“Come on then,” yelled Beverley, for whom de-escalation was something that happened to other people. — Ben Aaronovitch

The Daily Mail had the scoop but the media had caught the smell of blood in the water and twenty-four-hour news outlets were running the bulletin every half an hour, with a teaser on the quarter in case your attention span was that short.

I’ll say this for the Queen. She was brave—or possibly stupid. It’s easy to mistake the two.

I am a goddess, Peter, a creature of temperament and whimsy. I’m supposed to be arbitrary and mercurial—it’s practically my job description.