Christmas afternoon at last; finally a lull in proceedings in which to share a quiet moment with our readers. The Holy Father has delivered Urbi et Orbi from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica; the King has broadcast a heartfelt Christmas Message not from Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle, but from the homely little Fitzrovia Chapel (formerly the spiritual heart of the Middlesex Hospital) in London. Deep in rural Kent, where I am this year, we have kept the feast in fine fettle and raised a glass to His Majesty’s health. Take that, Oliver Cromwell.