A pleasant change from the threat of riots from our far-sighted workers’ champions …

I woke this morning to be greeted by the news that the charmless thugs who run the public servants’ unions are threatening riots if some of their people look like losing jobs – a prospect the rest of us, who pay them, face every day.

So here’s a pleasant contrast. It’s Tamsin Taylor’s design for a plaque commemorating her school’s 50th anniversary being unveiled by two mayors.

Tamsin is my colleague Richard’s daughter. She visits our basement offices sometimes and claims to enjoy it but I suspect her English teacher has given her a bad language project, for which I am a perfect exemplar.

For overseas readers, the man with the blond hair is Boris Johnson, Mayor of London. The one dressed as a head waiter with the horse-brasses round his neck is the Mayor of Westminster (which is part of London). Boris explained the reason for two mayors is that the other chap is the Day Mayor leaving the audience to guess what he is. He also said he did so badly at prep school that he has spent his life ever since making up for it with an obscene lust for power.

Boric seems the only politician with a genuine sense of humour, as opposed to the usual dross who have their jokes written for them. He is also one of the few who is well-read, with a real knowledge of history. I hope he doesn’t get carried away with it all. My beloved partner, whose sense of priorities is quite different, hopes he finds a decent tailor