Little J, you're not supposed to be arguing with your elders in the Temple. J: I am smarter than them and you know it. Some words between adolescent Jesus & his parents as imagined by Simone Martini in 1342.

2003 The Sun publish falsehood and nothing happens www.theguardian.com/media/2003/d... 2004 www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/... A foreign journalist and asylum seeker tries to do the job the locals do not want to do. 2012 www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/imm...

Ditto if Sadiq Khan said he would "don khaki, pick up a rifle, and head for the front line". But it was Farage who threatened to do that (after a far-right terrorist shot dead the politician Jo Cox), and he is still treated as a credible politician instead of a threat to national security.

Most glorious Annunciation ever. Yet Mary is clearly not convinced! Painted in 1333 by Simone Martini of Siena, whose day is today, with some help from Lippo Memmi.

Despite having been born not in the UK, maybe I am more patriotic than some others who need to say how patriotic they are to remind us. I'll go and see if the Russians have put any money in my account before I start pointing fingers.

Keir Starmer’s spokesperson asked for the PM's response to Nigel Farage’s plan to deport hundreds of thousands of people living and working completely legally in the UK, replies that he thinks it is “unworkable” and “unfunded”. So his objection is that they’ve got their sums wrong

Lib Dems: We have 12x Reform's MPs, can we have the same coverage? BBC: But Reform has 2x your poll rating. If there were an election tomorrow, they'd be running the country. Lib Dems: So you're putting their people and policies under scrutiny, right? BBC: Lib Dems: Right?

My choice to #Make_Bluesky_Beautiful_with_Art today is "Fenêtre ouverte, Collioure" by #Henri_Matisse. #Bluesky_Art #oil_painting #art #painting

The life threatening and life marring effects of Ofsted and high stakes "accountability" that I have personally seen out-weigh any possible positive effects even if you could think of any. Which I can't.

James O'Brien, "The scenes on Saturday were striking, the numbers very high, but a fraction of the turnout of the please don't leave the EU marches" "No matter that the problems were literally caused by Brexit"

Me planning lessons.

'Solar System' quilt by Ellen Harding Baker of Cedar County, Iowa, US in 1876, she used her textile work as a teaching aid for her lectures on astronomy in the small towns of her state. Find out more in the 1st @womensart1 book, 'Unravelling Women's Art'....

During the Spanish Transicion a music magazine wrote about a band that demanded groupies with their contract. The male writer was scandalised at the country's backward culture and the absence of volunteers. Prostitutes had to be paid! www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Is this proof birds are just dinosaurs?

My tutor group, 14 year boys from London, thought this was the most important event of the day, what they wanted to discuss that day. I have not noticed before such interest in current events. I was wrong when I thought this was an American phenomenon.

Looking at NCELP vocabulary, I found "coger", a verb I have not taught in 20 years of teaching mostly because for millions of native speakers of Spanish it translates as the f- word. There it was; I thought to myself "surely not in the GCSE list. Yes, effing again.

EU citizen, wondering if I am still one of the PIGS. I stayed after the referendum because my adult life had been spent here, working and paying taxes. I am starting to be scared. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Let me guess, she didn't challenge him on the antivaxxer he platformed who claimed the King & Princess of Wales gave cancer because of covid vaccines? Or on platforming with a standing ovation the woman who called for people to be burned alive?

Nuns

Please read, share and comment. Otherwise they will think it's just me! www.hepi.ac.uk/2025/09/04/h...

With a video to help understand the pesky instructions.

It's different for girls.

I don't know why he doesn't get arrested for incitement 🙄

Word of the day is ‘tamalou’: a French name for an older person who no longer greets their friends with ‘how was your holiday?, but with ‘t’as mal où ?’, ‘where does it hurt?’. There follows an enthusiastic account of aches and pains and doctor’s appointments.

When the grammar first started in MFL I told my MFL colleagues that I did not believe most of our 14 year olds had mastered the conditional in English, as I had only heard them use expressions like I would like or I would do but never when I was little I would buy gobstoppers...

Yes. Another one. But less bonkers than most! www.lbc.co.uk/article/lang...

I hope the dog returned. www.newspapers.com/article/the-...

Technology is a great tool, but teachers are still needed. theeconomyofmeaning.com/2025/08/29/1...

The fact that Reform were trying to run a person who had been dead for six months as their Croydon Mayoral candidate is proof if it were needed that they are not a serious party. It demonstrates abject incompetence and no vetting as well as utter contempt for the electorate.

"Make the internet work for voters instead of the trolls. Currently we are operating in an information vacuum left by the demise of local newspapers, the print press in general, and TV news viewership." www.noahpinion.blog/p/interview-...

The unintended consequences of making an assessment a national target to be achieved can be exclusion. Before children have even started school I’ve already had enquiries about disapplying them from the profile . I’m not blaming the people asking, their jobs might be on the line, but I’m not sure

Remembering the time when the Brexit referendum happened and several strangers I talked to (neighbours, work) just assumed that meant that I'd "go home" because I have an accent. I was like yeah I'll go home and have dinner at about five how about you They were SO BAFFLED

Interesting article on Duolingo. theeconomyofmeaning.com/2025/08/25/a... My students were also very motivated to do their Blooket sets. I typed the sets myself so that they were revising the same chunks for homework as we used in lessons, which cannot be done with Duolingo.

"Oh... there's nothing easy about your job. You do your best and a hundred voices claim they could do it better, and at times, I have been one of those voices. And at times, the loudest." Ofsted on teaching? The Department of Education? No, I was watching Blue Bloods.

Summer of 1889: Inspired by the match girl's strike in the previous year, London's tailors and dockworkers join together in a general strike. The tailors demanded better pay, a 12 hour work day, a limit on overtime, and a 1 hour break for dinner and tea. They eventually won.

The irony is I know People who laugh at Trump yet will vote Reform. Farage is following the exact playbook that Trump did because he knows it’ll work.

this is why i tell people to try ready-to-wear first. custom is risky bc you can be out here railing against "white hippies and communists," but your tailor has you looking crazy without a breast pocket.

Meritocracy feels like...

It's Friday! Have a great weekend everyone.

Accurately recognising how refugees actually feel is linked to reduced fear and greater willingness to help.

Oooh this makes me cross. Comments like these are *entirely* appropriate for a faith-based section. Faith is based on moral judgement. If you don't like the judgement being made of you, take a look at your morals - don't whitewash the BBC's religious voices. www.theguardian.com/media/2025/a...

this is what happens to strangers in this town

*Vamos camino de 20 días. Id por la sombrica.

The P in Philosophy (PPE Oxford graduate) phoned to have a word on your deductive skills.