Peter Rhodes: Not what the doctor ordered

THE latest Strictly Come Dancing (BBC1) was a puzzle. I can't remember seeing so many grown-up people getting so excited about going to Blackpool. Maybe they haven't been before.

AFTER treatment for lung cancer, Nick Robinson has stood down as the BBC's political editor and appeared this week as a new presenter on Today (Radio 4). He sounded dreadful. Robinson apologised for his still-croaky voice but he's not the one who should be apologising. After a run-in with cancer, everyone deserves a decent spell of low-stress living. Having to get up at 3am for an adrenaline-flushed live news programme and facing millions of listeners with your damaged voice cannot possibly be what the doctor ordered.

THE SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon talks of "hurtful" comments about her not having children. Even in the bear pit of politics, there is no excuse for such personal abuse. There is, however, a certain fascination in the legacy of childless politicians. How many men and women in power, not having children for whatever reason, decide almost subconsciously that, if they do not leave a dynasty behind, they will leave something else? There is no more potent political legacy than to create an independent nation. It is your baby. It ensures you will never be forgotten. Is it mere coincidence that the modern leaders of Scottish nationalism, Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond, are both childless?

AND I still don't understand why the SNP is hell-bent on cutting itself free from Westminster but equally determined to remain in the grip of Brussels.

THE Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte represented David Cameron at an informal meeting of the EU council. We are assured that such standing-in is quite routine. It also has a historical precedent. In 1688 Britain woke up one morning to discover a Dutch king calling himself William III was on the throne, standing in for James II, who had been chucked out. The British Army had fled, a Dutch army was in London and a Dutch armada was moored menacingly in the Channel. Today we refer to this invasion as the Glorious Revolution, which proves once again that history is written by the victors.

IT was revealed last week that sausage rolls are little-known in the United States. The New York Times has published a recipe for the authentic British delicacy. I wonder what other delights we could share with our American cousins. Have they heard of After Eight mints? Believe it or not, those crazy Brits eat thin slivers of chocolate filled with toothpaste.

DONALD Trump who, heaven forbid, might one day become President of the United States, says the Paris massacre would have turned out differently if the French were allowed to carry guns. Can you imagine the carnage if 100 handgun-toting concert-goers had whipped out their Magnums and cut loose in a dark, crowded theatre? Terrorism is scary enough but no less terrifying is how many adult Americans cannot tell the difference between real life and Hollywood.

THE really frightening thing was how Trump's speech was received by his US audience. Rapturous applause.

WINCE, wince, blink, blink, ouch, wince. How many blokes start the day like this? How do we forget, time after time, that you should put in the contact lens before you touch the after-shave?