Alex James, bassist in Blur and self confessed wild man of Brit Pop, retires to a farm in the country and in an act of penitence – a companion to the confessional autobiography – puts himself in danger’s way to make a documentary on the production of what was his drug of choice, cocaine, in Columbia.

But what a disappointment Cocaine: Alex James in Colombia was. Maybe it’s down to Panorama being reduced to half an hour, but it was a terribly unsubstantial piece, more like a trailer for something good.

This documentary failed because it fell into the trap of telling us stuff, without really showing us anything and so there was nothing to connect with emotionally. Alex James spoke earnestly about how cocaine is a cancer eating away at Columbia, destroying an otherwise beautiful country, but never presented us with an opportunity to connect with any Colombians.

So when we’re told at the end that the cab driving hit man, who does a job a day, was killed over the New Year, we’re not bothered. He was only ever a dodgy character hiding in the shadows and those who live by the sword… And then there’s that interview with the country’s president. We’re told he he’s a right winger determined to stamp out the drug trade. Maybe he’s motivated by the death of his father at the hands of drug dealers. At the end Alex James gives him a big ‘people power’ salute (without irony) even though he said absolutely nothing of substance.

And yet throughout all this, is a sense that something dark was going on just beneath the surface. Something we’re protected from. A missed opportunity.

Perhaps Cocaine: Alex James in Colombia was always doomed. It’s easy to connect with these issues on an intellectual level and we all know drugs are bad. Violent crime in Columbia is out of control (but do we really care about drug dealers killing each other). Spraying kills legitimate crops grown alongside the cocaine and creates poverty (but those legitimate crops bring in very little anyway, its cocaine that puts food in the farmers’ mouths).

Just as people continue to buy battery farmed eggs and foie gras despite knowing what the production of these foods entails, so they’ll continue to enjoy cocaine. The end user is too divorced from the production process to really care.

Although, it was quite funny when the Columbians kept making it so clear they’d much prefer to be showing Kate Moss around.

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How sad that as soon as Geraldine McEwan’s finished filming the twelve Miss Marple novels the creative geniuses at ITV begin the search for a new Miss Marple so they make them all over again; just as they did when Joan Hickson completed the dozen for the BBC.

It’s as if every generation must have a Miss Marple to call its own. Sunday nights just wouldn’t be the same without one.

And yet, I’m sure I’m not the only one who can get over the idea that Miss Marple’s been done and Sunday nights are ready for something a bit more… well contemporary. Contemporary on ITV seems to mean waking up old and tired concepts with cameos from stars not usually associated with such safe and sleepy drama: like Catherine Tate. But while ITV likes to bang on about Catherine Tate’s appearance, it’s worth noting that was just before she was famous and at a time when she took jobbing roles on stuff like the Bill to make ends meet.

So let’s not film Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple novels all over again. If you want Sunday nights to stay the same forever, simply turn over to UKTV Gold and its rivals. That’s what they’re there for.

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Once you’ve gotten used to an electric toothbrush there’s no going back. No matter how much elbow grease you apply when using an old fashioned manual brush, your teeth never seem to feel as clean and polished.

But you know it is. We’re always looking for the next best thing. Our Braun Oral-B Professional 7000 has done sterling work for a while, but at £40-45 it’s a low-to-mid range product. What would it be like to use a high end toothbrush costing at least three times more?

So I was delighted when Amazon asked me to try out and review the Philips Sonicare HX6932/10 Flexcare Sonic Toothbrush with UV Sanitizing Station by Philips Sonicare.

The first thing we noticed was that the brush heads are of a far simpler design than the Braun Oral-B which seem to have become ever more elaborate over time. The next thing was just how much the Phillips Sonicare Flexcare Sonic Toothbrush tickles, but that sensation soon passes with regular use. The third thing was just how much cleaner – and I go as far as to say dentist polished – your teeth feel.

There’s also a gum massaging mode that actually feels quite nice. It leaves your gums with a gentle ache, like they’ve just had a workout. Gum massage is supposed to increase blood flow, firm up gum tissue and help prevent gum disease. It’s something to do once in a while and there are sensitive and quick modes as well.

This Sonicare toothbrush comes with a UV Sanitizing Station that zaps bacteria with ultraviolet light for ten minutes, giving the nasties rather more than a suntan. I can’t really tell if that works, and I’ve been content to rinse my toothbrushes (manual or electric) under water for what’s approaching four decades, but now the idea’s in my head I’m zapping my toothbrush head on a regular basis.

Perhaps more useful is the travel bag and travel recharger. It would be even more useful if there was room in the travel bag for the toothbrush and the travel recharger, but this is the only flaw in the package.

In conclusion, had I been persuaded to buy a Philips Sonicare HX6932/10 Flexcare Sonic Toothbrush with UV Sanitizing Station by Philips Sonicare, I reckon I’d be feeling pretty delighted. It’s certainly vastly superior to its lower cost rivals.

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Labour’s local election victory in a Sandwell ward the Lib Dems probably thought safe, shows Manchester Labour just what can be done.

However, Manchester’s Lib Dems can be expected to shout about their achievements loud and proud. Earlier this month they scored a major success in Levenshulme, where a street with no name is now clearly signed the ‘THE STREET WITH NO NAME’. Rather sensibly Lib Dem councillors John Commons and Keith Whitmore insisted the sign be placed high off the ground to stop the tourists from nicking it. If you fancy visiting this tourist hotspot, be sure to contact John and Keith beforehand as I’m sure they’ll happily pose with you for pictures.

And yet I’m not convinced this is such a major coup. Clint Eastwood never introduced himself with ‘Hi! I’m the man with no name’. He simply didn’t give a name. In fact he probably did have a name once, as a child say, but for whatever reason stopped using it. It is this failure to give a name that made his character so enigmatic. Had his mother turned up and revealed he was christened Dave Smith, or whatever, a bubble would have well and truly burst. Now that the street with no name is The Street with No