Thoughts and prayers for everyone who’s bought a ticket to days 4 and 5 (and possibly 3) #ashes

Sad to see the removal of the newspaper stand outside Temple. It used to be so lively, back in the days when people bought papers and magazines and fruit (why did they also sell fruit there?) to the noise of “STanDARD… west end final”

Nothing quite says Welcome to the crown court, as a dead rat just by the entrance

Bosham

And with my youngest child's last milk tooth falling out, my career as part time tooth fairy ends after 15 years. No more letters relating fairy news, encouraging tooth brushing. Time to update LinkedIn re career path

In End of Days News, there is now a booth where you can get IV drips for all sorts of things (Vitamin B £35, detox £80, cancer testing £1.200) in the privacy of… the middle of Westfield

I no longer know what’s satire and what’s reality

Modern McCarthyism. Jenrick’s “list”. www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2118...

When it comes to law-adjacent books, another really good one

This is fairly desperate stuff, even by the standards of PR instant responses to a court judgment (sorry "judgement") which doubtless has been studied in detail The Establishment. Always getting away with it. Turns out the judge was a High Court Judge. Which sorta proves it dunnit

How is it that the moment you send a skeleton to the court, a dozen typos and clerical errors magically appear - which I'm sure weren't there ten minutes ago?

It’s been weird and depressing to watch US crowds at Ryder Cup But I’ve realised there aren’t many times US plays another country/ continent at sport outside Olympics, eg American football, baseball, basketball. That’s a lot of pent up jingoism

Dutch late night TV has its take

Good to see some student traditions never die

I like this very much as an approach to creative writing

Good to have spent what turned out to be 2 hours updating my devices to latest Apple IOS. Now everything runs slower but the icons have a new and excitingly fuzzy look. #progress

If this is genuine, it has to be tickets for Peter Mandelson

Finally got around to watching Brian de Palma’a Phantom of the Paradise: mad, but great if you like glam rock operas

David Lammy makes the tenth justice secretary in 10 years Incredible to think how the post of Lord chancellor used to one of most static positions in govt - Irvine and Falconer served 5 years, Mackay 10 years

Great running to be had in Manchester and Salford

Unbelievable scenes at #GrimsbyTown. Brilliant

This is so demented. it reminds me of the Derek and Clive sketch where Derek is pulled over for drunk driving and complains we’re now living in a gestapo khazi

The museum of contemporary history in Slovenia has a strong Wes Anderson feel to it

“Which country did Split used to be in?” Are you sitting comfortably…

Sad that another icon from the 60s has died - an extraordinary life from poverty in Stepney, flat sharing with Michael Caine to living in a set in Albany. All 3 vols of his autobiography are well worth reading

The cradle of modern fascism: The balcony in Fiume (now Rijeka) where d’Annunzio proclaimed an independent and proto-fascist republic in 1919

That moment in the horror film where I glanced at my wife’s phone

Great article. I knew Andrea a bit at college where she was a postgrad. Often wonder what happened to her after her brilliant memoire.

I’m not saying cheating at exams is good, but Keko Badenoch’s PR strategy - how I caused another pupil to be expelled - is demented.

Sentry Duty

Almost at the finishing line for holidays, so here's a photo of my cat impersonating Fu Manchu

And now the storm’s broken

Big storm a-brewing in Sussex

Is this a woodpecker following me around?

BBC News on top Pravda form this morning.

A fascinating detail about what was involved in applying for silk in the early 80s, from Thomas Grant’s brilliant The Mandela Brief

What’s the German word for the depressing pleasure of finding artefacts from your childhood in a museum

This is an outstanding piece of court reporting, about the near chaos of the Marten Gordon trial

Watching #liveaid, I remember how some of the acts (Beach Boys, Who) looked so old at the time, it was ridiculous, like your parents turning up And realising I’m now at least ten years older than they all were then

“It’s funny. His hair’s so tall and his body’s so short” Bono, being destroyed there

“He looks like he’s going to the office” My 15 year old daughter on Bryan Ferry at Live Aid.

End of primary school prize day. 36 pupils, 36 prizes. Reminds me of the Simpsons episode where to avoid a lawsuit, Homer gets the First Annual Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence

Getting ready for a great day of tennis

TLDR: - W appeal dismissed - Confirms non-mat assets are not shared (death of Mostyn’s white leopard: [48-49], sharing normally on an equal basis [50] - Moylan LJ’s ‘source is everything’ disapproved – instead it’s a question of intention; (2) matrimonialisation not conducted ‘narrowly’

Hard to think of anything about this film (on bbc2 now) which isn’t perfect. Including the titles

Garden visitor

Is the point of the 1975 that they’ve blended all of the worst acts from the mid 80s? It’s like Go West fronted by a cross between Nick Kamen and Terence Trent DArby. Or have I missed the joke?

Thank you to whoever saw the AirPod charger I left on the tube and placed it for safe keeping. It took some time to retrace my steps using Find My device, but I’m delighted to be reunited with it

What a day for a case to settle in Leeds, in time to pick up a ticket for Headingley!

But would Trump have bombed Iran if he hadn’t been called TACO? My gut instinct is just as he rose on calling people names (Sleepy Joe, Low Energy Jeb) he’s starting a war to show he doesn’t chicken out