As I unexpectedly have one tooth fewer than this morning, I will cancel my other plans for the day, feel sorry for myself and finally begin reading Flesh

Very important now for all of us who work with young people to make it very clear to them that they can still come to us about things they see online that scare or concern them, even if it's something they are banned from accessing, and we won't be angry with them.

One reason i think everyone should take an archaeology class is to internalise with tangible examples that there is no pure, natural past utopia and that antibiotics and vaccines are what stand between us and a 50% child mortality rate and scores of women dying needlessly during pregn and birth

The Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, one of the most sacred places in the Orthodox Christian world, is being consumed by flames right now after a Russian strike

If you remember how the world reacted to the Notre Dame catching on fire in Paris - the Lavra site is not only older, but also more significant in Ukrainian (and regional) Orthodoxy. The Lavra is an example of Ukrainian Baroque style.

Congratulations to Ukraine and Moldova. Incredible to think that the sequence of events that led to this point began in 2013 when Putin pressured the then-Ukrainian president into backing out of an EU Association Agreement because he didn't like Ukraine getting any closer to the EU.

Everyone on X and elsewhere who called for a violent response should be charged with incitement. Everyone involved in the pogrom should be locked up with exemplary sentences. Govt should make it clear that will be the response in future anywhere else. Enough.

Condemning riots isn't enough. We need policy action, including an immediate appraisal of X as a vehicle for coordinating far-right disorder. And we need political leadership, to challenge white nationalism as an idea, not to validate it daily and then complain when it turns violent.

This is exactly it. The work is the point.

Yet another report making a plea from children and young people to have quicker and easier access to meaningful support where you can talk to a REAL PERSON that understands you. With findings mirroring other disjointed systems - universities, for example. www.nuffieldfoundation.org/evidence-and...

Life goal: Get a plaque this good

video games led me to believe i'd be spending a lot more of my life crouching, i barely ever crouch

This is a really informative and perceptive account of the history of the first centuries of evangelicalism. Also, the whole Origin Story podcast is one of the smartest podcasts in my feed, so subscribe whilst you are at it.

Hi world! I am looking to fairly intensively learn Romanian 🇷🇴(either 1-1 teaching or intensive courses) and looking for tips for good places to do that - preferably online. #romanian #languagelearning

Several UK universities nearly ran out of cash last year, says report ft.trib.al/NNsn0Ok

Kann ich sehr empfehlen! @snellarthur.bsky.social erklärt die geopolitischen Konsequenzen des Klimawandels!

Good morning

Every summer I repost this article on how to spot drowning. Please read it and pass on. In the last few years I’ve had SIX messages from people who saved a kid’s life after clicking on the link from my feed. slate.com/technology/2...

Long Night of the Churches 2026 - was the Baptist Church of Bad Ischl we filled our town park with fun, food and laughter. Big shout out to the wonderful team from Winfree who smoked an amazing BBQ spread - and to all the volunteers that made it possible

Taking the American mission team to see some local hills

Heatwave in the UK. OK, I grew up in Italy, and when it is very hot and you have no air-conditioning, you do this - 1) Unless there's a good breeze, CLOSE all the windows and draw all the blinds and curtains until sunset. The outside air is hot, you do not want it inside with you. 2) DRINK WATER

Will Paddington 4 explore how he became the national Grim Reaper?

1. London Underground station flooding has reportedly been reduced by around 90% thanks to a group of engineers: beavers. After conservationists reintroduced a family of beavers into a nearby city park, the animals built dams and restored wetlands that now absorb and slow floodwater naturally.

Just finished Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five. It’s not very original to observe this, but holy cow, it’s a masterpiece. It’s at once a very serious book about war and PTSD/trauma, and extremely funny, compassionate, and joyful. What an omission that it wasn’t in the Guardian best novels list

british fan chat

Book review: Borderlines by Lewis Baston. This is a mixture of travel and history as he visits 29 famous and obscure European borders, debunking territorial revisionism. If there is one message from this brilliant book, it is to leave borders well alone. balkandave.blogspot.com/2026/03/bord...

Kingdom Over Nation. Brand new Bible studies from Churches Together in England in response to the rise of Christian nationalism. The resource explores discernment, justice, hospitality, power, ideology, and faithful Christian witness in today’s world. https://bit.ly/CTEKON

After three days with the German Baptists in Kassel, I am looking forward to being back home - mountains are a welcome sight!

I’ve read 30/100. There are some more on here I’d really like to read. I’m not sure novels are even a thing that bear direct comparison in this way, but lists like this do at least get us thinking, arguing and reading, so hooray for that www.theguardian.com/books/ng-int...

This fascinating 1911 resolution from the Baptist World Alliance urged Baptists to 'protest against the extension of the warfield into the air.' baptistworld.org/bwa-resoluti...

Resolution des deutschen Baptistenbundes: "Wir fordern die Bundesregierung auf, den Rechtsstaat zu schützen und sich für die Beachtung der Menschenrechte und des Völkerrechts ... und die Bewahrung der Schöpfung (einzusetzen)" www.befg.de/aktuelles-sc...

A lot of this is relevant for pastoral work, too

In other news, this is the sort of letter to which journalists should aspire

Morning walk

Got home from the US to find @lucysixsmith.bsky.social "When the Music Fades" in the postbox and I've read nearly all of it in one sitting this afternoon. So many things to wrestle with here, a really important book.

The model of the Parenzana, the narrow gauge railroad in Istria turned into a bike path in Italy, Slovenia and Croatia, was an absolute joy

After 12 years, the EU flag is back on Hungary’s Parliament building — the new Speaker’s very first decision. A happy Schuman Day indeed.

Péter Magyar has been sworn in as prime minister of Hungary. Hungary's Viktor Orbán era is officially over.

Back in bonny Bad Ischl after 11 days away.

Back in Europe. One more short flight to go

Sir David Attenborough… on your 100th birthday, we thank you. For a lifetime dedicated to the natural world, and for sharing its story with such grace and wonder. Generations have fallen in love with nature because of you. Happy birthday, Sir. 🎉

Farewell, USA. Thank you for ten days of wonderful meetings with great people - and some fantastic food Until next time

Was great to spend an hour with Revd Dr Elijah Brown, General Secretary of the Baptist World Alliance. Grateful for his ministry and to have Baptist World Alliance as a partner

This is an astonishingly successful public policy reform, and so heartening. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Richmond, Virginia

You may not like it, but this is what peak Anglicanism looks like.

Evening walk

Old truth indeed- from the Desert Fathers: "A brother confessed to Abba Sisoes: 'I fell, Father. What do I do now?' 'Get up,' the holy elder told him." (1/2)

Romania in food

Romania in food