THERE are times when you think some politicians inhabit a different world to the rest of us. So it was illuminating to get an insight into life on Planet Arlene via an interview she gave to a Sunday newspaper.
You'll remember the erstwhile DUP leader was ousted earlier this year after a letter of no-confidence was passed around Assembly and Westminster representatives.
At least 22 MLAs and 4 MPs signed up. You might have thought it was a party coup and that she would rightly feel aggrieved towards her former colleagues for the back-stabbing.
But no. On Planet Arlene, the blame is directed towards Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney, because their "aggressive nationalism" sowed such fear and dissent among Duppers that they turned on her. Really?
You'll also remember that she said she would use her time out of office to combat online trolls. She suffered from social media abuse which also targeted her marriage and her children, so she had good reason to say that it should be called out and anonymity on Twitter had to be challenged.
"Everybody's entitled to their opinion, but what they're not entitled to is to cause harm to people and I think that's really important to say," she said.
So wasn't it strange that she told the Sunday Times that she'd declined an offer to write for the Sunday Independent out of solidarity with the sacked Eoghan Harris.
That'll be the same Eoghan Harris who was fired after admitting tweeting abusive and misogynistic messages to a number of women journalists and other public figures he deemed sympathetic to Sinn Féin.
Arlene put on her legal wig when challenged on the matter on Twitter, saying she believed there hadn't been "due process" in his case. Due process? When he fessed up to the editor himself? That wig must be a bit dusty.
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SHE'S not the only Dupper to send out confused messages. Sir Jeffrey was outraged at the prosecution of former British soldier, Dennis Hutchings for the murder of John Pat Cunningham, an unarmed man with learning difficulties.
When Mr Hutchings, who was 80, died after contracting Covid shortly after his trial started, unionists rushed to condemn the PPS for bringing the prosecution in the first place.
Donaldson said he had shared platforms with him as they campaigned for "an end to the witch-hunt against our veterans".
The proposed "statute of limitations" legislation that's expected to pass in Westminster was brought in specifically to end such prosecutions against veterans like Mr Hutchings.
Sir Jeffrey and his party oppose this legislation. Yet he turned up to support the families of UDR victims in Clogher a week ago to reinforce the message that no such amnesties should go ahead as families deserved justice. Including the Cunninghams?
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IT'S not only Christmas that's coming earlier and earlier, poppy season seems to be following the same pattern. It wasn't even Halloween, yet the pundits on Match of the Day and footballers all wore the symbol.
It used to bring a collective case of the collywobbles in BBC NI. Back in the day it was generally accepted that over here, Protestants wore poppies, Catholics didn't, and this was reflected by presenters and reporters on screen. There would be the inevitable handful of complaints from the usual quarters every November, but they were generally ignored.
Until a new manager - not a local person, of course - decided to make it a rule for all on-screen presenters to wear them. If you didn't like it, you stayed off air. It created a bigger fuss than usual in the press and left some presenters unfairly exposed to controversy.
Some years later, behind the scenes, the rule was changed quietly with an email from HQ saying "for those who wish to wear them" the poppy can be worn from the end of October until November 11.
I remember asking a boss, via email, if this was the case and they responded, practically in a whisper, that they didn't want to put it in writing, but yes, it was voluntary.
Though in practice, most presenters felt it was easier to avoid 'trouble' by wearing one.
There was always a box of them in BBC make-up and reception, in case any guest wanted to display one on air.
I once got an angry letter from a viewer to Hearts and Minds who complained that a guest on the programme the previous night had not been wearing a poppy and what was the BBC thinking of in allowing such disgraceful behaviour.
The guest in question was Danny Morrison.
