Dearest Gentle Reader, this Monday has served up a most remarkable platter - an unelected would-be prime minister who declines to answer questions, a Navy that has quietly retired an entire class of warship in favour of something rather more futuristic, and the loss of a lady who played a snob so magnificently that an entire nation wept with laughter for decades. This Author has her lorgnette trained and her quill sharpened - do read on.

Dearest Gentle Reader, this Sunday brings a royal security drama that would make even the most seasoned novelist blush, a football farewell signed in fresh ink, and a golden medal that fetched a sum quite sufficient to fund a small principality. This Author has opinions on all of it - and she is not, for once, keeping them to herself.

Dearest Gentle Reader, this Friday brings a monarch baring his tax bill to the nation, a government minister telling his superior to 'stay classy' from the digital salons, and forty hospital staff whose curiosity has proved rather more dangerous than their patient's reptilian assailant. This Author's lorgnette has been working quite the overtime - read on, if you dare.