Since our Deputy Chief Ececutive/ Monitoring Officer departed earlier this year we have shared the Monitoring Officer post with South Somerset District Council (as, of course, we share our Chief Executive). Our Monitoring Officer still has his job as Legal Officer at South Somerset on what appears to be a full-time basis.

We were given no time-scale for the appointment of a permanent EDDC Monitoring Officer but it now seems to be an urgent need as we suspect that activity requiring constant Monitoring Officer monitoring will be a permanent feature of political life in the district until at least May 2015.

And, as neither of the mainstream political parties in East Devon admits to having a Party Whip, which might moderate the more outrageous comments of errant councillors, the Monitoring Officer is even more needed.

Oh, and a definition of rumbunctious in case there is any argument: uncontrollably exhuberant, boisterous, difficult to control or handle, turbulently active and noisy.