NOW is the time for all good Tories to come to the aid of the party - unless it was at Downing Street last Christmas, during lockdown. Because of course... er, there was no party... just wine and cheese and party games, nothing to see here...
But then came the ITV scoop of former Number 10 press chief Allegra Stratton filmed taking part in a mock press conference at which she laughed off questions about the event that the PM and various aides have insisted never happened.
Anyone else would have squirmed at the despatch box during PMQs, but Boris Johnson doesn't do shame. So he apologised for the video and how it had offended the people who endured enormous personal sacrifice to follow the rules on social distancing.
But still he insisted there was no party, though he would get the Cabinet Secretary to investigate. And that should take a few months by which time everyone will have forgotten about it.
Not this time, BoJo. Even dull Keir Starmer managed to score a few hits. His usual performance recalls Denis Healey's famous quip that arguing with then chancellor Geoffrey Howe was like being savaged by a dead sheep.
But he upped his game on Wednesday. Let's hope it continues as he won't be short of material with this government.
Meanwhile, a tearful Stratton resigned, saying she would "regret the remarks for the rest of my days".
It would be an odd thing if Johnson, who has managed to overcome numerous examples of lying, cronyism and being ultimately responsible for the deaths of Afghan refugees denied a place in the UK by his government's incompetence, could be undone by a wine and cheese do.
But then Al Capone was finally caught by dodgy tax returns.
Earlier this week Johnson was playing his favourite game of raiding the dressing up box. He is fond of donning high-vis jackets or chef's gear to pretend he's got a real job. This time he was done up in a full police uniform to go on a drugs raid with Merseyside police.
He declared drugs were "disgusting" and announced a new campaign against those involved in the trade. Perhaps he should start closer to home with a raid on Westminster after a recent report found traces of cocaine in 11 out of 12 sites including the bathroom near his office and that of Home Secretary Priti Patel.
Impersonating a police officer used to be a crime. But then he's got away with impersonating a Prime Minister for long enough.
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DID I dream this? Did Sinn Féin really circle its wagons to effectively defend fox hunting - that favoured 'sport' of British toffs - by refusing to back a ban on blood sports?
Their excuse, that the private members' bill from Alliance MLA, John Blair, was badly formatted and needed more time to properly draft, is not playing well in the court of public opinion, particularly since there had been significant support during the prior consultation when nearly 80 per cent of the 18,000 respondents favoured a ban.
Even the DUP allowed its members to vote according to their conscience on the bill, but the Shinners were whipped to toe the party line.
And it has to be said, that even if the bill was a complete dog's dinner, it could easily have been worked on before it got to the second stage in the Assembly.
Sinn Féin have probably already calculated it won't have a big impact on their vote come the next election and, sadly, they're probably right.
But having a different approach to blood sports north and south is not a good look for an all-Ireland party, especially given Mary Lou's previous statement that the party was opposed to fox hunting and would vote in favour of a ban at the next opportunity.
They might have backed the ban in the Republic, but up here it's Tally Ho ár lá. No letters of comfort for foxy OTRs.
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BACK in the olden days when I was a child, we looked forward eagerly to the Christmas Radio Times to circle all the festive programmes and films we wanted to see.
Now, annoyingly, Sky seems to have a lot of the best ones. I was once phoned by a marketeer to woo me to a Sky subscription. When I declined he asked me for the reason. "Because Rupert Murdoch is the anti-Christ," I replied.
He hesitated while I imagined him skimming the usual scripted responses. They never called back.
