Laura Kuenssberg

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David Davis will go back to Brussels on Thursday for the conclusion of the second round of official Brexit talks.

At his first photocall he set himself up for a bit of gentle mockery, being photographed without his notes, compared to the fat packets of EU documents on the table.

Jokes aside, if you talk to him or his team they say they are making good progress, that the negotiations are now properly under way, he is totally on top of his brief - move on, nothing to see here.

Last week he did also hint at a note of compromise in the air, outlining potential fixes on the prime minister's apparent red line (getting a bit pink these days?) on European judges, holding out the possibility of creating some kind of looser membership of the EU nuclear agency, Euratom, by "association".

Mr Davis's allies say that he is totally on top of his brief, and they are optimistic about getting things done in the timetable, although openly the government now admits that there will have to be a period of time for industries to adjust to the new realities.

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With rumour swirling, gossip in the air about the cabinet, it is hard to work out what is really going on. Since Mrs May didn't really win the prize she was expecting, ministers have become an unruly lot. Tomorrow, they're all going to get a telling off (with apologies to the truth).

Why is she so cross?

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Along with the now titled European Union (Withdrawal) Bill - the Great Repeal Bill is gone and forgotten - it seems that ministers are starting, even if ever so slowly, to show a bit of leg on where they might budge in the Brexit negotiations.

This afternoon, while denying the Withdrawal Bill is a power grab, promising that MPs will have a say on any issue they want, David Davis dangled possible solutions to one of Brexit's very specific issues - and also, to one of the most fundamental problems of all.

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It wasn't meant to be called a "relaunch" or a "fightback" or even a "reset".

The prime minister's speech this morning was, however, the first big speech she has made since the election.

The Chilcot report became a by-word for dispute, delay, and doubt.

When the inquiry finally emerged in its full two million words, in the chaotic aftermath of the EU referendum, its analysis was polite.

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Will they or won't they?

As we've been reporting in the last few days, there's been a frenzied guessing game, stoked by some cabinet ministers themselves, over the future for the pay of nurses, teachers, police officers, and the rest of the five million or so people who work in the public sector.

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The government's change of heart on funding abortions for Northern Irish women on the NHS in England matters for three reasons.

Most of all of course, it will make a material difference to the lives of many women who, for whatever reason, find themselves in the situation of crossing the Irish Sea and having to pay for an abortion that the tighter rules in their home country prevent.

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Nurse, social worker, teacher, doctor - pretty much any public sector worker in England, Wales and Northern Ireland would have been justified in feeling a bit more chipper this morning, had they had time to listen to comments from the defence secretary or the transport secretary, both hinting that the limit on their pay rises might be about to come to an end.

They might been further bolstered by comments after Prime Minister's Questions, if they had been watching the news this afternoon, when Number 10's spokesman suggested that although it was important still to balance the books, the government understands people are "weary" after years of the limit.

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It wasn't quite five days in May, but at last Theresa May can say she can confidently form a government.

The sober faced DUP trio came out of the famous black door just before noon. They have plenty, however, to be happy about.

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Hostility at home, barely warmer in Brussels.

There was relief that the UK is at last putting its ideas on the table but concerns over the British plans for EU citizens reflect Theresa May's fundamental bind. She faces a united opposing front here in Brussels, at least for now.