The Grumpies met for their fortnightly Friday lunch and to consider contemporary issues. 

As usual, we discussed candidates to be “put on the bus” for having met our displeasure this month. Four candidates were selected: Peter Mandelson, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Jeremy Clarkson, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Topics for discussion included:

• Multiple sclerosis sufferers in England are set to benefit from a new NHS treatment.
• A company falsely claiming to be funded by police government and universities launched 8000 £20 rape kits for students as a deterrent for rapists.
• Parents are seeking inspiration for baby names from top 10 music stars
• An Islamist double killer used human rights laws to claim £7500 compensation with legal costs of £234,000 for being placed in a segregation unit
• The health minister has been urged to get on with tackling long standing problems in MHS maternity care rather than setting up yet another public inquiry
• A beekeeper died from allergic reaction to a sting when not wearing his beekeepers hat
• A junior minister wore a dress decorated with grey squirrels to an event promoting the protection of the endangered red squirrels.
• The average house price exceeds £300,000 for the first time.
• February the 16th is the most common day each year to send an “I'm sorry” card.
• Only 7 petrol cars were sold in Norway last month.
• The MCC has updated the laws of cricket and players will now be docked runs if, after the last ball, they punch an opponent.
• Two commemorative silver coins depicting Queen Elizabeth II by the royal Australian mint have been criticised for Resembling Mrs Doubtfire or the title character from Mrs Brown's boys.
• A court in Germany rejected the complaint by the Nuremberg Sausage Protection Association that a Bavarian butcher was breaching trademark law by selling a similar looking “Mini Rostbratwurstchen” as no reference was made to Nuremberg.

As always, the conversation was genial, informative, varied and amusing.