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Swindon Town struggled to create chances and were punished for it as they lost 1-0 at home against Crewe Alexandra.

Hampshire have signed all-rounder Eva Gray on a two-year deal from Essex.

A Woking gymnast who dreams of becoming an Olympian is raising funds to compete for England at the 2026 Northern European Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

The key early team and injury news ahead of Pompey’s trip to Southampton this lunchtime.

Mid-week, we drove to Birmingham’s NEC for the prestigious Horse of the Year Show. Our youngest son, Oscar, had qualified to compete on one of his brother Freddie’s horses. For us, as an equestrian family, this was a really big deal. Even our eldest son, the only one of our children who does not ride, watched online while house-sitting for us.

Clemmie, who was a keen horsewoman as a child and young adult, joined us with her husband. A small army of Fred and Oscar’s friends and fellow equestrians from Hampshire came too. It meant a great deal to them both, and to us.

These are deep and lasting friendships. Getting to Birmingham was a big undertaking for everyone, and the tickets were not cheap. Even finding the right part of the NEC was a challenge. The signage was poor, as were the directions from the hotel. But we made it, steeled our nerves and waited for Oscar to enter the prestigious national show-jumping ring.

Oscar was one of just 14 competitors to qualify for the Naf Five Star Silver League Final. Naf, the sponsor, is a leading manufacturer of equine supplements. It is a great firm with a tricky name! The competitors each have a first round.

Those who go clear, with no falls, refusals or poles knocked down, qualify for an exciting jump-off against the clock. The fastest rider wins. In a spellbinding first round, Oscar was the first to go clear.

Half a dozen more competitors also went clear, setting up an exciting jump-off. Oscar finished sixth in the Silver League Final. Out of 160 competitors who entered, only 14 had qualified for the final. He had one pole down in the jump-off, but still came an honourable SIXTH in his first ever national tournament.

We were all deeply proud of him. The atmosphere was fair and friendly, and there is much more to come from Oscar. We have no doubt about that. When I say exciting, I am understating it. Watching our youngest son on half a ton of beautiful animal, galloping at speed towards a brightly coloured and complicated fence, is nerve-wracking.

It brought back memories of the early days, when Sally and I would stand by a Hampshire field, fingers crossed, watching Clem, Fred and Oscar do much the same thing on smaller and less valuable horses.

Show jumping is not a sport for the faint-hearted, whether you are riding or watching from the sidelines. That said, Sally and I would not have missed it for the world. We both grew up as horsey children. Sal came from a wealthier background than I did and had her own pony, but her businessman father made her work to earn enough money to buy her saddle and riding kit.

When we first started going out together, or courting, as the Edwardians so nicely called it, hacking in the New Forest followed by a pub lunch was one of our favourite weekend treats.

For Fred and Oscar, horses are now part of their business lives. Both have partners who ride, and their sons are already showing promise. I had riding lessons at boarding school, along with sailing. Both were a solace and a source of sanity in the unusual and unnatural environment of an all-boys, almost monastic boarding school.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: OPINION: I’ve crunched the numbers in Holborn & St Pancras. Rupert Lowe threatens to cost Nigel - John Curtice Is Europe's defence in free fall? The nightmare pattern that could leave Britain exposed MAPPED: The nine cities where 250,000 jobless young people are locked out of work Remembering Lord Jeffrey Archer Like so many others, I was shocked and saddened to learn of the untimely death of Lord Jeffrey Archer, the novelist, politician and former prisoner.

His books brought pleasure to millions of readers and earned millions of pounds for him and his delightful wife, Mary.

The last time I saw them was in the rose garden of No10, at an anniversary celebration for the University of Buckingham.

Mary was its proud and committed Chancellor. Clemmie earned her MBA in Leadership from Buckingham. Mary was pleased to hear that, and told me so as we chatted. Jeffrey challenged my dementia diagnosis because my memory proved unexpectedly good when we discussed things we had seen and experienced together during the Thatcher era.

Of course, he will also be remembered for his libel case against the Daily Star over allegations about his private life, the newspaper’s appeal and his subsequent imprisonment for perjury and perverting the course of justice.

The trial is also remembered for the summing-up by the judge, Lord Justice Caulfield. He referred to Mary Archer in the witness box and asked the jury, rhetorically, whether she was not fragrant. Nevertheless, the jury convicted her husband.

His death brought back a flood of other memories. Jeffrey and Mary held annual Christmas parties in their glorious penthouse overlooking the Thames, next to the MI6 headquarters in Vauxhall, London. The walls were decorated with hugely valuable paintings, ranging from Warhol to Matisse and Canaletto.

And, of course, there was the Picasso next to the loos! Jeffrey famously served Krug champagne to wash down shepherd’s pie. He also engaged a fabulous choir to lead the carol singing. Over the years, the great and the good attended, from show business, business and politics.

In more recent years, there was something of a boycott. We always enjoyed the parties. Jeffrey gave every guest a cheese to take home as they left. He was a generous host, and he was also very generous to many charities. He was one of the most sought-after auctioneers for charitable causes, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds.

He and his assistant, the art dealer Chris Beetles, would ask for a list of attendees beforehand and do their homework. They knew how to target each person with a mixture of humour and well-aimed probing.

Another memory came back to me. I was giving lunch to my friend Peter, now Lord Lilley, at Marco Pierre White’s Mirabelle restaurant when Jeffrey swept in and joined us. He asked what we were drinking. I showed him an ordinary claret, whereupon he promptly ordered Château Pétrus.

It was sublime! Politics, defence and the wider world On this week’s political stage, Kemi Badenoch and the Conservatives rounded off the party conference season. Kemi said that a Conservative Government would reform inheritance tax so that children would not lose the family home.

Cutting-edge stuff! Deep down, Tories believe in working hard and passing on what you can to the next generation. The family home is the cornerstone of that belief. Traditional Labour, on the other hand, has often seemed to believe that all property is theft and all wealth should be redistributed.

I really like this sort of genuine political debate. It is one reason I admired both Margaret Thatcher and Michael Foot, despite their very different political views. There has also been much talk of defence and surface-to-air missiles.

People should look up Operation Frantic and the Bloodhound missile system. Both are sharp reminders of the dangers and complexities of the road we are travelling. I was sorry to learn this week that Tom Harwood is going to Washington for GB News.

His grasp of British politics and his informed wit have few, if any, equals. Keeping spirits up I also had a great Zoom conversation with Dementia UK about how I keep my spirits up. It was part of their mental health campaign. I was very pleased to take part.

Living with dementia brings challenges, but it is important to keep talking, sharing experiences and finding reasons to enjoy life. The recent rioting in France also brought back memories of the 1980s and 1990s, when I flew to Paris to offer support from the National Union of Students to our French equivalents.

They were divided between ultra-left Trotskyists and a broader left-wing coalition, much as we were in Britain at the time. I met the leaders of both groups. It was fascinating. Life has certainly given us plenty of memories, from the excitement of watching Oscar compete on the national stage to old friendships, political battles and extraordinary encounters with people who have shaped our public life.

And, as Oscar’s performance reminded us, there is still plenty to look forward to. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter

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