I have to ask those questions at work. Rather unfair on my patients I think, and on me. We ask them what day it is. They tell me and then I have to check with one of my colleagues to see if it is true. How should I know what day it is?! I work irregular shifts and my child isn't school age. All that matters at work is the date, not the day.

As for the "who is the prime minister?" question, also rather unfair. Gordon Brown is such a dull Calvinist blur of a man. It's awfully hard to remember him. He was appointed to the job by his own party, to replace Blair, so it's not as if there was any general election victory to stick in the mind either. The transition was about as memorable as a chocolate bar rebranding itself.