Weather: Sunny early, but clouding over around mid-day, rain falls from 1330 to nightfall.

In an announcement that surprises no-one, Tony Blair postpones the local elections. They'll move from May 3 to June 7; elections in Northern Ireland will similarly move from May 16 to June 7. The national election, widely expected for May 3, will presumably not now take place. Opposition slaphead Billy Hague calls for an indefinite delay, but Blar is having none of it. Government spokesmodels refuse to irrefutably back June 7.

A US military plane is down in Red China, following a collision with a civilian aircraft. Red Chinese authorities drag their heels over allowing the Yanks to get to their place; the US is fearful that "secret" monitoring systems will be sniffed out during the delay. Behind the scenes is the thorny issue of Taiwan. The US is sending more weapons to Taiwan at the moment, a move that Red China sees as naughty, as Red China claims Taiwan for its own.

Sorting out the house. Give the CD collection a good sort - from Alanis to 808 State, with The Tragically Hip in the middle. And some more unpacking, cleaning, and a bit more for the freezer.

UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE: THE FINAL

St John's, Oxford -v- Imperial, London

Let's give St John's (SJ) credit for three things. 1) None of the team is over 21. Two of Imperial are studying post graduate qualifications. 2) Their college has barely 400 students - 1% are on the platform tonight. 3) They managed to lose their first round match to Birkbeck, but have beaten Edinburgh in the eliminator, Queen's Cambridge, Bristol, and University Oxford.

Imperial (IC) boasting 9000 students, beat Cranfield, Durham, Manchester and Hull.

SJ gets a perfect start, only for an incorrect interruption to bring the scores level at 20 after the first two starters. Two more starters are split, IC leads 40-35. IC gets the first pictures on the subsequent starter rule, but just one bonus. After six starters, IC leads 55-50.

A good guess on the Queen's corgis gives SJ the lead; the side has guessed shrewdly throughout the contest. It's nip and tuck as IC gets the next starter but only one bonus. Two starters go to SJ, giving them the first distinct lead, 110-70 at the music. That's opera, and goes to IC, as do all three bonuses.

Another IC starter brings physics bonuses, a lot of egg on their face as they go 0/3, and a 5 point deficit. Not being able to tell the Jetsons from the Clangers brings the sides level, and knowing the difference gives IC a 20 point lead. Campbell is on fire again, getting two more starters - that's 4/5. IC's lead increases to 55. Another two for IC takes the lead to 90, it's becoming awfully one-sided.

And on it goes. IC get the second pictures, and another. It's four in a row for Estcourt. Finally, Laird gets one for SJ, but with barely 3 minutes, it's too late. Linham bags another starter, and they're not letting Jeremy finish the bonuses. Swap starters, the lead comes down by 5. Two more starters for SJ, but the run is just too late.

Andrew Motion, the Poet Laureate, presents the trophy. It's Imperial's second win in the last five years.

Box scores
Person (starter) total

ST JOHN'S OXFORD (19 bonuses)
Bell     (25) 48 Linham (40) 65
Finglass (20) 44 Laird  (15) 38

IMPERIAL LONDON (22 bonuses)
Hodgson  (20) 46 Douglas  ( 0) 22
Estcourt (60) 92 Campbell (60) 90

SJ 35 75  -5 90 = 195
IC 40 30 120 55 = 250

Weather: Sunny, with some showers. 12.

The cable guy turns up and is out before 10. He's installed the cable tv box, but had no instructions to connect a phone. As the company fails to turn on the line or make contact by 5pm, they lose my custom. Where's British Twerps when you need them?

There's to be a public enquiry into foot and mouth. The "wide-ranging" enquiry, announced by Michael Meacher, will look into the handling of the past six weeks, the knock-on effects of the tourism and other rural issues, and address the underlying problems of over-intensive farming.
The army snubs opposition leader Slappy Hague's idea that the forces should take control. A burial site in Durham will be dug up over fears that it may pollute the water supply.

James Hanratty was guilty, claims the police. They're relying on DNA evidence to convict the man killed by the state for two murders off the A6 in 1962. Persistant claims that evidence was supressed and Hanratty was framed will not go away.

Red Chinese officials have been all over a US spy plane, claims the country's ambassador. The views come after the diplomat met the twenty four-strong crew of the jet, forced down after a mid-air collision on Sunday.

