• NEW county council leader Ian Hudspeth, right, has wasted no time in making his mark on County Hall.

He moved into his new office earlier this week and has already rearranged the furniture and painted the walls a pale shade of blue.

When asked about the colour choice, Mr Hudspeth joked that it was chosen to match his eyes.

But, unfortunately, the paint job is not all he’d wished for and in places you can still see Keith Mitchell’s choice of colour (yellow, as you asked) showing through.

Library and education campaigners angry about Mr Hudspeth continuing along the party line may think the glitch appropriate for Mr Hudspeth’s leadership so far – a fresh paint job but with shades of Mr Mitchell still visible.

  • REPORTERS will miss Judge Anthony King, right, who retired from Oxford Crown Court earlier this month – not least for his very quotable judgements and his ability to scythe through the bluster of arrogant barristers.

However, the bewigged one’s softer side was revealed at his leaving do held in court one recently.

Among the assembled lawyers, family members and legal staff in the packed courtroom was one visitor not usually seen in such formal surroundings – Judge King’s faithful dog.

The pooch, whose identity is protected for legal reasons, sat obediently at its master’s feet beneath the judge’s bench during the farewell ceremony.

Whether the dog later made it across the road to the Head of the River pub to help its owner administer some swift justice to a pint of London Pride is not known.

  • WALKERS are being warned about the dangers of “7ft badgers” as they pass by the Cripley Meadow allotments.

A sign claims that by keeping the area “wildlife free,” the “growing of essential mange-tout and artichokes” can now continue apace.

The Insider suspects this is part of an ongoing rumpus over badger fences in the area.

  • KEITH Mitchell headed north to Liverpool yesterday – to talk about libraries. But The Insider can confirm the former county leader was speaking at the University of Liverpool, not just keeping a safe distance from an audience in Oxfordshire.

Given Mr Mitchell’s track record, the event was aptly named Policy Provocations.