Ephraim Hardcastle
DONALD Trump departs the White House without honouring the Queen with a US gong. HM has received almost 100 foreign decorations, but not one from the US. The precedent began with President Eisenhower at the start of her reign. Trump had three meetings with the Queen: a full state visit, a ceremonial one and a Nato summit. There was a glimmer of hope when he discovered he could bestow the Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit. But he desisted. This was probably a relief. She might have been obliged to reciprocate by making him Sir Donald.
PRESIDENT Joe Biden was not obliged to swear his oath of office on a family bible. John Quincy Adams used a law tome and Lyndon B Johnson used a missal. Non-believer Mr Trump wasn’t keen on the Good Book in 2017. He had to be dissuaded from swearing on his opus The Art of the Deal. Next time, Donald?
JACOB Rees-Mogg announces his ‘personal delight’ at fellow religionist Mr Biden becoming only the second Roman Catholic to be US president. Though confirmed an Anglican at Eton, Boris was baptised as a Catholic, as was his youngest son Wilfred at Westminster Cathedral last September. Will the PM and Joe bond over matters of faith?
AUSTRALIAN Open contender Heather Watson, forced to knock quarantine tennis balls off a Melbourne hotel wall, must envy Matt Damon, pictured. Filming Thor: Love and Thunder, Matt has flown his wife and daughters by private jet to his quarantine camp near Sydney, underwriting hospital-grade cleaning, security and medical checks. Says Dr Zac Turner of Concierge Doctors: ‘Matt is paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for his meticulous approach.’
BROADCASTING from home, Radio 4’s Nick Robinson had his misbehaving cockapoo Sam put through his paces by a dog trainer yesterday, complaining: ‘I’m now terrified that he’s going to follow me downstairs at 4am every morning and try to join me.’ Later Robinson wailed on air: ‘I’m not making this up: the dog has just tried to break into the basement in order to join me on the radio.’ Anyone heard from Nick?
RECALLING his favourite Talking Heads actress Thora Hird’s adverts for stairlifts, Alan Bennett notes his increasing difficulty in reaching the first floor of his home due to arthritis. ‘I never thought I’d say it, but I wish we had a stairlift,’ says Alan, adding: ‘We won’t ever get one for aesthetic reasons.’ Can we blame his partner Rupert Thomas, editor of World of Interiors?
BBC producers of Celebrity Best Home Cook have given judge Mary Berry, 85, an elevated balcony and opera glasses so that she can socially distance in the age of Covid. But they’ve baulked at one of her suggestions. ‘I brought my dog whistle in, but they didn’t seem to fancy that,’ she says.