The post is a high-profile and challenging one suitable for someone at a senior level in the public or private sectors with proven leadership and administrative skills. The ability to work in a complex political environment, and experience in the area of security, are essential.

So says the job ad in theguardian seeking a replacement for Sir Michael Willcocks, who retires next April. The job will be a scaled-down version of the current role, according to the Telegraph, retaining ceremonial duties – and, judging by the job ad, security responsibilities – but passing the running of the Lords to a new director general.

Still, a senior civil service salary and the chance to dress up in tights and wave a big staff around aren’t to be sniffed at.

• Wishing I had CNN. Will be looking forward to seeing the holograms online. #
• Sorry, Jeremy, but your county examples in each state are worthless. #
• @secretlondon 10pm here, not 9. #
• John McCain may regret taking potential voters to an election day rally 🙂 #
• Aw, the Obama cowboy on ITV is so sweet! #
• @markpack I know, but not going to go online this evening. #
• @qwghlm Online or on Freeview? #
• Time for curry. Fox saying Ohio for Obama… #
• @qwghlm ITV and NBC have called O for O #
• @giagia That would be great. How likely is it? #
• John Suchet is so much better than Dimbledore. #
• Champagne popped! Caution to the wind. This champagne is from when there was last a Democrat in the White House. #
• http://twitpic.com/k2w2 – Champagne! #
• @alexfoster @jamesgraham Makes a change from ping pong balls I suppose. #
• “The networks are about to declare Barack Obama the next president.” I love America’s version of democracy 🙂 #
• Yes we can! #
• Dick Dastardly and Penelope Pitbull aren’t due to speak until 5am so I might go to bed and shed a happy tear. McCain has conceded. #
• Oh no, they’re going to speak now. Excellent. #
• Well-pitched concession speech from McCain. Wondering whether to hang on for the Big O. #
• As you’d expect by now, lovely speech by President-Elect Barack Obama. 76 days to go. #
• @ruskin147 TV was fine for the main event, but keeping track of Senate and House races involves foraging around online. #
• @edtrelinski I see the senate race was called for Landrieu. Congratulations! #
• OK, US election’s done. What’s next? #
• @flashboy @qwghlm I might not book my trip to Jersey just yet. #
• I don’t believe anything strange will happen when they switch on the LHC for the first time tomorrow. #
• RT @FakeSarahPalin: And that’s a wrap. Please read my goodbye letter and pass it around: http://jottit.com/83hkf/ . Thanks for the lols. #
• Discovering I’ve got two accounts on meetup.com. Oops. #
• Wrote some new material this evening. Will revisit it next week to decide if it’s actually remotely funny. #

• Amused that my phone is playing me ELO’s “Calling America” today… #
• @RyanAlexander See http://tinyurl.com/6brpss for tags #
• @edtrelinski Good luck today! #
• @flashboy I’ve just explained to someone chiding me for using my phone in the 90-minute meeting I was in that I’d’ve missed it if I hadn’t. #
• @bobbyllew Just think how young you’ll feel if McCain wins… #
• I have just seen a TARDIS coffin on the news. I am as gobsmacked as I was when I heard of the theme tune being played at a funeral. #
• @lynncorrigan I had some of that last week. Was surprisingly nice! #
• Watching Flight of the Conchords while waiting impatiently for election news. #
• @edent Washington D.C. the 51st? #
• @alexfoster Saw Tina C in Edinburgh. Very good fun. I asked her about the credit crunch… #
• Dimbleby: “Now to ‘patronise’ means to ‘talk down to’…” #
• Vine: “To demonstrate the electoral college, I’ve made this lovely electoral collage.” (Sorry.) #
• @Suw Exit polls? #
• Rupert Murdoch doesn’t want Obama to win. If there weren’t already enough reasons to support him… #
• ITV coverage amazingly looks like it might be more entertaining. #

• Jubilee Line severe delays. Great start to the week. #
• Eating my overpriced Upper Crust roll more slowly. Don’t want to be “that bloke who choked on a sausage on the Strand”. #
• @qwghlm I’m nearly always warm at work thanks to the scarily large amount of heat my laptop pumps out. #
• Debating who should be Doctor Who with work colleagues over lunch. #
• Loving the email I’ve just received: “We’ve had much discussion following your email… You are right” That’s what I like to hear 🙂 #
• @wilw Was surprised to be told by a colleague that it’s a peculiarly geeky concern and she likes not losing web pages when clicking a link. #
• I can haz Dead Set DVD? Yay! #
• Alerted by Jonathan Calder’s Liberal England blog, I’ll be watching the Jake Thackray programme on BBC2 at 11.20 tonight. #
• @snapesbabe @stephmog My poor blog isn’t even on Wikio. #
• @snapesbabe Nah. Several work ones just got added and they emailed to tell us. Not sure I care enough to bother 🙂 #
• @snapesbabe In that case I’m helping by not being on it 🙂 #