I see a lot of people pontificating about Venezuela who up to yesterday would have struggled to pinpoint the country on the map and knew close to zero about its history.

Few wonks + pet-project pushers seem happy with this Budget, which suggests to me that Reeves may have done a reasonable job under the circumstances The next 2 years might be as tough as the doomsters expect, in which case she’s stuffed, or they might not and she finds her coffers are suddenly full

The two-child limit… “The Liverpool Riverside constituency was the worst affected in our region last year, with a total of 4,350 children impacted by the policy. This works out at 26% of kids living in the area, among the highest rates in the country” www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpo...

Laughable. “There are growing concerns that the pension contributions are not high enough to support people through retirement, creating a ticking timebomb” These concerns have been there for 13 years, well known to govt, providers, employers and press. The money was never going to be enough

Classic ostrich behaviour. Make a series of policy and political mistakes, then blame the comms team

Ottie failing to get excited about the return of pet passports. Bound to take ages, she thinks. Despite Downing St promising she’ll “be able to travel more easily” and the stupid requirement for expensive health certificates every trip will be “eliminated”

Bring back Pet Passports! No sign of that, though 🐶🛂

Worth a read if you have the FT - be wary of claims that shares always outperform the long run

First Microsoft tries to charge me more for Office because of AI add-ons which I don’t want or need. Now WIX is trying to do the same with its Google-run email package - a 21% hike for “access to an AI assistant”. So AI becomes just an excuse to put up prices

Fresh out of the oven - malted sourdough round. The new marmalade behind…

Very interesting take on Cymbeline - and wonderful candlelit atmosphere at the Sam Wanamaker www.shakespearesglobe.com/whats-on/cym...

Chilly by the Thames this morning

Having followed the news on South Korea since last night, it strikes me how little people seem to know about the country - despite K-pop, Squid Game, Parasite, Kimchi and the huge cultural influence. I mean, virtually nothing - and that includes most journalists who are still catching up

If you’re around Camberwell, this is a great new place to go…Cafe Mondo www.instagram.com/cafe_mondo_s...