BG, just to say what an amazing job you're doing. I've never been to Thornborough but feel outraged by all of this, as I expect everyone else is.

The question keeps coming into my head, where the hell are the official conservation bodies, and in particular, English Heritage? Absolutely nowhere, as usual.

Public election of commissioners would seem to be the only answer, and you'd make a prime candidate, but the self-perpetuating inefficient quango ain't about to let anyone like you into their cozy somnambulant once-a-month club and here's their official stand on that very subject, which they gave to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Public Administration:

"It is unlikely that directly elected board members would possess the skills and experience required. English Heritage is keen to only have Commissioners who have a national standing and reputation in their fields. Therefore, it is envisaged that any directly elected Commissioners would need to be in addition to our current core of appointed commissioners so that there is no denigration of our skills base. On balance, it is felt that elections for Commissioners of English Heritage is not appropriate."

Bastards. (And I'm not much of a swearer, but I suspect someone from there reads this forum, so it seems quite right to use the word just now).

What they're saying is that there's a place for Loyd Grossman et al on account of their "national standing and reputation in their fields" but not for you, who actually wants to do something to defend heritage. Maybe you should picket their houses and see if there's a miraculous change.