Peter Rhodes on curious lyrics, the Trump dynasty and grey-haired revolutionaries

In 1992, just after Bill Clinton was elected president of the USA, I came across an online document showing how the Clintons could become a dynasty, with descendants holding the presidency for decades to come. It was always a long shot, given that Bill and Hillary had only one child, Chelsea. But might something similar happen with the ever-growing family of Donald Trump who has five children and ten grand-children? His style is distinctly regal and his offspring cluster around him likes princes and princesses. And if ever a hairstyle needed a little weight to hold it in place, it's The Donald's flyaway comb-over. A crown, perhaps, Mr President?

Meanwhile, what is the collective noun for a number of Trumps? A whiff of Trumps, an eruption of Trumps, a parp of Trumps? Over to you.

Simon Schama's TV odyssey, The Making of Us (BBC2), looks at the forces and the culture that have shaped modern Britain. From environmental awareness to pornography and nationalism, our world has turned upside-down. Yet the series overlooks what may be the biggest change of them all. It is the astonishing growth in the number of old people, and the money they have to spend. Today's revolutionaries wear sensible shoes.

Here we go again. In the wake of the Southport massacre, the Government's response is to make it more difficult to buy knives online. But if a fanatic is deranged enough to commit murder, surely he will get a knife by any means? If a psychopath wanted a knife in a hurry, he'd head straight for the nearest kitchen.

As a public inquiry into the Southport horror looms, the old, old question returns. How many ways are there of saying “lessons will be learned” when we all know they won't be?