Like some elderly divas I have known, 2024 seems intent on prolonging its farewell gig with one excruciating encore after another.

For the arts world these have come in the form of yet more bad news. First up? This week’s joyous calculation by the Campaign for the Arts, revealing that over the past 14 years local authority spending on culture has fallen by 50 per cent in real terms. Not that we really needed this sobering statistic. Anyone who uses a local library, theatre or museum will have a story of reduced hours and staffing, cancelled shows and (in the case of the growing number of local authorities that are effectively bankrupt) outright closures.