This morning I was delighted to find myself gently nudged in the direction of some marvellous whimsy by the inestimable Russell Davies.

I have now been learning about the mysterious world of Edward William Barton-Wright. Having spent time working as an engineer in Japan, he was the man responsible for introducing Britain to the joys of mixed martial arts. He even created his own branch of self- defence, amusingly titled 'Bartitsu' - which was mostly concerned with the art of fighting with your walking stick or umbrella...