600

As the Liberals assemble for their annual conference, their role in our future becomes more and more likely. With majority governments now looking less and less likely, the Liberals look set to become Kingmaker for many years to come. 600 days hence, the UK will vote again for a new government and Nick Clegg will ultimately choose his preference. As he reflects on his role in the Coalition, it hasn't all been doom and gloom. He has embraced compromise even though it has meant alienating many within his own party. This is to his credit and the British electorate will ultimately thank him for it. He has to tread a difficult path between cosying up to the Tories and listening to offers from elsewhere. He would though do well to heed the advice of Vince Cable. Talk of our economic recovery is somewhat premature and Clegg needs to be cautious of the language he uses ion this respect. We are a long way from safety and he knows it. Provided he can resist the temptation to crow about the economy, he looks set to prop up another government in 2015. All that remains is for the electorate to decide on his partner. While many within his own party would prefer a partnership with Labour, the electorate at large appear to have different leanings. At a cost of nearly $600 million, the Costa Concordia was a massive project. When the cruise liner was sank last January, the problem of salvage came to the fore. As I write, plans are being carried out to re-float this ocean going behemoth. At a little over 114,000 tonnes, it dwarfs the Titanic. It goes to show that where there is a will, there is a way. Clearly the sums of money involved are dictating this project but the achievement will be no less spectacular should they succeed in this re-float. I was surprised to learn recently that estimates show that up to 600 million stray dogs roam the earth at any given time. That is an awful lot of dog mess. At the same time, it is revealed that Facebook has just achieved 600 million users. That is extraordinary given that it didn't even exist until February 2004. Its good to know that so many people have the chance to engage with each other - long may it reign. Moving away from 600 though, it was sad to see that the police remain as petulant as ever this morning. Christopher Jeffries was the man whose life they made a misery when they arrested him on suspicion of murder. The real culprit was subsequently found. Instead of a proper apology which would have done them a lot of good in the eyes of the public, they instead expressed their regret at the way he was treated. Sorry to come the pedant here, but sorry would have worked really well because this poor man was vilified for weeks afterwards - innocent until proven guilty? Apparently not in this country. Shame.