Well, here we are again. For once, there is something to write about that doesn't feel like repeating the same old annual round.

As the EU 27 have finally held the feet of government and Parliament to the fire, with a set of deadlines for ending the shambles of inability to decide principled debate over how to translate into the People's Will what has so far only been expressed as the People's Won't, we come to the positively, absolutely, definitely final crunch in the course of the next week or so.

And as part of that,  the People's Vote campaign for a second referendum held another march in central London today, attracting hundreds of thousands, perhaps even a million, people - most of whom really want the whole thing dropped, one way or another. Placards and slogans were a mixture of the humorous, whimsical and pained, but with not a few featuring, well, not the kind of language my mother would have appreciated (slightly to my surprise, but then, I don't get out much these days): not just the familiar "Bollocks to Brexit" stickers, but a fair smattering of four-letter words too. How persuasive this would be to any waverers from the other side, and how influential if and when Parliament finally works its way through alternative suggestions - that remains to be seen.

Here's some indication of the mood: