After an absurdly scenic seaplane ride, we arrived at LUX Maldives. Where we were greeted by the charming Gabriella, with a lemon-scented towel — the first of many unbearable luxuries. Cocktails, signatures, then our villa with flower messages, fruit, cake, and champagne. The suffering continues. 😉

Good morning. The sun has risen over our beach villa. It’s glorious. Our first night at LUX set the tone at East Market — imagine an Asian street market floating over turquoise water, live cooking stations everywhere, food so good it should come with a warning. The suffering continues, beautifully

Breakfast at Lux Maldives, bare feet mandatory. Sandy beach, thatched roofs, breezy perfection. Buffet so generous it’s a heroic struggle. Staff already know our names. Everything you could wish for. The suffering continues, deliciously.

Just stumbled across this on Apple and… wow. Instantly transported me back to the early ’80s—vinyl on the hi-fi, hairspray in the air, that mix of nostalgia and drama that only that decade could pull off. It’s easy to forget just how incredible Streisand’s voice is. music.apple.com/gb/album/gui...

Well, my CT angiogram yesterday evening didn’t quite go to plan — my heart refused to slow down below 60 bpm, despite heroic efforts from IV beta blockers 😅 Radiology were excellent and have rescheduled it for after I get back from the Maldives, so the sun, sand, and cocktails won for now.

More war crimes

Just finished Smith’s Rewriting the First Crusade—where half the “eyewitness letters” turned out to be monks play-acting at crusading with quills. Now I’m waiting on The Third Crusade (1189–1192): New Interpretations. Curious to see what’s left once the scholars are done with the myths.

Consequential Culture” equals Cancel Culture in a clown suit: the powerful get banquets, the powerless get cancelled, and language bends itself into Kafkaesque/Orwellian pretzels to make it all feel inevitable. Lee’s point: the rules aren’t applied equally. www.thenerve.news/p/stewart-le...

“Went to this place and asked for fish and chips. The guy gave me a funny look and said the only sides were rice or pitta bread. I asked if he meant he’d run out of chips, and he said no, no-one had ever asked him for chips with fish before, and personally he didn’t think they’d go together.” JF

So Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, has taken the position that it’s unacceptable to protest against Israel’s ongoing campaign of mass killings, not because of legality or public safety, but because such protests might ‘hurt the feelings’ of Jews living in the UK. How is it not antisemitic?

Jane Goodall’s gone. The world has lost more than a scientist today—it lost a lens into the soul of another species. She showed us that understanding and compassion aren’t just human traits—they can be a bridge between species, a guide for how we care for the world

This one always takes me back to the tribes I found, and lost, along the way. UK, Russia, South Africa… people I’ll probably never see again, but who shaped me all the same. youtu.be/XtRTA4u5QkU?...

A well-executed notice at Fulham Palace

1936: August Landmesser refused to salute Hitler while everyone else obeyed. One man, arms crossed, defying hate. Mobs are easy. Courage is rare. Be a Landmesser, not a follower.

Found this old photo. I’m 21, home on leave after my first year as a Cunard officer. Mum insisted on taking a photo. The result? Terrible lighting, a random straw fan stealing the spotlight—but somehow it nails the moment. First time in uniform at home, first time I really saw what it meant to her.

Copy and paste this if you know someone, or know someone who knows someone who vaguely remembers someone touched by someone. Don’t know anyone? Heard of anyone who doesn’t know anyone who isn’t secretly someone else? Still copy this. I’m watching. I know which friends will. Spread it.

Yes, I’ve posted this before. No, I don’t care. If cows are out there murdering more people than sharks, you deserve the reminder. Public safety announcement disguised as comedy. Also, skeleton knocking one out in a biscuit tin levels of funny.

“Now is the time for peace,” he says—after bombing nuclear sites and lighting the fuse. No remorse, no strategy, just ego and spectacle. We’ve learned nothing. The world drifts, leaderless, into ruin. This is how empires die—cheering their own madness.

Only a philistine would deny the unequivocal splendor and importance of Britain's lost and living pubs.

The Sagan Series – End of an Era by Reid Gower This video pays homage to Carl Sagan’s timeless vision of cosmic exploration. youtu.be/3wJYpRJQVbo

My childhood would’ve had you asking for the manager in ten minutes

Fuck responsibility and fuck the shopping! Let's go and have a spliff at the bottom of the garden?

My favourite kind of pub is the kind that it's difficult to tell which century you're in.

Don't save the good wine for a good day. Good wine is wasted on a good day. On a good day, all wine is good wine. Bad wine is good wine. Drink the good wine on a bad day. That's what it's for…the end.

Scarborough

Climate change is here, now. We will be wiped off the planet simply because there are not sufficient numbers of us willing to shift our comfort zones, even among those who understand the gravity of the situation we are in. And the situation requires a collective and immediate effort.

Trump says that Denmark has no legitimate legal claim to Greenland, despite the claim dating back to 1397. If that isn’t long enough, or if acquiring territory by force is considered illegitimate, it raises an uncomfortable questions about the entire concept of the United State?

One of Trumps ancestors I presume!

Hi

The light will return.

I had never heard of Maggie Rogers, until a short on YouTube grabbed my attention - I still don’t know anything about the artist, but this track blew me away. The lyrics are pure poetry. youtu.be/8BvRgwUisSg?...

Mr. Blue Sky is inarguably one of the most instantly recognisable songs of all time. It is also probably the most upbeat song ever released. youtu.be/aQUlA8Hcv4s?...

"I had concerns about Kimberly Gargoyle as Ambassador to Greece. I had a very stern conversation with her about the illicit drug use, pole dancing, lap-dancing, and her revealing outfits. She assured me it won't happen again, and I believe she has learned her lesson." DT

“I was walking along a path with two friends-the sky turned blood red –there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city – my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety – and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.” vimeo.com/33976373?fbc...

@captainscratchy.bsky.social my all time favourite - we need more Cow

Trump reiterated this morning on Meet the Press that he intends to end birthright citizenship. When told the 14th Amendment says all persons born in the US are citizens, he said, “Well, we’re going to have it changed. We have to end it.”

Weird Fishes for me, is song that explores the tension between surrender and survival, the pull of love and the inevitability of loss, and the possibility of finding renewal even after hitting rock bottom. youtube.com/watch?v=TNRC...

Just another day at work - I do five days a week 12 hours a day