Rhodes on sandwiches, genocide and the awesome responsibility facing the trans MP

The Belfast-born actor Jamie Dornan has inspired snackers everywhere by demonstrating how to make a crisp sandwich. Some have criticised Dornan for adding mayonnaise to his “Tayto smashie”. But then some of the simplest snacks succeed or fail on getting the ingredients absolutely right.

Remember sugar sandwiches? The bread and the sugar both had to be snowy-white and the butter warm, soft and spreadable. The perfect sugar sandwich was food of the gods. It also provided a good living for dentists.

An old and dear friend collapsed and died a couple of weeks ago. It is some comfort to those left behind that, in the time between her sudden death and her burial, her donated organs have saved the lives of three other people.

Putin is not the only one invoking the word “genocide” to justify his tactics. A 21-year-old zealot on the Just Stop Oil campaign declares piously: “I don’t want to be doing this but our genocidal government gives me no choice." Genocidal? Oh, for goodness' sake. Just have a nice lie down, sonny, read a dictionary and then tidy your room.

It is good that the UK has its first openly transgender MP. Trans people need the support and reassurance that comes from having trans leaders as advocates and role models. Whether Jamie Wallis, the Tory MP for Bridgend, will fit that bill remains to be seen. His political career so far has been somewhat chequered. He was sacked as a councillor for non-attendance. He crashed his car, fled the scene and was later fined. He was linked to a “sugar daddy” website, an incident for which the Labour's Jess Phillips urged Conservatives to withdraw the whip from Wallis. She said: “The Tories should feel ashamed sitting alongside Jamie Wallis.”

When Wallis came out last week, declaring: “I’m trans. Or to be more accurate, I want to be,” he entered a new and influential stage of his political career. People will be looking to him for sensible words and deeds on trans issues. I'm sure we all wish him well as he takes an awesome burden of responsibilities on his shoulders.

A reader once had a thriving dowsing business, using divining rods to locate sources of water. But he tells me that during lockdown it dried up.