Mark Andrews: Frozen fountains, Mad Lizzie eases the winter blues, and Trump's promises suffer with inflation

There was a thick, hard frost this morning. The fountain in Trafalgar Square has frozen solid. A dozen people spent the night trapped in a pub in Richmond, North Yorkshire. In northern Scotland, temperatures plummeted to a teeth-chattering -14C (6F), with the The Guardian telling us -20C (-4F) is perfectly feasible.

So, come the end of the month, we can probably look forward to the same gloom mongers telling us it's the warmest January on record.

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And with freezing temperatures outside, energy prices on the rise, pensioners losing their winter fuel payments, retailers warning of job losses and rising food prices, and Jhon Duran serving a three-match ban, we can be forgiven for suffering the January blues.

It's at times like these we should take a moment to reflect on those less fortunate than ourselves, people who are having a particularly hard time of things at the moment. People like Liz Truss, whose lawyers this week issued a 'cease and desist' letter to the Prime Minister, ordering him to stop saying she 'crashed the economy'. 

See, that brought a smile to your face, didn't it? But probably not half as big a smile as it brought to Sir Keir Starmer's boat, providing a perfectly timed distraction from the growing storm clouds gathering around his own handling of the economy. 

The irony is this came the same week that the rising yield in gilts, effectively the interest rate on government borrowing, rose to its highest level in 25 years - actually exceeding the rise that triggered Mad Lizzie's downfall. But instead of holding the present PM and Chancellor for their own crashing of the economy, we're all laughing at her own lack of self-awareness. 

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I think Lizzie needs to find herself a job to occupy her time. Maybe a few public appearances opening pork markets, or some witty supermarket commercials for fresh lettuce. Or perhaps she should give stand-up comedy a go, I could see her getting quite a following at the Edinburgh Fringe. 

It's the way she tells 'em, see?

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Also in need of a dose of self-awareness is Elon Musk, who appears to be unhappy with Starmer's performance as Prime Minister, Nigel Farage's leadership of Reform UK, and Jess Phillips, well, being Jess Phillips. He has yet to offer his thoughts on Kemi Badenoch, although I suspect that is probably more him not knowing who she is, rather than a tacit approval.

Still, thanks for the advice, Elon. When faced with intractable dilemmas, my first thought usually boils down to 'what would a South African-American seller of electric cars have to say about that?' 

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Donald Trump, May 2023: “They’re dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. I'll have that done in 24 hours." This week, his envoy has slightly lengthened the timeline to 100 days. 

Seems we're not the only ones struggling with inflation.