Here’s a nice list of the April Fool reports printed in yesterday’s British press, including the ferret story I’ve already cited.

And here’s an article on the state of politics in Britain today. Not to mention Spain. And probably a lot of other countries as well. The author deplores the “intellectual emptiness into which contemporary politics has collapsed”. And adds that “Most mornings, I listen to the obfuscation that masquerades as parliamentarians' highbrow comment and fight a primeval urge to smash the radio. . . When poison is Westminster's currency of exchange, disaster is to let slip a fact which may incur disfavour with a slice of the electorate, especially "minorities". Respect for the underdog, an honourable British tradition, has been twisted into a morbid fear of offending anyone. . . . Substance is irrelevant, the goal is simply to nail a rival's ‘mistake’. . . . When leadership is entirely driven by a search for tactical advantage, plain speaking is a sin.”

The trouble is – this genie is well and truly out of the bottle and it’s devilishly hard to see it being squeezed back in. Or to predict in which direction things will turn. Hopefully not towards a search for a strong, straight-talking leader. A Fuhrer even.

Finally . . . Here’s a few fotos of the streets around the house of my friend, Mike, where I’ve been staying all this week. The total – or near total – absence of cars parked on the street makes everything very reminiscent of an earlier age. Shame there’s no prospect of this happening with politics.