Today is National Wine Day. And thanks to maptap.gg I learnt that during prohibition Joseph Gallo made a fortune selling concentrated grape juice with the warning "Do not place the liquid in this jug and put it away in the cupboard for twenty-one days, because then it would turn into wine."

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.

Pete the studio cat’s weekly report. “Another week of keeping this studio running. She does the designing. I do everything else. She wouldn’t last two minutes without me.” 🐾

Lovely idea! What would you add? I've put my most used books (over the years) in the comments.

This is a fascinating blog entry. Thanks to coding agents, teachers no longer have to “handhold students every single step but can show them goal posts that are far out and encourage them to reach them themselves … they will not only learn but also build up experiences and hone their creativity”

Muguet - lily of the valley - for sale today. Bought on May Day to bring luck for the rest of the year #FrenchTraditions #Paris

Well, this just sounds like Champagne can now bulk out its production with up to 10% of inoffensive, bland grape juice, and will presumably still charge the same #WineCynic

Here's some of the birds I've seen/heard from my bedroom window that have had a positive effect on my mental health. I'd be so grateful if you could help me gather a group of people together who enjoy watching/hearing birds out of their windows by sharing & adding your #birdingfrombed stories.🧵1/4

Sir Olly Robbins says there was an "atmosphere of pressure" to push through the Mandelson appointment: "as I arrived at post..I felt a generally dismissive attitude to his vetting clearance, the focus was on getting Manadelson out to Washington quickly"

I would be honoured if you would join me for gentle, advert-free and cost-free chatter. I would love your company and if you like what you hear, please repost or forward to people who might benefit from gentle chattering companionship and literary nourishment. 🙋‍♀️🐦‍⬛🤗 www.buzzsprout.com/2412300/epis...

Pre-ordered! Not sure how much use any new French vocabulary is likely to be, when shopping.

You have probably seen this roundup of good doggies already, but if not, I recommend it as a thoroughly cheering watch.

This is bad. In fact, not just bad, but very bad.

I can't even ...

Handy hints. If you are a Danish man, try not mansplaining tax to someone who is negotiating the UK/France double taxation treaty and is about to submit her first French tax return. It's not helpful.

"Making it up?" said Marvin, swivelling his head in a parody of astonishment, "Why should I want to make anything up? Life's bad enough as it is without wanting to invent any more of it."

Nasty evil little sh!t.

My eyes appear to be leaking.

A viral dog rescue from 2016 is now immortalized with a statue in Kazakhstan. When a dog fell into the Sayran reservoir, bystanders formed a human chain to pull him to safety. The statue is a reminder of the value of unity, solidarity and collective action. 14/10 for all

Some wonderful pieces in the Renoir Drawings exhibition at Musée d'Orsay. On till 5th July. Loved this wistful portrait of his friend Cezanne.

RIP Michel Rolland. The original Flying Winemaker has flown. Raised a glass or three of Clos de los Siete last night in his memory.

A Lesson's motmot, or Blue-diademmed motmot, taken on a night walk in Monteverde, Costa Rica. #BirdOfTheDay #Green #BirdPhotography

I wonder how he was thinking of getting round paying tax on that. Perhaps via the BVI?

The finest take down of the institution of monarchy and "class" and the grasping, greedy, venal, entitled, and very stupid people it enables that you will read today or any day. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

DON'T BUY TRAIN TICKETS IN ADVANCE! On 1 April, the government is quietly changing the rules. Off-Peak & Anytime tickets become non-refundable after 23:59 the day BEFORE you travel. If you wake up & find your event cancelled, NO REFUNDS, even on £100+ tickets. www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/far...

“Passage”, 2007 by German installation artist Cornelia Konrads #womensart #Spring

My husband @mjowen174.bsky.social is very down and it’s difficult to see. He had a thriving writing business until AI came along but now he’s struggling to find work. Please repost this far and wide in the hope that he can find some writing work. www.mathew-owen.co.uk

Today's amazing bird, seen in the Monteverde Cloud Forest, is the quetzal. It was associated in pre-Columbian civilisations with Quetzalcoatl, the bird-snake god of life, knowledge and the winds. Killing one was forbidden so they were trapped and then released for their tail feathers. #Birds

Best shot so far from our Costa Rica trip. All thanks to our guide's spotter scope and his ability to take pictures from it with my phone. A Golden-browed Chlorophonia in the Monteverde cloud forest.

A Golden-browed Chlorophonia, spotted by us today in the cloud forests of Monteverde, Costa Rica #BirdOfTheDay #BranchBirds

Louise V Durham, stained glass and driftwood sculpture, Shoreham by Sea, UK #WomensArt

Jancis revels in the glorious 2025 Loire vintage and her tasting of dry whites identifies some excellent 2024s, too. https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/loire-regains-its-gloire 📷 Emeline Boileau. #jancisrobinson #winereviews #loirewines @ft_weekend @vinsdeloire.officiel

Zone Rouge: An Area of France So Badly Damaged By WW1 That People Are Still Forbidden To Live There More about it: brilliantmaps.com/zone-rouge/

As if things weren’t bad enough …

1938!!! (Alfa Romeo gran turismo)

An interview recorded on the day Christians celebrate the conversion of St Paul on the road to Damascus.

Everything is shit. The mate of the Barnes swan, who every year faithfully raises her cygnets in and around the pond, has died. Most likely cause, avian flu. www.instagram.com/p/DT7WhKoCOl...

If you can, please donate to this important work to keep the memory of Ada alive, and also support a new generation of women in STEM.

Have you visited Paris and wondered where the water which gushes down the streets every morning, pushing dog poo into the drains, comes from? Answer: 19th C reservoirs, built on a hill just steps from the Arc de Triomphe. Water stored from the Seine uses gravity to clean streets and power fountains.

Wondered why rubbish bin in French is 'poubelle'? Today I learned that M. Poubelle, Préfet of the Seine 1883-96, invented the dustbin collection. "7 March 1884 Poubelle decreed: owners of buildings must provide residents with 3 covered containers of 40 to 120 litres to hold household refuse." 1/2

The Little Terns at Beacon Ponds have made a remarkable recovery, but they need urgent help to thrive in 2026. Your support can fund a professional warden, ensuring these birds are protected from threats. Please share and contribute if you can! gofund.me/83bf3bdd8

Fabulous XK140 (I think) parked up by La Rotonde de la Muette #16ème #Jaguar

Some sun in Paris today, and the hyacinths are blooming in the warmth.

We wrote a guide to Japanese politics a few months back which, I guess, we'll now have to wad up into a ball and toss off the balcony. Until we rewrite it, however, you can use it to get a good handle on who's who and how things *used* to be: buff.ly/oipZ00v

What??? And also, what next? 🥺

Yokojiro (mascot for the town of Ochi, in Kochi Prefecture) is a Japanese white-eye bird with a cedar tree on his chest and a hat shaped like the local mountain. The flower in his teeth is a gift for his wife.

Well played, Transport for London

The answer is: More peregrines!

My son, Indy, is doing another epic fundraising walk for Ukrainian refugees via @ukforunhcr.bsky.social. He is walking the 102-mile Cotswold Way in the depths of winter, photographing the Ukrainian flag in the changing landscape as he goes. He's already begun & will post updates regularly.