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A rather quiet day at the Assembly today. MLAs debated the important topics of cancelled clinics and private finance initiatives, but the sense was that they were in a holding pattern, waiting for some progress on the Victims Commission Bill which is due to come back to the Assembly next week.

We did have a statement from our future leader, Peter Robinson, on his new Performance, Efficiency and Delivery Unit, constantly referred to by its acronym PEDU. The new unit (budget: half a million pounds) will seek out efficiencies in other departments, but the Finance Minister says other departments shouldn't regard them as "stormtroopers out to cause havoc". Now why on earth would anyone think the new leader would employ "stormtroopers"?

Outside on the steps we were treated to the sight of a Green Goddess. Aine Gormley brought a wheelbarrow full of petitions calling for the creation of an Environmental Protection Agency. An expert in "human-chemical-ecosystem interactions", Aine is also a Green Beauty Queen

I had devoted ages to getting ready for her appearance in the Stormont Live studio, even donning a green shirt to emphasise my own eco-credentials, only to discover that the presenter, Jim Fitzpatrick, had headed me off at the pass, conducting his entire interview with Aine and her wheelbarrow at the bottom of the Stormont steps. Stormont Live viewers may notice a distinct cooling in relations between the two of us for the next few editions...which means we shall mirror what's likely to happen in the OFMDFM.

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