Virgin Records goes mental as they sign Mariah Cantsing on a GBP 60 million deal for three albums. The EMI-owned group has beaten their own record singing of Janet Jackson for 52 million in 1997. The chief warbler of the 90s has been on a downward sales curve since 1995, and hasn't made a decent record since - well, since forever.

Weather: Rainy early, some sunshine and showers later. 12.

Back to work, catch up on (most of) the huge backlog of jobs and things to do. Busy, but the extra two hours of sleep keeps me in a good humour.

Finally get the phone line connected.

Not in such a good humour is the superstore down the road. Shoot round, get the things I need. There are but six tills open, with three or four waiting at each. This is not good. The lady in front of me tries to pay with 1991 GBP20 notes. Unfortunately for her, those ceased to have widespread acceptance at the end of February. (Beagly Bill writes: Don't say they ceased to be legal tender; banknotes have never been legal tender.) It takes four minutes for the supervisor to come over, reject the money, and stuff a trolley full of shopping to one side. Where's the manager?

Tony Blair launches a campaign to reopen the British countryside in time for Easter, to stave off a disaster for Britain's tourist industry. The Government sees the first glimmer of hope that foot-and-mouth is peaking. New scientific advice suggests that the disease is spreading more slowly than had been feared.

Ministers hope to issue guidelines on events across most of the country where there is no foot-and-mouth, to enable as many as possible to go ahead. Culture Secretary Chris Smith has published a 10-point "common-sensical" guidance plan, intended to enable the reopening of as many paths, parks, woods and nature reserves as possible. English Nature, the Government-funded wildlife body, says: "We want to provide the public with some controlled and safe access to the countryside, without creating further risks for the farming community."

Ian Gardiner, deputy director-general of the National Farmers' Union, said the "end game" was in sight. "The picture is getting clearer and clearer. There are signs we are moving into the end game. We now at last can see very positive signs of getting on top of the disease."

The UN war crimes tribunal toughens its tone on Slobodan Milosevic by demanding his immediate transfer to the Hague. Arriving in Belgrade, foreign secretary Robin Cook said Milosevic must submit to international law. Yugoslav leaders want to try the ousted dictator at home first. Serbia's interior minister, Dusan Mihajlovic, said that Milosevic might be charged with more serious criminal offences which carry the death penalty. The UN tribunal will then find the corpse guilty as charged, and sentence it to rot in jail.

Embattled Europe minister Keith Vaz is under fire. This time, it's from the parliamentary ombudsman, for withholding information from MPs about advice he gave on human rights and the controversial Ilisu dam project in Turkey. The Commons committee was investigating a £200m government credit backing for construction company Balfour Beatty, a key contractor in the dam project.

The Sun steps up its unexpected campaign against the monarchcy, with a leader denouncing "a shabby old inherited institution". It attacks the Sophie Rhys-Jones-Windsor, and closes with a curious PS, saying that if there are more revelations from her recent embarrassing encounter with a News of the World reporter, "then Sophie's business and her standing as a royal will be utterly finished for ever". The Sun is the sister paper of the News of the World, and is clearly pre-empting next Sunday's edition.

Weather: Sunny start, then heavy rain sets in late morning. Clears during the afternoon, but wet again from 5. Manage to get a dry(ish) bit to cycle home, though.

A lorry driver is jailed for 14 years after being found guilty of killing 58 Chinese illegal immigrants who suffocated in the back of his truck at Dover. The judge at Maidstone Crown Court told Perry Wacker, 33, from Rotterdam, Holland, that he "demonstrated cynical exploitation" of his victims. Chinese interpreter Ying Guo, 30, from Woodford Green, Essex, charged with conspiring to smuggle the Chinese into Britain, was also convicted and was sentenced to six years. "Those involved in the smuggling of human beings for the purposes of evading immigration control are involved in a serious crime," said the judge Mr Justice Alan Moses. Wacker had closed a vent in the lorry and in doing so had sealed the fate of 58 of the 60 immigrants trapped inside.

Perry Wacker was but a small cog in a multi-million-pound machine that smuggles illegal immigrants into Britain. Police in Britain and Holland have never come near to catching the Snakehead gangsters who ran the operation and who terrorised both the immigrants and their families back home in China. Turkish underworld boss Gurzel Oznan, 34, masterminded the fatal trip last June. Gurzel is now on the run but the Snakehead he worked for, Chen Xiaokong, has since been arrested in China and faces the death penalty.

