Welcome back, Rat and Mousers... hope you're looking back fondly on a peaceful and satisfying holiday, in which you bonded afresh with your loved ones and received touching and surprising gifts. (Thanks - by the way - for all the comment spam. It was just what I always wanted.)

I know what you've all been wondering over the holiday... how much do you exactly need to be earning to feel rich in London? Luckily, a Financial Times survey can answer that question: £432,000. That's 18 times the average national wage, and more than twice the average salary of a director of a large company. What's really interesting is how that number compares to other UK cities. In Manchester - a truly happening city - the figure was "just" £91,000; in Glasgow, £115,900. Interestingly, the closest was Birmingham, with £318,600, which is clearly nonsense because nobody earning £318,600 would contemplate living in Birmingham. The reasons for the Londoner's sense of impoverishment? It's all comparative. It's about London's super-rich and non-doms changing perceptions of "wealthy"... More here.

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