Dame Judi's secret birthday plans and odd political tales from Westminster insiders

Dame Judi Dench and Gyles Brandreth are set for West-end shows but theres a catch - no-one should mention her upcoming 90th birthday. Due to her eye-health issues (which makes seeing things hard) she might not spot if Brandreth sneaks a cake on-stage. A funny mix-up happened couple years ago when she mistook director Trevor Nunn for a nun; because of his all-black outfit

Pam Ayres shared her not-so-happy electric-car story in Chester this week: making it into a funny-yet-true poem about car salesmenʼs promises versus real-life experience. The heater use really cuts down that promised 200-mile range she notes

John Prescott showed his lighter side back in the day: playing beach cricket to “bowl out“ Michael Brown during the 97 election (which he did). Later on Brown wrote some words about Prescotts speaking style - instead of getting mad Prescott loved it. Jacob Rees-Mogg shared an insider-tip about government talk: when they say they “dont recognize“ numbers; its their way of not lying while hinting youre close

Some folks wrote in about their dads who fought in the Boer War (way back in 1899-1902): these men were born in the 1870s and later fought in WW1 too - which shows how history isnt that far away

I bought a new electric car‚ Me old one had gone West‚ The salesman he convinced me That electric cars are best