Barometer

Juncker’s perks The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker complained that he doesn’t have an official residence, unlike the ambassadors who frequently entertain him, and has to live in a hotel room. What are the perks of his job? — He receives a salary of €306,655 (£271,000), untaxed in his home country and subject only to a low EU tax. — He gets a residence allowance of €46,000 p.a., equivalent to 15 per cent of his salary. — He is also eligible for a family allowance equivalent to 2 per cent of his salary. The free world Was Donald Trump’s state banquet the most appropriate to boycott?

Milkshakes and other missiles What can the man who threw a milkshake over Nigel Farage in Newcastle expect as a punishment, from past precedent? — Tony Blair was struck by a tomato in Bristol in 2001. His attacker was given a two-year conditional discharge. — In the same year, John Prescott had an egg thrown at him in Wales. The attacker was punched in the face by Prescott. — In 2004 Tony Blair had a condom full of purple-dyed flour thrown at him in the House of Commons. The assailant was given a two-year conditional discharge. — In March, a man was jailed for 28 days for throwing an egg at Jeremy Corbyn.   Eurovision failures Did the UK come last in Eurovision because of Brexit?

Royal name games Will more children be called Archie following the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son? How have other names fared after being picked by royalty? — George was the 6th most popular boy’s name in 2012, the year before Prince George was born. In 2014 it fell to 18th. — Charlotte was the 17th most popular girl’s name in 2014, the year before Princess Charlotte was born. In 2016 it rose to 15th. — Louis did not make the 50 most popular boys’ names in 2017, the year before Prince Louis was born, although Louie was 36th. We haven’t got figures for a full year since his birth last April, but it failed to make the top 50 in 2018. — Archie was the 15th most popular boy’s name in 2018.

Spires on fire Paris was lucky not to lose its medieval cathedral entirely, a fate which London suffered in 1666 in spite of great efforts to keep the Great Fire away from it by pulling down surrounding buildings. The original St Paul’s, commissioned by William I in the 1080s and completed in the early 14th century, would still be one of the world’s largest cathedrals. It was 586 ft long, 68 ft longer than the current St Paul’s and 30 ft longer than Winchester cathedral. Its spire was estimated at between 60 and 80 ft higher than that of Salisbury cathedral (404 ft) — although still 30 ft short of Lincoln cathedral, whose spire collapsed in a storm in 1549.

Embassy endurance Julian Assange was thrown out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London, seven years after seeking sanctuary from extradition proceedings. But there are people who have hidden longer in embassies: — Jozsef Mindszenty, a Hungarian cardinal, spent 15 years in asylum in the US embassy in Budapest. He had served eight years in jail for opposing the communist regime but was freed during the Hungarian uprising in 1956. In 1971, he was allowed to leave Hungary to live in exile in Austria. — Berhanu Bayeh, Ethiopian foreign minister between 1986 and 1989, has been sheltering in the Italian embassy in Addis Ababa since 1991, when his government was overthrown by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front.

Flextensions Some organisations which may have benefited from Donald Tusk’s offer of a ‘flextension’ to Article 50: — Adidas, which has marketed a ‘Porsche Design Sport Flextension Easy Trainer’. — DB Flextension, a South Africa company which makes commercial signage systems. — Flextension, a Dutch charity which supports the development of wheelchairs and other equipment for boys and young men suffering from muscular dystrophy. Worse than smoking? A University of Washington study claimed that poor diet kills more people globally than smoking does.

Trolley dollies Virgin Atlantic dropped its requirement for air hostesses to wear make-up at work. What was required of the first air hostesses? — United Airlines introduced hostesses in 1930 on its multi-leg flights from California to Wyoming. They had to be registered nurses, aged 25 or under, weigh no more than 8st 2lb and be no taller than 5ft 4in. — The first UK airline to introduce hostesses was Air Despatch in 1936. They were expected not only to be able to cook and mix cocktails but also to be able to type letters for businessmen on the flight. On a knife edge Is knife crime rising everywhere?