The Joy of Six 1009

"There is a lot of common ground between most councillors about the pragmatic methods needed to deliver services and a better future for those they represent. That common ground too often gets dissipated by an unnecessary tribalism and arrogance with people defending their tribe to the end instead of accepting compromise and joint working and rightful involvement." Richard Kemp looks at the new coalitions emerging after this month's local elections.

Maddy Shaw Roberts reports that musicians and music businesses are warning time is up for UK grassroots acts and European orchestras are resistant to booking UK artists because of ‘paperwork and expense’.

"The law remains fully committed to backing the ‘static’ but specifically to the propertied ‘static’. Modern methods of control over space and access to it are not only legal but technological – CCTV and other surveillance, ID cards, swipe cards, fingerprint and face recognition software. Open space in many of our cities appears free and easy, but lots of concourses, squares and plazas in new developments are privately owned, and you can be prevented from protesting, hanging out or doing pretty much anything depending on the power and will of private corporations." mudlark121 surveys 1000 years of laws against travellers, wanderers and trespass

Richard Mabey mourns the debasement of the English hedge.

"One of the new Road Collision Reporting Guidelines stresses that journalists should not use the word 'accident' for a road collision but, instead, use 'crash'. Carlton Reid on new guidelines for journalists.

Alun Harris offers a quick guide to the work of the horror writer Ramsey Campbell.