Council meetings can be tedious affairs at the best of times, but when Labour is at the helm there is always cause for a smile sooner or later.

We are told that at last week’s city council bun fight – sorry, full council meeting – Labour councillor Val Smith, right, caused something of a stir when she tabled an amendment to a motion on the Oxford Academy, in which she heaped faint praise upon... her husband.

He, of course, happens to be Andrew Smith, the MP for Oxford East.

Who said these meetings were all about petty political posturing?

Some dry humour this week from veteran Labour city councillor John Tanner, the man who has taken what can only be described as a bold decision to shut seven of the city’s public toilets.

He was due to have his picture taken at an unrelated event this week when a bursting snapper piped up “do you mind if I nip to the loo before we start – where are they by the way?”, to which Mr Tanner replied “There aren’t any – I’ve shut them all”.

Very droll.

Hacks wanting to interview Oxfordshire County Council’s head of children’s services will be disappointed, The Insider is told.

One particular journalist called County Hall’s press office recently in the hope of chasing a serious chat with the head honcho, post the Baby P fiasco.

He was after Janet Tomlinson, the director of children, young people and families.

“Will she do a sit down interview?”, he asked, “No”, came the reply, “she has left the council”.

“Okay, will her interim replacement do a sit down interview?”, was the supplementary.

“No”, came the stern response.

“Okay. So that’s a ‘no’ then, yes?”. “Yes”.

Well, that’s cleared that one up then.

A contender for this year’s let’s-celebrate-Christmas-exceedingly-early award might well be the good people of Nuffield Road in Wood Farm, right, whose Christmas lights were switched on by Oxford Lord Mayor Mary Clarkson on Monday night. Yes, Monday night.

That’s almost 50 days before Christmas Day.

Well, they do say it gets earlier every year!

Talking of Christmas, we wonder where Oxfordshire’s MPs will be holding their festive parties this year?

It’s been a tough time economically, so perhaps they won’t be making a visit to Marco Pierre White’s swish Knightsbridge venue Frankie’s. The Insider is told the hot-headed chef has advertised in this week’s Parliamentary magazine The House in a bid to drum up trade for his offering of a three course Christmas meal, with vino, for £195.

Any takers? Probably not. We think our lot here in Oxfordshire are far too frugal.