Gene at the Hannersmith Apollo last night. Triumphant return after decades. Thirty years on, went with same friends as before. Bonus this time is I stayed sober enough to remember it.

Wonderful thing to step out of the office and hear the bells of Westminster Abbey jangling and jostling away, following you down Victoria Street, in the way they must have entertained every ear in the Devil's Acre.

I have a headache, but what to do? If only Nigel was clearer with his advice.

Award-winning mature concrete, still doing its thing.

The wet rooftops of Westminster

A courteous but very impressive rebuke to Nigel Farage from the Bishop of Oxford. "I heard no compassion in what you said...". "I disagree profoundly with your attempts to ... increase fear of the stranger in our communities". Do read. blogs.oxford.anglican.org/an-open-lett...

Reading a lot of Christie at the moment (inspired by @chrischibnall.bsky.social ). Lessons learned so far: don't trust a first-person narrative, or anyone who claims to be a doctor.

Am convinced Agatha Christie kept returning to Ariadne Oliver as a way to cope with the fact that Hercule Poirot was manifesting himself to the authoress as a real person in her advancing years.

"It is the Christian way to meet those asking for help with compassion and understanding, and it has long been the British way to give shelter where we can to those escaping violence and conflict abroad. It should remain that way.” www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

This is good. thecritic.co.uk/god-alone-ca...

A significant birthday: indoor skydiving, tea at Spoons, London's best sights by boat, Maccy Ds, Covent Garden shops, The Ballad of Wallis Island, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese meat board, presents & cards, England win. Today was a fine day to remember, & all with @revruthc.bsky.social & the kids.

And there it is, right on time.

Vicarage bring and share summer party all prepped. Now just need the rain.

The hot rooftops of Westminster

Obviously have sympathy, but this article shows clearly what will happen if the Bill becomes law - as so many of us have said. People will say it is too restrictive, lacks compassion, denies people their choice, and that its boundaries should be expanded. www.independent.co.uk/voices/assis...

I see Esther Rantzen is now telling the House of Lords what its role is, and Kim Leadbeater is claiming the lamentable scrutiny of her assisted suicide bill in the Commons was "extremely thorough". I mean, ?

It's heartbreaking to see MPs vote for this again. I can't help but feel that a massive blow to the country has been committed, by those with smiling faces and the best intentions. God help us all.

"Giving people the right to choose does not take away the right not to choose" says Kim Leadbeater, to 'hear-hears' in the Commons. This is not only false, but absurd. It is the level of debate we are being forced to endure on this miserable assisted suicide bill.

This is not Parliament at its best.

On the day before a crucial life/death vote in the Commons, this is what the newspaper that is the leading voice for assisted suicide goes with. The paucity of argument is extraordinary.

Happy Waterloo day to all who celebrate. In the Royal Gallery of the UK Parliament there is a huge wall fresco by Daniel Maclise, 'The Meeting of Wellington and Blücher after the Battle of Waterloo'. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mee... More about its conservation, here: youtu.be/Z2Ptyg-6xnU?...

The email sent this afternoon by Dignity in Dying to their supporters. It says everything that's wrong with the movement behind the Terminally Ill Adults Bill - massive PR spends, polls, 'flooding social media'. This is not about winning, it's is a profound legal & societal change, which needs care.

What do you get a man in his late forties on Fathers' Day, except -

Great achievement by @revruthc.bsky.social in fundraising for @diabetesuk.bsky.social . As her husband (& as someone with type 1 diabetes) I am hugely proud of her.

Am about to witness my first Frasier equinox. The last episode has just aired on Channel 4, and the first is just an ad break away. So moving to see it occur naturally, in the wild.

Totted up the old personal scores for each episode of the Gatwa era, which brings it out at an average of 5.6/10 for me. Feels about right. A couple of good ones (thank Moffat) but otherwise not whelmed. Hoping for a return to fear, drama, tension, character, & making stories, not just statements.

