I took a break, after the drama of the late night election count. I had predicted a Tory majority, and I was wrong - by one vote. If LibDem Richard Stevens had lost the Old Town seat - it was a tie if you remember - then the Tories would have had an overall majority, 16 seats compared to what would have been 16 between Labour, LibDems and Independent Springthorpe. As it was, Stevens hung on and the council remained hung.

MAYORMAKING on Wednesday - suitably staged at the White Rock Theatre - was its usual pantomine self, what with microphones that didn't work, Mayor Maureen amusingly describing them as 'those bloody stupid things,' and councillors arguing about life in Zimbabwe. Onto the serious matters, and Maureen Charlesworth was elected Mayor for a third year running, unopposed. There is no doubt she is a fabulous Mayor of our town, and I am sure we will all welcome her back for another 12 months.

THEN we came onto the make-up of Cabinet, and remember that is the group which makes all the big decisions at Hastings Borough Council. After this month's local elections, the Tories remain the biggest party with 15 seats, Labour have 13, LibDems have just 3, and there is one Independent (although it looks like he is now voting Tory - amazing that a year ago when he left them, he made the most astonishing attack on Tory leader Peter Pragnell).
Anyway, Labour and LibDems argued that the Cabinet should be split to reflect the voting of this town ie four Tory, four Labour and one LibDem, but the Tories - on the casting vote of Madam Mayor - were having none of it, and the Cabinet will be six Tories, and nobody else. So, in effect, we have a Tory-run council. It does mean squabbles galore between the two main parties - how boring - but the Tories will be able to push through their policies for the next two years. It will, at least, make them accountable, and look out for cost-cutting measures along the way. Time will tell, but of course they are being helped nationally by the fact that Gordon Brown is - and likely to remain - unpopular. Labour locally points out that, unlike many other parts of the country, their vote didn't collapse in Hastings. And indeed this must be seen as a major missed opportunity for Amber, PP and the Tory crew.

I HAVE been talking to Sir Dexter Hutt, he's the man who is taking over three of our failing schools - Hillcrest, Filsham Valley and The Grove. Next week he will be writing an article telling you why standards must rise in our schools, and he is quite right. The disgrace of this is why our standards have been allowed to be so bad for so long - a bit like if there's a fire, how long do you wait before you call the Fire Brigade? We have also heard this week of problems between Hillcrest and Creative Partnerships, a government-backed initiative to support schools in need. More on that next week.

FINALLY, there is still time to see the Jerwood Art Gallery plans. This is a wonderful scheme. which we must get behind - its key to our regeneration.