Mark Andrews on Saturday: A tale of everyday folk and a pop star's mansion

AFTER the recent stern telling off from Meghan Markle and Prince Harry about how we all have a duty to prevent climate change, it is great to see the right-on royal couple leading by example.

At least I would like to follow their example, but unfortunately I can’t afford four journeys by private jet in the space of 11 days like Meg and Harry.

Their latest trip saw them take son Archie for a mini-break at Elton John’s £15 million villa in Nice.

Well they did say they wanted him to have an ordinary upbringing.

ACCORDING to a cheery, upbeat story in the Daily Mail, ‘Retirees looking to top up their pension are flocking to the holiday-let market’. Apparently. the rise of the staycation among people without access to private jets or flamboyant pop stars’ villas in the south of France has led to soaring demand for holiday homes.

The same day, a study by the Financial Conduct Authority revealed that two-fifths of people aged between 45 and 65 were at risk of falling victim to pension scams.

The moral is surely that, unless you are a financial expert yourself, the sensible thing to do with your pension pot is to leave it to people who are.

Now I know it is all the rage to blame bankers for all the woes in society (apart from those caused by Brexit or the media, obvs). But I would sooner entrust my retirement to an established organisation with decades of experience than try my luck with the latest get-rich-quick fad hitting the financial pages of the tabloids.

OR MAYBE we should take a lead from Donald Trump, who seems to have ruffled a few puffin feathers this week with his ‘real estate’ proposal to buy Greenland from Denmark.

The Donald has yet to explain his plans for the island, but presumably they will involve skating rinks, golf courses, and probably a 100-storey igloo with a gold-leaf lift.

What would be really interesting to hear, though, would be the thoughts of the objectionably ‘woke’ sorts who say Britain should hand the Falklands to Argentina and Gibraltar to Spain. In that case, surely the Danish imperialists should give their American colony free up of charge? The silence is deafening.

A COUPLE of weeks I suggested Louise Redknapp should have blamed her conviction for jumping a red light on Brexit. Well it seems Jamie Oliver has taken this advice, because he now blames the demise of his restaurant chain on the decision to leave the EU.

Now, I’ve only dined in one of his restaurants once. But I suspect the reason for their failure was less down to Brexit than the fact that customers were expected to sit on shabby tubular chairs which looked like they had been borrowed from the local village hall.

NOT that remainers have a monopoly on outrageous claims. Madcap former football manager Ian Holloway this week said the controversial new handball rule introduced this season was a prime example of why we needed to leave the EU.

Sorry to break it to you Ian, but it is Uefa, not the EU which administers the laws on football in Europe. And it will continue to do so after Brexit.

Unless, of course, our FA calls a referendum on breaking away from Uefa, and presumably the International Football Association Board which actually drew up the rule. FA-xit, maybe?

Still, Ian’s confusion is understandable. After all, none of his teams ever qualified for Europe.