Do you remember the story of when the London art gallery, Tate Modern, invited a Japanese “artist” to London, booked him into a luxury hotel where he smoked continuously for two days. Before checking out, he emptied the contents of the ashtrays into a bag, which he carried to the Tate. There, in a special enclosure carefully roped off for him, he tipped the fag ends and accumulated ash. The exhibit was pronounced a triumph by visiting dignitaries from the art world.

Hilariously, a few days later, a cleaning lady reputedly named Betty (they’re always called Betty) swept it all up and chucked out their prize exhibit.

Well, another joyous story has emerged from the crackpot world of modern art:

Artist, David Hensel, submitted a sculpture of a laughing head entitled One Day Closer to Paradise to the Summer Exhibition of the Royal Society of Art. But, in the course of transit, the head was mistakenly knocked off its plinth and remained separated. You know what happened next if you know about modern art:

The empty plinth was considered by a panel of “experts” and judged to be worthy of exhibition. The head, considered as a separate work, was rejected.

You couldn’t make it up. But I wonder if there’s a lesson here for us all. Were Tony Blair and George Bush a pair of plinths without heads when they stood for election? And what happened to the rest of them?