A REVELATION that dormice feature in a new financial predicament for North Devon Council does, I feel, lend the affair a certain irony. Last week's

Journal

revealed that the authority is £750,000 over budget in setting up a new waste and recycling depot at Brynsworthy, on the edge of Barnstaple, and that the need to pay for a survey of dormice on the site is partly to blame.

It's true that the little creatures, most famous for falling asleep at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party during Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, are responsible for just £10,000 worth of the unforeseen costs in this business. But such an easily-drawn reference to an Alice in Wonderland world brings a wry smile amid the shock and dismay. For within the turmoil and criticism are some bizarre mysteries worthy of Lewis Carroll's imagination.

For example most of the extra costs are down to the disappearance of £400,000. I won't bore you with the detail, but no-one seems to know where the cash has gone in the calculations. It's simply vanished from the budget.

It's a lot of money, and I hope we are told where it's gone before senior members spend any more time apportioning blame for the fiasco. Which brings me on to the next chapter of this political wonderland. There's no shortage of personality clashes in the story of Alice, and I'm sure a book could be written too about the conflicts, accusations and argie-bargie among North Devon council's characters. The particular in-fighting revealed here ought not to be important, and yet it might have long-term implications for North Devon.

At the centre is a former leader of the local Conservative party on the council, Rodney Cann, who has fallen out with the Tories after they dropped him as their official candidate in a recent county council election. Not only did he go on to beat them hollow in that vote, but he's now going to stand against them at the next general election. He's claimed that, as a result, his former colleagues are making him a scapegoat in a "stitch-up" over the Brynsworthy affair. The leader of the council, Des Brailey, denies such claims and has explained that Cllr Cann's responsibility is clear enough, given that he is the senior member in charge of waste and recycling. And while these accusations fly to and fro the affair has prompted leading Lib-Dem member, Dave Butt, to call the overspend "a staggering admission that treats the council with arrogance and contempt." And his party colleague, Brian Greenslade, has called for a full investigation with a written report to members.

There's an unpleasant character, the Queen of Hearts, who keeps shouting "Off with their heads" when things don't go her way during the story of Alice. Let's hope our council leaders manage to keep their heads and find not only the missing money in this wonderland but also the solution to pay for our new waste and recycling centre. I have a horrid feeling, prompted by my own recent experience of building work, that a lot of the overspend is down to the costs, not of surveying dormice, but of the extra ground works needed to complete any sizeable project.

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I PROMISED last week to say something about the illumination ceremony for Barnstaple's Christmas lights. It was because of the patience of the crowd and the tenacity and determination of the stars who, admittedly at some cost to us council tax payers, came to the town Square to press the seasonal switch.

Top of the list was the Noisettes lead, Shingai Shoniwa. She rewarded thousands of people who turned out in the rain with her big personality and a powerful performance. The crowd had waited an hour for the top names but remained good natured in gradually deteriorating weather and the usual delay that dogs these events. It could have been a disaster when the second top-of-the-bill, the Dolly Rockers, arrived without one of their trio, and had to ask for extra amplification because of the sound mix. Nevertheless they persevered and showed why they're winning an enthusiastic fan base with their unique sound and image.

Some people question why Barnstaple pays big money for such an occasion. My feeling is that, backed by North Devon's outstanding local musicians, it does us a power of good. It's gradually becoming a tradition that unites us, and particularly our youngsters, in celebration. And I'm not sure if there's anything more important right now than feeling we are a community able to share the good times as well as suffering the bad ones.