I returned from holiday this week to a surprise delivery from GB News - Alastair Stewart

Our wonderful daughter Clemmie came up with a generous and imaginative Christmas present for the whole family. She and her husband Brian rented an Airbnb house on the Isle of Wight and invited us, her siblings, their partners and the children to come over and stay.

Everyone gratefully accepted, and the ever-generous Clem organised our transport, booking the ferry crossings, so we had nothing to worry about. The house was just a five-minute walk from the beach, so there was plenty of walking, also very good for those of us with dementia.

All three grandchildren were there, which was the icing on the cake. None of them are old enough yet to have a mobile phone, iPad or laptop, and in a week when children’s addiction to social media was in the news, I am glad and proud to report that all they wanted to do was play on the beach, go dinosaur and fossil hunting, go crabbing and splash around.

It was a real tribute to their imaginations, their parents and their upbringing.

There was one small concession to modernity, the arcade on the pier. We tried to hook teddy bears, drove race cars and motorbikes, and played the penny machines. Harmless fun. We also played crazy golf, which was indeed crazy, but it was all simply family fun. We all loved it and felt much better for it.

There was something very special about my children holding my hand to steady me as I navigated the stairs. I wrote last week that both Sal and I had chest infections, we are now both feeling much better.

We returned to a surprise package: everything for tea for two from my old boss, Angelo, the CEO of GB News, and “all at GB News” saying “get well soon.” So characteristically kind and thoughtful, a great team and a great leader.

On the news front, the war in Iran goes from bad to worse, with inflationary pressures building and denting hopes of lower interest rates.

Trump’s war of words with his allies has also worsened, calling fellow Nato members “cowards.” The Secretary General, Mark Rutte, put a brave face on it, but I wasn’t convinced.

I do think the world order remains uncertain in the wake of Ukraine, Iran, Trump and Putin. Unlike with similar crises at the times of Blair and Thatcher, we seem to be led by political pygmies…