Luckily for myself I had my good lady in the passenger seat to help guide me out, but it left me wandering just what would happen if I was shopping on my own – do Morrisons have a person on checkout who gets called to wave cars out of their parking spaces?

I can just imagine the sight of a team of 'Parking Controllers' on standby, when all of a sudden the tannoy announcement beams over the supermarket: "Parking Controller X to bay 12 please!"

All of a sudden some sprightly student would dart out – armed with two table tennis bats and wearing a fluorescent jacket – to wave you out of your bay and out of the car park in safety.

***

OUR Assembly often comes in for a lot of stick for the titles of its ministers, but I think there' obviously a need for a new post – Minister for Paper Clips.

Surely I jest? Well perhaps I do, but figures just out from the Welsh Tories suggest that "Rhodri's pens and paper are costing you millions".

They've done a bit of number crunching and reckon the Assembly Government is spending about £260 per staff member a year on stationery.

Finance spokesman and Leader of the Official Opposition Nick Bourne AM says he has "exposed" the annual cost of providing employees with their paper, pens and staples.

According to the Assembly Government it spent £1,531,718.17 in 2007 for its 5,891 strong workforce.

The cost has increased by 173% in eight years while the number of Assembly Government employees has more than doubled, the Tories are quick to point out.

Nick says: "This strikes me as an incredible amount of money to be spending on stationery."

Well it does, but what would he do in Rhodri's position? Appoint a minster for paper clips as I suggested, or would that just add to the costs and paper work.

***

OUR editor was singing the praises of the helpful people of the St John Ambulance this week.

Although he was hobbling around a bit after his exertions in the Across Wales Walk on Saturday, he reckons he'd have been in a lot worse state if his blistered feet hadn't been patched up by a charming and smiling female member of the Newtown branch of the organisation.

Members from Caersws and Newtown were at every checkpoint along the 42-mile walk to take care of the walkers.

What a charitable and good-minded lot those St John people are, fancy volunteering (on your Saturday off) to take care of people's smelly old feet.

That's dedication!

***

IT'S good to see Joe Davies is in good form – both on and off the cricket pitch.

The popular Newtown allrounder contacted our young and lethargic sports editor Gavin Grosvenor through popular social network Facebook complaining that several of his wickets had been credited to clubmate Jonathan.

Joe was not too despondent however but wished Gavin had made the same mistake when he suffered a spate of ducks earlier in the Marstons League season.

On the pitch Newtown IIs – for whom Joe is a regular – are second in the table under the inspirational leadership of Ricky Davies.

What a pleasant way to make his point, with a dash of humour.

***

TALKING of humour, a picture on our centre spread made me chuckle this week.

I'm talking about the lad who entered Llanfair Caereinion's excellent carnival as a gingerbread man. Forgive me for being a bit crude here, but it is his antics with his "ginger nuts" that just cracked me up.

Well done Llanfair, another superb carnival effort in spite of the poor weather.