BEING laid up ill in bed for a couple of days and scratching around for non-demanding reading material, I picked up my copy of the famously expensive publication that

BEING laid up ill in bed for a couple of days and scratching around for non-demanding reading material, I picked up my copy of the famously expensive publication that is Life magazine, to see if my tax money that pays for it is well spent. Not so I fear.Much of it is insubstantial fluff, the Clapton-in-Gordano walk had already been featured in last Saturday's Western Daily Press, and a large amount of it concerns matters already covered better and more fully in the Weston & Somerset Mercury (eg T4 and the pier pavilion). The pier coverage in Life consisted mainly of those who aspire to be seen as the 'great and the good' queuing up to affirm their tireless support etc, etc. Reassuring thought to notice that Somerset retains a Lord Lieutenant. If only we still had a Beadle, I'm sure the local crime rate would be zero!As to financial matters, if I had poached £220 from my savings account to add to my existing holiday activity spending money, then on my return put £130 back in, should I pat myself on the back for having delivered an annual vacation budget underspend?One final note on reading the pretty non-specific 2007/2008 summary of accounts for the fourth time, whilst we are now aware that we will be paying an extra 0.8 per cent into our civil servants' generous pension pot, no mention is made of what the actual council wage bill is.On, and Life magazine itself? I think we can safely file it under 'vanity publishing' except it is we, and not the authors, who bear the cost.GARY WILLIAMS - Clarkson Avenue, Milton