Some good news and a modest proposal

As we all watch with great fascination the ever more violent civil war in UKIP (pity the poor blogger who has to keep on top of things) it is good to be able to report that there is some good news around.

It seems that the Greek government has very sensibly decided not to pay Mrs Clooney's exorbitant fees follow her advice about going to the International Court of Human Rights to claim the Elgin Marbles from the British Museum.

Mrs Clooney reportedly submitted a 150-page report to the Greek government this week urging it to formally request the repatriation of the marbles and take Britain to the International Court of Justice if it refused.

But Greece's culture minister Nikos Xydakis told the country's Mega TV: "One cannot go to court over whatever issue. Besides, in international courts the outcome is uncertain".

He said he believed attitudes to the future of the Marbles were slowly changing and would favour Greece in a diplomatic approach.

That, I suspect, is a polite way of saying "we are not going to get those Marbles and may as well accept defeat with dignity and not spend huge sums on the case when we are trying to show ourselves to be really poor and in need of help".

Meanwhile, here is my modest proposal: the Greek government is really rather short of money; a good many people think that the Elgin/Parthenon Marbles should be reunited though, as it happens, about a third of the original are missing, having been destroyed over the centuries. Why do we not have a public subscription to buy the Marbles that are still in Greece and are not nearly so well looked after as the ones here and bring them over to the British Museum. I appreciate that a new gallery would have to be built but the Museum has been expanding in any case and something could be arranged.

One source of cash might be those disillusioned UKIP donors who may well be looking for some better cause to support.