Topical satirists up and down the land have been close to tears this weekend, without any obvious targets for their biting wit featuring in the news.
"It's just never been this bad before", said a long-time Newsjack rejectee Steve from Derby. "I managed to knock together a couple of skits about the plane crash in Nigeria, but there's been nothing going on closer to home."
Barry, who writes in his river side-apartment in Waterloo, said "It's been dreadful. I started to get somewhere with a joke about the French Open this afternoon, but then this fucking racket kicked up outside my window about half two, and I had to give up." Upon investigating, he discovered it was "some poxy boat race." He added "I think it was some gay pride thing, 'cause there was this old bloke dressed as Richard Gere, standing next to a geezer in a diamond dress."
It is thought that comedians will need to get by on recycled Olympics jokes, and one Have I Got News For You gag writer told us "There's always Nick Clegg to fall back on until the drought passes."