The Insider was pleased to hear that David Buckle, the chief executive of South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils, will be taking the weight off his feet soon.

Running two authorities must take its toll and he has had some big issues to deal with, not least last year’s postal votes debacle.

So he must have been delighted when he won fifth prize in a staff charity raffle – a reflexology voucher.

Couldn’t have gone to a more deserving public servant.

Meanwhile, the Insider hears, council staff were a little browned off when Vale council leader Matthew Barber took the top prize, a cookery lesson at celebrity chef Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, in Great Milton.

The raffle raised more than £800 to be split between charities chosen by the councils’ chairmen.

Prime Minister and Witney MP David Cameron seems to be coping with the pressures of life as the nation’s leader.

But just how does he ensure all the flak the job attracts doesn’t scar him?

Perhaps his choice of a leading British manufacturing firm to champion gives a clue.

All MPs have been asked to name a shining example of British productivity in their constituencies... and Mr Cameron singled out Minster Lovell-based hard hat manufacturer JSP.

It’s not clear if Mr Cameron is a customer for the firm’s “personal protective clothing”.

Witney Town Council has been advertising for what could turn out to be one of the hardest jobs in the county.

The council hopes to find a maintenance operative to look after its buildings and facilities and is offering to pay almost £20,000 a year.

One has to wonder, though, if that will be enough to recompense the person who will be presumably be responsible for the town’s ailing Corn Exchange.

The building was suddenly closed by the council last November after a myriad of “major” problems, including the masonry, heating and ventilation system, boilers, seating and fire escapes.

Councillor Louise Chapman stayed true to her Oxfordshire County Council cabinet responsibilities by prioritising children and family over a full council budget meeting.

But whether one could say it fulfilled her final responsibility, for education, is debatable, because she spent the day on a trip to watch pop star Olly Murs in concert in Birmingham.

The day out had been bought for her by her daughter as a Christmas present six months before the show.

The cabinet member for children, education and families said: “The county council meeting was changed at the last minute, because we were waiting for information from the Government. Sometimes family has to come first.”