THE Insider’s sense of irony and mischief was tweaked last week when police were spotted lining coaches up to park on double yellow lines in Osney Mead. For a road safety meeting.

Overall, teaching youngsters the dangers of the road is a good thing, naturally, but a cheeky call was put into Thames Valley Police querying this breach of the law.

A rather serious response followed, informing us that a police officer is allowed to direct motorists to park on double yellows and that there was “a dynamic and continual risk assessment” being carried out.

A few checks failed to spot police keeping a ‘continuous dynamic’ eye on the situation.

While police may be right about an officer’s powers, suspects Parliament intended it for use in emergency situations rather than convenience at a police-hosted meeting, even if the cause was commendable.

  • A spooky prediction emerged as a committee chairman tried to wrap up discussions at a council meeting.

During Tuesday night’s meeting of Oxford City Council's value and performance overview and scrutiny committee meeting at Oxford Town Hall, Lib Dem chairman Mark Mills said: “Time is drawing to a close”, before correcting himself to say: “I mean our time is drawing to a close, not time itself.”

Maybe Mr Mills had an out-of-body experience, or maybe he was referring to the future of the party he so ably represents...

  • Education chief Melinda Tilley’s own figures got the better of her during Tuesday’s county council cabinet meeting.

The cabinet member responsible for schools grilled a parent who cited figures from a consultation document as an argument against the expansion of Windmill Primary School.

Mrs Tilley said: “How many did you send out?” to be informed by the parent that it was a council consultation document, which the senior councillor had presented to the cabinet in her own report.

Maybe a bombardment of press calls about Oxfordshire’s negative showing in Ofsted’s annual report on schools and a number of attacks on the council’s expansion policy during the meeting from speakers got to Mrs Tilley, who normally has all the facts at her fingertips.

  • Commuters in Oxfordshire would have been puzzled by advice at some of the alternative services to use during the flooding disruption.

In a message to the Oxford Mail, operator First Great Western, or “Worst Late Western” as it’s affectionately known, told travellers they could make alternative arrangements on CrossCountry or Freightliner services.

However, as most regular rail users know, Freightliner doesn’t carry people, unless the company has suddenly decided to take a leap into the passenger transport market.

Might some FGW customers also darkly mutter they are usually treated like freight?