Singing song of protest
It may have been a terrific year for Wakefield's famous rhubarb, but the same cannot be said for their poor cathedral. Having set out on a much needed £5m redevelopment of the cathedral fabric, work has now had to stop. The cathedral has sold its pews to create more flexible community space and ripped up the floor for new heating, but the chancellor's recent budget loaded another £200,000 on to the project by upping the VAT on listed building work. And there isn't the money; £200,000 is lot of coffee mornings. Step forward Pamela Greener, wife of the Dean of Wakefield. Her YouTube protest ditty against the VAT hike is central casting Church of England. In a style somewhere between Richard Stilgoe and the Women's Institute, Mrs Greener lays into the chancellor. "This charge is anti-community, unlikely to build big society," she sings, all togged up in her hard hat and reflective vest. "Come on Mr Osborne, do the decent thing."