Filing two pieces by 16.49 on the second day of the working year is painful, I tell you. Painful. If you need me, I'll be re-reading Wuthering Heights for the rest of the week.

I know there isn't, but I wish there was DEFINITIVE PROOF as to whether one takes Christmas decs down tomorrow, after Twelfth Night, or today, on Twelfth Night.

Albert Camus died in a car crash on January 4, 1960, in a rare sports car, a Facel Vega FV3B, owned & driven by his friend & publisher Michel Gallimard, who died 5 days later.

A part-angel, part-ghost, who keeps vigil over the dying as they breathe their last.

I read Liam Higginson's - great - creepy debut, The Hill in the Dark Grove, and either wanted to bury it in the garden and forget about it or write about it. (Now maybe I can bury it.)https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/hill-dark-grove-liam-higginson-review-3nl7jxzpz?gaa_at=eafs

With so many people taking up setting recently, I’ve put together a quick guide to help you get started. www.mycrossword.co.uk/blog/becomin...

We don't need an elf on the shelf because we've got a

Amy: What's that? I thought I saw someone pass the window. What time is it? Charles: Nearly twenty to seven. (The Family Reunion - TS Eliot)

Favourite Paris-set novels I might not know, anyone? Rich in Pastis-fuelled atmosphere, peut-etre? svp.

⭕ OPINION: A deep dive into Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili — the billionaire who sees himself as ‘Georgia’s disappointed saviour’.

This doesn't work if you're freelance.

How about a diy version? - www.reddit.com/r/somethingi...

Ever wondered what has happened at 6.59am in a novel, any novel? Well for £200 this Moma clock will tell you. And no, it's not a wind up. store.moma.org/en-gb/produc...

Yr 6 Dress-up-to-honour-Suffragettes Day does nothing to honour parents with nothing for their kids to dress up in to honour Suffragettes. Unless... would a blood-stained dress be too much?

After 48-hour of bankrupting cat vet hell, never been more pleased to be woken at 5.22am with subdued but insistent, pitiful meows for food. Celebrating with my laptop, coffee, a blanket and the tree lights. And the cat. (Disclaimer so I don't jinx anything, he may or may not be on the mend.)

I mean, I did know already know all this, but this piece on how certain books are suddenly everywhere is quite a fun read. www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...

Thank you Julia - and credit to my wife Karen too :)

Watching your feature get edited in real time in Google Docs might be a no-no but it's quite a ride.

Has anyone ever got a 17yo a flu vaccine? The NHS won't do it if they're healthy on paper. Nor will private clinics. Yet he's had a term of sore throats and next term will be A-level crazy. Yes, I've asked the Drs and a chemists and tried a private clinic. SHRUG.

Anyone after a Warren Buffett Squishmallow for Christmas? www.ebay.co.uk/itm/35727123...

Nobody Wants This makes being a Jewish mother look really fun.

I really cannot bear the thought of another winter in this horrible place. It will kill me, and I'd prefer to die somewhere else.

If you can't get tickets for the Almeida's The Line of Beauty (adapted by Jack Holden), worry not, well, worry a bit, but book for Kenrex instead, which Holden wrote and stars in. You will not regret. And/or read my FT interview with Jack Holden. www.ft.com/content/de45...

Thrilled (not surprised) to see this ***** review for Kenrex from @sarahhemm.bsky.social My fave show of the year.

Still can't see that anagram indicator, mind.

Do it. Give it. Buy it.

Also - ahem - some short stories

Gift ideas for a 14yo boy, please, that aren't a new (second hand) phone... ??

Not to gloat, but the 11yo had a question in a test on less versus fewer. Might be the only thing she got right!

Christmas* cryptic (crossword) corner meet up, tomorrow night, The Montpelier, Peckham, 6.30pm. Join us if you fancy. *not really Christmas, just December, but I might buy extra crisps *and* those Scampi Fries.

Just learnt that Yr Wyddfa means burial mound. Which sends a spine shiver. Strong urge to be in Eryri this morning.

The "Major Events" timelines on the White House page is Quite Something www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-wh...

Is Gen X actually the Greatest Generation? (rhetorical Q, natch.) www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/t...

A brilliant, infuriating piece on the feckless Environment Agency and TVP which also introduced me to the risks of going to my local Sainsbury’s.

@neilretail.com Hi Neil - I'd love to talk to you for a piece I'm writing for the Telegraph - could you possibly email me please? I'm susiemesure AT gmail Thank you and best wishes, Susie

The rainy Monday morning after a weekend of hosting a big party. OUCH.

I have a weird, specific question - especially for anyone in the US. Does anyone hold Build-a-Bear stock? And would you talk to me for sth if so, please?

Here it is... www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGeC...

Ah, rubbish news. If you get a chance watch him doing 'many rivers to cross' on Jools Holland on youtube. Jaw-droppingly good.

There needs to be a new expression for Solvej Balle fans who have wasted their 19th November. (GUILTY.)

I hope all the international men have had a nice day x

❄️WINTER READING SALE ❄️ We’re running a winter sale on our website until 11.59 p.m. GMT on 19 December, with a 30 per cent discount across our website, including Fiction, Essay, Classics and Poetry titles, subscriptions, collections and tote bags. ❄️ Shop now: bit.ly/4oRFpxc

Sure, I read a style Substack yesterday about jeans and heels. But I wore jeans and running trainers last night to a Yelle gig and, being late, I could sprint walk to make it, so, really, who's the winner? And they were good for dancing.

Remembering this time last week when I woke in near total silence and wrote a "long and rambling article" about "an interesting subject" (according to one BTL a***hole). www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/e6a50fa...

I am very much here for Riot Women chat.

A delightfully silly south London story

So delighted with getting our boiler fixed (new condensate pump) after "only" three days with no hot water, that I've *even* filled in a customer care survey.

This looks great.

Question, please: if you're self-employed, and working from home, what percentage of your home mortgage and bills etc are you okay to claim as an expense?