Organ grinder... Hazard to the public??

I do enjoy monitoring the British press because it reassures me that foolish bureaucracy is not limited to the United States...

Paddy Cooke, 64, has been told by the local council that his act with Simon the stuffed ape must be suspended until a risk assessment is carried out. Ripley Town Council in Derbyshire has also cancelled a Punch and Judy show and a dance act in recent weeks for fear of the potential hazard to the public.

Mr Cooke, from Crich, near Matlock in Derbyshire wears Victorian costume as he walks around playing his organ, a replica of an instrument used more than 150 years ago.

The former fireman, who been grinding organs for 15 years said: "It's not as if I have a live monkey which might jump at people. Mine is a battery-operated interactive toy and the best I have ever had. He says things like 'I want a banana' and even once offered to tell me the sum of pi squared."

Mr Cooke was hired as part of the summer entertainment provided by the town council and has £10m public liability insurance cover.

But before he took to the streets, the authority received orders from Amber Valley Borough Council requiring a general risk assessment to be carried out before any street entertainment began.

I want to know what the "sum of pi squared" is... (image credit here)