Instead they are content to pick up their whopping salaries and leave the rest of us to live with their mistakes for the rest of our lives.

Of course, architects have been responsible for some wonderful buildings and just because me, or anybody else, doesn't like a particular example of their work doesn't make it bad.

However, there are some buildings so monstrous that even "carbuncle'', the favourite word of one-man Royal architectural watchdog Prince Charles, fails to do them justice. And in Peterborough there is one "carbuncle'' that stands out from the rest.

It's not Queensgate and its ugly car parks. It's not the grim functionality of the district hospital.

No, right in the heart of the city, it's the building that houses Woolworths, specifically the side that runs parallel to Bourges Boulevard.

How could such an eyesore be "designed'' and then approved for building? Row after endless row of characterless brickwork only punctuated by the apologetic dots of a few small windows.

It looks like the sort of building the KGB might have used to house a massive torture chamber in the darkest days of Soviet Russia. Those sad windows, perfect for hurling out a dissident or two.

And yet I've never heard anyone say a word against it, much less come up with a plan to alter or demolish it. Surely something could be done – or are we stuck with it forever?

At a time when the city is going to see many new buildings springing up, it's a stark warning to all of us that architects and planners might be very clever people with lots of letters after their names, but sometimes they get it wrong. Horribly.

Bringing the critics to heel

There has been much hoo-ha in the media about Gwyneth Paltrow's heels. The Hollywood A-lister was out and about promoting her new film and for each photo-opportunity donned an increasingly outrageous pair of high heels.

I believe that in the same way curries can't be too hot, heels can't be too high.

Heels are an important part of My Special Friend's wardrobe, but not just for tail-feather shaking reasons. There is a practical purpose, too. In her bare feet, she's not much taller than the average munchkin – so she needs all the help she can get to see over the bar when I need another beer.

But, as she never fails to remind me, "it ain't easy being a woman'' and wearing stilettoes brings a daily danger, which I have witnessed.

Walking with MSF through the city centre she often comes to an abrupt halt having caught a heel in a gap in the pavement. I've noticed several other ladies being inconvenienced in this way. We men, comfy in our sensible shoes should be worried about this. The last thing we want is the women of Peterborough hanging up their heels.

The boys in blue . . or green

Another day and another cannabis factory discovered and busted by Peterborough constabulary.