I Only Want To Watch ...

This week's Central Somerset Gazette features a report on local dogging, using a decidedly in-your-face splash across its front page. The small town of Street is, it seems, a top place for dogging fans to practice their unusual interests. In the first sentence of its report the Gazette helpfully prints the URL of a dogging enthusiasts' website, which hails a spot just out-of-town as "excellent for daytime action in wooded areas" and great for "evening action in the nearby field."

In an intriguing gender-mangling passage the newspaper goes on to report: "A police spokeswoman said dogging enthusiasts are treading a fine line between having fun and outraging public decency. 'If people are courting in public there is nothing wrong with that,' he said."

This year the Gazette has been in business for 150 years. Should we be surprised or not?