In Manchester when I was a lad, the term for hype was ‘paper talk’. This referred to articles in the Daily Express about space travel, and David Meek’s soccer pieces on the back page of the Manchester Evening News. Meek would run pieces like ‘United will break from Division I and form Euro Super League’. Bearing in mind that this was 1960, we shouldn’t mistake journalistic license for prescience here.

Paper talk became hype and then spin. It also had side-branches such as speculation, gossip, rumour – and good old-fashioned bollocks. But in there somewhere was silly stuff – caused either by hacks taking themselves too seriously, or sub-eds cocking up perfectly good stories. I’d like if I may to focus on some paper talk…..via the medium of today’s main stories.

The Express told us this morning that Nick Clegg’s poll surge was his best result for 104 years. You have to give it to Nick, he’s wearing well.

The Met Office said it had solid evidence for the theory that Icelandic ash is now falling on the UK. Evidence doesn’t come more solid than ash.

Gordon Brown used to do everything it took to save the world. Now he relishes debate with the same old Conservative Party. So that’ll be the same old compulsively autistic Gordon, then.

Eurotunnel doubled its charges for access to a continent under a volcanic cloud, but ‘utterly refuted’ talk of profiteering at travellers’ expense.

Gordon Brown told The Times that he “lost the TV debate on style and smiling, but won it on substance”. Substance abuse is a terrible thing.