'City hall refit almost complete, says Boris'

'City Hall refit almost complete, Boris says.’ ‘Boris Johnson to replace bendy Tube.’ ‘Boris Johnson pledges to get tough on things that something should be done about.’ ‘Boris Johnson extends free travel to fare dodgers.’

You’ve got to laugh, haven’t you – and as Hamlet’s mother understood, three weeks is long enough to have been mourning for any king, even Ken.

The above are just a few of the headlines in the ‘You write the news’ section of John O’Farrell’s NewsBiscuit website (‘the news before it happens’). This is one of those rare things on the web: a place for ‘humorous writing’ that is actually humorous.

‘Charity collectors worse than actual disease’ was one recent story by its core team of writers. And my personal favourite: ‘Brown comforted by Labour gains in made-up places.’ This featured the prime minister photographed alongside the Mayor of Casterbridge, with a Downing Street spokesman boasting of gains in places like Ambridge, Holby City and the London Borough of Walford – though angry farmers were blamed for Labour’s failure to take Emmerdale, one of several fantasy locations it had targeted.