When I was a teenager there was a bus direct from my hometown in Germany to London - we had a British army base, and this direct bus connection was one of the benefits of that. One summer I went on that bus to go volunteer in an old people's home in Southend-on-Sea. I had just turned 18 and was... 🧵

“I’m trying to find a monastery where all the monks are over six foot five” “That’s a tall order”

These very true words from Steve Hely have given me tremendous comfort over the years.

Coming soon from @christhebarker.bsky.social and me...

This is very powerful. #MentalHealth

The true question right now is whether you believe in the moral character of the British public. If you do, you'll want to have the fight with Reform. You'll believe that the public will hate the idea of breaking up families, spying on & deporting people who've worked here for years.

Written 206 years ago today. • John Keats •

Aardman presumably gutted to have missed out on this title. "It's a smashing machine, Gromit!"

In London, hate will never win.

I've written to Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage, urging them to join me in condemning Elon Musk's dangerous remarks inciting violence yesterday. As leaders, we must stand together and make clear Musk will face serious consequences for these actions.

Absolutely !!!insane!!! to me that the UK government, lobby and newspapers litigate at length every minor infraction by the BBC, rival newspapers, or what some random columnist has posted. But all of them just carry on not even commenting about this media owner. He’s not hiding, he’s telling you!

One of the strangest ironies of the last ten years has been watching Britain immersing itself as deeply as ever in memories of WW2 while proudly turning its back on the project that emerged from it.

Talk to me of C3P0 #sci-folk @quantick.bsky.social

Anyway, we’re using our very tiny income to create a paid route into comedy & give a portfolio & experience to freelance writers with no credits needed, while adding roughly £2k to their annual income in exchange for 6 short paragraphs of writing a week. If that opportunity sucks, keep moving.

The Bear Tapestry

Headline needs work

The ever-eloquent @rafaelbehr.bsky.social pointedly refusing to mince his words on what Farage has done for us. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Feeling rather proud today. The first time a show I’ve made has had a Radio Times front cover. Starts on 5th September on C4.

fancy forty-five minutes of impeccable sketch comedy? here you go: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

I think Trump is genuinely keen to end the Ukraine war, (because of his Nobel obsession, not any shred of humanity). But he has no idea how to do that and is incapable of listening to people that could tell him how. So his peace 'plan' has little chance. open.substack.com/pub/arthursn...

"Outside of a modest community of journalists, politicians and think tankers on BlueSky, the British political class is basically strapped to a website which has been designed to encourage radicalisation." @iandunt.bsky.social insight on the shite-stirring right.

So - why are so many right wing commentators salivating over the idea of societal collapse, exactly...? My latest

I keep seeing generative AI being used on stuff for kids, like maybe they won’t notice, or it doesn’t matter as much. The opposite is true. Anyone who’s created anything for kids knows you should make more effort for them, not less.

Running into stationary objects can be painful, according to a recent pole.

Leadership from DioNY. Hope to see this kind of clarity continue, and that the work being done here will benefit others across the country

This is so perfect. “ALL IN THAT ORDER.” And sorry, which other woman are we talking about again?

New YouGov polling. A monumental failure of our political class to educate, a monumental failure of our media to report fairly, for a generation

Ridiculous situation. A man who has spent the last thirty years being one of the most inventive, prolific and funniest stand-ups out there. You should make a beeline for this, I'd say.

NO MORE MISTER NIGHT SKY.

Hard relate to this opener to @annasavory.bsky.social’s latest newsletter - and also the only air fryer story you’ll ever need

And if you haven’t got all of Tom Lehrer’s stuff - as audio files and/or PDF of the words and music then get to tomlehrersongs.com and grab them - legally and with Tom’s express permission.

The first time I heard "Poisoning Pigeons In the Park," I assumed it was some modern song made in a mocking parody of 1950s songs because I could not CONCEIVE of a song as hilarious and subversive as this having actually come out in that age. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTzr...

My last living musical hero is still my hero but unfortunately no longer living. RIP to the great, great Mr. Tom Lehrer.

“Oh the world’s out of tune This July afternoon For Tom Lehrer Is leaving The park…” Such a loss to dark and disturbing comedy sung to a catchy tune. This man’s work is a key part of my comedy DNA.

A story in two parts...

A statement on the situation in Gaza.

This piece on autism by @reporterrwright.ft.com is beautifully written and very wise.

Proms season again, innit. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...

We are past the mid point of July, the air is warm, the dahlias are flowering. Is it time to start relaxing for the summer, winding down and having some fun? NO IT ISN’T. Only Connect returns Monday night, 8pm on BBC Two.

It is spectacular that here in the UK our society has become so miserly that we are genuinely talking about the possible arrival of people who literally saved the lives of tons of our literal brothers and sisters and uncles and aunts, as NATO soldiers in Afghanistan, in terms of it being a problem.

Ridiculous framing on its own terms - a government arranging entry is not 'smuggling'

I’d quite forgotten this and it’s magnificent.

Been changing some book genres for b3ta

At the back of your kitchen cupboard is something pickled or preserved in a jar that you were given for Christmas several years ago that you’ve never quite felt like eating. Throw it out now.

I got permission to share this, and I'm extremely grateful for that. The Onion got this letter from one of our subscribers in Alaska. She works with dementia patients and decided to leave a copy in the car for each one. This email made my year. Read it and you'll see what I mean. People are good.

God tier punchline

Morning.

Apparently a Conservative from Valletta fearful of flooding, stopped investing in a high-rise garage and instead built a ship for his koi collection. It was a wait for it Maltese Tory carp ark. Enjoy your weekend.

For those with a hangover from yesterday's Hannan Day celebrations. Good Morning.