EVER been in a job interview where have something you really want to boast about – only not to get asked the right question and finding yourself desperate trying to shoehorn it in?

That was Carwyn Jones at First Minister’s Questions today. He had decided he wanted to talk about free breakfasts in schools – the 1,000th primary school signed up to the scheme yesterday– and talk about it he would, regardless of whether he was asked about it.

That reached a head during a good ding-dong with Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams. But the session began with a moment of comedy with Shadow Finance Minister Nick Ramsay.

Mr Ramsay is one of those people who like to give themselves nicknames, like men who suffix their surname with ‘meister’. First he started referring to himself as the hitherto-unknown ‘Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer for Wales’. Today he had a new name for himself.

Asking a question about a lack of free cash machines, he said: “I’ve become known as ‘The Cashback King’ in my local pub because I’m always asking for cash back,” he said.

“Sadly for Jeff Cuthbert, chair of the Cross Party Group on Beer and The Pub, the pub is not always open.”

Mr Jones offered advice. “I’d be more than concerned as a politician if I was known as ‘The Cashback King’,” he said. “I’d advise you to be very careful, especially around the time of the election, and find out if the Electoral Commission have any rules on that kind of thing.”

To matters more serious, and Kirsty Williams chose to focus on the announcement last week that the education funding gap between Wales and England had broken the £500 per child per year barrier.

It was a good issue, given Mr Jones’ emphasis on education during his leadership campaign, but was marred by the fact that he much preferred to talk about (a) breakfasts in schools and (b) those nasty Tories, thank you very much.

Ms Williams pointed out rightly, that pupils in Wales received less education funding and achieved poorer results than those over the border. But!

“There are many instances where Welsh children have an advantage over the rest of the UK – such as the free breakfast scheme!,” he said. “1,000 schools are now part of this scheme, which shows the benefit of it.

“It shows, doesn’t it, that when it comes to helping children and making sure children have a good breakfast, we on this side of the chamber have nothing to fear!”.

Ms Williams was not impressed. “With all due respect, First Minister,” she said. “the children enjoying free school breakfast courtesy of the Government are the very children who are being let down badly by the funding of the system.” She listed areas and stages where Welsh children were badly lagging behind those in England.

Mr Jones listened intently to Ms Williams’ comments. Then started talking about breakfast and the Conservatives again,. Children who ate breakfast were better prepared to learn, a headteacher in Splott had told him. “They will perform better over time – and that’s why the Tories hate it so much!”.

Ms Williams tried to engage Mr Jones on education spending three more times, each time without success. Eventually the First Minister got bored. “Thank you for your first supplementary,” he said.

“Well, you’re not answering it!,” shouted Mick Bates (Lib Dem, Montgomeryshire), not inaccurately.

The Presiding Officer stepped in. “I exercise great latitude with leaders of opposition parties, it’s part of the deal,” said Lord Elis-Thomas. “But it is a question of if the questions they ask are new questions which concentrate on the matter in hand. I’ll put it as gently as that.” Riddle me that.

Normally, at this point we would dwell on Mr Jones’ battle with the leader of the opposition, Nick Bourne. But sometimes Mr Bourne’s questions are so dull you wonder if he’s banged his head again and thinks he’s gone back to being a law lecturer. Today was one of those days (his most interesting questions concerned plans to alter the Business Partnership Council).

The most obscure question of the day? Shadow Economic Development Minister David Melding, who wondered whether Mr Jones had seen a new small-and-medium-sized enterprise investment scheme launched by the Israeli Government. Mr Jones said he was always keen to learn from examples across the world.

Pointless planted question of the week? Jeff Cuthbert (Labour, Caerphilly) as usual: he wondered “if it is true” that the Assembly Government was as keen to look at medium- and long-term schemes to aid the economy as short-term ones. Guess what? Mr Cuthbert had heard right! It is true! Amazing.

Finally, regular readers may wonder where the question was from Shadow Local Government Minister Alun Cairns that made the First Minister shout about the Thatcher Government. Well, today they saved it for last.

Quoting a doom-filled list of statistics showing Wales lagging behind the rest of the UK in terms of the economy, employment and growth, Mr Cairns suggested the Assembly Government was failing.

Mr Jones was furious. “In the late 70s the gap between Wales and the rest of the UK wasn’t as big,” he said, harking back a mere 30 years. “Your government did as much as it possibly could to make that gap as big as possible! All your government did was destroy, destroy, destroy!”.

The First Minister was almost glowing as his voice raised. Maybe he was genuinely furious. Or maybe he had his (free) Ready Brek this morning.