Newsweek Scotland: storms, oil and rogue traders

My telly broke down this week. I think the satellite dish on the roof was affected by the storms. The upshot is no Panorama, no Channel 4 news, no rugby world cup and...worst of all....No CBeebies. We've been watching the Aristocats and, so help me, Pollyanna, on DVD. But the good bit is I'm reading more in the evenings and finished a whole book in three nights. And, no, it wasn't The Gruffalo.

I've also been reading Alex Kemp's history of the North Sea (oil and gas) and it gives an insight into how government works. You'll be surprised to hear the instincts in Whitehall were to keep it all to themselves and play down it's beneficial effects on Scotland and to try to screw a miserly deal out of Shetland. Sir Humphry was truer than we'll ever know. I'll ask the man who drew up the slogan: It's Scotland's Oil what he thinks. Gordon Wilson and I crossed swords (or dirks) in the 1980s when he was SNP leader and we clash again the morning.

Why are the Chinese debriefing our Information Commissioner Kevin Dunion? It sounds like a spy thriller from my Kindle. He tells us what Beijing are up to. We think they're deeply secretive so we were surprised they want to know what he does.

We deal with Russia and Turkey and rogue traders. (But not rogue broadcasters). I'm going home to listen to the wireless while looking at a blank screen. I'll break this telly habit yet. Join me tomorrow at 8.