Until the advent of the virus over the previous six decades I’d spent at least half my life abroad. I went and sometimes lived for times virtually everywhere which taught me that people are basically the same, thus I lost any sense of nationalism.

French President Macron’s wife Brigitte, 24 years his senior, is suing a self-proclaimed spiritual medium and a journalist, for asserting on YouTube that she is transgender. Specifically, her claim is for a “violation of privacy and fundamental personal rights” and “illicit use of her image”.

I’ve written before of the extraordinary practice, unique to New Zealand, of commercial property agents reinventing the language. Rental “Areas” became “footprints”, plain everyday industrial buildings are described as hard-working, and so it goes.

An excellent article on Wednesday by Stuff’s very measured Chief Political writer Henry Cooke. Its theme was the Police Chief Andrew Coster’s credibility gap with his failure to act on the blocking of the capital’s key streets by protesters vehicles.