Which is a bit of a pity as in recent times the bank has been rather bad at that manipulation of the money supply.

FORBES: European Central Bank Independence: Theory and Reality

Which is a pity, given that the reality of Philadelphia and its suburbs is rather more encouraging than the reputation.

ECONOMIST: City life

Today, looking out from his church opposite the Omagh army base and its 20ft high security walls, that is a conversation he still wants to have with people he has come to pity rather than hate.

BBC: Living with the Omagh legacy

"There has been a kind of hectic feebleness about his every move which is beginning to awaken pity rather than anger, " wrote the Evening Standard, beneath the headline "Let's Admit It: Foot's a Disaster".

BBC: NEWS | UK | UK Politics | First 100 days: Michael Foot

It is rather an irritating read, often falling into the self-glamorising and self-pity that can be a feature of white Africans.

ECONOMIST: A memoir of Zimbabwe