Minimalist poet, minimalist lifestyle

Kenyan deputy ministers 'bored'

At least 30 assistant Kenyan ministers have written a letter to the president, complaining they have no work to do.

"I just go to the office and read newspapers," said Abu Chiaba, an assistant fisheries minister.

His counterpart in the wildlife and tourism ministry said he learnt of policy decisions in the press, reports the BBC.

President Mwai Kibaki promised a lean government when he took power in 2002, but instead increased the number of jobs to reward his coalition partners.

The government spends more than £4.5m a year to meet salaries and allowances for the assistant ministers.

"We owe it to the taxpayer that what we are paid is commensurate with what we do," they said in a letter addressed to the president.

"I'm treated like a shadow and only learn of issues in my ministry through the press," said assistant Tourism and Wildlife Minister Kalembe Ndile.

Some current ministers who previously served as assistant ministers are also supporting their colleagues.

"I have been there before and I know how assistant ministers are treated," said Mohammed Kuti, now minister for youth affairs.

"They just go to the office, read newspapers and are ambushed to attend functions on behalf of the minister."

A kipper was the culprit in a suspected electrical fire this afternoon.

Gravesend fire station were called to a house in Cornwell Road, at 2pm today after a couple feared a strong smell in their kitchen was being caused by an electrical fire.

Fire crews used a thermal imaging camera to check the room for an signs of a fire, but found none.

The alarming smell was then traced to a kipper which had been left on a kitchen counter.

Satisfied the alert was a red herring, the crew declared the house safe and fitted it with smoke alarms as a future precaution.

A stonemason who carried out work on a cathedral tower left behind something to be remembered by.

Saul Sheldon says he made a carving of male genitals while working on the west face of Hereford Cathedral tower.

He says it is a stonemasons' tradition to do so and said that anyone looking for it would have to look carefully to find it.

He added he hoped the cathedral authorities would quite like it once they had got over the shock.

He said: "Some people might think it is not appropriate but some people might quite like it.

"I don't know what the cathedral authorities think about it but I think they will quite like it once they get over the shock."

Cathedral spokesman Glyn Morgan said they were not too surprised as they were aware of the craftsman's tradition of leaving little jokey reminders.

"At All Saints' Church in Hereford we have a carving of someone baring their bum to the congregation below.

"It's a long established tradition and it all serves to brighten a mood."

The cathedral has just learnt it has secured a grant of up to £4.2m from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The money will be spent on major works to improve drainage and paths and provide a new seating and educational area.

The cathedral's tower reopened to the public in April after three years of restoration work.