On Cape Cod we find that little, thankfully, has changed since our last visit. There are rumours that Mac's seafood bar has been taken over, and certainly our wizened steamer clams are a terrible disappointment. But then we find that the little necks and Wellfleets (clams and oysters to the uninitiated) on the half shell are as good as ever – and the lobster rolls and fries are still the fast food of the gods.

The real news on the Cape, bringing the whole place to a fever pitch of excitement, is the presence of the Obamas on holiday in neighbouring Martha's Vineyard, the island just off Cape Cod.

We learn that the President and First Lady have had “a date night”, without daughters Sasha and Malia, at The Sweet Little Café in Oak Bluffs. “White House officials did not confirm what the couple had for dinner but both looked happy and well fed,” reported the Cape Cod Times, (but perhaps not as happy as the proprietor of the café would have been).