I do like my country...

Britain isn't perfect - there are things in the culture and general attitudes which rile me - but there are occasions it makes me so happy, as evidenced by two news stories I saw this morning.

1) Courting the gay vote. Irrespective of what you think of the politics, the facts that there are three openly gay ministers in our cabinet, that party leaders are willing to apologise for laws made against gay people by their predecessors and that this debate doesn't provoke a furore, are heartening.

2) Onslow is the Queen's deputy representative on the Isle of Wight. Seems appropriate in a week when I've been thinking cabout haracters who are the shining stars of sitcom.