And Finally, Esther

Do you ever wonder why our governments seem quite relaxed about holiday companies collapsing?

Once upon a time, our glorious leaders would be at the microphone pretty sharpish to reassure and offer assistance in this situation, which happens fairly cyclically, and quite inevitably, which you will realise when you see how the business operates.

The reason being, of course, that politicians didn't want all of those electors to feel that no-one cared when their one holiday a year came to nothing, along with their savings. Of course, we've had a good insurance system for the travel industry for ages, but there's more to it than that.

You see, when a travel company or airline goes bust these days, air traffic is reduced, and that means a reduced carbon footprint. And that means the gov. gets better CO2 figures (at least temporarily) without having to tell people they can't go on holiday anymore.

Total recall: T. Blair, when asked if HMG intended doing anything about emissions from aircraft, replied that he wasn't going to tell people they can't go on holiday.

Don't expect anyone to offer much help to any travel company or airline in difficulties these days.