Catch up on the week

SUNDAYBra fitting services at high street stores fail to measure up to expectations, according to a survey. Less than a third (29 per cent) of bras sold in an undercover investigation were rated as a good fit by experts.

MONDAY

Bridget Kathleen Gilderdale, below, walked free from court after being cleared of attempting to murder her seriously ill daughter by giving her morphine and a cocktail of drugs.

Gilderdale, 55, described as a "loving, caring mother" by a judge, was given a 12-month conditional discharge for assisting the suicide of her daughter.

TUESDAY

It was announced that Attorney General Baroness Scotland would look at the prison terms handed down to two brothers aged 11 and 12, who tortured two other boys in Edlington, near Doncaster, to see if they were "unduly lenient". The brothers were handed indefinite terms with a minimum tariff of five years.

WEDNESDAY

Singer Susan Boyle said she was "fine" after disturbing an intruder inside her house. Police said she was left "very distressed" by the incident at her home in Blackburn, West Lothian, but she smiled, waved and gave the thumbs-up to well-wishers outside the house.

THURSDAY

The doctor who sparked the MMR controversy "showed a callous disregard" for the suffering of children and "abused his position of trust", a disciplinary panel ruled. Dr Andrew Wakefield's conduct brought the medical profession "into disrepute" after he took blood samples from youngsters at his son's birthday party in return for payments of 5.

FRIDAY

David Cameron warned that Britain's economic reputation was "at risk" and that he would start cutting public spending this year to restore it. The Tory leader said it was essential to make an "early start" on reducing the UK's record 178 billion budget deficit and taking further "bold" steps to reinvigorate the economy in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the ski resort in Switzerland.

GOOD WEEK

Steve Jobs

The Midas-like chief executive of Apple unveiled his long awaited iPad device to a waiting world. After unprecedented secrecy even by Apple's standards, the iPad was revealed as a 9.7 inch tablet which bridges the gap between laptops and smartphones. Millions are expected to be sold when they go on the market later this year.

BAD WEEK

Michael Mancini

Stopped in traffic on Ayr's High Street and unable to resist the urge to blow his nose, motorist Mancini took out a tissue. Seconds later, a passing policeman gave him a fixed penalty fine and points on his licence for failing to be in control of his vehicle. The 39-year-old businessman has refused to pay and faces a hearing at the town's district court later this year.

What the papers said… about the UK emerging from recession with a growth rate of 0.1 per cent.

The Daily Telegraph: Prime Minister Gordon Brown's boast at the start of the downturn that the British economy was "better placed" than others to weather the storm has proved hollow. Not only are we the last of the big economies to come out of recession; we are also experiencing a more hesitant recovery than most.

The Herald: Growth of 0.1 per cent in the last quarter of 2009 may represent a psychological boost but is so close to zero that the slightest breath of a statistical adjustment could blow it away. For the millions fearing redundancy or seeking work, yesterday's news means literally next to nothing.

Daily Express: At least we are out of the recession – or at least in UK terms. Scotland will have to wait another three months to celebrate if, indeed, that is appropriate behaviour when Scots are still losing their jobs and the future looks less than rosy.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

"You could have knocked me down with a custard pie."

Comedian Paul Merton when told he would no longer be presiding over the Bristol silent films festival

"It is our duty as poets to utter the sound of our shared humanity on behalf of those presently silenced by disaster, poverty and grief."

Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, who is organising a poetry "gig" for Haiti earthquake relief

"Quite a lot of the children thought it was Prince Charming who was coming – we had to break it to them gently."

Liz Robinson, headteacher of a London junior school, on the reaction of pupils to a visit by the Prince of Wales

"With my hip replacement, I'm half titanium. Don't anyone go to an airport with me."

Actress Kathleen Turner

"Susan Boyle is doing terribly well considering she literally came to the attention of the world overnight, with the advent of YouTube. She was like a virus really that spread across the world in a nanosecond." Singer Elaine Paige

"He's a top manager but he looks like a dustbin man."

Oasis star Liam Gallagher, a Manchester City fan, on Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson

"It's full of blue-arsed Barbie dolls trying to catch rubber turkeys. It was the most gorgeous pile of nonsense I have ever seen.

