Even if you just read 5 of them, you’ll not regret it!

Late pm, walking in Aston Village near Market Drayton, I could almost believe spring was on its way!

So what is holding us back? Mainly political will

To say I am excited about this would be an understatement. To say I am a little bit terrified would not! Actually, just really looking forward to it -- and really pleased to see SHARP continuing its accessible practices. eve.gd/2026/01/10/i...

Macclesfield Town (National League North) beat FA Cup holders Crystal Palace. First non-league team to beat FA Cup holders in the century since third division added to Football League (1920) Crystal Palace (Southern League) last did so in 1909 v Wolves bbc.com/sport/football/videos/cql46e5g552o

Have a #painting. "The Long Walk II" My Galway city painting that I'll never tired of telling people it prompted a friend's young son to ask why there were giraffes walking down the street, and ever since that's all any of us can see. It hangs in his home. He's a man now. #art #JanuArty #SpeirGhorm

A new era for ceramics? As the only historic place-based industrial cluster of significant scale in the UK, the Potteries is ideally positioned to help the government deliver several of the ‘IS-8’ growth-driving sectors set out in its Modern Industrial Strategy.

www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/j... The Ashes loss: a perspective

A world without a world order is a much greater problem for Europe than for any other economy of the world.

It is snowing steadily in North Shropshire

A post about pirate book archives, their inevitable demises, and continuity and complexity of catalogues as new sites emerge. (As well as musings on the challenge of resourcing and financing such illegal [in many jurisdictions] operations at the scale that is needed.) eve.gd/2026/01/01/t...

Nice post on Arnold’s legacy, possibly for Gramsci. Not sure he was one of the most attractive cultural critics (in my book, anyway) but very important

Could the UK’s traditional system of two-party politics continue to survive? tcnv.link/99h9szL

Over 24 years, Louise Cocker has captured almost half a million Norfolk Gravestones. ‘As a result, she has produced a remarkable dataset… which experts consider one of the most comprehensive photographic records of gravestones and memorials in England.’ www.theguardian.com/education/20...

De-coupling and other radical possibilities in publishing and open access

Last week on Wonkhe: This week’s card from Hugh Jones’ postbag takes us to a college with an aeronautical bias

I fear that if Johnson were asked this today, there would be lot of umming & erring, some guff about "the custard of conciliation" & "the tiramisu of time", but he would refuse to answer. That a US President tried to overthrow an election is now unsayable on the British Right & in much of the media

"The oddity of the late 2020s is that the populist right has given the centre and centre-left a lifeline" Interesting post from Geoff Mulgan on the risks of a hollow centre - and the perhaps temporary respite of a populist 'enemy' to rally against geoffmulgan.substack.com/p/hollowed-o...

Enjoying some late Autumn sun

Absolutely this👇

A fascinating visit, as with every site in this unique national asset and UNESCO World Heritage site.

Several MPs were among those present when Queen Victoria visited Liverpool #OnThisDay 1851. She commissioned this painting of St. George’s Hall as a souvenir of her visit. www.rct.uk/collection/9...

A great letter, which points to something that should be more widely known - see the work of David Killingray (for one) which David summarises here, with a host of (Kentish) examples:

James Brindley and Josiah Wedgwood made the Potteries a place #MyBackPages

The small country of Luxembourg acts as a living laboratory where new water monitoring technologies can be tested at scale.

Died #OnThisDay 1877 William Henry Fox Talbot. Best known as the pioneer of photography, he was also briefly MP for Chippenham, 1832-5, but stepped down to concentrate on his scientific interests. There’s more on him in our short article: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2012/09/17/w...

Irresistible offer!

UK research ‘trying to do too many things’, warns new UKRI leader. Ian Chapman wants funding emphasis on world-leading areas, but experts warn of system “inertia”. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Mandelson took the UK’s most important diplomatic post knowing he was sitting on a ticking bomb – and Starmer will pay the price.

Russia aggression, and the killing of a US political activist and its implications in the weekly world affairs newsletter.

Remembering that, aside from Lord Bragg’s distinguished presenting, this has been a great success story for university expertise for the last 27 years www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Peter Kyle is leaving DSIT for business. Wish he could have mentioned that at UUK! There's also a rumour of a new "growth" department that would include the skills bit of DfE and some stuff from DWP (and, one assumes, business). Would this also include HE? who knows?

The deputy prime minister’s departure has triggered a reshuffle and leaves the government in a weak spot.

Rayner’s case highlights the complexities of a system every UK housebuyer is expected to get to grips with.

Get to know Arnold Bennett's Five Towns: We have some free Bennett-themed guided walks around Hanley and Burslem for Heritage Open Days on 17 and 19 September, and beyond. Details on our website, and book here: www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on?q=A...

After months of solar energy, time to turn on the Rayburn to cook tonight’s dinner saying farewell to our son, Tom, as he heads back to Royal Academy of Music tomorrow

Tomorrow's #OnlineArtExchange theme is ⌛ time ⏰ for ‘Tony Foster: Exploring Time’ at @cornwall_museum Explore our time topic for inspo 👉 buff.ly/XpH83UY 📷 Lancashire County Museum Service

Delighted to hear Claybody Theatre will continue to be based at The Dipping House on the former Spode pottery site. Looking forward to seeing many more place-based productions ‘shaped from the unique cultural heritage and contemporary lives of the people of Stoke-on-Trent & North Staffordshire.’

The Cameron-Osborne years offer an important reminder that it is possible to excel at the theatre of politics - to "look prime ministerial", to dominate the "media narrative", to project "competence" and to communicate a clear political "story" - while being strikingly inept at governing.

Belated Black Cat Appreciation Day, Pip, aged 16!

Moving monologue dramatisation of @lisablowerwrite story, ‘Blessing in Burslem’ by @NVBorderlines and #KwanzaCollective. Thanks and congratulations to all, including the amazing artists who captured the performance, making the theme of the piece part of the dramatic fabric. Brilliant.

The Arts Keele Three Counties Open Art Exhibition at Fenton Town Hall has a “real mix” of art on display, from paintings, to photography and a motorbike installation. @amigonidavid.bsky.social

Congratulations on all receiving A-level English Language, Lang & Lit, Literature results! 💫 And to all their teachers ! We commend the fantastic opportunities that study of these subjects offer 🥳. Find out what English studies brings ! englishassociation.ac.uk/case-studies/

Today marks the 150th anniversary of composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) 🎼 From published scores, autograph manuscripts, and sound recordings, read our new blog post with an overview of our Coleridge-Taylor collections: bit.ly/BLBlogColeridgeTaylor

Great post: I remember reading Mill’s ‘Representative Democracy’ and being surprised that the secret ballot was by no means his preferred method of voting