Among the savings that might (or might not) vanish in the dust of the collapsing Northern Rock is a modest pot from the Mead household.

My wife and I haven't withdrawn it, largely because the penalties for early withdrawal wouldn't be much different from the amount we would lose under the statutory repayment scheme.

Perhaps those who don't remove their cash will ultimately be rewarded for their loyalty. One can always hope - or rather dream.

Meanwhile, though the bottom line of the queues outside Northern Rock offices is of the worry they reflect among individuals rightly concerned about the safety of their cash, the queues also have an upside. They demonstrate that people don't believe what the authorities tell them. You might say that this disillusion is a bad thing. And so, in absolute terms, it is. But the queues nevertheless are welcome proof that we can't be easily brainwashed as sometimes appears to be the case. We retain a capacity to think for ourselves - to make up our own minds.

How the Northern Rock debacle will pan out financially is still anyone's guess. But a broader message is the need to bridge the credibility gap - gulf really - between what "authority' tells us and what we perceive. Sadly Gordon Brown, for all his waffle about a new compact with the people, shows no sign of being the man to do this.

The thrust of his premiership so far is the very opposite. For instance, he denies us a referendum on the EU Treaty by insisting that it is different from the ditched Constitution, on which Labour promised a referendum. But only his cronies agree with him, and fellow leaders in Europe virtually brag of the similarity between Constitution and the Treaty. Yet Mr Brown still expects us to believe his nonsense.

No wonder mistrust is endemic. Giving straight answers to questions might be a start in repairing the damage. Asked this week on the BBC's Today programme if the Government would commit itself to meeting in full all the obligations of Northern Rock, the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, could reasonably have replied: "That would be nice, wouldn't it? But realistically the Government can't be a complete safety net for every independent financial company. To be so would encourage irresponsible practice.'' Instead he just talked round the legal position.

His equivocation probably propelled as many wavering Northern Rock savers into the withdrawal queues as if he had openly said "No.'' My wife and I resisted the strong temptation to join the nearest queue. Wisely or not, we shall soon know.

Ah, sunshine at last arrived to partly redeem our depressingly soggy summer. Let the last gentle ray fall on the Scarborough beach donkeys, below, stars in the town's success in being named by the Devon-based Donkey Society Britain's Best Beach Donkey Resort.

Well cared for, the Scarborough donkeys plainly love their work. Just a few years ago, their minder arrived at their field in their morning to find the gate open and the donkeys gone. Panic. A nearby search proved in vain. But it turned out that the six donkeys had walked through the town on their own. They were found lined up on the beach, waiting patiently for their first customers.