THE Knutsfordian does not have a wooden heart, so he was sad to hear Elvis had left the roundabout following an incident at the weekend when someone thought it a good idea to sit on the stag and pinch its antlers.

Hopefully the perpetrators will be found and identified from CCTV footage. The fact that there is CCTV footage reminds The Knutsfordian of Cheshire East’s attempts to offload responsibility for paying the bill to have CCTV cameras in the borough’s towns. Knutsford Town Council, rightly, declined Cheshire East’s generous offer to allow the town to take over the cost.

What has happened to Cheshire East’s cunning plan? Has the council managed to offload the cost or is it going to continue trying to pass the buck to save a buck?

Talking of the police, The Knutsfordian sees Cheshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner is looking for volunteers to help gather feedback on policing in the county.

As is increasingly the case with public bodies, volunteers have to apply to be a volunteer.

The new way of volunteering asks people to do a job which in the past they would have been paid to do.

In the PCC’s case, his office of highly-paid staff want the volunteers to carry out surveys at events and on the street before they sit back in their plush chairs and evaluate the results.

The Knutsfordian does not see this as voluntary work, this is working for nothing. No doubt if challenged the PCC would trumpet on about serving the community, supporting our police force and so forth.

Real voluntary work is done by people to support causes they believe in. They want to make a difference to people’s lives, whether it be volunteering at The Welcome or planting flowers for Knutsford in Bloom.

Our own Knutsford Hosts scheme is attractive in that its volunteers receive training and a qualification. (The Knutsfordian is somewhat sceptical about the point of the qualification, but is prepared to be enlightened.) Mr Osborne tells me his economy is improving.

The Knutsfordian wonders if much of that improvement is a result of people working for nothing.

PS The Knutsfordian, a staunch Royalist and big fan of the Windsors, finds his nose out of joint over the news Princess Anne declined to mark the 150th anniversary of Knutsford Royal May Day with a visit to the town in favour of attending Cheshire County Show’s annual general meeting and opening BAE Systems Global Combat Systems Munitions Facility in Crewe. Wham, bam no says ma’am.

PPS The Knutsfordian has only taken a quick snap at plans to build vast quantities of housing in Mobberley but is much taken with the village’s new name, Mobbford.