Our round-up of the funny, fascinating and unusual stories this fortnight

Fans of the leading British artist David Hockney will know how much he doted on his pet dachshunds. Sold at Phillips last autumn, Little Stanley Sleeping was a poster made for the show ‘David Hockney:

Budget fiasco: That the whole of Wednesday’s Budget was erroneously published by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) an hour before chancellor Rachel Reeves (pictured) stood up to give her spee

A sale of Modern British Art earlier this year brimmed with the kind of wonderful works that auctioneers find a little heart-wrenching to let go, including a Waterfall full of wild windiness by Sir Kyffin Williams

There are ways to give money without liability for inheritance tax, says Paul Lewis

“The difference between death and taxes is, death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.” The American actor and commentator Will Rogers didn’t have to wrestle with British Isas and pensions, bu