It has been a busy month, as MPs returned from recess.

Parliament is angry with No 10 again, the EU is taking it to the wire again, and many people are distressed and discontented with the Government.

The news this week that the UK has reached a “perilous turning point” will worry many, but we are not in the position we were in back in March.

While I regret that additional measures like the ‘rule of six’ are needed, the Government is only insisting on them because of the danger of a second spike - which may be effectively contained by the steps we are being forced to take now.

I really hope we don’t need another national lockdown.

The saga of track and trace also continues.

I have long argued for a more local approach, with less reliance on apps and national call centres.

I know the Government also believes in this model and is moving towards it, though the challenges of speed and scale necessitated a national system at the outset.

It is certainly delivering - hundreds of thousands of tests are taking place every day - but there are still too many problems.

I spent two days last week at the Defence Academy at Shrivenham, where every year a few dozen lucky MPs are invited to attend lectures from senior officers explaining the inner workings of the armed forces.

My respect for the Army has increased, from an already stratospheric base, now I know more about the hardship they endure, the complexity of their work and the values they bring to it.

Coming back from Shrivenham – after a stop at Ramsbury Brewery and Distillery where I only had a sip of sloe gin, I promise – I forgot to don my face mask when I got on the train at Hungerford.

A good citizen kindly sent a picture of me to the papers, which led to some embarrassing headlines – I do apologise again for my mistake, and think I’ve learned my lesson.