Stood in a used-book store earlier today, leafing through a paperback throbbing with Marxist discourse, the proprietor of the establishment greets me thus:

"See your wee pal's done been gettin up to mischief again."

Turns out the gentleman in question was referring to my beloved Pete Doherty of Babyshambles, who, it turns out, was arrested last night, Monday 27th February, on account of some nonsense involving automobiles and teenage Scotsmen.

The BBC report:

Babyshambles singer Pete Doherty has been arrested on suspicion of stealing a car and possessing class A drugs.

Mr Doherty, 26, and two men from Dundee - aged 18 and 19 - were detained by police in Birmingham on Monday evening.

A West Midlands Police spokesman said all three had been released on police bail "pending further enquiries".

Catastrophe, foul luck, aye, these hounds of fortunes most malignant seem to be barking at Pete's soles every which way he turns. The consequences of this latest arrest, if indeed it goes any further, are potentially as bleak as the icy wastes o' Fulci's Hell.

On the 8th February of this year, Pete was slapped across the yap wi' a 12-month community service order following a horrendous season of calamities, foibles and mishaps. Realizing his good fortune upon leaving the courthouse, a renewed sense of purpose seemed to flitter in the whitest whites of his eyes. He seemed determined and relatively confident when speaking to Channel 4 News in the UK earlier this month, announcing how, with the aid of yet another anti-heroin implant, he was embarking upon "a drug-free life".

"I've just been helped", he noted, "I'm not going to make light of the fact that I've been given a great chance."

How this latest hiccup in the saga will affect the community service deal (he appears in court next week to review the situation) remains to be seen.

An' so it's a sigh, and back in the direction of "Albion" (which he performed with Babyshambles at last week's NME awards show in London, a beautiful, if ramshackle, rendition) and waiting for the wires to screech anew.

Thanks folks.

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