Wacker was desperately short of money - if his Turkish girlfriend was to be allowed to stay in Holland, he had to prove to the authorities he had the means to support her. For that he was prepared to ship Chinese at £3,000 a load. Each immigrant was paying £30,000 to the Snakeheads. By the time of his arrest Wacker had risen to a position where he was hiring others to do the driving. As such, he was never supposed to drive the lorry in which the Chinese died. With scores of illegal immigrants piling up in safe houses in Rotterdam, and no drivers available, Oznan decided Wacker should take the risk.

One suspect told Dutch police that Wacker had tried to insist on no more than 25 immigrants, after an incident a few months earlier when another group of Chinese almost suffocated, but Oznan overruled him. Even so, after helping to load his human cargo, Wacker closed the only means of ventilation once he was on board the ferry to Dover. He watched a couple of films during the five-hour crossing and had a meal as his passengers died.

As the lorry drove off P&O Stena's ferry European Pathway it was stopped by Customs. Wacker had aroused suspicions by paying cash for his ticket. Customs officer David Bell made the grisly discovery. "No amount of training could have prepared him for what he found. It was a scene of horror. He realised there were lots of dead people slumped behind the pallets of fresh tomatoes but he could not be sure immediately how many there were. It was only after a couple of other officers had joined him in the trailer that they realised two of them were still alive - just about. God only knows what would have happened and how and where these poor people would have been found if we had not checked the lorry at Dover."

Fares are to rise by almost 10% on Virgin trains, and by more than the rate of inflation on several other services. The hike will infuriate passengers and add fuel to the debate on re-nationalisation. Vermin boss Chris Green claims that the company lost £100m in revenue because of cancellations and disruptions in the wake of the Hatfield crash. The train companies are now braced for prolonged litigation with Railtrack over compensation.

Washington claims that the Chinese pilot involved in Sunday's collision with a US spy plane was known to be a dangerous flier. The allegation seems certain to heighten tension, as the Chinese media is lauding pilot Wang Wei as a hero, martyred by reckless American actions. Official regrets about Wei's death by the US secretary of state, Colin Powell, come nowhere near to the apology demanded by Beijing.

The tabloids continue their pursuit of the Countess of Wessex, following her indiscreet remarks to an undercover News of the World reporter. The Daily Mail describes Prince Edward and Sophie as a couple "who are too grand for their own good". The Sun tantalisingly talks of "further damaging revelations" which could force the countess out of her public relations job.

Robbie Williams confesses that he and Geri Halliwell are - occasionally - an item. This is meat and drink to the Sun, which offers the succinct summary: "Just good friends...but we do have the odd bonk".

Weather: Cloudy, a little sun, some heavy showers. 11.

The latest royal saga surrounding indiscreet remarks made by Sophie Rhys-Jones-Windsor to a News of the World reporter posing as a sheikh still grabs attention. The Press Complaints Commission has severed relations with Lixz Windsor's senior press adviser Simon Walker after moves to limit the damage caused by the revelations backfired dreadfully. Sophie is under pressure to quit her job at PR firm RJH as further revelations are expected to centre around her business partner, Murray Harkin. A royal aide claims that Harkin admitted "more than he should have" on the subject of drugs. Trade and industry secretary Stephen Byers's remark that, "if a sheikh came to me with a glass of champagne, I would make my excuses and leave," raises the ire of business leaders.

Michael Duberry, the Leeds United defender whose conscience told him to come clean and tell the truth in the GBH trial involving club colleagues and England hopefuls Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate, walks free from court with his thumb in the air. He was cleared by a jury along with three other defendants in the trial of conspiracy charges. Best mates Duberry and Woodgate warmly embraced after the verdict was read out.

Government figures show the foot and mouth crisis has hit tourism in the worst affected areas by up to 80%. The Cabinet has been told to spend Easter in Britain in a show of solidarity to the beleaguered tourist industry. The government is drawing up a £120m loans package to tide the industry over.

Most of the tabloids report the secrecy and subterfuge used by BBC bosses to conceal a minor plot development in a tedious daytime soap opera. The acters concerned had been sworn to secrecy, though one admitted telling her mum.

Weather: Sunny early, wet later. 9.

Not a good night's sleep, waking up around 4 and not getting back for ages.

