Following the King's address, the combined choir of "Songs for Ukraine" and the Royal Opera House Choir performed the English version of the Ukrainian song "Shchedryk," known as "Carol of the Bells."

The Boxing Day test begins shortly, with England out of the series & hoping to salvage some pride. In v similar circs in 2006, the fourth test did not go well, but England were 100-2 before collapsing to 159 all out. That tour was 0-5.

I saw most of this. I’d only just started going to games when Clough arrived. I couldn’t understand why we didn’t immediately start winning and my dad patiently explained why these things take time. That was in the days when managers were given time.

RIP John Robertson. One of most striking example of a player & manager transforming each other: he was not a first team regular in the second division for Forest when Clough arrived yet became central to winning promotion, the league title and two European Cups! www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Courage, sacrifice and communities coming together in adversity "are the values which have shaped our country and the Commonwealth. As we hear of division, both at home and abroad, they are the values of which we must never lose sight", says the King in his televised Christmas Day message

Happy Christmas from Billericay

Happy Christmas to you all

good choice! higher res version here btw :) static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/...

Its Christmas Eve, so it has to be this

2025 in review: what can we learn from the flag protests? My challenge for 2026: what can we do to show how our national flags can & do represent pride, not prejudice. I spoke to Niall Paterson for Sky News review of the moments of the year youtu.be/C14RvF5XprM?...

Martha Stewart joins Snoop Dogg and Luka Modric as co-owners (investors) in Swansea City FC is an unlikely headline www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

I was particularly touched by Daneshgar's account of what it meant to her to have been given a bicycle. Daneshgar, whose activism for women's right to ride bicycles forced her to flee Afghanistan, said: “For me, it’s more than a bicycle. It’s freedom.”

I've been aware for a while of the work by faith and other community groups to support people seeking asylum. So I asked the @refugeecouncil.bsky.social where there was really vigorous community support. They said Northallerton. Here's what I found when I went there: as.ft.com/r/b3449fbd-3...

Thank you for posting and for your helpful comments, @sundersays.bsky.social Anyone lacking a subscription can register and read three articles monthly free at www.ft.com/register

A place of welcome: how Northallerton in Yorkshire is rallying around to help asylum seekers (FT) www.ft.com/content/1d11...

The League Cuo has kept a two-legged semi-final, while abolishing not just replays but extra-time before penalties up to the quarter-finaı They do bring back extra-time before penalties in the semifinal secomd leg and final

Last time they won the League Cup Newcastle United: 2025 Man City: 2021 Chelsea: 2015 Arsenal: 1993 (Crystal Palace haven't won it)

YouGov have Reform on 25% in both their first poll of 2025 and their final poll before Christmas. The only significan sustained gain across 2025 was Green Party +7, at expense of Labour Reform 25% tp 25% (-) Labour 26% to 20% (-6) Cons 22% to 19% (-3) LibDems 14% to 15% (+1) Greens 8% to 15% (+7)

Labour when 4th on 18% is current second choice for a third of 18% who intend Green vote [Could get +6% there] a third of 10% who intend LD vote [Could get +3% there] a tenth of the 22% intending Cons [could get +2% there] 1 in 50 of the 25% intend vote Reform [could + 0.5% there] (Ashcroft)

“And which of these parties would be your SECOND choice to be in government, whether alone or in a coalition?” 22% intending to vote Cons say Reform 43% LibDems 30% Labour 11% Greens 6% [47% prefer prog parties to Reform 43%] 25% intending to vote Reform Cons 76% LibDem 10% Greens 6% Labour 2%

The FT made "Remigration" word of the year. X - characteristically - defended the most indefensible responses. Though X also routinely keeps up tweets even after the system notices they break its rules (with a 'may violate the rules' flag)

Egypt trail Zimbabwe 1-0 at half-time in their opening game (currently showing on the 4seven channel) They are second favourites, behind hosts Morocco, for the African Cup of Nations, along with Senegal and Algeria, but the 7-time champions haven't won it since 2010

The final "Party Games" episode of Yes Minister - the bridge to Yes Prime Minister - is on BBC4 at 9pm

“Let them call you racists. Let them call you xenophobes. Let them call you nativists. Wear it as a badge of honor.” They're taking Steve Bannon at his word

Tate is probably lying in accusing himself of various crimes to save face!

Views of more/less/similar quite even, with few significant differences in these results by social class, age, political party. Partly reflects a not very familiar term "social mobility" to general public, as well as mixed views of various aspects of it

Vance makes an explicit no enemies to our right + no racism boundaries at all ("self-defeating purity tests") offer to the Trump coalition.

