NEXT PLEASE !!

So, Herr Blair has finally done the decent thing and announced his resignation. About time too. I remember when Gordon Strachan announced that he would be leaving the manager`s job at Southampton at the end of the season around January time. Everyone knew then that his influence on team affairs would diminish for the rest of that season and so it proved. It has been the same with Blair - for months we have all known he would be going - for months there has been a growing limbo at the heart of Government and, frankly, it`s no way to run a railroad.

I hesitate to descend into the grimy world of politics but a couple of things struck me about Blair`s announcement. The first was the media frenzy that it created - now of course the fact of his going should be reported and the resignation speech should be given the coverage it deserves, but there has been - and will continue to be - almost endless discussion in all the media about the legacy he might leave behind. As if nothing else is happening in the world - missing girl in Portugal; continued violence in Iraq; interest rates climbing to 5.5%; cost of ID cards soaring to £5billion (buried on a good day for burying bad news) ......and all put aside so that all the media can concentrate on Blair`s announcement.

I have been amazed at the amount of pseudo-analysis of Blair`s ten years in office, which is all about opinion, of course - and one man`s take is as good or as bad as any other`s - and it may be a good idea not to turn on the tv or listen to the radio or even buy a newspaper for the next seven weeks to avoid having to find out what others` opinions may be when, after all, the only opinion that really matters is your own. I have a friend on the Isle of Wight who went for days without knowing anything about what was going on in the wider world....and he was much the better for it.

As to Tone, Cherie and the rest of the the assorted acolytes, the quicker they are all consigned to history (preferably without a glowing legacy) the better.....the only trouble is that Gordon (Clunking Fist) Brown - yet another Scot to rule my country - will enter stage left and become the new focus of the opinion-formers and the whole thing will start all over again.

Next, please....