The feral beast: Who's that dandy?

Evening Standard editor Geordie Greig has been a big hit with The Big Issue, which has a highly favourable interview under the headline "Raising Standards" (what would Veronica Wadley make of that?)

In their admiration for the great man they use a picture of a dandyish looking Greig on a night out, dressed in a purple shirt and black tie. Except, er, it's not Greig, but that other seasoned boulevadier, Nick Foulkes.

'Dazzlingly superficial'

Deep-thinker Alain de Botton lost his cool when a US reviewer wrote a stinker on his latest book, telling him "I will hate you till the day I die." A splendid spat, which The Telegraph duly reported, but in doing so sparked another hum-dinger of its own. Telegraph reviewer Anne Billson is furious that it quoted her as saying "Thank God for Alain de Botton," when in fact that was the ironic opening line to her otherwise unflattering review, in which she called the book "dazzlingly superficial". To add insult to injury, The Telegraph misspelt her name. "I've only been writing for them for 16 years," she sighs.

Tesco wins over 'Guardian'

They spent most of last year locked in a legal battle with Tesco, but now The Guardian is actively supporting the retail giant. Staffers at Kings Place were astonished to discover the canteen selling Tesco sarnies. Seasoned writer Ed Vulliamy (right) is spitting: "Some of us go to great lengths not to buy things from vile Tesco," he rails on the intranet, "They bury the High Street, and then try to sue The Guardian off the face of the planet. And to show the paper's appreciation, we bend over and take it up the proverbial whatever by stocking Tesco fucking sandwiches in the staff canteen!? Living Our Values. And eating them too."

The 'before' picture

An advert for a "family media company" – we think they touch-up home videos – in the back of The Spectator bizarrely shows Telegraph writer Jim White clutching a drink with three male friends. "It's totally weird," he says, "the picture was taken at a friend's 50th. You would think they would want a picture of four attractive people, not four middle aged men. But friends keep ringing to tell me they've seen it. It's been revealing to find out what magazines they all read – the cheapskates don't buy newspapers so saw it in The Week, and the really posh ones saw it in Country Life."

Removed from history

Comment is free, but some is just not welcome. One mischievous contributor to The Guardian's site dared mention Sarah Tisdall, the civil servant who went to prison after sending documents anonymously to The Guardian while Peter Preston was editor. The one-liner wasn't just replaced with a stock message, but deleted altogether. Taps my bemused scribe: "It was as comprehensively removed as unfavoured old Commies used to be from pictures of the Moscow May Day rallies."