Matthew Norman on Monday: Delay The X Factor? Who could have such a vendetta?

On the eve of Remembrance Sunday, and with eurogeddon closing in, how bracing to find the nation doing what some think impossible under the imperium of celebrity nonsense, by seeing things in their true perspective.

The brief delay in the transmission of Saturday's X Factor detonated an explosion of panic, outrage and fury, and rightly so. As the Dr Who supremo Stephen Moffat tweeted, "Look the collapse of the euro is bad, I get that – but THIS??"

Among the thousands who took to Twitter to speculate about the cause was the shadow Chancellor. Taking a deserved break from fretting about the eurozone, Ed Balls posited the theory that the power cut at the BT Tower was down to faddish metal thieves nicking the cables.

With internal investigations barely under way, it would be irresponsible to add to the conspiracy theorising. So let me remind you that, in the film V For Vendetta, the superhero in the Guy Fawkes mask storms that very BT Tower and interrupts the regular transmission. Admittedly, V replaces it with a taped invitation to join him a year hence to watch Parliament being blown to smithereens, rather than archive footage of comedy chanteuse Goldie Cheung spooking Gary Barlow by doing the splits.

Yet V is the inspiration for all the Fawkesian mask-wearers marching against the status quo under the Occupy banner. The political leanings of Frankie Cocozza are unknown, but he looks every inch the vengeful anarcho-hedonist to me. Something there for Mr Balls to ponder as he seeks refuge from the banalities of his work and remembrance of things past.

A true friend of the poppy

Speaking of the poppy, I was pleased to see Mr Tony Blair wearing one on superinjunctor Marr's Sabbath show. Ritual thanks to Mr T for carving the time from his frantic round of unpaid trips on executive jets to countries with flawless human rights records (after Libya and Kazakhstan, the attention turns to Rwanda).

Whoever thought of booking him yesterday deserves praise. No one remembered the lesson of Flanders fields like Mr Tony, nor better put it into practice by refusing to send troops to die in insanely futile conflicts. And very few, given the exponential recent growth of the Afghan heroin crop, have done more for the poppy.

There's worse than Cameron

Sympathies to the Tory MP Patrick Mercer, once an Army colonel, on being caught ranting about the PM at a party by Sunday tabloids. Mercer is a bright and likable man with reason to loathe David Cameron, who with rancid opportunism sacked him to reinforce his anti-racist credentials, but here drink led him too far. Calling Mr Cameron an "arse" was fine, if a little prissy, but describing him as "the worst British politician since Gladstone" was legally reckless. Lembit Opik has already instructed Messrs Schillings, we gather, with a view to an action for libel.

Raw courage of the mandarin

I am disgusted ... no, that's overstating it. I am less than gusted by the cynicism over Theresa May's utterly credible version of the passport checks fiasco.

In any public spat between a cabinet minister and a civil servant, what should never, ever be forgotten is this. It is absolutely typical of the career civil servant to put his job and reputation for soundness on the line by dreaming up and unilaterally enforcing highly contentious policy, without so much as a nod or a wink from above. Did Yes, Minister teach us nothing about the raw courage of the Whitehall mandarin?

Keep it in the family

"What is it about the Human Rights Act," intoned Joshua Rozenberg in introducing R4's Law in Action, "that upsets people so much?" No idea, Josh. You're the one married to mad Mel Phillips. Ask the missus.

Born-again Bachmann is working the polls

The race for the Republican presidential nomination continues on its merrily eccentric way with Rick Perry's audition for the Leslie Welch role (google him, younger readers) in any remake of The 39 Steps. There may even be time for the early front-runner Michelle Bachmann, pictured, to recover. Now polling in single figures, Michelle tacks sharply to the left in an audacious comeback bid. "Our nation needs to stop doing for people what they should do for themselves," says Michelle. "If anyone will not work, neither should he eat." Bless her born-again cotton socks for that.