Britain's diplomats have a new challenge: hiding their globes from Trump
Cartography news. The Government has ruled on what to call the Gulf of Mexico. And Donald Trump – who has renamed it the Gulf of America – won't be happy. Foreign Office minister Martin Wrigley told MPs that the Government 'will continue to follow the guidance of the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names who advise His Majesty's Government on the policies and procedures for the representation of geographical names for places and features outside of the UK'. And the committee has ruled that ' this body of water is Gulf of Mexico '. Better hide the globes when the President comes over for his state visit.
Down on the farm
Life on The Archers can be cut-throat, says Charles Collingwood, who is marking 50 years playing the ageing lothario Brian Aldridge on the Radio 4 soap. He recalls getting into a BBC lift with Jack Holloway, who played Ralph Bellamy moments after Holloway was told that his character was being written out of the programme in 1980. 'When we got to the third floor where the bar was, he [Holloway] shot off to drown his sorrows,' Collingwood says. 'I went to join The Archers cast and said, 'I've just got in the lift with Jack Holloway – he says he's been written out of the programme?' They said, 'Yes, you've bought his farm!''
Bremner dismounts
The pressures of financing an equestrian career has become unsustainable for Rory Bremner and his daughter Lila, 21, an accomplished showjumper. 'It's the sheer cost of it all,' the TV impressionist told me at the Chelsea Flower Show. 'There is sponsorship but it is a very competitive world. To sustain it, I compare it to highwayman Dick Turpin – he had a phrase: 'your money or your life?' The horses get more and more expensive. You need hundreds of thousands. So she's gone to London to do a personal assistant's course and have some fun London days, like I did as a young man.' And why not?
Trump's present
Gordon Brown told how British prime ministers traditionally give presents to incoming US presidents at the John Smith Memorial Lecture this week. 'David Cameron gave Barack Obama a table tennis table. Rishi Sunak gave Joe Biden a Barbour jacket. Theresa May gave Donald Trump a hamper from Chequers. Boris Johnson gave some poetry,' Brown said. 'Keir Starmer has had to give gifts to the two presidents. He gave a gift to Joe Biden of an Arsenal jersey with 46 on it to denote the 46th president of the United States. I don't know if Joe Biden knew too much about Arsenal. And of course, he has already given a gift and sent it to Washington, to Donald Trump: It's Peter Mandelson.' Perhaps Gordon misses Peter?
Rodney's Brexit reset
The European Commission helpfully distributed photos of Sir Keir Starmer unveiling the Brexit Reset deal on Monday alongside European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Council of Europe president Antonio Costa. The only problem was that while the other leaders were correctly captioned, the PM was described as 'Rodney Starmer'. Rodney is of course the PM's middle name. But could there be an Only Fools and Horses fan working for the Eurocrats? As Delboy said: 'This time next year, we'll be millionaires!'
Beaverbrook's bashes are back
Jonathan Aitken, 82, ex-Conservative minister and now a prison chaplain, has started a new political supper club called the Beaverbrook Forum to re-create the parties thrown by his uncle, Lord Beaverbrook, who owned the Daily Express and served in Churchill's wartime government. Political veterans Lord Gummer and Diane Abbott, as well as Robert Jenrick's wife Michal, dined on champagne and shepherd's pie as Aitken recalled how 'Bollinger Bolsheviks' such as Nye Bevan used to love Beaverbrook's parties. The future Labour leader Michael Foot was apparently so spoiled by Beaverbrook that he was allowed to stay for free in a house in Beaverbrook's garden. Sir Keir's Starmer's freebies from Lord Alli look like small beer.
O'Flynn's fiscal legacy
RIP the much-missed Patrick O'Flynn, 59, the former Ukip MEP, as well as Daily Telegraph and GB News commentator, who died this week. One of his most memorable policies as Ukip's economic spokesman was for a tax on luxury goods like designer shoes, and handbags to win over former Labour voters. O'Flynn's so-called 'WAG tax' was unveiled at Ukip's conference in September 2014 and axed by leader Nigel Farage two days later, after an outcry. Farage declared: 'It was a discussion point yesterday, it isn't going to happen.' Perhaps with Farage's Reform leading the polls, the WAG tax's time will come again?
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Jack recently said he doubts his relationship with Chloe is over for good, and it appears Chloe feels the same, admitting: 'I'm sure he would like to go back to that time in our relationship, as would I to some extent. 'Obviously I'm focusing on moving out and things going on in my career and Jack is focusing on a lot of things going on in his. 'I wish him well and we'll always be involved in each other's lives to some extent, whether romantically or in a friendship way, but as of right now I'm focusing on myself.' 'I've seen a lot about us slamming each other, I can assure you that is definitely not what is going on. 'Me and Jack have been in each other's lives for a really long time, six nearly seven years now, and we tried living together and it didn't work for multiple reasons, not because of my OnlyFans at all.' It comes after Jack said he doubts his relationship with Chloe is over for good but doesn't currently know what is going to happen. Jack and Chloe moved into their first home together in May 2024 and even created a joint Instagram account to share their home updates. The reality star has now explained that he has moved back in with his mum while Chloe has 'moved out into her own flat'. He told The Sun: 'Chloe and I haven't been in a great place. I'm living at my mum's and she has moved out of the house we lived in and into her own flat. I don't know what will happen between us. I still love her. I doubt it's over for good. 'We've been through a hell of a lot in the past couple of years. I didn't tell her about the bulimia, it is a hard thing to discuss with anybody. Even Mum doesn't know. 'I am a very open bloke. I cry, I wear my heart on my sleeve, but bulimia, for a bloke, I didn't think it was something I could discuss.' Chloe has also begun her new chapter in life as she revealed to her Instagram followers that she has the keys to her new place. Sharing a snap of herself opening the door to her new home, Chloe gushed: 'Today's a good day.. got the keys to my new place ✨.' It comes after Chloe took to her Instagram Stories last month to open up about living with a 'narcissist' for a year, although she didn't name anyone specifically. In now-deleted posts, she told her followers: 'I wasn't going to say anything but I'm going to say something. 'I think the scariest part about living with a narcissist is that they genuinely believe their own lies. 'So they genuinely believe the things they are saying and this version of themselves that they are presenting to the world is the true version because they see them day in and day out. 'I wasn't going to say anything but when you see this person just repeatedly projecting this absolute false version of themselves to the world. 'I had the pleasure of spending a year around this human that was nothing like the person they presented themselves. 'I just had to say something. I think narcissist are probably the most scariest people you can ever encounter in your whole entire life and just for so long I genuinely believed the lies that I was being told. 'I just woke up one day and was like "wow.. you're being lied to."' Chloe later took to her Instagram Stories to reveal that she had deleted the posts in question and said she would speak on the topic 'at a later date'. MailOnline has contacted representatives of Jack for comment. It comes after Chloe announced she is once again single and wants to 'focus on myself', as they both prepared to move into separate homes. Last month, during a Q&A session with her Instagram followers, Chloe was asked if she was still in a relationship. She responded: 'No I'm not in a relationship anymore... just want to focus on myself and the things that make me happy.' When asked if she was moving in with Jack, she explained: 'No I am moving to Brentwood on my own... I can't wait to show you all my little place it's so pretty.' In another Instagram Story, she added: 'I wanna give myself a cuddle after the last year I've had... only way is up from here'.