And well, let's be honest. If Disney hasn't signed off on another series of #DoctorWho yet, then it most certainly won't have signed off on who the lead actor will be. Hence the conveniently ambiguous end credits. I really hope they leave it, so the BBC can just get back to it, with BP in the role.

Spent all of that #DoctorWho pausing it to debate crackers RTD theories with my daughter. Is Poppy Susan's mum? (gah, still no Susan explanation). No, wait, will Poppy be the Timeless Child & so end up being The Doctor? McGann did say he was human on his mother's side. What? Oh, no, never mind.

Hands down, best part of tonight's #DoctorWho finale was Anita Dobson's 'The Two Ranis' joke. Let's hope it's not goodnight from her in the role.

The former Bishop of Exeter, Rt Revd Geoffrey Hewlett Thompson, has died. He served as a Lord Spiritual from 1990-1999. He led prayers more often than made speeches, but made a few memorable contributions, including this on the Good Samaritan, in a 1991 debate on children with special needs.

A voice for those seeking justice, freedom, or hope for a better society, Bishop Alan's been a leading example of how bishops in parliament can make a difference. A true legend of the Bench - I wish him a happy & peaceful retirement-he’s certainly earned it. www.churchofengland.org/media/press-...

Mission Impossible Final Reckoning rewards fans, though I did leave the cinema trying hard to remember what happened in the first half of the film. But the stunt finale with the biplanes is one of the most riveting edge of the seat sequences I've seen in any action film for years. Out on a high.

Totting up my scores out of ten for each of the #DoctorWho stories in this series it comes out at an average of 5.5/10 overall, with one episode to go. Sorry RTD, but it's not working anymore.

Can only hope this is true. It would be a huge step in the right direction for a Govt wanting to reduce child poverty. CofE bishops opposed this in the Lords a decade ago when it was introduced in the Welfare Reform & Work Act, & have campaigned against it ever since observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

The Bishop of St Albans is retiring & we're going to miss him. Bookie-basher, FOBT-foe, human rights defender, Uygher's friend, rural champion, cladding campaigner, Sunday special keeper. He got Govt to outlaw hare-coursing, put mum's names on marriage certificates, & much more. Legend of the Bench.

Last home match of the season for Crystal Palace. Emotional farewell for Ward, who got to bring out the FA Cup for the fans after the game.

To York and back for the May gathering of the House of Bishops, Lords Spiritual lunchtime meeting. A day near the races.

I hear the Church of Scotland has today voted to reaffirm its opposition to assisted suicide, despite the press & pro-campaigners getting ahead of themselves, putting out the line that it would be going neutral. Good.

Thank you for raising this on Friday in the Commons @jessasatomp.bsky.social This line of argument has been a sad but frequent tactic from those pushing for a change in the law.

A Doctor Who story based on E*rovision was always going to annoy, but I'm just puzzled & a bit annoyed at the throwaway appearance of Susan after 60 years & poor comic reveal of the Rani after 40 yrs. No dramatic tension & surrounded by a soggy blamanche of meh. What the Who is going on, RTD?

Oh yes, it's the night I can't bear being on any social media. I'd forgotten.

Fourteen bishops, Lords Spiritual, have been in touch with the PM to register concern about the tone of this week's announcement on migration www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Happy birthday to this unique slice of mid-90s orchestro-pop. Still fresh, thirty years on. youtu.be/JyrnjJ-sMEE?...

An evening with friends in prospect tomorrow at the Spy Bar in the Old War Office building.

"A decent society treats disabled people as needing certain extra protections.... But when you treat an early death for terminal illness as basically a good thing, it seems they get fewer. What started off as safeguards and protections become barriers to “access”." www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...

I'm looking forward to this episode more than any others this series, as it looks like it'll bring a genuinely different creative take. Overall still struggling to enjoy Disney Who, though the past two episodes have been an improvement on what the series began with. #DoctorWho

The Assembly, with David Tennant. What a wonderful piece of telly.