Right wing media has had it in for Angela Rayner from the start - they couldn’t bear a working class woman being so powerful & dynamic. She made a mistake and has paid heavily for it. Very much hope she’ll return at some point in the future - our politics desperately needs more voices like hers

Angela Rayner accidentally pays less tax than she should have, resigns, and the media gives her hell. Nigel Farage deliberately pays less tax than he should have, and the media gives him a free pass. That, right there, is the problem.

Out for a walk yesterday and took the opportunity to check out the tribute to @nedboulting.bsky.social in my neighbourhood. Chapeau to the minds behind this!

the scenario we all feared

46 years ago today, @jonsavage.bsky.social reviewed Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures" for the Melody Maker (21 July 1979). #JoyDivision @robertrotifer.bsky.social

London South Bank University has opted for a non-academic vice-chancellor as its next leader, hiring Paul Kett from PwC, reports @twilliamsthe.bsky.social #AcademicSky

At a festival in the West Country - no, not the Pilton pop festival (as we locals called it when I was growing up) but the Chalke History Festival where husband is giving a talk this evening. Currently enjoying the hospitality of the Green Room. Lovely day for it ☀️☀️☀️🕶️

“Fifty years ago no one was mugged for their iPhone. That’s Sadiq Khan’s London for you” A brilliant piece to make you laugh when there’s not much to laugh about. open.substack.com/pub/davidaar...

Only a few hours to go until the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere - it's at 03.42 BST (02.42 GMT) on Saturday 21 June. So yes, the middle of the night, and the 21st is the longest day of the year. Happy Summer (Winter for southerners) Solstice everyone! www.rmg.co.uk/storie...

There are 2 previous historical cases of countries destroying their science and universities, crippling them for decades: Lysenkoism in the USSR and Nazi Germany. The Trump administration will be the 3rd. It's not just budgets but research, institutions, expertise, and training the next generation.

Close call today but my Wordle streak continues! Wordle 1,354 6/6 ⬛🟨⬛⬛🟨 ⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩⬛⬛🟨 🟩🟩🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

There is a striking contrast between the reporting of the Trump-Vance-Zelensky clash on #Channel4News and the BBC. Channel 4's Lindsey Hilsum was more accurate with her judgments of "performative bullying" and "humiliation".

Word of the day is ‘huff-snuff’ (16th century): a hectoring bully or braggart.

It’s been beautifully bright for the last few days, and literally freezing, but there’s a change on the way so I grabbed an afternoon walk by the water to get some rays. Was a bit surprised to see someone walking on the ice (pic 2) - I would definitely not risk that!

Top five grumpy notes written by the father of evolutionary biology, naturalist, and humanist Charles Darwin. #DarwinDay

Grey day, grey heron in Ladywell Fields.

🧐🤪

What is socialism, if not the state owning the memes of production

Brilliant, as always from @anneapplebaum.bsky.social on the New Obscurantism. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

Scenes from a cold (-6 C) twilight walk.

Back to Narnia - for a few days at least.

They've ennobled furious gonad Toby Young, who demanded the Tories launch his money-saving Free Schools idea, then took 9 years to submit accounts, which proved his money-saving idea cost 10x as much as the system it replaced.

The US is heading for an even greater healthcare crisis if things like this continue to catch on. www.npr.org/sections/sho...

Tree silhouettes on my afternoon (2:45) run. I’ll welcome the winter solstice tomorrow but in these northern latitudes it will still feel like a long drag until longer days.

For the lichen lovers: pictures from yesterday’s cold, sleety but rather lovely run by the water out to the Baltic.

Went for a run but cut it short: too many patches of black ice! Still loving all the moss and lichen in the woods.

Struggling to eat more vegetables? Try this unique recipe!

Irresistible…

A strong start to the annual Fanny fest.

Spare a thought for Gregg Wallace’s lawyers this morning as he posts yet another video on instagram decrying that out of 4000 contestants that he’s worked with there’s only been 13 complaints (so far?) of inappropriate sexual comments and behaviour🤔 www.bbc.com/news/article...

A stroll along the promenade at Larnaca before we head back to London.

As the countdown continues, why not gird yourself with some advance Fanny preparation. Here's the first part of Fanny Cradock Cooks for Christmas. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kunu...

@mackuba.eu Thank you so much for the 12 Nov 2024 update to your Complete Guide to Bluesky. It's very helpful and I appreciate your taking the time to put it together and updating it. (If anybody else in interested in checking it out, I'm adding the link.) mackuba.eu/2024/02/21/b...

Irresistible! I’m not a great sea swimmer but who could resist a dip here? (Most of the hotel residents, by the look of it!) 22 degrees, lovely when you’re in 🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️

Plenty of company at breakfast, including Ellie and Kyri lookalikes!

Kicked off our break with a walk along the beach - and cats, of course!

Wordle 1,251 3/6 🟨🟨⬛⬛⬛ 🟩⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 @scoremywordle.bsky.social

Wordle 1,250 2/6 🟩🟨⬛⬛🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 @scoremywordle.bsky.social

Rubbish today Wordle 1,249 5/6 🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛ ⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛ 🟨⬛🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 @scoremywordle.bsky.social

Wordle 1,246 3/6 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟨⬛🟨⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 @scoremywordle.bsky.social

UK: No one is ever going to make a weirder pick to run a nation's health services. US: hold my beer....

Wordle 1,245 3/6 ⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛ ⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 @scoremywordle.bsky.social

Word of the Day, should you need it, is ‘latibulate’, a 17th-century verb meaning to find a corner somewhere and hide in it.

Wordle 1,244 5/6 ⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛ ⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟨🟨🟨⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 @scoremywordle.bsky.social

Wordle 1,243 4/6 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨 ⬛⬛🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 @scoremywordle.bsky.social

A damp, grey day today, but the woods seemed alive with colour from moss, leaves and the shining trunks of silver birch. So lucky to have all this at the end of my road!

Lovely day for a run. I went back to the 70s, I’m sure everything made more sense when I was 4… music.apple.com/gb/album/thi...

Tell me you gave blood today without telling me you gave blood today…

Apparently it’s #blackcatappreciationday in the US today. I’m not in the US but I appreciate my black cat every day. There’s a UK version in October, too.