GORDON Brown dour and serious? Well, he may be when it comes to serious political issues but we can reveal that the Chancellor of the Exchequer does have a lighter side.

During his visit to Kent last week, he spent a long time chatting with mothers at a Sure Start centre on the Isle of Sheppey. Did he talk about baby bonds and child tax credits? A little.

But a lot of the time was spent chatting about children’s TV programmes. Gordon, who became a father last year, revealed that he has become a regular viewer of BBC’s Balamory, which his son is a big fan of. Gordon confided that he has also endured regular viewings of The Teletubbies but his son has now moved on to other things.

* EMILY Thornberry, the Labour barrister who works in Michael Mansfield’s chambers and pushed Canterbury’s Julian Brazier close in the general election in 2001, looks a good bet to fulfill her parliamentary ambitions in 2005.

She has landed a berth as the candidate in the constituency of Islington in north London that is being vacated by former Labour minister Chris Smith, who enjoys a relatively healthy majority of 7,280. The Lib Dems are mounting something of a challenge but we reckon Emily will hang on.

* LABOUR party chiefs can breathe a sigh of relief.

Tony Blair seems to be withstanding the rigours of campaigning rather well. During his flying visit to Darenth Park Hospital in Gravesend, staff surprised him by testing his heart rate and oxygen levels with something called a pulse oximeter, recording a heartbeat of 66 beats a minute and an oxygen level of 98 out of 100 - both indicating he is in rude health.

* AFTER the disclosure of the songs President Bush listens to on his i-Pod, we contacted the only Kent MP we suspected might have one himself.

So, Derek Wyatt, what tracks are you treading the streets of Sittingbourne and Sheppey to?

After a quick shuffle of his own i-Pod playlist, Derek reveals his current top five: Help by The Beatles; Respect by Aretha Franklin; Shiver by Coldplay; Ain’t Got No Life by Nina Simone; and Kind of Blue by Miles Davies.

Apparently, he hasn’t yet downloaded U2’s Beautiful Day - the official Labour party theme for 2005. "I’m always off message like that," quips Derek.

* NOW, why don’t all parties adopt this approach to selecting their candidates?

"Mad Mike Young" is standing for the Monster Raving Loony Party in Sittingbourne and Sheppey and was formally adopted with a show of beer mats at his local pub. That’s the kind of parliamentary democracy we like.

* SO, which Labour MPs are featuring Tony Blair on their election literature?

One who isn’t is Dover’s Gwyn Prosser, who grinned rather sheepishly when challenged on the matter this week. Fortunately, he was bailed out by visiting immigration minister Des Brown, who said he never featured a mugshot of the PM on his election literature either.

Far better, he said, to have pictures of local councillors and other community leaders.

* JOHN Prescott, where are you? A week has passed and the Labour deputy prime minister has - shock horror - not been to Kent.

Come on John, we’re beginning to feel a bit snubbed.