SO London is having a referendum on whether its people want a Mayor. Little old Blackburn couldn't have one on unitary status.

The only people to get a vote were Big Brother Coun Malcolm Doherty and his orchestra.

Talking of orchestras, I don't think axed council chief executive Gerald Davies need worry about a job, he knows Doherty and his orchestra score so well that they must surely find him a place.

But, may I add, it won't be in the violin section - that is already full, with a queue wanting to get in stretching past the Darwen boundary, or has the Blackburn quango got rid of it?

J READ, Blackburn, (full address received).

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.