Ironic article of the day

The front pages of the newspapers are full of the Raoul Moat story - a murderer who is on the run in Northumberland, periodically issuing threats against the police and civilians. The Guardian is running the story as enthusiastically as anyone else.

Now let's turn to page 32, and the Country Diary.

Why, it's from Northumberland! What does it have to say?

We have enjoyed long, warm, sunny days for several weeks and I have been out walking on our moorland in the north of this county. Much of the uplands are covered with heather, and they can be steep in places, so a friend and I keep talking to a minimum to save energy, and not disturb wildlife. This week a man walking his dog on the moors told me that he considered our uplands to be "God's own country" and thought there was nowhere else that could recharge the human battery like a day in our hill country. I have been spending too much time in the garden and countryside, and went on a very enjoyable trip through our lovely border counties…

And so on. I'm stunned that Moat has time to make these kinds of observations!