A life member of the Hunt Saboteurs Association has won the right to sue his former employers for discriminating against him because of his strong animal rights beliefs in the sanctity of life, which a judge has ruled are akin to religious convictions.

Joe Hashman was sacked from his job at Orchard Park Garden Centre, Gillingham, Dorset, the day after his covert video recording helped to convict TV cook Clarissa Dickson-Wright for attending an illegal hare-coursing event in 2009. He claims this was because the garden-centre owners, Ronald and Sheila Clarke are keen supporters of the South and West Wiltshire Hunt, an allegation the Clarkes deny.

Meanwhile an insight into the mentality of the hunting fraternity has been supplied by Robert Parsons, chief executive of the GoDaddy domain-hosting firm.

Reportedly Parsons shot an elephant in Zimbabwe and was so proud of his heroic achievement he posted a sick video of it online, including footage of Zimbabweans butchering the carcass and wearing GoDaddy baseball caps.

Animal rights campaigners Peta described his behaviour as “heinous”. Parsons described it as the “most rewarding” thing.

Debt charity the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) reports that nearly 50,000 people logged onto its website between midnight and 7.00am last year, after having a panic attack about their debt.

According to CCCS problems that can be buried in activity during the day can surface at night. The service asks people to enter their income and expenditure and then gives advice, which can include declaring bankruptcy. According to a study by the Post Office one in three debtors hide their problems from their families so night-time counselling online is something that can be hidden.

The website moneysupermarket.com has found that most do not seek help about their debt until it reaches nearly £20,000 (excluding the mortgage) although women start worrying at £7,000, men at £12,000. The average Briton has debts of around £8,400

News that councils are to be banned from imposing draconian fines on householders for infringements of very minor litter bin rules, such as not closing the lid or putting the bin out on the wrong day, is most welcome to those cynics who suspect that the fines, which can be up to £1,000, are simply funding profligate salaries, pensions and expenses.

Charities could also benefit from the sensible new joined-up thinking, if the experience of charity litter pickers in Dorking is any guide. Officials at Mole Valley district council told them that picking litter for charity did not excempt them from paying excess bin bag collection charges of £95 for the 22 bags they’d filled, a deeply stupid decision that the brave council soldiers reversed when faced with well-earned bad publicity.

It’s not just stupid councils that can make charitable folk feel their efforts are wasted – sometimes the people they are trying to help do a good job in that respect.

One charity we know that distributes such items as food donated by local manufacturers to those on benefit was horrified to find that some of the needy they were trying to help were helping themselves to large quantities of donated food and selling it on pitches at car boot sales.

A new charity is being formed to take over the running of Britain’s rivers and canals from British Waterways in 2012.

Currently money is being spent researching new names for the charity and the favourite is “British Waterways”.

Illuminating, it was, to read a whole page about the charitable free scoff enjoyed by London Datebook magazine columnist Johnathan Byrne, The Constant Eater.

This was at two expensive eateries in Mayfair and by all accounts the top nosh and copious amounts of alcohol were most agreeable to our Johnathan, after which he commented:”On both occasions I was very lucky to be a guest and never saw either bill, although neither restaurant is at the lower end of the pricing scale. What both experiences highlighted for me is the true value of friends and why the most important part of any meal is the person or people you are sharing it with”.

Quite so, Johnathan.