THERE'S something of a dilemma when a major event happens in your circulation area.

The G20 conference is being held in Lower Beeding on Friday and Saturday (March 14/15) and, of course, the County Times and wscountytimes.co.uk will be there.

But do our readers want to hear about what the finance ministers from around the world have to say? Maybe so, but no one will click on to our website to read detailed analysis of how the world will be dragged back from recession.

We simple don't have the knowledge to provide such information (my O-Level maths from more than 30 years ago doesn't really help).

So you'll have to go to other sources for these details.

However, what the local paper and website can bring you is how the G20 'circus' affects local people and services.

We have already reported on how police are advising drivers to be extra careful going through Lower Beeding - just in case you come across a bewildered member of the media looking for a scoop.

Have you ever wondered what goes in at these major conferences? How do the media discover what's happening behind closed doors?

Our team will be providing a regular updated 'blog' from South Lodge on Saturday - click onto the site and find out what is going on.

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YOU know times are tough when a representative from a reputable car sales firm knocks on your front door in the evening touting for trade.

He wasn't trying to sell me a car, instead he offered a pretty reasonable rate for servicing the cars he saw on my drive.

I listened attentively but my over-riding feeling was admiration.

Virtually everyone is struggling in the work environment during this recession.

Many firms are slashing prices or laying off staff.

I fancy those that will survive, though, are the ones adapting to the conditions.

So, instead of waiting for people to book their car in for a service or MOT, knocking on doors of an evening shows this firm is taking the bull by the horns.

At the moment, Horsham is still looking like a town trading well, with only a few shops having closed.

It really is the time to help the local businesses. The district has a wealth of firms supplying a wide variety of goods, so it's worth checking them out.

The old saying of 'use it or lose it' has rarely been truer.

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The Mick Miles column has appeared, off and on, in the West Sussex County Times over many years. Mick has now been dusted down and brought up to date for this online blog.

THE RECENT devastating blaze in Horsham's Australian namesake turned an international story into one that readers of wscountytimes.co.uk could associate with.

We see and read about so much death and disaster that it's possible to take it in and then forget about it a short time later.

But, although on the other side of the world, this was another Horsham suffering from a fierce and frightening fire.

Thanks to the various social networking sites, we can see how one person viewed the fire. Click on this link where a blogger has uploaded a fascinating video of the black smoke and flames in the distance while emergency services dart around trying to control the situation.

Thankfully, no one lost their life, but the golf clubhouse was wrecked, along with residents' homes and the shock and fear created will live on for years to come.

It was a strange situation, as wscountytimes.co.uk had run a story about the extremes of temperatures in the two Horshams and the editor of the local Australian paper had got in touch, suggesting swapping jolly pics of people in the sunshine with ours of locals in the snow.

It was all light-hearted - until the following Saturday when tragedy struck the Australian town.

There has been sincere concern from Horsham UK - our initial story about the temperature extremes proved very popular and seemed to put Horsham (Aus) in the public eye, so people were genuinely shocked to read about the fire.

There has been a suggestion of raising money for those left homeless, and a message was sent from Horsham District Coucil to its counterpart in Australia.

What the whole episode has proved, though, is that in this modern digital age the world is a much smaller place.

The wscountytimes.co.uk does not have any control over material referred to outside of its own website. All external links must be checked for viruses.

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