Catch up on the week

MONDAY

Kathryn Bigelow, below, became the first woman to win a best director Oscar for The Hurt Locker, a film about a team of US soldiers who defuse bombs during the Iraq War. She was in competition with her former husband, director James Cameron, who was nominated for his 3D epic Avatar.

TUESDAY

Insurers paid out an estimated 2.85million in claims last month to people whose cars were damaged by potholes, research showed. AA Insurance said around 1,900 pothole claims were made during February after roads were damaged by one of the most severe winters on record. Such claims have soared by 600 per cent in the past three years.

WEDNESDAY

Two women who were repeatedly abused and raped by their father for three decades – bearing seven of his children – received an unreserved apology from authorities who failed to protect them. The women were repeatedly beaten and molested by their father, enduring 18 pregnancies between them. In November 2008, the father was jailed for life.

THURSDAY

A high-speed railway proposed by the UK government must be extended to Scotland from the outset, business leaders urged. Pressure for a northern link commitment came after Lord Adonis, Westminster's transport minister, published proposals for a line that only stretches from London to Birmingham.

FRIDAY

Exhausted TV host Christine Bleakley, left, completed her water-ski challenge across the Channel and said it was "utter torture". The BBC1 Show presenter finished her feat in one hour and 40 minutes and was in tears after she was pulled on to dry land in France.

GOOD WEEK

JK Rowling

The Harry Potter author was named as the most inspirational and admired entrepreneurial female role model for young women in the UK by a survey of the nation's 14-24-year-olds. The multi-millionaire writer was followed in the rankings by fashion designer Stella McCartney, and TV's Dragons' Den star and businesswoman Deborah Meaden.

BAD WEEK

Mark Owen

The once squeaky clean Take That star's marriage hit the rocks last week when he admitted having up to ten affairs in the five years he has been with his wife Emma. Owen – who wed at Cawdor Church near Inverness last year – claimed most of the flings were with fans, but one, with an accounts manager, lasted more than four years.

What the papers said… about government plans published last week for the first phase of a high-speed rail link that will eventually run from London to Scotland

The Times: Governments should always pursue the country's long-term interests. Britain has the worst public transport of any leading European country. No single government will gain much political capital from addressing that inadequacy. But the whole country will benefit in the long term.

The Daily Telegraph: In straitened times, how can the nation afford the 30 billion eventually to be invested in this project? Yet Britain cannot simply stand still, paralysed by indebtedness. We need to show we have not lost the ambition exemplified by a national project such as this.

Tbe Guardian: The government must introduce a hybrid parliamentary bill and begin the debate on its financing. This line will make Britain a better place. No-one will regret building it when it is open. The hard part will be getting from here to there.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

"When I am about 60 I will just shave my hair off and go salt and pepper. You can't have blonde hair at the age of 60."

Emma Thompson

"He has been talking about 'going professional' since April, but he is still signing the Unemployment Register and not autograph books."

What an employment exchange officer wrote about singer Tom Jones when he was seeking work in the early 1960s

"There is no other man on this planet. It's very odd really. I've met richer ones, taller ones, fatter ones, thinner ones, but I love that old bugger."

Amanda Mann, whose husband Simon was recently released from prison in Equatorial Guinea

"There's nothing diva-ish about her, she's very down to earth, very sure of herself and who she is."

Gerard Butler on Jennifer Aniston

"When I say I'm not a chef, I'm a cook, I'm not being modest. There's not a single health and safety rule my kitchen would pass. I'm just so clumsy. Chefs tend to be much more dramatic and conflict-prone, whereas cooks are more conflict-averse."

Nigella Lawson

"I am not half as thick as I come across, but I'm not bothered."

Top Gear star Richard Hammond

"The gentleman over there with the hoodie. Don't worry… I won't come and hug you."

David Cameron at a political meeting in Bolton

RIP: COREY HAIM

1971-2010

It was The Lost Boys that made Corey Haim, but it also sowed the seeds of his premature death. The actor, who died aged 38 last week from an apparent overdose, lived a life blighted by addiction after the 1987 movie during the making of which, he said, he smoked his first joint.

