I think I may have already found a winner of the Jobsworth 2003 trophy - and it is only July.

Did anyone know you needed a licence to have a barbecue on the seafront?

Neither did I. But a friend of mine got embroiled in a heated argument with a council employee at Goring Beach Green on Saturday.

The town hall official claimed anyone wanting to cook food in the open air on and around the beach had to apply for a permit.

He told my friend only one of the barbecues being held there at the time was actually legal and it was within his power to stop any unlicensed events.

I would like to see him try. If I was having a do down at the beach and he tried to stop me and my friends from eating he would go home with one of my bangers inside him.

Surely the council should concentrate on sorting out the problems of rubbish and dog mess instead of adopting an anti-barbecue stance that it will be hard pushed to police without upsetting law-abiding people.

With news of another large shop closing in Broadwater it is pleasing to hear how one group of Worthing traders is making a comeback.

Traditional butchers' shops are a British institution but with the advent of the huge superstores it looked like they would eventually become extinct.

As a lad, about 25 years ago, I can recall Tarring Road/Broadway having three different butchers shops, all of which are long gone.

Fortunately that is not the case in Findon Village, where the shop run by Tony Voice for the past 38 years is doing a roaring trade.

I urge you to take a trip there on a Saturday morning and see the queues of people waiting to be served.

Tony also does a brisk trade the rest of the week and thankfully is not alone in the town, with Hunts in Broadwater, Duffields in Findon Valley, Everett's and Wakefield's in Tarring fighting back in the battle to preserve the tradition of the "great British butcher".

Butchers, along with greengrocers, are key to a successful high street. Quite simply, if they close, fewer people use the surrounding shops and the whole area can become run-down.

My granny, who never bought as much as a sausage at a supermarket, once told me she believed that once the supermarkets had put all the butchers out of business they would keep meat prices artificially high.

Thankfully, the way our own butchers are fighting back, that shouldn't be the case for a long, long time.

Finally, a reminder that St Barnabas Hospice stands to benefit from two sporting events on Sunday.

At Worthing United's Robert Albon Memorial Ground AC Azzurri and Jacobs Steel St Mary's are hosting a football tournament while if leather on willow is more your scene Findon are taking on Ian Hart's Spare Parts, a collection of Albion footballers past and present, at Findon Cricket Club.

Get yourself along to one of them - they are for a good cause.