The latest alarming reverse for the Aussies comes just 20 days before the start of the Ashes series but Ponting insisted that within the team, spirits remain reasonably upbeat.

BBC: Ashes: Ricky Ponting keen to end to Aussie 'doom'

One of the reasons he wrote letters and poems so copiously was that they lifted his spirits, diverting him from the demons within.

ECONOMIST: English letters

Prime Minister David Cameron said the survey for the BBC Spotlight programme on the potential outcome of a border poll should lift the spirits of all those who value Northern Ireland's place within the union.

BBC: Opinion poll indicates NI voters would reject Irish unity