Actor Peter O'Toole's "take" on the new film Avatar

RIP

SIR PERCY CRADOCK

26 October, 1923 –22 January, 2010

The British diplomat who negotiated the terms for returning Hong Kong to Chinese rule was ambassador to Beijing in 1983 when Britain opened negotiations on the hand-over of the territory. Though he believed he had few cards to play in the talks, Britain gained an agreement on the principle of "one nation, two systems" which preserved some of Hong Kong's democratic and economic freedoms.

THIS LIFE

If Jedi Knight can be recognised as a religion by the people who run the national census, then who is to say that acolytes of heavy metal should be denied their moment of glory in 2011. Almost 400,000 UK residents signed themselves as being adherents of the fictional Star Wars creed in the last census, and so far 10,000 heavy metal fans have signed a Facebook group arguing that their musical choice should be similarly recognised next year. Rock magazine Metal Hammer is behind the campaign, which is backed by heavy metal group Saxon, whose singer Biff Byford has agreed to become the "world metal peace ambassador". Editor Alexander Milas said: "Like a lot of good ideas, this one came out of the pub. If the Jedi can do it, then we can too."

BEST OF THE BLOGS:

A blogger has been charged with breach of the peace in relation to e-mails he sent to Mike Russell, a member of the government. Beyond these bare facts I make no comment as the matter may be sub judice.

I saw this coming. A few months back I wrote about it. Here's what I said. "There is no better way for the government, any government, to silence its critics, such as this blog, than by directing the Lord Advocate to prosecute one of us for almost any crime you care to name. The cost of the defence and the worry of it would be enough to silence most of us. Do not close your mind. We live in dangerous times."

Ian Hamilton QC, www.ianhamiltonqc.com/blog/

The return of the Blair... The sequel to the Return of the Son of the Headless Horseman Rides Again Revisited, Part II – here's Tony! With the comeback kid, Lord Mandelson, announcing the resurrection of Blair for Labour's campaigning purposes, I'd be willing to bet a poke of salt that Cameron will mention it at PMQs today. It is, surely, a humiliation for Gordon Brown that he appears so unable to even run a credible campaign that, not only is his predecessor taking to the stump to help (ahem), but it gets announced as if he is the messiah returning.

Calum Cashley SNP, www.calumcashley.com/

Best gag of the day? That came from Annabel Goldie as she traded statistics with the First Minister about the extent of physical education available in Scotland's schools.

In their manifesto, the SNP had threatened to subject Scotland's youth to at least two hours of gym per week. To date, they have fallen somewhat short. Miss Goldie advised the FM that "patting himself on the back didn't count as PE".

Blether with Brian, www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/briantaylor/

THE WEEK ON THE WEB

Make the most of holiday, wedding or party snaps and use them to create your very own "coffee table" book. Although quite pricey – books start at around 40 – the result is an original piece that looks amazing. http://www.bobbooks.co.uk/

Einstein urging Roosevelt to pursue atomic weapons and the Museum of Modern Art turning down a gift from Andy Warhol are just some of the fascinating letters featured on this website. The site is packed with original scans of humorous, inspiring and unbelievable letters on an equally wide range of subjects that never cease to amaze. http://www.lettersofnote.com/

Your one-stop shop for organising business or social get-togethers. Collaborate with friends and colleagues to propose, vote on and schedule dates and times for meet-ups. Sorted. http://doodle.com/

TWEETS

davefacts: David Cameron can tie a tie with one hand.

Prof_S_Hawking (Stephen Hawking): Really enjoyed 'Gimme Shelter' – dancing hippies, Hells Angels, dogs on the stage, naked people on drugs. Made me wish I was there.

DrSamuelJohnson: Dubai (n.) Bedouin Conjouring-Trick whereby gilt'd Taps do distrack from the sorry Disappearance of LIBERTY.

simonpegg: Out and about with the baby backpack on. It's like a jetpack but instead antigravity thrusters there is a six-and-half-month old girl in it.

davidschneider: China's a military powerhouse now. Hope they dont suss what happens if they get all their citizens to jump at the same time.

EvanHD (Evan Davis): Spotted first snowdrop of 2010 today.. (the plant that is). Actually, I confess I didn't spot it, my partner did but I did see it.

charltonbrooker: How long could someone conceivably live on Berocca and water alone?

creepycupid: Guys, impress her by telling her you're a producer. Without the added "on YouTube".

tremendousnews: How many people think speaker-near-cellphone-when-cellphone-is-about-to-get-a-call sounds better than Lady Gaga? Thank you.