In Mr Pendle's days, it was days out at exotic locations such as Heysham Head, Skipton Castle or New Brighton we had to look forward to.

In 2008, however, skiing trips to France and Austria and even a trip to New York are more likely to be the destinations for school outings.

Mr Pendle can remember saying when he heard that students at Pendle Vale College had been to the Big Apple that in his schooldays, he would have been lucky to have the chance to go to York in this country.

As for flying across the Atlantic? That was the stuff dreams are made of 40 or so years ago.

Not that Mr Pendle begrudges the Pendle Vale pupils their trip of a lifetime for a moment - it is just one more example of how the world changes generation by generation.


IS there anything more annoying than watching a local lad made good on national television and the programme failing to name his home town to the nation?

In the world cycling championships which ended at the weekend, Mr Pendle watched Colne's Steven Burke finish a highly creditable sixth in the five-event omnium event, hoping that the Bonnie Town On The Hill - or Pendle at any rate - would get a mention.

And what happened?

"Steven, who comes from Burnley ..." went the commentary.

Why do they do it?

Is it because Burnley has a football team, and so people will have heard of it?

Or do they think the viewing public are too dim to understand the sentence "Steven, who comes from Colne in North-East Lancashire"?


IF there was any justification for MPs' expenses to be published, look no further than the revelation last week that Scottish Nationalist Alex Salmond claimed more than £130,000 for the period April to December last year.

All this during a period when he visited Westminster just six times.

The claim is made up of £13,988.98 for a flat in Westminster, £84,664.94 in staffing costs, incidental expenses of £18,591.34, travel expenses of £1,480.80, £2,374 in travel expenses for his wife and staff, £,5,785.62 for stationery and postage and £1,255.46 for computing.

As one Labour MSP put it, it would have been cheaper for him to stay at the Ritz.

Some MPs are trying to block the publication of MPs' expenses because it would reveal the second home addresses they have furnished at taxpayers' expense.

But given that Mr Salmond's details are in the public domain, could it possibly be the real reason they want things kept under wraps is there would be a nationwide outcry if the true depth of the expenses trough was revealed?