This being the last column for the year, I thought it would be full of laughter and levity, the elements that characterise my writing. Sadly, there is very little to be cheerful about.

As a country, as a continent, as part of the rest of humanity, we are in trouble. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that Covid-19 is not about to disappear, that it will continue to claim more lives, rob people of their jobs, and generally wreak havoc over the next few months, or even years. But human resilience can never be underestimated...