… it seems the new council has been warned that cancelling the Bourne Hill development would cost “upwards of” £6m in compensation to the 30-odd firms awarded contracts just before the election. Oh yeah, sez who?

If I were a councillor, I’d seek legal opinion from a QC. Because I cannot believe that firms who’d been told the project risked immediately cancellation could possibly win a claim in court. I think a judge would throw it out. So I suspect that most companies will prefer to settle out of court for something much more reasonable.

If there really are absolutely watertight compensation clauses, it raises some very interesting questions. Certainly I’d like to know a lot more about what advice was given to whom, by whom, and when. There may well be some personal liability issues here.

But one point is unarguable. The new councillors came to power pledged to cancel the scheme and that is what they must do. Any compromise wouldn’t just be shabby, it would be shameful and unforgiveable.

Incidentally, the Lib-Dems also promised to drop that hilarious “Parking Ambassador” title for traffic wardens (and just when I’d got used to calling them Your Excellency). Did they do so? And if so, what’s the new name?

I was delighted to see that Sheila Warrander’s mayoral appeal for Alabare was so successful. Raising £60k was a wonderful achievement, and goodness knows, it’s a deserving cause.

One of the great things about Salisbury is that local people are so charitable. I spent an hour outside Waitrose last week collecting for Samaritans. I didn’t even have to hold out a box. Shoppers were emerging from the store and struggling with bags and purses to find money without any encouragement.

More importantly, quite a few filled in forms to apply for training as listening volunteers. Right now the Sams are a bit short-handed. There’ll be an Open Evening for would-be volunteers on Wednesday June 27 from 7-8 pm. If you’d like to come along and learn more about what Samaritans do, call Salisbury 323355 and leave a message for Fiona 17.