The brooding euro dragon

Journalists love the euro story so much because, with Marxism passé and Fundamentalism distinctly unfashionable, it's the last chance to examine The Text for The Truth.

Myself, I read Tony Blair's key quote to the CBI as a Message to the Chancellor: "Gordon, you're absolutely right to remind me 'the policy on the euro has not altered an iota' but it's not fair to accuse Number Ten of 'warming up or cooling down' on the issue."

The image that keeps springing to my warped mind is of Gordon Brown as a brooding dragon, sitting on a clutch of eggs, swishing his tail dangerously at any one who gets too near

The story is so entrancing because it bears so many interpretations.

Perhaps Gordon is really a Eurosceptic, Tony a Europhile.

Perhaps it is a hard cop/ soft cop routine, a tactical pincer movement.

Perhaps it is a quarrel about the right tactics: courage versus caution.

But the image that keeps springing to my warped mind is of Gordon Brown as a brooding dragon, sitting on a clutch of eggs, swishing his tail dangerously at any one who gets too near.

Those economic tests will hatch when he chooses, thank you very much.

And as "one senior source" told a colleague: "Gordon hasn't really made up his mind about the euro but he does know no one else is going to tell him what to think."

This week's shenanigans in the Northern Ireland Assembly remind me of a joke told by a colleague from the Belfast newsroom, last time he was across the water.

Question: What do Ulster politicians do when they see light at the end of the tunnel ?

Answer: Order more tunnel.

The Flying Helmsman continues to crush all opposition before him.

He arrived in Birmingham to a welcome at the CBI that would have done a small people's republic proud.

The CBI's Iain Vallance told Tony Blair: "Business is impressed - business supports you."

Indeed delegates were so impressed that they could only muster four questions for a planned question and answer session.

Not one of the questions was directly critical.

Not even Shailesh Vara - and he's just been made vice chairman of the Conservative Party.

In a little noticed passage of his speech Mr Blair spoke of new power to strip out redundant and unnecessary regulations without the bothersome recourse of a vote in Parliament. Habeas Corpus anyone?

The infinitely loveable and famously scatty Shirley Willams has become the new Liberal Democrat leader in the Lords.

Some Lib Dem insiders worry that she'll flunk the job ahead.

They are concerned that with Lords reform the number one priority she'll be properly scathing about the government's plans, but will have little appetite for the grubby work of cutting deals to actually up the number of elected peers.

But they agree she'll be great box office and will do sterling work on the Today programme.

With Potter-mania upon us, an excellent article by Libby Purvis in the Times reminds me just how political the books are.

There's the disgusting Dursley, fulminating against these strange weird people threatening upright suburban values with their very existence, regarding the wizards in their family as a dirty secret.

On the other hand, the malevolent Malfoys, sneering at those who's magic is based on talent not blood, determined to torment Muggles who lack their special powers.

And the wonderfully complex Snape, a bad man, a petulant bully, who has chosen to fight on the side of Light.

For some reason whenever reading the books to my children the voice of a certain ex-ex-ex-cabinet minster seems to spring into my throat for this character.

But I recall reading the end of the last book with a chill.

Two years ago on a balmy summer evening in the south of France Dumbledore's new sombre tone, the warning that evil had been thwarted but had grown stronger than ever, and could only be beaten by great sacrifice, seemed a Chuchillian echo.

Now it feels rather more prophetic. But JKR is far too good a writer to have used the words "a long haul".