When I was growing up, the heating in our house went off at the beginning of April and stayed off until the end of September, whatever the weather. This was my father’s diktat and I can see him now in his comfy chair, rugged up in his tweed jacket and pullover, as the rest of us moaned at him that our hands were too frozen to work the TV remote control. He maintained this regime well into his nineties and, who knows, it might have had something to do with his longevity.

Not me, I’m sitting here writing this with one of those (frighteningly expensive) electric oil heaters on full. It’s been a bit arctic of late. But never fear, our meteorologist tells us that we can expect warmer weather soon. With a spot of rain, no doubt, to give us all something to talk about.

I probably have Dad to thank for my hairline, too – or lack of one. But don’t call me “tonsorially challenged”. Baldism is no joke. At least it isn’t for the two-thirds of men who lose their hair by the time they are 60. Still, having an ultra-high hairline and a close relationship with the clippers (number one, if you please) beats the days when, if I held my head at just the right angle and squinted a bit in the mirror, I could convince myself (but nobody else) that I had it covered. Here’s to us chrome domes.

Before holidaying in Cadiz last year, my wife and I took an intense online Spanish course. Within just a few days, I could tell people I had a very elegant green dress and that their house was very charming, but I would struggle to find my way to the station. There being a heatwave, meanwhile, meant my wife told anyone who would listen that she was “muy caldo”, which a friendly taxi driver told us meant she was “very gravy”. But it turns out it’s not that we Brits are bad at learning languages, we just don’t start early enough.

This week we also read about “vulture capitalism” and why greed isn’t necessarily good. We were shocked, and educated, by a new Netflix series, Baby Reindeer, And why, post-Brexit, holiday lets are the new farming.

From our friends and colleagues in our global network, we have this analysis of the tragedy that is the civil war in Sudan, and an explainer about the US Supreme Court battle over presidential immunity. Meanwhile, what is the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, up to now?

Also do take a listen to the very first episode of our fantastic new podcast, which answers a series of questions from curious kids. This week: do whales sneeze?

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