Here's a picture most council watchers could never have dreamt they would see.

It features Tory councillor for Ashburton, Eddy Arram, seated in the mayor's chair in the council chamber last Monday presiding over the conduct of his fellow councillors.

The reason for his elevation was the need to find someone to chair the meeting while Croydon's new mayor, Councillor Robert Askey, was going through his formal election process.

The job would normally fall to the "father of the council" - in this case Cllr Dudley Mead - but as he is a member of the cabinet, protocol ruled that option out.

So the duty fell on Cllr Arram's shoulders who has been a member of the council since 1981.

As I have said here before Cllr Arram's contributions to council meetings have often been met with a cacophony from the Labour opposition benches.

So as council leader Mike Fisher proposed Cllr Arram's appointment as chair he mentioned - perhaps with tongue-in-cheek - that he did so with "some trepidation."

Cllr Arram has publicly announced he is no great fan of this column dismissing it as a load of rubbish.

But not one to bear grudges, I am very happy to give him a bit of publicity for his big occasion.

I am even happier to report, I think, that the chairmanship went like clockwork and Cllr Arram conducted the meeting with the gravitas and decorum it needed.

TUCKED away in the dozens of questions from councillors to cabinet members which never get round to be verbally aired at the full council meetings are some occasional gems.

The strangest of these gems at the latest meeting came from Labour opposition leader, Cllr Tony Newman.

He was referring to the revelations that Tory councillor, Maria Gatland, had, more than 30 years ago, been a member of the Provisional IRA.

She renounced the organisation after a year and fled to this country to start a new life.

Part of that new life saw her elected to the council for the Croham ward in 2002 and four years later becoming cabinet member for children's services.

She resigned from that post and the Tory group as soon as her past came to light in December but has now been accepted back into the Tory fold.

But not one to let any political opportunity lie, Cllr Newman posed the following question to council leader Mike Fisher.

It read: "Were members of the public, elected members of Croydon Council or Croydon school children at any extra risk whatsoever as a result of Cllr Gatland's hidden past as an IRA gunrunner?"

Cllr Fisher's written reply was short, reading simply: "Common sense suggests that would be extremely unlikely."