Callooh! Callay! Finally, some good news and I'm chortling in my joy.

Actually, I'm not, but I wanted to continue with the Lewis Carroll theme. The queen's Birthday Honours list was released over the weekend and at least four people from Waltham Forest have been given the royal nod. There are another two listed as coming from E11 but we weren't able to establish whether they were from Wanstead or Leytonstone. Still, at the very least, we can claim them as near neighbours, which is good enough for me.

It made a pleasant change to be able to talk to people about the good things they've done, as opposed to pain, suffering and/or parking, which, though necessary, becomes something of a strain sometimes. At any rate, both the MBE-recipients I spoke to have led varied and interesting lives, as well as tirelessly offering their services to their fellow human beings. Which is nice.

This is not to say, of course, that the paper is without its usual fair share of hardhitting and sometimes upsetting news stories. For example, the WFG's favourite, and indeed, only, chief reporter (Possum of Steel to some of us. FCR to others) covered a story on the hidden plight of men who suffer domestic abuse. It's an interesting one and a difficult one, as so many are presumably too embarrassed to come forward - and therefore all the more important that we give it space in the paper.

This week also saw the opening of a high profile murder trial, in which a 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death, allegedly over a £15 debt. The concept, though frightening, is not an usual one. More often than not, it seems, these killings are over something completely trivial, somehow escalating to mind-bogglingly disproportionate levels of violence - and among teenagers at that.

It's nothing new, obviously, but I sincerely hope the day never comes when I lose all sense of horror about these things.

Finally, as I haven't included any newsroom antics of late, the mood in the office this afternoon - whether because of the hot weather or otherwise - has been...odd. We've all been issued with new mobile phones for the purposes of being contacted while we're out and about and at one point, I genuinely thought a fight might break out as we all endeavoured to register our sim cards. Not because of the sim cards (or not directly) but because of a bizarre argument over the pronunciation of a certain reporter's surname.

Best not to ask...

This, I hope, will sate those who wanted a mention in the blog.