Peter Rhodes on curious first names, pick 'n' mix vaccine and is it time to invest in hearing aids?

Scientists at Oxford University are running a trial to see whether the first and second Covid jabs can be given using different brands of vaccine. So that's AstraZeneca in February, Pfizer in May. I'm sure they know what they're doing but it has echoes of the oldest mantra in medicine: Suck it and see.

Top-flight women runners in Wales have complained of abuse and harassment when they train in parks and on the streets while their usual facilities are closed in the lockdown. “This is an issue that goes beyond sport,” says a spokeswoman for Welsh Athletics. “It's about people respecting other human beings.” Quite so. There is no excuse for sexist yobbery or intimidation in the streets.

However, I wonder whether these runners are like the ones I encounter some days, huffing and puffing their exhaled (and possibly virus-laden) air into the faces of mere pedestrians and overtaking with inches to spare. Their behaviour does not exactly engender goodwill and understanding. They seem to be saying: “My medals are more important than your health.” It's about people respecting other human beings, isn't it? And it works both ways.

Meanwhile, the Government seems to be taking forever to introduce its hotel-quarantine scheme for Brits returning to the UK from high-risk Covid-19 areas. Its defence is that it wants to get the system right. But can it ever be right to imprison people who are guilty of no crime – and make them pay the bill? I bet the human-rights lawyers will have a field day.

It has been a great winter for slow and gentle telly, from Bob Ross's nightly The Joy of Painting to All Creatures Great and Small, The Repair Shop and Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing. The new series of Britain 's Lost Masterpieces (BBC4, tonight) is in the same fascinating vein as Bendor Grosvenor and Emma Dabiri dig up long forgotten paintings and give them a thorough cleaning. The results are magical and the show is shot through with sparkling wit. With a Christian name like Bendor you probably need a good sense of humour.

Apparently, Bendor is a significant name in the Grosvenor dynasty. It describes the golden diagonal stripe (a bend or, in heraldic terms) in the design of the family's ancient shield. It also proves that the Americans do not have a monopoly on curious forenames (Randy, Wolf, Todger, Newt, etc).

Some you win, some you lose. Number of overseas residents who have quit Britain during the pandemic: about 1.3 million. Number of Hong Kong Chinese considering coming here: about one million.

Unexpected consequences. A reader says he's thinking of buying shares in hearing-aid companies. Why now? Because he reckons that during lockdown, while wearing facemasks, many folk will have discovered “how much they supplement their failing hearing with lip-reading.” He forecasts a post-Covid boom in hearing aids.