Dearest Gentle Reader, this Sunday brings a prime minister in desperate need of better advisers, a community in desperate need of protection, and a life jacket that has, against all odds, appreciated in value over the past century. This Author has opinions on all three - and a raised eyebrow firmly in reserve for those who claim ignorance most loudly.

Dearest Gentle Reader, this Saturday brings a deposed official, a prime minister with rather a lot to answer for, and a small furry creature who has made the entire apparatus of government look positively amateurish by comparison. Pull up a chair - today's dispatches are not to be missed.

Dearest Gentle Reader, this Friday brings a prime minister in a fury of his own making, a duke accepting footwear from veterans on the far side of the world, and a machine so alarming it has sent the entire world of high finance into a collective swoon. This Author has rarely encountered a day so thoroughly stocked with the improbable - and she has covered rather a lot of days.