Given all that, it might well be that the next few months, when shell be filming the third series of Call the Midwife by day and taking to the stage at night, will prove testing. Luckily, she says, she has a sanctuary the north London flat she shares with her boyfriend, actor Tom Goodman-Hill, and her Battersea rescue cats, Margot and Pickle. While the babies littering the set of Call the Midwife sometimes make her broody "Occasionally youd just like to pick one up and take them home, at least when theyre not pooing all over you" she says the cats are enough for now: "Im too busy to contemplate marriage or children."

Gays, divorcees and atheists are understandably confused about these messages from the See of Peter; so are devout heterosexual Catholics. Me, too. Pope Francis seems to be indicating a direction of travel without saying how far ?C if at all ?C the Catholic Church is prepared to move. Strange times.Dizzee Rascal demands tighter regulation of City bonuses. Or so we are to understand from this analysis in the of the lyrics to Dizzee's latest hit Dirtee Cash.

I'm not sure that such things would have been said in the South African press a few years ago, particularly if Mandela was lying stricken in hospital at the time. I'm not criticising the journalists concerned, merely noting this change in the tone of public debate.

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Farmer selling continues to stall at current price levels and basis on the river and Gulf of Mexico is steady to firm. Afloat barges were bid 75 over the December yesterday and October was bid 72 cents over. Processor bids remain mixed with Decatur, IL holding steady at 15 cents over the December contract and Burns Harbor, IN paying 12 cents over. Blair, NE bids fell by 7 cents per bushel to 35 over the December contract. Trade in the world market was steady yesterday with the US still priced at a considerable premium to South America. Argentina was last quoted near a $35 per tonne discount to US offers and Brazilian offers were thin past December. Cash levels remain firm in Brazil on reports that more corn is being pushed into Europe. Export sales were rather disappointing once again yesterday with only 142,300 tonnes reported for the week ending October 18th vs. 166,800 the week prior. The market was expecting 150-375,000 tonnes. Japan bought 115,000 tonnes and there was a reduction of 120,000 tonnes to China. Cumulative sales are running 5% behind the 5-year average.Follow us