EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Mark Carney called Reeves 'a serious economist'

As Chancellor Rachel Reeves is accused of fashioning a CV which might not be completely accurate, what does one of her former famous backers make of it all?

Mark Carney, ex-governor of the Bank of England, endorsed Reeves as ‘a serious economist’, commenting: ‘She began her career at the Bank of England, so she understands the big picture.’ 

Some might suspect Carney, 59, is flattering Ms Reeves in case he’s in line for a gong. For over a century a peerage had been automatic for governors. 

Canadian Carney even studied for British citizenship, just in case.

Always happy pointing out that his long-ago number one Release Me kept The Beatles off the top spot in 1967, venerable crooner Engelbert Humperdinck insists: ‘I have spoken to both Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr and none of us have ever mentioned those weeks in 1967. An unwritten gentleman’s code, perhaps.’ 

If he says so. John Lennon was known to hold a grudge; following the band’s split he used to get under ballad-prone McCartney’s skin by referring to him as ‘Engelbert’.

Keen to leave 007 behind, Daniel Craig is promoting his role as gay writer William Lee in the movie Queer. 

He tells The New Yorker magazine: ‘I would say one of my biggest reservations about playing [Bond] would be the construct of masculinity.’ Oh dear!

Who will succeed shamed Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby? 

The American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson once observed: ‘The King sends the Dean and Canons a congé d’élire, or leave to elect, but also sends them the name of the person whom they are to elect. 

'They go into the Cathedral, chant and pray, and after these invocations invariably find that the dictates of the Holy Ghost agree with the recommendation of the King.’

Veteran rock star Jon Anderson, 80, who fronted the band Yes, recalls in Classic Rock magazine being in a group called the Warriors and playing a club in Germany on the day the country faced England in the 1966 World Cup.

‘The club’s owner wouldn’t let us have the afternoon off, so we listened to it on the radio while we were playing. Every time England scored a goal [there were four], they threw a bottle at us.’

The ineffable Nigella Lawson on Yule logs: ‘I think a traditional French bûche de Noël always looks just the right side of cutely enchanting, and there is nothing not to like about its tender, melting chocolatiness.’ 

She tells Saga magazine: ‘I know the recipe looks finicky, and I can’t promise that it’s a doddle, but it works easily and you will soon find you are rolling chocolate logs without a care.’ Or not, as the case may be.