Knot to be expected

Wendy Alexander, who dramatically and unexpectedly resigned as Scotland's enterprise and lifelong learning minister in 2002, has lost none of her capacity to surprise. Friends and family turned up after Christmas for what they thought was a seasonal party, only to find it was a wedding. Ms Alexander, 40, wed Brian Ashcroft, 56, an economist and director of Strathclyde University's Fraser of Allander Institute.