In recent years, he appeared in the US reality TV show The Two Coreys with friend Corey Feldman. It was cancelled in 2008 after two seasons.

THIS LIFE

You are paid to entertain and you like to make your work topical.

So if you are Sammy the Tammy, Dunfermline Athletic's mascot, what do you do?

You grab a plastic sledge and slide down the stairs in the stand on match-day, emulating the Winter Olympic feats of gold medal skeleton bob winner Amy Williams. Crashing half way down only adds to the experience and is guaranteed to get a laugh.

But not if you are club officials. Last week, it emerged that Sammy had been reprimanded for the stunt after being warned by the club announcer not to do it. He could have, apparently, crashed into someone standing on the steps.

A club spokesman said: "He's been given a wee slap on the wrist but nothing more has been made of it. Let's just say he'll not do it again."

BEST OF BLOGS

The previous miscreant was an MP from the part of the world I originally hail from. When Peter Baker was elected, aged 28, in 1950, as the Conservative MP for South Norfolk, he was the youngest MP and the "baby of the house".

In 1954, he was convicted of forgery, including writing false signatures, and fraud and sent down for seven years. Then on 16 December, 1954, he became the last MP to be expelled from parliament.

Some may think that recent events suggest others should have followed, him but MPs seem to be good at protecting their own.

75668">David Maddox, the Steamie,

While (solely) an MP, Alex Salmond was contacted by a constituent, whom he knew well, on the subject of dentistry. Teeth, Mr Salmond replied, are devolved.

They are indeed – and Annabel Goldie was concerned at their condition. Teeth, she said, are rotting all around us as we speak. I think she was referring to the nation as a whole rather than MSP molars in particular. Either way, it was a horrid prospect.

In the Holyrood gallery, observers clenched their jaws defensively.

Blether with Brian,

When George Orwell came to Jura to write 1984 he described it as being "an extremely un-gett-able place" … Not any more!

After a very successful first year, the ferry is starting a full operation season for 2009. With spectacular scenery and the occasional spotting of wildlife, nipping back and forth between Jura and the mainland has never been so quick, enjoyable, comfortable and easy.

Drunk man looks at a thistle...,

Shame on you if you have forgotten. But today is Mothering Sunday and it may not be too late to come up with ideas for doing something nice for your mammie. Try out this American website for inspiration. http://www.dayformothers.com

All the cool kids have been illegally downloading their music for yonks. But don't worry, classics buffs, you can get your tunes for free too, and you don't even have to worry about breaking the law. This legit website has a free album to download every week. http://www.classical.com

Tynesiders are brilliant. Especially when you can actually understand what they are saying. Now, long after Chinese, Arabic and even Inuit, there is a handy online translation service for English to Geordie too. http://www.geordie.org.uk/

TWEETS

davidschneider: Why wasn't I told about Pineapple Dance Studios before? Suddenly Glee seems like the Andy McNab story.

alaindebotton: "Recession" or "security" are now the excuses of choice in all awkward work situations; grown-up equivalents of "the dog ate the homework".

simonpegg (right): The Stig was very cool. Never saw his face. His voice was like engine noise modulated into a rudimentary language. I wore a translator node.

DalaiLama: Compassion should be unbiased and based on the recognition that others have the right to happiness, just like yourself.

SarahMillican75: Last time I was in a sex shop in Amsterdam, I bought a lace bodystocking that said, on the packaging, "One Size Fits Most".

charltonbrooker: The episode of Holby City on BBC1 now is so unrealistic it might as well be preceded by a caption saying it's set inside Ted Hughes' fridge.

loveandgarbage: Can the next celebrity to die please be someone I've heard of as researching to determine if I should know who they are is too time consuming

kristinhersh (below): I don't understand what could happen to a rent-a-car to make it smell like this.

dianainheaven: I don't mind Camilla. When I famously said "there were three of us in that marriage", I meant it in a sex way.

caitlinmoran: REELING over Shaun Ryder's hair. He looks like he stole it from a child – and, let's face it, you wouldn't put it past him.