The Japanese are going to be very confused when they wake up tomorrow emperor-less and with mosques on every street corner

British democracy is alive and well 😌

That feels incredibly undeserved by Argentina… not to mention the ref’s more than questionable decisions. Great play by Egypt!

“After nonsensically rambling for the past 10 minutes, I’m now going to tell you that I’m resigning as an MP of the constituency where I never am just to launch an unnecessary and costly by-election to hopefully be re-elected for my own personal glory & continue not to serve the people of Clacton.”

It’s honestly been very frustrating and pretty sad seeing so many Americans of all flavours defending FIFA’s decision. This is not normal, government interference is explicitly banned, and it’s especially problematic considering Infantino and Trump’s pally relationship.

Now knowing for certain that Trump was at least partly behind this, it really doesn’t help the numerous accusations of corruption. This in turn will of course also besmirch much American success moving forward, which is a shame when they’re a legitimately strong and competitive team.

Such a quirky concept!

I’m pleased to say I succeeded in growing one (1) edible flower. So, because I am innately extra, instead of simply eating it, I made a whole elaborate cake to go with it - and it tastes pretty good, too!

Watched that match in an English pub in Utrecht, and the cheers from those two goals set off multiple noise level alerts (and were equalled only by the booing of that penalty not being awarded) 😅 Let’s go England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Today in the Netherlands in June, on the same latitude as Canada’s Edmonton, we hit 41.6°C (~107°F). Not only is this unheard of, it’s sadly only a sign of things to come if we don’t get our act together. Climate change is real, and it doesn’t care if you don’t believe in it.

Pope Leo XIV as my closest match? What a surprise…!

Me clutching my third lunchtime wine of the day: OVER MY DEAD BODY.

Seeing England trying to get into juuuuust the right position to shoot for goal is like watching my dog going round and round in circles to make sure things are juuuuust right before lying down… JUST DO IT.

The Starmer government was one of the most left-leaning we’ve had that was almost never identified as such.

One point that was raised on the BBC just before the resignation was how “the political turbulence of the Brexit referendum” had impacted British politics. Ten years down the line and the question of Europe is still one that permeates everything. But I think it also had an impact in a different way.

“I’ve seen him come out and test the microphones umpteen times over the last few years… he probably never thought that when he got that job that he would be doing it quite so regularly.” “I think he’s known on the internet as Hot Podium Guy, John… and I don’t think that’s a reference to the sun.”

The Iranians may not be the best at offence, but they’re flipping good at defence. Then again, I guess we’ve learnt that over the past few months…

My hatred for the “hydration break” is second only to my hatred for AI.

this will get a hundredth as much attention as a reflecting pool or a squabble with Meloni, but hundreds of thousands will die, because of Trump and Rubio’s racism www.bbc.com/news/article...

What an absolutely beautiful match to watch - good quality football from both teams from start to finish. And after the shooting, theft and natural disasters before their first game even happened, I feel it’s only fair England finally got a win out of this World Cup. Great start! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a country lose so badly without its leadership realising it - this is the humiliation of a Superpower akin to what the European powers in the second half of the twentieth century experienced. It’s hard to see how the US reverses its fortunes: Pax Americana seems dead.

Very impressive from Curaçao to get the same scoreline against Germany as Brazil.

“Human dignity has no passport & does not lose its value when crossing a border… May the God who, in the evening of life, will judge us on our love, grant us the grace to recognise Him today in the poor & in foreigners, & free us from viewing the suffering of others as if it did not concern us.”

Took a week, but the Gay Powers™️ have been restored for Pride Month ✂️🌈

I want the Prime Minister on the television condemning this in explicit terms and removing the whip from any Blue Labour MP who tries to whitewash this.

I’ve been expected to work on this, the First Day of Pride Month. The homophobia is ASTOUNDING.

Het extreemrechtse geweld is niet uit de lucht komen vallen. Het is aangejaagd door jarenlange zondebokpolitiek van de VVD en al haar afsplitsers.

Very fortunate that Whit Monday coincided with such beautiful weather this year, resulting in a fun day of cycling around the local area: viewing the local manor house, exploring some nature, chilling on the beach, and reading my new book. A truly lovely day!

I really should set up a daily reminder telling everyone that the score to “How to Train Your Dragon” is one of the best written, that it works for whatever mood/emotional state you’re in, and that it is good for your wellbeing to listen to it at least once a week.

“Asteroid to brush past Earth: ‘It’s almost impossible for it to get any closer without impact’” You know what, asteroid, just come and put us out of our misery.

On the lead up to Pentecost, my Church is doing evening prayer in different languages every day, and I was asked to lead today’s English one. After a decade of worship in Dutch, it was a genuine blessing to be able to pray in my own language in my own Church. So spiritually enriching.

Today, I’m thankful for the nation of Bulgaria

“Run for parliament”

I can get people’s frustration with Starmer - and the Labour Party as a whole - but 1) this constant revolving door policy regarding Prime Ministers is not good for actually getting things done; and 2) Streeting is not popular among the voters Labour need to win back.

There’s nothing quite like a springtime walk with my little buddy

About 1.5 years ago, I severely injured my foot to the degree that I could barely walk (even getting downstairs in the morning was difficult and left me close to tears) let alone run. Today, for the first time since 2020, I ran a half marathon *and* got a new PB of 1:46:17. I’m so proud of myself 🥹🥳

The Welsh really just went “It’s either Nationalism (Welsh) or Nationalism (British)”, eh?

There are many days, but especially days like today, when I wonder what the “Chaos with Ed Miliband” timeline looks like 🥲

The Greens have an antisemitism problem, Reform (and the Tories) have an Islamophobia problem, Labour have a fumbled the ball problem. I understand the frustration with and deep disappointment in Labour, but every time we drift too far to the edges in politics, extremism and hatred dwell.

Ontroerende en zelfs heftige verhalen gehoord over de slachtoffers en (verzets)strijders van WOII en daarna. Altijd triest maar het is ook goed dat wij jaarlijks stilstaan om ons de levensveranderende en intergenerationele last en trauma van oorlog en geweld te doen herinneren. Nooit meer. Nooit.

It’s that time of the year when I don’t know whether my eyes are hurting because I’m tired, because my hay fever is acting up, or both 🥲

Went on the longest run I’ve done in 5.5 years and somehow smashed both my 15k and 10-mile records, getting TWO PBs 🥳 I may have been achy, exhausted and massively dehydrated by the end of it, but goodness I’m proud of myself!

George en ik wensen jullie allemaal een hele fijne Koningsdag! Laten we er een mooie dag van maken. Lang leve de koning! 🥳👑🧡

I would love to run a bakery/café with a cosy upstairs room that shows a classic film every evening (which can be enjoyed with a nice cocktail and a freshly baked piece of cake). Maybe add in an afternoon language café hour? That’s the dream 😌

My favourite thing about this week is that my hay fever decided to act up at the exact moment I was telling my students off for not doing their homework, and it looked like I was about to cry because of it 🙃

Being the US’s “ally” seems to be a lot shittier for Europe than being its “enemy” does for Russia…

Jesus wept. Pray for the souls of the poor innocents who were murdered in cold blood, their families and friends, and for a change in the vicious system which continues to allow this brutality to happen in the name of gun rights and freedom.

Started the day off pretty solidly by running my own quarter marathon and getting a 10k PB (46:13). Feeling rather chuffed about all of that, especially as it’s the first time I’ve run those distances this year 😄🥳