RISHI SUNAK'S new column in the North Yorkshire and Cleveland editions of the paper has excited some comment – not all of it positive – but readers should count themselves lucky that nobody in the office could find Katie Hopkins' mobile number. A column from her would certainly have provoked lots of letters.

I think we need to give my fellow columnist a bit of time, folks. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before he's giving us all the juicy gossip on who's doing what to who down in Westminster.

I know from bitter experience that it is not easy coming up with 400 words of sparkling copy each week. I'll offer him some tips, if you like. For starters, if you do have to discuss Common Agricultural Policy reforms, finish with an anecdote about the kids that is funny but also a little edgy.

My main concern is that our columns will get mixed up one day – a mistake which would damage both our careers. People looking for an update on how their new MP is pounding the corridors of power hunting down civil servants who have inadvertently given his constituents tax benefits they weren't entitled to will instead get dribble about naughty teenagers who can't navigate moderate bends in under-powered hatchbacks.

Likewise those in search of their weekly dose of rambling irreverence loosely based on a family living in the Dales will instead get important stuff about politics that they may or may not agree with.

Let's move on. The youngest boy had a fantastic night camping at the Deep aquarium in Hull this week with Cubs. Given that they have sharks, we were a little surprised that the permission slip asked if he could swim 50 metres. The form also asked if we minded if they took his picture and took part in archery, which made it sound even more like he would be participating in a low budget Channel 5 survival show.

Finally, a reader tells me he was enjoying last week's tale about the earwig in the chutney – you will remember that it was found by a judge in an entry at a Wensleydale show – when his wife informed him it was their chutney that the creature had invaded. If anyone else has any stories of insects getting places they shouldn't or judges biting into cakes to find a sleeping ferret in them, perhaps they should them to their local MP because they are an excellent way to end a column.