Mike Edwards on shocking pager and phone attacks in Lebanon

In 1944, dropping thousands of paratroopers out of aircraft in broad daylight was deemed to be audacious beyond measure. But such tactics were quickly rendered redundant, and the British Army last parachuted into action little more than a decade later, during the Suez crisis.

With the parachute no longer a viable military asset, sitting packed and stacked for more than half a century in the back of the Quartermaster’s store, it’s evident that other matériel like the machine gun, and indeed the tank and helicopter gunship, have also been replaced.

Now, the vogue weapon is a mundane daily item – but sabotaged. You no longer need to patrol the streets, armed to the teeth, your presence enough to send your adversary scurrying for cover. You no longer even need to be anywhere near your enemy to do him very visible damage.

A dozen were killed in the Mossad’s pager operation against Hezbollah, but a much more potent message is that thousands were maimed, castrated and blinded, scars which everyone in that community will see for decades.

You don’t need to be a fan of theirs, you don’t need to agree with their foreign policy, and you certainly don’t need to condone their military intervention in Gaza and now Lebanon, but many will sit open-mouthed at the Israeli operation’s secrecy, planning, execution and most of all, its audacity.

No excitement here at the big bang of Bonfire Night

Please forgive me if I don’t do cartwheels, or indeed Catherine wheels, at the news that the blue touchpaper has been lit on Helensburgh’s fireworks display for 2024.

It’s not something I have ever enjoyed. More than 30 years as an Army officer means I’m not a fan of anything that unexpectedly goes bang, and I will admit that the sounds and smells and flashes in the weeks around Bonfire Night drag me to some horrible places.

Helensburgh's annual fireworks display will be held on Sunday, November 3. (Image: Gerry Docherty/Helensburgh Advertiser Camera Club) I know several former comrades who literally take to the hills to avoid the son et lumière, for similar reasons.

The one saving grace is that the town’s display is an organised one and people can stand and watch thousands of pounds going up in smoke together in safety. For far too long, fireworks have been sold individually to people who only want to use them for the wrong reasons.

That should have been outlawed long ago.

It's all about the money

Another recent revelation about Sir Keir Starmer which hit the headlines was that his chief of staff Sue Gray earns more than him.

People were astonished by that, but what astonished me more was that the Prime Minister only earns £160,000 for running the country and all that entails. That salary is a drop in the ocean when you compare it to what captains of industry and BBC presenters earn.

Many were surprised to learn that Sue Gray earns more as Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff than the Prime Minister himself. (Image: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire) Talking of being worth more than you are paid, and yes the Helensburgh Advertiser should up the fat cat salary it pays into my Bern bank account, twice in recent weeks I have been asked for professional advice not-so-cunningly disguised as favours.

These requests went along the lines of ‘if you were heading the communications campaign for this project I’m just about to start, what would you do?’

To which the response was the same as it always is: "I would send you an invoice."