AND A FEW OTHER THINGS...

Byline: rob DAVIES

IBET Barack Obama is quietly seething about winning the Nobel Peace Prize after being in office as president for such a short time. After all, he has hardly had enough time to make much of a name for himself as a man of peace, has he? The problem for President Obama now is that, given the dangerous world in which we live, what if he is required to wield a big stick similar to the one used by George Bush? AHUGE problem with wheelie bins is the fact that they are huge. Next time you see a great long line of bins decorating the front of houses, just reflect on what an eyesore they are.

And it's not just a problem on the day they are put out for collection either - many can regularly be seen lolling about on full public view.

It's a particular shame along scenic routes which would otherwise make perfect photographs. Do local councils ever pause and consider this? WALES could "lose out" on millions of pounds of European funding, it has been claimed.

This is because enlargement will mean that poorer European regions will take priority and Wales might lose some or all of its pounds 1.3bn. That's a shame - all the more so because this cash isn't European in the first place. It is money that Welsh people have poured into EU coffers through their taxes. The British, remember, pay far more into the EU than is returned in so-called EU grants.

THE BBC has been given a kicking for an interview conducted on Radio 1 with members of the British National Party.

I am wholeheartedly on the Beeb's side on this. The BNP must now be given airtime because they command enough public support to justify it.

The fact that its members make ignorant remarks - such as claiming that footballer Ashley Cole isn't ethnically British - shows up the BNP for the still-racist, unpleasant party it has always been.

IHAVE been gently chastised by a reader who took issue with me for my uncomplimentary thoughts on cats (although her husband agrees with me).

Mrs Ellis of Holyhead talks of the pleasure hers have given her, their loving nature and how they enjoyed playing hide and seek with the dog.

I must admit to feeling a little guilty at describing cats as pointless. My main problem with them is that they go after birds. Come to think of it, ours doesn't - he's too old and lazy. For now, where cats are concerned, I'll retract my claws.