TWO west London authorities have backed a proposed Heathrow to Waterloo rail link that would avoid the traffic issues at Egham's level crossings.

The 'Airtrack Lite' scheme was spawned by Wandsworth Borough Council in October last year as a solution to creating an effective rail link without adding the extra services across Egham's level crossings, which were an integral part of BAA's much-derided and subsequently shelved, Airtrack proposal.

Keen chess-players are invited to pick up the gauntlet thrown down by a church member who aims to play 20 games simultaneously for charity.

Derek McGovern, of St John's Church, is using the competition to help raise funds for a new church centre. The event will take place at the church, in Manor Farm Lane, on Saturday June 9.

The Rt. Hon. John Denham MP for Southampton Itchen who will give a talk at Royal Holloway, University of London on Thursday May 10 at 6pm.

Mr Denham, who is personal private secretary to Ed Miliband, will be talking on higher education and Labour in the south of England in the Management Lecture Theatre.

STUDENTS from Egham joined with a Berkshire school to make beautiful music together.

The pupils from the ACS Egham International School took part in the annual community music concert, 'Friendship Through Music' at St. Bernard's Catholic Grammer School in Slough.

A SOFT drinks company set a bizarre world record at Thorpe Park last weekend.

Texas beverage manufacturer, Dr Pepper, crammed 169 people into a giant pair of underpants on Saturday March 24 to break the Guinness World Record for the most people crammed into a pair of pants at the same time.

SCHOOL children in Egham got a chance to bash some pans, but make beautiful music as part of a unique workshop.

The Irie Steelpan workshop visited the Hythe Community School in Thorpe Road, last Thursday (March 15) where the husband and wife team of Junior and Marcella Bailey gave both students and staff a vibrant performance on the tenor and bass steel drums.

A CRITICALLY acclaimed musician will follow up an exclusive performance at an Egham school with a music masterclass.

Guitarist and singer, Voy Fance, will show off his talents to budding performers at the Magna Carta School, Egham Hythe, on Monday, March 19.

AN AMATEUR dramatics group is bringing swashbuckling fun to the borough this week.

The Staines Musical Theatre Group (SMTG) have raised their sails for a performance The Pirates of Penzance, which opened yesterday and runs until Saturday March 17 at the Magna Carta Theatre, Thorpe Road, Egham Hythe.

AN EARLY taste of a sequel to a literary classic will be read at a special lunchtime event next week.

The Lunchtime Reading event takes place at Royal Holloway, University of London on Thursday March 15, the publishing day for Silver - Return to Treasure Island.

You could view Mr Cameron as the 'Big Society Bus Driver'. The man who is going to navigate us though this labyrinth of economic doom and pick the best route forward. Preferably the one with the least bumps.

He is the man holding the steering wheel and I don't want to be a passenger when he crashes.

I'd rather be the useful observer that shots "look-out!" to overt disaster and safeguard the interests of my fellow passengers.

But to be a good Bus Driver, you need to be skilful, in control and have a very good idea of how you intend to get to your destination. Oddly enough, your passengers need to know where you're going too.

When I think back to the Tuition Fees fiasco, I struggle to see which problem he was attempting to resolve? Where was he headed and why did he pick that route?

We are in the midsts of an economic disaster. To bring about stability, a system of taxation needs to rely on a variety of sources and not place all of its 'eggs' in the 'City Banker's Basket'. (It's the 'Business with one Customer' scenario, lose the Customer and lose the Business).

So the obvious question to ask was: "What skill sets do we need to nurture a varied and sustainable growth economy and society in the future?"

Maybe we need more Chemists, Quantum Physicists, Mathematicians, Engineers, Designers, etc, etc. We need people who are likely to contribute to the success of emerging UK industries but also those whom are likely to become employers and sustain communities in the future.

A skills audit would have done the trick. Put simply, what have we got, where are the shortages and what do we need to achieve?

Surely, joined up thinking would have lead to tuition fees associated with those valuable core subjects and skill-sets being ring-fenced, leaving say Journalists to pay their full £9,500 / year tuition fees.

I don't run a Country and yet I can see this. Why can't Mr Cameron? Is he a blind Bus Driver or just not opening his eyes?

Maybe the Bus is out of control and we don't really know where we're been taken.

I would like to see the 'Road Map' (or the 'Objectives'), before another mad idea pops out of the wood work. I think I'll ask my Conservative MP where we are headed. I wonder if he'll know?

(Speaking of woodwork, we've tried to sell of the Nations Forests already. Did you ever understand why?)