Dearest Gentle Reader, this Tuesday has arrived bearing gifts of the most unwelcome variety - petrol thieves in Porsches, a beloved Queen remembered on what would have been her centenary, and news from the forecourts that would make even the most composed among us grip their reticule rather tightly. This Author has witnessed much, but today's dispatches have truly tested the nerves.

Dearest Gentle Reader, this Monday brings a Prime Minister squirming before the Grand Assembly, a community quietly mapping its exits from these shores, and a Travelodge Inn that has apparently decided security is a mere suggestion. This Author has her eyebrow firmly raised and her pen most thoroughly inked.

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.