In case anyone is wondering if Watson was really THAT bad, @lpachter.bsky.social compiled a list of quotes that are absolutely not for the faint of heart. liorpachter.wordpress.com/2018/05/18/j...

The Andrew formerly known as Prince.

Which judges went on holiday together? Which author lost their literary innocence with a judge badmouthed his book? Who sat next to AS Byatt's roll of Sellotape? Me on the Booker Prize in the 2000s, with contributions from @ericawgnr.bsky.social, @lindasgrant.bsky.social, Damon Galgut and more:

Please share this letter in support of the City University professor of economics Michael Ben-Gad, who is receiving death threats and harassment, as part of an ongoing campaign to have him sacked owing to his having completed compulsory IDF service 1982-1985.

Can any flower experts tell me what these are please?

Trump now preparing to invade and annex Sweden.

To put events today in long term context, in the mid-90s during the height of Oslo my mother was in a Jewish care home in N. London. When it held a fundraising jumble sale it had to be patrolled by the police.

The Community Security Trust is one of the jewels of British Jewry which has its origins in the street fighting against the postwar resurgence of the Mosleyites and later the National Front. cst.org.uk/about-cst

I assume the conspiracy theories about the Manchester attack are in full force on X but I’m not going to look.

To put events today in long term context, in the mid-90s during the height of Oslo my mother was in a Jewish care home in N. London. When it held a fundraising jumble sale it had to be patrolled by the police.

You don’t actually have to both sides this. The Jewish community in the UK is not the Israeli government. You can just condemn the murder of two British Jews killed in their place of worship and you don’t have to say a single other thing.

RIP Brian Patten

I bet Rusbridger is livid at getting played by Toby Jones when Ben Bradlee got Jason Robards

Watching The Hack. With the casting of Toby Jones as Alan Rusbridger I expected Mackenzie Crook to turn up as Jonathan Freedland.

When people come out with that old saw, if voting changed anything it would be illegal I give you Trump’s speech to the UN.

I would love to know if there was ANYONE who was rich and/or famous who met Jeffrey Epstein and decided he was a sick creep.

The Roses is at heart a romcom which The Wars of the Roses definitely wasn’t.

‘I have in my hand a piece of paper’ Anchorage Agreement

I think the word “broken” is politically toxic, breeding despair, feeding populism, and disparaging people who work in those sectors

www.theguardian.com/books/2002/j... Bacck in 2002 I addressed the question so often asked - how could the Jews of all people behave like this to the Palestinians.

I always enjoy reading the TripAdvisor London Forum because I'm fascinated to see what foreign tourists expect, what they ask about and what surprises them. I thought this post from someone from Texas was a really lovely and cheering comment about riding the tube late at night

Finished. Glad to see the back of it.

Reading Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises for the first time since I was a teenager, the antisemitism and racism make the experience like chewing a mouthful of rocks.

Suburban memoirists, our moment is finally here!!

Beautiful rain at last.

Radio 3 just played a snippet of Carmina Burana in tribute to Ozzy Osborne. They always hit the right note.

🚨🗣️ 52 influential women unite to urge the Government: do not abandon asylum-seeking survivors. Violence does not stop at the border, and neither should our compassion and support for survivors. Read more: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025... #WelcomeEveryWoman

This is a revelation. A young Holocaust survivor arrives in New York in the early 50s and falls in love with an African-American journalist. First published in 1985, it’s only now that it has a UK imprint. Lore Segal has a unique witty voice. I was bereft when it ended.

Listening to a very good radio adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities on BBC Sounds. I see there hasn’t been a film or tv version since 1989. A neglected classic.

I’ve read this twice. Constance Marten’s privilege made her ill-equipped to understand the power of the state. A superbly observed long read www.theguardian.com/news/2025/ju...

AI responds to a question in the style of Henry James

I’d be grateful if you could sign this petition calling for better provisions for people with Parkinson’s disease. Since I was diagnosed two years ago I’ve seen how awful the service is. And worldwide it’s the fastest growing neurological condition. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/71...

In the interest of balance, everyone who read the Observer article about The Salt Path should probably read this. www.raynorwinn.co.uk

I’d be grateful if you could sign this petition calling for better provisions for people with Parkinson’s disease. Since I was diagnosed two years ago I’ve seen how awful the service is. And worldwide it’s the fastest growing neurological condition. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/71...

Kudos to @arsenalfc.bsky.social for its brilliant walking football programme for people with Parkinson's. If you're an #Arsenal fan (and even if you're not) please sign this petition petition.parliament.uk/petitions/71...

What’s likely to happen next.

I had serious doubts about Moth Winn's state of health when I found out he was still alive. I have first hand experience of Corticobasal Degeneration and from diagnosis you last about 5 years. It's a brutal condition rendering you completely helpless in its final stages.

Did they even do the walk?

Met Raynor Winn when we were on the Wainwright shortlist. Seemed nice. And that’s why I don’t write true crime

Couple of con artists observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

Liverpool just can’t catch a break.

Saw the new documentary about Leni Riefenstahl last night. Two hours of uninterrupted narcissism intercut with raging tantrums when truth got in the way.

Enjoyed hearing the Pope’s brother refer to him as Rob.

One of the strangest ironies of the last ten years has been watching Britain immersing itself as deeply as ever in memories of WW2 while proudly turning its back on the project that emerged from it.

WOKE POPE!!

Pope schmope!

@rhodri.biz www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I assume this means “literacy” - unless they’re going to test them all on their Shakespeare