"It's Illegal to Use a Legal Name"

These strange posters have been appearing across the country. I photographed this one outside Oakham station when I was in the town a couple of weeks ago for the reopening of the castle.

Jon Kelly tries to get to the bottom of the mystery on the BBC News site, but reaches no firm conclusion. You will also a thread about it on Above Top Secret.

There are lots of people out there with strange views, but not many of them have the money to pay for a national billboard campaign.

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The mud walls of Oakham

In Oakham for the reopening of the castle on Monday, I noticed a couple of mud walls in the town.

I realise it is a niche interest, but you can find more examples on this blog's mud walls label.

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Oakham Castle reopens after major restoration project

I went over to Oakham today for the official reopening of its castle after a £2m restoration project.

The castle grounds and town centre were en fête with more or less Norman attractions.

There is a report on BBC News:

Oakham Castle, in Rutland, has been closed since September to allow for the restoration of the Great Hall and cleaning of the 230 commemorative horseshoes inside. 

The ancient defensive walls have also been revealed for the first time in 150 years. 

It is one of the oldest surviving secular buildings in the country. 

Oakham Castle, which dates back to 1180, was built as a manor house and was later heavily fortified with walls, a moat and a drawbridge but by the 16th Century most of the castle was a ruin.

If you want to know more about the archaeology of the site, there is a helpful episode of Time Team.

To an  occasional visitor like me, the revelation of the walls around the site is striking.

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Lord Bonkers' Diary: "Take your hands off our cox"

Saturday

Each year the winning crew in the Boat Race is invited – “lured” might be a more honest way of putting it – to Rutland Water to challenge the eight from our own University of Rutland at Belvoir. With its jagged rocks, submerged wrecks and wartime mines, the course offers a challenge all its own.

As is customary, Rutland wins.

When the surviving Cambridge oarsmen attempt to introduce one of their customs to the event, I tell them shortly to “Take your hands off our cox.”

You see, the Rutland crew is traditionally coxed by a Well-Behaved Orphan – they may not be that good at steering, but they are all Terribly Light. As I had seen Ruttie (my old friend the Rutland Water Monster) lurking in the deep, and as Ofsted has been asking Awkward Questions lately, I decided that throwing the winning cox into the water might not be such a good idea.

Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South West, 1906-10.

Previously in Lord Bonkers' Diary

• Freddie and Fiona at Remain
• The jellyfish of the Lakeland fells
• Reviewing David Laws’ memoirs

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Six of the Best 585

Mark Pack blogs on the polling industry's inquiry into what went wrong with the polls conducted during the 2015 British general election campaign.

"Gould had long carved out an alternative viewpoint to that of Kinnock and Smith, putting forward arguments that were to look much wiser in retrospect than many were prepared to credit at the time." Alwyn Turner on Bryan Gould, who contested the Labour leadership with  John Smith in 1992.

Niall Meehan on Morris Fraser, child abuse, corruption and collusion in Britain and Northern Ireland.

Toni Airaksinen says you shouldn't report your professors' microaggressions.

The Hwicce of Rutland? Caitlin Green speculates on a possible Anglo-Saxon kingdom.

"Every paradise is lost. That’s kind of the point. Loss is the diagnostic feature of every paradise ever lived or imagined. But for five miraculous years and 120,000 miraculous words Gerald Durrell sustained a vision of paradise with joy in every day and every page." Simon Barnes praises My Family and Other Animals.

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Oakham Castle to reopen to the public on Monday 30 May

The Rutland Times has the news that Oakham Castle will reopen to the public after its restoration on Monday 30 May:

A grand reopening will take place, transporting visitors back to Norman England. There will be demonstrations and chances to have a go at a variety of activities including Norman coin striking, falconry, archery and weaving. Knights on horseback will parade through the town and guided tours of the site will help unlock the castle’s secrets.

I think I may have a go at repressing a Saxon.

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Major restoration work at Oakham Castle

Read more about this project on the Oakham Castle Restoration Project blog.

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Lib Dems hold seat on Rutland County Council

Whissendine windmill © Kate Jewell

Good news from Rutland, where the Liberal Democrats comfortably held a seat in a council by-election in Whissendine yesterday.

The result:

Kevin Thomas (Lib Dems)   265
Conservative                      109
Ukip                                    33

The Ukip candidate was Marietta King, who has twice been their general election candidate in Harborough.

Her intervention took a few votes from the Conservatives, but otherwise the result was more or less unchanged from October 2014 when Sam Asplin gained the seat for the Lib Dems in another by-election. He was forced to stand down by poor health.

Rather impressively, there was a 40 per cent turn out, with no spoilt papers.

Martin Brookes has a photo of the victorious Lib Dem candidate.

Incidentally, Lord Bonkers played no part in this triumph. I sent his latest diary off to Liberator last night and it seems he has been in the US state of New Rutland for the Primaries.

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Oakham Reserves match abandoned after ugly crowd scenes

The Rutland & Stamford Mercury wins Headline of the Day with this disappointing story.

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Police used anti-stalking legislation against Rutland councillors

A worrying report from BBC East Midlands Today. It reminds you that Rutland County Council won the Legal Bullies of the Year category in Private Eye's 2013 Rotten Boroughs Awards.

I hope Nick Wainwright will take this further. Asking awkward questions of the chief executive is an important part of a councillor's role.

Thanks to Martin Brookes.

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Restoring Oakham Castle

If you are visiting Bonkers Hall and its famous maze (entry free, exit negotiable) next summer, why not take in Oakham Castle too?

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