IF I could offer crumbs of comfort to the HS2 blighted villagers of north Warrington then it might be this.

The current rate of progress – the plummeting pound, interminable Brexit blatherings and shaky track record on most major engineering feats – could mean the possibility of constructing the additional spurs for this gargantuan project never actually happen.

An announcement that the Warburton to Lowton stretch will no longer cut a devastating swathe through the Taylor Business Park and Culcheth Linear Park is of some little relief to parts of the community.

On careful perusal of the section map though, the prospect of a viaduct bludgeoning its way through Hollins Green, and the line passing just yards away from the village cemetery, made this writer blanch.

When the charge is Warrington accepting all the pain, for very little conceivable gain, it’s a tough proposition to question.

  •  This last leg is a little self-indulgent – but encapsulates the forlorn task of the jobbing hack perfectly. Seven days ago Podium was bemoaning the state of our health and social care system.

Only later, when a loyal friend shared the Facebook version of this missive, did I chance upon a reader savaging the final few paragraphs, concerning the theft at the Adventure Farm Trust.

The little bullet point, used to denote a change of topic, had apparently escaped some folks, who wondered what the charity had to do with the fate of the NHS. Trolled over a bullet point? Whatever next?