I used to hate overly early celebrations of Christmas but there was magical, wintry, sunny, seasonal feel in Belfast much of this week. Then early this morning there was heavy rain and disruption from Storm Bert.

Last week Billy Kennedy wrote about his 50 years at the News Letter. Today we cover the 65th birthday of the Sydenham Bypass, a road that was both inspired by Hitler and disrupted by his warmongering.

I had not realised when I was in America that the wonderful Candy Devine had died in Australia, whom I remember on the airwaves 40 years ago. Now Big T is dead too.

And the political journalist Ken Reid has died far too young. Among the many warm tributes to him is this from the ex Alliance and Fine Gael politician John Cushnahan, who worked with Ken in both Belfast and Cork.

The farm tax inheritance row has dominated our coverage this week and there is page after page of it in today's Farming Life. Here are some of my own thoughts on the matter.

This week we also looked into the tensions at the Girls' Model school in north Belfast.

And today we report on the remarkable story that a minister who stole £11,000 has already been released from prison after two months because he has children aged 16 and 19, one almost an adult, the other already one. 

Of opinion pieces this week I flag up this essay condemning hysterical critics of grammar schools by William Kitchen (he is almost alone in defending those excellent schools) and this critique of the much hyped film and band Kneecap by that brave and long-time critic of terrorist violence, Prof Liam Kennedy.

Finally an interview with Torvill and Deane who are coming to Belfast in the spring. Like people across Britain, I remember them so well from the 1980s. 

Enjoy your weekend and your reading,

Ben