nice Work If You Can Get It Michael Alarmist asks why MPs vote themselves so many allowances, and why they're so reluctant to have anyone ask questions about it. Much of the blame should fall on Michael Martin, the current placeholder in the Speaker's chair, and a man who can only aspire to being in Ept.
• Feedback (Radio 4) asked why John Humphrys was so insufferably tabloid when talking with David Plunkett last week-end (it's in his nature, and Today << PM Reports; wondered why Andy Perfect let Chris Moyles gas on about sex and drinking like the pub bore (it's in his nature, and Moyles ≅ Today); and told us how the Theme Time Radio Hour works (it doesn't, Desmond Carrington does it far better.)
• Breakfast Special (Radio 2) Paul Hollingdale reminding us of what the first day of Radio 2 was like, a strange mixture of light music and contemporary hits.
• Junior Choice (Radio 2) Ed Stewart playing some of the favourite songs from the kiddies' request programme. Including what was surely the inspiration for Zack Lawrence's most likeable piece.
• Ben Bernanke / Zoe Ball and Sara Cox (Radio 1) recalling all the various hosts of the Radio 1 breakfast show. Goodiebags was only ever contracted for 15 weeks, Cliff Evans the only person too precious to take part, and Zoe introduced plenty of the good bits of Kevin Greening. More on this era later in the week.
• The Top 40 Show (Radio 1) combined this week's chart (hosted by Jay Kay and Or Joel) with some short history lessons (from Bruno Brookes and Mark Goodiebags). Including the most-played record over the 40 years of Radio 1: our money was on Bo Rhap.

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30September

A week of non-violent protests in Rangoon and other Burmese cities by monks and laity were brought to an end when the military junta brought in armoured troop carriers and started firing at demonstrators. The official death toll is 9, including a Japanese journalist. The United Nations sent a special envoy to the country; he met with the opposition leader. Red China, which exercises economic leverage over Burma, has not commented.

The British press whipped itself into a frenzy over the possibility of an election this autumn. Prochain ancien prime minister Mr. The Soup Dragon delivered a 67-minute speech to his party's annual rally; the lecture was entirely devoid of anything other than bluster.

The United Nations war crimes tribunal in Den Haag convicted two Serbian ex-army officers of massacring civilians in the Croatian town of Vukovar in 1991. The mass murder of 194 people was one of the first major crimes of the Balkan war.

Geelong won the AFL final, beating Port Adelaide 163-44. Argentina and Fiji progressed to the rugby world cup quarter-finals, at the expense of Ireland and Wales respectively.

We regret to report the death of Ian Gilmour, ancien Minister of War and Lord Privy Seal; Marcel Marceau, mime performer.

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30September

A cold front passed over Birmingham on Monday morning; temperatures dropped from 16°C at 6am to 13°C at 6.30, and 11°C at 8am. 13mm of rain fell between 4am and 7am. Tornadoes were observed in Nuneaton, and at points further south. The remainder of the working week saw winds from a northerly point, and Thursday morning was particularly cold. Sunnier weather arrived for the week-end.

24 Mo rain o/n, sun late11/16,17.0
25 Tu sun, showers       9/16, 3.0
26 We sun, wind          7/12
27 Th cloud              3/11, 0.5
28 Fr cloud              9/14
29 Sa sun               11/17, 1.0
30 Su sun                6/15

Rainfall in September: 44.5mm; monthly average: 61mm

Degree cooling days: 87
2006: 360/360
2005: 238/238
2004: 198/198
2003: 328/328

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