Lookin' good, Tone!

What with police shooting to kill and then killing the wrong person, Muslims afraid to ride the tube for fear of being arrested or worse, and bombs exploding around the world, sometimes you need a little light relief. Or indeed, a little concealer stick, if you're Tony Blair.

Heralding the start of the silly season, the PM's bill for cosmetics and make-up artists from 1999 to 2005 was revealed in parliament on Thursday, just as MPs and peers went into recess for the summer, in answer to a question tabled by Lord Hanningfield of the Tory party. The total? A whopping £1,800. On make-up! That's more than I'd spend on clothes AND shoes in twice that time! Well okay, maybe not.

However... if you think Tony's bad, it turns out that Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is even more of a prima donna. According to the BBC: "The Independent reported in June that Mr Ahern had spent 28,000 euros (£19,000) on make-up in the past year, and said his office had confirmed that since 1997 Mr Ahern's appearance had cost taxpayers 167,000 euros (£115,895)."