My favourite bit of Hungarian so far: Ön itt áll, which means You are here.

Things I wish I’d known about the Hungarian National Gallery before slogging up all those stairs to it in a heatwave: (a) if you walk a few minutes around the back to Palota út, there is a convenient elevator; (b) the gallery is closed on the last Monday of the month.

Budapest!

A greeny-blue Danube seen from the Liberty Bridge in Budapest.

Just arrived at Göd. Nearby is a place called Alsógöd.

It’s an odd feeling when you look out of the train window and then have to check the map to see which country you’re in. Still Slovakia, but Hungary soon. On an Austrian train. But for some reason my lunchtime sandwich was priced in Czech crowns.

Perhaps the Danube is a bit on the bluer side today.

I am currently in Bratislava where it is about the same temperature as Cambridge, and I can confidently assert that what Cambridge needs is a vast cavernous and reasonably cool restaurant in a former theatre serving beer and sausages. Cheers!

Zooming along the Danube (which is mostly green today) on the Twin City Liner from Vienna to Bratislava. This thing can certainly shift it.

Interesting analysis of today’s by-election in Cambridgeshire’s northernmost county council seat. www.cambsnews.co.uk/fens-by-elec...

Vienna’s public transport isn’t quite perfect, but it is very good. The key features that make it work well are integration, frequency, and trust-based ticketing.

This particular square is decorated with a series of statues depicting Thomas Tuchel’s half-time talks.

Apart from Strassenbahnhaltestelle (tram stop) my favourite German words on this trip include Aufzug (“up-train”, i.e. lift) and Anpfiff, meaning kick-off, but “pfiff” is the noise a whistle makes when you blow it, so literally something like “go-peep”.

“You don’t think we’re overdoing the sculpture on this one?” “Naaah”

One of many nice things about Vienna is the public mist sprayers dotted around the city centre. Just the thing on a hot day.

Watching England v Ghana at an open-air venue in Vienna, which is quite an interesting experience.

I would be enjoying the fireworks a little more if I wasn’t due to get up in about five hours for an early flight.

I'm not sure I would recommend standing that close to the sinkhole on Milton Road. www.facebook.com/reel/2168400...

Politics often goes a bit quiet over the summer. Not this year. Fri 3 July: Nominations close for Mayor of Greater Manchester Thu 16 July: Nominations close for Labour leader Thu 30 July: Election for Mayor of Greater Manchester Sept: Labour leadership election (if contested)

Sadly I will miss this event due to being in Bratislava, but it should be an interesting evening.

Update: The Met Office forecast for Cambridge is now 5°C higher than the BBC's for the peak of the heatwave on Thursday.

Cambridge just misses out on the red warning for extreme heat on Wednesday and Thursday, but it might be worth postponing that trip down to London. weather.metoffice.gov.uk/warnings-and...

Getting quoted in the leaflet, mid-2020s version.

Quite a difference in the forecast temperatures for Cambridge between the BBC and the Met Office during the peak of the heatwave.

South Cambs introduces a new policy document on pets in council housing. Hamsters and goldfish are fine. You can have one cat or dog, but if you want more than one, fill in the Pet Permission Request Form. Horses, goats, cobras, ocelots etc are right out. scambs.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s1...

It would perhaps be fitting if Keir Starmer’s final act in office is to perform a U-turn on this policy. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Met Office is now forecasting 39°C for Cambridge on Tuesday. weather.metoffice.gov.uk/forecast/u12...

I heard Andy Burnham speak at the Bennett School of Public Policy conference in May. The whole thing is well worth a listen, but I thought this bit at 52:50 was particularly interesting, where Andy is being asked which other political leaders he admires. www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8pV...

Current forecast models have Cambridge temperatures peaking at around 30 or 31 on Tuesday afternoon. London temperatures could reach 35. www.wxcharts.com?dataset=ecmw...

If Andy Burnham does succeed in becoming Prime Minister, he would be the first Cambridge-educated PM since Stanley Baldwin. 14 of the last 17 Prime Ministers attended the University of Oxford. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...

The May Ball season is about to begin, with Monday and Tuesday likely to be the noisiest evenings. Fireworks generally start around 10:45pm as they must finish by 11:00pm. www.mayball.info

Three arrests in Cambridge in connection with anti-social behaviour linked to electric motorbikes. www.ecops.org.uk/Alerts/A/458...

Good news that the Mill Road Community Interest Company is the sole bidder for the former Mill Road library building. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

It is pretty scenic around here.

An epic Freedom of Information request for reports on the condition of Arbury Court held by Cambridge City Council enters its seventh month. www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/arbu...

David Hill appointed as the first Chief Executive of the Greater Cambridge Development Corporation. www.gov.uk/government/n...

Ofqual fines Cambridge English £875,000 after truly stupendous cock-up leads to wrong results for tens of thousands of English language tests. www.gov.uk/government/n...

MPs have approved an order restoring the second choice vote for elections of Combined Authority Mayors. This could be crucial for the outcome of the next election for Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough in 2029. www.theyworkforyou.com/divisions/pw...

Draft interim Greater Cambridge Transport Strategy calls for "segregated mass rapid transit corridors and travel hubs, providing arterial cross-city and orbital connections" in the medium term (2030-35) democracy.cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca.gov.uk/ieListDocume... (item 10)

Thread from @camcitco.bsky.social saying that the announcement of the new councils for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is expected in July. I have heard from other sources that Monday 6 July is a provisional date for the announcement, though this has not been confirmed officially.

Massive hailstorm in Cambridge in June!

Lightning strikes near Lucy Cavendish, Great St Mary's, Barnwell, Addenbrooke's...

Speech by Daniel Zeichner in a Westminster Hall debate yesterday on an e-petition on the progress of bills through Parliament. www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?id=20...

Last day to apply to be Communications Officer for South Cambs MP Pippa Heylings "to support the delivery of engaging MP communications that achieve cut through in the media and across communities in the constituency" www.w4mpjobs.org/JobDetails.a...

Statement from Cambridge Lib Dems on yesterday’s city council leader election.

Breaking news: Greens will form the primary opposition on Cambridge City Council. Read our full statement here: cambridge.greenparty.org.uk/2026/06/labo...

I’m away on holiday at the moment, but briefly what happened at today’s city council meeting was that Labour proposed Katie Thornburrow as leader, the Greens proposed Sefira Davison, and the Lib Dems abstained allowing cllr Thornburrow to be elected.

At 6pm tomorrow, councillors will make another attempt to elect a leader of Cambridge city council, following the deadlock at their previous meeting. If they succeed, they will then go on to consider other key aspects of running the council. democracy.cambridge.gov.uk/ieListDocume...

Wendy M. Grossman is giving a talk at a Cambridge Skeptics event at the Blue Moon on Tuesday 30 June. www.meetup.com/cambridge-sk...

Cambridge student newspaper Varsity interviews Daniel Zeichner on the day after the local elections. www.varsity.co.uk/interviews/3...