Do the shopping, it's a bit quieter at 9am than 6pm.

And into the city, where there appears to be a complete lack of electric shaver supplies. Just stuff for disposable razors, which are *so* not my style.

This year's media spat over the royals takes a new twist with a Government minister saying the Windsors are "a bit bonkers". Consumer affairs minister Dr Kim Howells calls for restrictions on the use of taxpayers' money to fund their activities.

"I've never understood the attraction of royalty. This isn't the first generation. They're all a bit bonkers. Think of George III, they even made a film about it. They choose very strange partners, they're not managing the modern world very well."

Speaking of allegations that Eddie Windsor had used official overseas trips to secure business for his film company - allegations strongly denied by the Palace - Dr Howells said: "I suppose everybody trades on their fame, but I don't think the taxpayer should be paying for royal visits and first class air tickets to increase their profit margin."

So, we have a spat regarding the honest opinions of Eddie's wife, Sophie. As we see it, she's entitled to her POV, and as there's no realistic chance of her taking the bizarre position of Queen Consort, her views have the same importance as any other E-list celeb.
Then we have Dr Howells' honesty. It's become abundently clear that the Windsor clan has allowed itself to become a soap opera, and it's only got itself to blame. Even if there's no substance to the rumours about Eddie using taxpayer's money for personal gain, we must wonder how the situation arose. Why is it so important that these third and fourth offspring make overseas visits? If they are genuinely useful to the nation, then keep them as the tawdry trinkets they are. If they're not, set them free and let them find their own way in the world. This half-way house is getting us nowhere fast.

Vets are investigating the source of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the Scottish Borders, 30 miles from the nearest previously confirmed outbreak. A second suspected case in the Peak District has triggered a preventative cull recommended by vets who fear it could devastate the area's world-famous moorland.

Football: The romance finally leaves the FA Cup, as Spurs lose 2-1 to Arsenal. Though the north London side went ahead through a fantastic pinball manouvere that left Saman flat-footed, the north London side turned the deficit into a lead through strong playing.
A minor upset as Liverpool are forced to the limit by Wycombe. It's not until the 77th minute that the Murkeysiders take the lead, doubled six minutes later but pegged back in the 87th.
Liverpool and Arsenal now meet in the final in Cardiff on May 13; if both sides have qualified for the European League by finishing second and third, Spurs and Wycombe will play off for a UEFA Cup place. Liverpool's win means that the side finishing fifth in the Premier League will go into the UEFA, with the sixth and seventh-placed sides eligible for the Inter Two Bob.

Leeds United moved up to third place in the English premier league on Saturday with a 2-0 home victory over Southampton. Goals by Harry Kewell and Robbie Keane put Leeds into the third qualifying spot for next season's Champions League, a point above Ipswich Town who did not play and slipped to fourth.
At the bottom Coventry City moved to within a point of escaping from the relegation zone thanks to a 3-1 win at Leicester City, their second successive victory. Chelsea earned only their second away win of the season in a 4-0 trouncing of Derby County and West Ham United avoided a sixth defeat in a row when they drew 2-2 at Aston Villa.
Everton beat Man City 3-1 in the Sunday match.

League tables:
1 (1) Man Utd pl 31 - 70
2 (2) Arsenal    31 - 57
3 (3) Ipswich    31 - 52
4 (5) Leeds      31 - 50
5 (6) Liverpool  29 - 49
6 (4) Sunderland 31 - 48

17 (17) Middlesborough 31 - 31
18 (18) Man City       32 - 27
19 (19) Coventry       31 - 24
20 (20) Bradford       30 - 18

Tracker points:
1 (1) MUN 1208
2 (3) LEE 1123
3 (2) ARS 1113
4 (4) LIV 1086
5 (6) CHE 1077

16 (16) WHM 926
17 (18) COV 923
18 (17) NWC 920
19 (19) MCY 853
20 (20) BRA 841

Weather: Sunny early, but don't be deceived! Rain is on the way, arriving on the dot at 3. 13.

Chart News

Janet's B+ single, "All For You" takes honours in the US, deposing "Butterfly." Crazy Town needs not worry, as their track is now #1 in the World and World-ex-US-UK charts. Leann Womack regains pole position on the Adult Contemporary charts; the UK release has been put back to mid May ): Herasey retains #1 on the UK Albums chart.

