The tragedy of Ashby and Slipper: Act Five

After weeks of anticipation, Pope Benedict solemnly put his finger to a tablet device and tried to send his first tweet - but something went wrong.

In perhaps the most drawn-out Twitter launch ever, the 85-year-old Benedict tapped the screen of a tablet brought to him at the end of his general audience after the equivalent of a papal drum roll by an announcer, who intoned: ‘‘And now the Pope will tweet!’’.