Who said good deeds don’t pay? Sometimes they do, and handsomely. And you don’t always have to wait until the next life to reap the rewards from this as the Dalai Lama will find out on Monday when he receives the £1.1m Templeton prize for his “contributions to affirming life’s spiritual dimension”. (The sum is set always to exceed that for a Nobel prize because of the belief that achievements beyond the material world are more important than any discoveries relating to it)

Since the death of Mother Teresa, his Holiness has been in a (metaphorical) battle with Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi for the title of the world’s nicest person, carrying a deadly serious message with a sense of humour and, above al,l tolerance.

Later this morning the government will reveal its plans for the next session of parliament.

The Queen's Speech is being trailed as containing a package of "family-friendly" policies, as well as placing the usual emphasis on creating jobs and supporting growth.

But behind all the window-dressing and the wise words, what exactly is the government likely to announce?

Listen out for:

• a new law that will force banks to split their retail (high street) and investment operations, to try and avoid a repeat of the financial crash of 2008/9
• reform of the House of Lords to introduce, for the first time, some directly-elected peers
• the age-old promise to "cut red tape" for businesses
• the establishment of a National Crime Agency, which has been described as a sort of British equivalent of hte FBI
• reform of public sector pensions to replace final salary schemes with career average schemes
• measures to allow the security services to increase their monitoring and surveillance of the internet
• something that might allow courts in England and Wales to start televising their proceedings
• any so-called "family friendly" reforms, such as allowing more flexible maternity and paternity leave, and better help for special needs pupils
• whether or not there will be anything regarding allowing civil marriages for same-sex couples
• whether or not there will be anything that suggests a postponement of the building of the new high-speed railway line from London to Birmingham
• any surprises

Finally, there's always a bit of fun to be had watching the Queen for any gesture or grimace as she dutifully reads her prepared script. Might she wince at a mention of Lords reform, or raise an eyebrow when it comes to televising courts?

We'll find out when she takes her seat, or rather her throne, at 11.30am.

Glass floors are never a good thing. But glass floors over a 15-storey unused lift shaft are nigh-on terrifying.

It is upon just such a floor that a toilet sits. Imagine, if you will, using these facilities and gazing down on the enormous cavern below your feet. Is this supposed to make the business of reliving yourself seem somehow more enjoyable?

This petrifying lavatory can be found in Guadalajara in Mexico. It was constructed on top of an old colonial building, which contained a shaft for a lift that was never installed. Instead the top of the shaft was covered over with glass and incorporated into a penthouse.

For some reason, it was thought a good idea to turn this into a bathroom.

It's not clear who is to be more pitied: the people who have to use the toilet, or the people who have to clean the floor.

One of the benefits of working away from your main office can be that it cuts out an arduous and time-consuming commute. Another might be that it offers an environment more conducive to creativity and 'blue-skies thinking.'

Here's one location that offers the latter but not the former.

This shot was taken to demonstrate that the Anywhere Working initiative backed by Microsoft and some of Britain's biggest businesses and organisations really can allow workers the freedom to be productive wherever they are.

You can find out more at www.anywhereworking.​org

One of the members of rap group Goldie Lookin Chain has moved out of the recording studio and into the council chamber after being voted in as a Labour councillor for Newport.

Rhys Hutchings had to go through a nail-biting three recounts before finding out he had polled 981 votes and would now be representing the St Julians ward in the Welsh city.

He saw off a Liberal Democrat and a Tory on a good night for Labour in Wales, where they regained control of three councils from the Liberal Democrats, including Newport. The Lib Dems only have one councillor left in the city - and he only hung on by one vote.

The history of election nights is one littered with amusing gaffes.

And more than a little amusement will be generated with news that UKIP's candidate for London mayor, Lawrence Webb, has been mistakenly listed on the ballot paper as "Fresh Choice for London".

It should have read: "UKIP: A Fresh Choice for London".

According to projections, Mr Webb is likely to win far fewer votes than the final opinion polls indicated.
 
Reports emerged on Friday afternoon of an angry leader Nigel Farage, admitting the mistake was at UKIP's end.

The news will have put a dampener on a fine night for Farage and his party, after they won around 14% of the vote in seats where they had candidates in the local elections.
 
However it could mean even more votes for favourite Boris Johnson, with the number of right-wing protest votes cut down.

Would you like this man in charge of where you live?

That's what David Cameron pledged earlier this week, when he announced he wanted to see "a Boris Johnson in every city".

He obviously meant it as a positive thing, to encourage people to support the idea of elected mayors across the country.

But it might have actually had the reverse effect. So far, all the cities bar one that held referendums yesterday on whether to introduced elected mayors have voted no.

Could it be that the London mayoral race, with its deeply bitter clashes between Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone, has proved to be such a poor advertisement for personality-led local government that the rest of the UK wants nothing to do with it?

I did wonder whether Cameron was particularly wise to use Johnson as a standard-bearer for the introduction of elected mayors. While Boris looks on course to be re-elected in London, I'm not sure the residents of places like Manchester, Birmingham, Coventry, Sheffield and Bradford - all of whom rejected a mayor in their referendums - see him in quite the same light.

Raising the prospect of an army of Boris Johnsons running all the big cities in the land has quite possibly done the prime minister, not to mention the cause of local democracy, more harm than good.

A council seat was decided by drawing lots after three recounts failed to separate the Tory and Independent candidates.

John Edwards of the Conservatives, and Independent candidate Gillian Ellis both received 503 votes in the Chertsey South and Rowtown ward of Runnymede Borough Council in Surrey.

So both agreed to place their names in a drum, before returning officer Paul Turrell, the council's chief executive, picked out Mr Edwards's name.

The Conservatives won 12 of the 14 seats contested, with Independent Residents winning two.

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