Peter Rhodes on axes, freebies and the truth about politicians' salaries
After last week's gripping item about a stone-age flint axe, listed on eBay as “condition: new,” I have found a similar axe reckoned to date from 7400 to 6000 BC. Ebay lists it as “pre-owned.”
The row over Keir Starmer's freebies has raised the endless moan about MPs and ministers not being paid enough.
The frankest thing I ever heard on the subject came from a General Election candidate some years ago. She was a wife, mum and councillor who worked in her husband's shop. As she prepared to contest the election, what did she think of an MPs' pay? “For people like me,” she said, “it's like a pools win.”
A few years ago a friend's wife was dying of cancer. One night she was struck with agonising pain. It was pitch-black and raining but her husband, although elderly and wary of the roads at night, figured the quickest way to get her to hospital was to drive there.
