Some German MPs have suggested that Greece should sell off a few hundred of its 6,000 islands to help it get out of its debt hole. “We give you cash, you give us Corfu,” as the daily tabloid Bild put it. “And the Acropolis too.” It is a ploy we might consider in Britain. We have put an awful lot of 0s into what we owe: £848,500,000,000. What could we flog to knock off a few? The question did occur to Gordon Brown soon after he took over at the Treasury. In 1997, he began a National Asset Register, or New Domesday Book. It contains endless surprising details, such as the disposal (from 2000 to 2005) of assets worth £23 million from the Countryside Council for Wales. The blingiest item that Mr Brown managed to sell was 400 tons of gold, half the reserves, at the bottom of the market. So what is there left to part with? Many areas of Britain would not be missed. The problem is to decide which. Mention Canvey Island and all the islanders stand up for their demi-paradise and other Eden.[Read more...]