Personal Airplay Stats: 34 contemporary hit records passed my radar this week (36 last), for a total of 47 plays (53 last.) It's the phenomenon known as Getting Cable.

Debuts:
"Drops Of Jupiter" - Train (AAA / MR; none scheduled)
"Higher" - Creed (MR / T40; Jan 2000, re-release pending)
"I Wanna Know" - Joe (R&B / T40; May)
"Who I Am" - Jessica Andrews (country; none scheduled)

Adds:
"Coffee And TV" - Blur (MR, 1999 - returning)
"Drops Of Jupiter" - Train

Most Heard:
Four apiece for "Feel So Good" and "I'm Like A Bird." Nelly takes Melanie B on the consistency countback.

LW	TW	wks		pk
1	1	14	It Wasn't Me Shaggy feat Rick Rock	1
For those who have lost the plot, this is week five. Now ahead of Herasey on sales, and shifting consistently for the past month and a half, this is certainly the biggest Event Single since Cher dominated most of autumn 98. It may well be the biggest since "Perfect Day" ran the show for the last two months of 97.
3	2	7	Butterfly Crazy Town	2
It was close behind the Shagster, though. California's merchants missed the top slot by less than 1.5%, raising expectations that they could claim the last slot next week.
2	3	4	Pure And Simple Herasey	1
The gradual decline continues, perhaps arrested slightly by yet another tv special. For a band put together on the small screen, does anything count as a tv *special*, though?
6	4	8	I'm Like A Bird Nelly Furtardo	4
Just when we thought she had finished, up pops the Portugese Canadian. Though she hasn't sold in the quantities of those around it, Nelly has launched her career in a real eye-popping style, and the next two follow-ups sound just as good.
5	5	10	Whole Again Atomic Kitten	1
Ten weeks (count 'em!) at the sharp end. Not bad for any band; brilliant for one that looked done and dusted at the turn of the year.
4	6	9	Teenage Dirtbag Wheatus	2
8	7	5	Clint Eastwood Gorillaz	7
And on roll the super hits. Wheatus looks set to be the biggest record not to hit #1 since Leann Rimes' "How Do I Live", while the Gorillaz reach another new peak.
70	8	1	What Took You So Long? Emma Bunton	8
Baby Spice had a semi-solo outing in November 99, supplying guest vocals on Tintinout's cover of Edie Brickell's "What I Am." That was reasonable, but paled into insignificance next to the original, or even the rest of Tintinout's album. After making a good fist of presenting children's television, Blonde Spice puts out her first proper solo record, and grabs the top seller in stores slot. It's not bad, but it does sound a lot like Hepburn's valedictory hit from February last year, "Deep Deep Down." The songwriters are different people.
Highlights
61	11	1	Chillin' Modjo	11
From the Follow That! files, after the massive success of "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)" last summer. Why change a winning formula, asks the producer. Why buy the same record again, wonders the public.
19	13	4	All For You Janet Jackson	13
Though Shaggy made #6 before his official release earlier this year, #13 is still a very good position for a record on overseas points alone.
N	19	1	Bow Wow (That's My Name) Lil' Bow Wow	19
A young kid, doing some poor rapping about what it's like to be a young rapper. Does anyone else sense the ghost of Kris Kross in the building? They were treading the same ground in 1992, and were just as rotten.
22	20	3	Survivor Destiny's Child	20
23	22	6	Thank You Dido	22
29	26	5	Angel Shaggy feat Rayvon	26
N	27	1	Seven Days In The Sun Feeder	27
N	34	1	Burn Baby Burn Ash	34
Both bands are modern rockers, coming off their biggest hits in a long time (Ash) or their career (Feeder.) Both are blinkin' good tracks, and (as usual) both are being relegated to the ghetto of Alternative Radio.
31	29	3	Hanging By A Moment Lifehouse	29
N	31	1	Happiness Sound Decision	31
N	32	1	Suspicious Minds Elvis Presley	32
Re-released to promote his latest greatest hits album.
N	42	0	Play Jennifer Lopez	42
64	56	0	Lovin' Every Day Ronan Keating	56
82	61	0	Let Love Be Your Energy Robbie Williams	61
68	67	0	What It Feels Like For A Girl Madonna	67
N	94	0	Out Of Reach Gabrielle	94
Records on beige backgrounds are primarily scoring from UK airplay; those on green backgrounds are yet to have a commercial UK release.