Ephraim Hardcastle
SOCIAL media types clamouring for Marcus Rashford’s knighthood shouldn’t hold their breath, judging by the official attitude to sporting stars. Jimmy Greaves remains unhonoured, Geoffrey Boycott was only knighted last year and Lewis Hamilton makes do with a lowly MBe. tony Blair rushed to give David Beckham an OBe when he was 28 but no knighthood followed. Perhaps Marcus Mania might lower its gong ambitions.
WHILE the Queen approved an additional six races at Royal Ascot this week, keen turf fan Camilla remains one of the few senior royals without her own event. Husband Charles has his own race as has Prince Philip, William and former roya l s including Edward VII, queens Alexandra, Mary and Anne. Perhaps Camilla, pictured, could ask her mother-in-law for a bespoke sprint while she is in a good mood. On Wednesday, Tactical was HM’s first winner at Ascot for four years.
BORIS’S creation of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office prompts the Arsenal Supporters’ trust to urge investigation of the club’s £30million, three-year deal with Rwanda’s development board while the old Department for International Development gave £60million a year to Rwandan education and farming. ‘Hopefully some joined-up thinking,’ says the trust, ‘will question such anomalies.’
JACOB Rees-Mogg, pictured, soars to the top of the charts for the most bizarre tribute to Vera Lynn, telling the Commons that he’s looking forward to bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover when EU passports are abolished, adding: ‘So as people come in they will be looking for bluebirds waving their blue passports.’ Is there a doctor in the House?
BY now Dame Vera should be enjoying a celestial reunion with Ross Parker and Hughie Charles. Who they? the writers of We’ll Meet Again and there’ll Always Be An england. Both died unhonoured.
JIM Davidson, pledging to never again tell jokes about black people, whinges: ‘I can’t do impressions of Frank Bruno or Ian Wright? That’s racist is it? But I can do Sven-Göran Eriksson?’ Do Davidson’s gags contravene the Trade Descriptions Act?
SNOOKER’S Willie thorne retained a friendship with the deeply loathed Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins, despite once being summoned to his hotel room during a tournament. ‘there was Alex,’ he recalled, ‘stark naked with his pubic hair all shaved off. “What do you think of this?”, he asked.’
Email: john.mcentee@dailymail.co.uk