It has been too little discussed how Musk's great replacement obsession & the "civilisational collapse" Trump doctrine + about a Europe that is 80-90% white when the USA is at 60% ... it is hand in glove with a hierarchy of Americans by ethnicity and faith

Progress on Reform anti-racism norms? Chris Parry, while still defending his own call for David Lammy to "go home to the Caribbean" condemn (a bit grumpily) a Reform supporter who tells Ben Obese-Jecty MP to "go bsck to Africa as well you prick" as "abhorrent, bigoted& against all our principles"

El Kaabi of Morocco with a McTominay-style goal for the hosts on the opening night of the African Cup of Nations!

A majority of the voting public would probably, in a 2019 General Election, prefer any viable alternative from a major parry to Farage. That doesn't guarantee Reform couldn't get in (on comparative bloc fragmentation or differential turnout) but it is a handicap if he is the main contender

Belatedly discovered a fully forced Q further down the Michael Ashcroft poll: 40% of people currently intending to vote Con would rather have Starmer as PM than Farage lordashcroftpolls.com/2025/12/daft...

So I've made a workable-but-basically-rubbish #AFCON25 which prints out on A3; I'll happily email versions to anyone who wants it; free but make a charity donation if you like

What are you reading over the Christmas holiday? Alan Holinghurst's Our Evenings has begun promisingly. My twin sister has posted me a book token, which I am looking forward to using too, but not sure about fiction or nonfiction

Channel 4 have African Cup of Nations rights, with every game streaming live. But they are not doing a highlights programme, so doing the group stage with minimum effort/capacity, with a full studio team for the opening game & for Egypt v South Africa on boxing day www.channel4.com/press/news/e...

Hearts have won the Scottish league four times, most recently in 1960. They are going to be top of the league for Christmas after beating Rangers today

Chelsea's women have responded strongly to their defeat by Everton a fortnight ago, winning 9-1 at Liverpool in the League Cup quarter final today

More recent poll (28 Nov-2 Dec) from Ipsos: “If you had to choose, which party would you prefer to win the next UK general election and form the next govt?” 2024 Tory voters: “Reform UK led by Nigel Farage” 58% “The Labour Party led by Keir Starmer” 14%

If forced to choose, 25% of those intending to vote Tory would prefer Starmer as PM to Farage – @YouGov Sep d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/Fa...

I think a productive UK/EU policy for Labour government is to maintain its red lines for this parliament, while starting duscussion in 2026 about its 2029 manifesto for post-2029 negotiations. That could ditch the red lines seeking a "green light" mandate to explore all options short of rejoin

Immigration salience has less to do with aggregate Immigration numbers than - visibility of boats & asylum > visas - general vibes about integration - elite cues from media & political discourse in shaping public perceptions This is more true when immigration is falling then when it is rising

www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/walesh... (the case that established that there wasn’t actually a law against it was 1884 and is quite a story involving an eccentric Welsh doctor practising as a Druid cremating his tragically young son in the open just as the local chapels came out of Sunday service)

England have scored 102-1 on the morning of the fifth day, to reach 309-7 from 207-6 But England would still need 126 runs without losing 3 wickets for a miracle in Adelaide to keep the series alive. Lunchtime in Australia. Bedtime in England. Will watch the final session/s in the morning.

England get within 150 but lose the seventh wicket, as Smith makes 60 but gets caught. They needed Root or Stokes to get a century to keep this unlilkely chase alive.

Rain stops play at the Ashes! Almost certainly for no time at all

Mr Parry of Reform says it is silly to say he called for anyone to be deported, when asked for a similar example to his tweet justifying to Zarah Sultana the call for her deportation by Calgie of the Express [who apologised and withdrew it]. He says other people can't read plain English!!

Reform's Chris Parry tweets "unfulfilled" to signal that he in 2025 still seeks to fulfil Enoch Powell's 1968 call for the mass repatriation of migrants + minorities from Britain. This was in response to criticism of his telling David Lammy to "go home" & questioning Lenny Henry's loyalty to Britain

“Enoch Powell says he wants to give me £1,000 to go back to where I came from. Which is great, because it’s only 20p on the bus from here to Dudley.” - Lenny Henry

Reform’s Chris Parry doubts the Britishness of Sir Lenny Henry too

David Gauke assesses whether Conservative rising morale - from funereal to the possibility of survival, or even an advance - is vibes or has something to it conservativehome.com/2025/12/15/d...