Rhodes on generous parents and why the Russians are struggling

I have received an email from someone claiming to be my bank, warning me to be very wary of anyone claiming to be my bank.

Research by Saga Equity Release suggests one in seven over-50s are planning to give money to their children during their lifetime. The average amount these well-heeled folk are planning to hand over is £30,000. How can kids ensure they get a handout? The only tip I can offer is the same advice that applies to acquiring a strong heart and perfect eyesight. Choose your parents very carefully.

One joy of my job is the freedom to choose what to write about. Thus, I can ignore things that I do not understand or remotely care about. The Northern Ireland Protocol, the Wimbledon points system, economics “experts” and those two women in the libel court.

As inflation soars, one old line is worth repeating. Why did God create economists? To make weather forecasters look good.

The Daily Telegraph carried a photo of Her Majesty at the opening of the new Elizabeth rail line with the caption indicating: “The Queen, right.” This troubles me. Elizabeth II must be the most-recognised woman on this planet. Yet the Telegraph feels the need to identify her to its readers. Makes you wonder what the past 70 years have been about.

A celebrated Russian defence analyst claims the reason the Ukrainians are such good fighters is that, as Ukraine was once part of Russia, they are really Russians and therefore excellent soldiers. There are two flaws in this argument. Firstly, Ukraine is a real country. Secondly, as we have seen, Russians are not excellent soldiers but a thuggish bunch of rapists and war criminals whose tanks seem specifically designed to blow up. The reason Ukraine is doing so well is because in morale, motivation, training, logistics, equipment and raw courage, they are simply better than the Russians.

The Guardian published an explanation of the technical legal reasons why the Tory MP arrested on suspicion of rape had not been identified. It cheerfully overlooked the fact that, within hours of the story breaking, the MP had been repeatedly identified on the internet. By the second day, the only people who didn't know who he was were those who didn't want to know.