One too many drinks in Hammersmith & Fulham

Festive drinkers have been confused in Hammersmith & Fulham this year.

On the one hand the Conservative council was saying Festive drinkers sold short. Dozens of licensed premises in West London are serving festive drinkers short measures of alcohol, according to the council.

And on the other, it was proclaiming Street drinkers left high and dry by booze ban. A blanket ban on anti-social street boozers has busted more than 120 drunken vagrants in the first month of the innovative new scheme.

Which is all rather confusing for local residents. What does the council really think about alcohol consumption? Are glasses half full or half empty in Hammersmith & Fulham?

Whatever you do, don't go into the Salutation pub opposite the town hall to ask one of the Cabinet members for an answer. Particularly later on in the evening.

Scrooge arrives early in Hammersmith & Fulham

Tis the season of goodwill - unless you live in Hammersmith & Fulham. The Tory council has just put up the cost of dying by increasing charges for being buried locally.

Now everyone's waiting to see where the axe will fall to pay for cuts in council tax. Council staff are leaving in droves to avoid the chop while others are 'celebrating' Christmas with redundancy notices.

Council leader Stephen Greenhalgh is already tucking into the mince pies, avoiding the flak by taking an early Christmas holiday. No doubt he'll return even blobbier in time for photos on Christmas Day with pensioners.

Not that they will want to celebrate the council's cuts to home helps and meals on wheels. The question everyone is asking is where will the axe fall next?

One small consolation is that local police are being asked to work 24/7 to tackle crime in parts of the borough. But guess what, only if local businesses will pay for it!

Scrooge has definitely arrived early in Hammersmith & Fulham.