THERE'S been more than one sting in the tail for former Worcester MP Mike Foster this week - with a swarm of bees arriving at his Holt Heath home, leading to the bee keeper being urgently called in to safely remove them from his patio.

That's twice in one week he's had to defend himself against a pack of angry, disagreeable pests.

Do the bees belong to Team Corbyn too?

* MALVERN'S district council leader, Conservative Phil Grove, tells us he cannot offer any assurances whatsoever about keeping weekly rubbish collections under the outsourcing deal with Worcester and Wychavon.

Just days later fellow Tory Melanie Baker, the next leader in the incubator, insists weekly pick-ups are safe "for as long as people want them", which in Malvern's case is forever.

Meanwhile yours truly is still waiting on a call back from Bronwen Behan, the deputy leader, who actually holds the environmental portfolio and was asked for her views on this matter nearly three weeks ago.

Good to see they know what's going on.

* WITH the exhausting elections now a distant memory, you'd think some of our politicians would take a deserved break from door knocking - but no.

To their credit, amid the warmth and wet of August, rather than enjoy cricket and beer Messrs Robin Walker, Marc Bayliss and Steve Mackay were all spotted out and about in Battenhall last weekend, doing their Tory thing house-to-house.

Can you prune some of The Source's shrubs?

* SWEATY Commons speaker John Bercow, ahead of a Worcestershire visit to open the Battle of Evesham Festival, cancelled an interview with this newspaper minutes before it was due to take place last week, only returning the call 48 hours later amid much apology.

You can't blame his attentions for being elsewhere, with Bercow's name being dragged through the tabloids spectacularly over his spending, including billing taxpayers £172 to take a chauffeur drive 1,200 yards and spending £367 on a car to Luton to deliver a speech on how to get over the expenses scandal.

Order order!