Bill to renationalise railways passes House of Commons - www.gov.uk/government/s...

Complaining about nightlife when you *checks notes* choose to live in Soho is like living in South Kensington and complaining about the museums. Or moving to Hackney and grumbling about creatives. Living in Richmond and hating green space. It's all getting a bit silly, isn't it?

Um...

Today is the centenary of the death of Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí. I visited La Basílica de la Sagrada Família last year, and it is absolutely magnificent.

Trump has successfully raised US inflation to 4.2%. Congratulations! How did he do it: 1. The war against Iran (as dumb as it gets). 2. Tariffs (dumb all the way). 3. Excessive budget deficit for no macroeconomic reason with unemployment at 4.3% Dumbest president ever.

The amazing thing about the TGV is it is so quiet - not only the train but also the passengers. None of the endless chatter, “see it say it sorted” announcements, ppl watching music videos on speaker or cackling as they get ready for a night out you get on a Pendolino. Civilised rail travel.

"Dank unseres Lokführers, der Formel-1-mäßig unterwegs ist, konnten wir unsere Verspätung von 10 auf 0 Minuten reduzieren. Wir bitten Sie, beim Aussteigen unserem Lokführer zu applaudieren!" (Christoph Probst) #BahnAnsagen

Commander Randy Bresnik, Pilot Luca Parmitano, and Mission Specialists Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas - welcome to your new Artemis III crew. Ad Astra!

tAn sUiT ✨⚡️🇺🇸 New York has spoken.💙🔥✌🏽

Whoa - how do I get to be Pope? 🤔✈️

Going Up Garrowby Hill, David Hockney 2000

letter to the Times today

Poppies In The Rain. 14°C and heavy showers. Starlings.

Fayum Mummy Portraits They come from Roman Egypt, mostly dating from the 1st to 3rd centuries CE. Painted on wooden panels, many were placed over the faces of mummified bodies, giving the dead an astonishingly life like presence. #History #HistoryMatters

The people of Armenia have voted for a future built on peace, stability and stronger cooperation with their neighbours and the world. Congratulations to Nikol Pashinyan on the results. You can be proud of your role in strengthening Armenia’s resilience, stability and prosperity.

Edward Hopper, Wellfleet Road - 1931

41% of new cars sold in the Netherlands last month were fully electric. We're getting close to the 50% mark! Diesel has all but disappeared now, with a market share of 1.1%. www.raivereniging.nl/news-items/l...

Im RE: "Wenn keine Bäume im Weg sind, kann man links zwei Heißluftballons sehen... Für die, die es interessiert." (dl1eam.bsky.social@nrw.social) #BahnAnsagen

Tonight at dusk, low in the west: Jupiter and Venus closing in, Castor and Pollux just above. Their tightest pairing until 2028. CS @xipteras.org #planets

Bishop Barron: the Church states the principles of just war doctrine, but the president applies them Pope Leo: “there is no just war” in Iran; in fact, “just war theory comes from centuries past, when we couldn’t imagine the weapons [and the] destruction” One of them is wrong, and it’s not Leo.

Wordle 1,813 3/6 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🤨

Cameron the main mover however, seconded later by Corbyn.

Welcome to the Blue Suede shoes help line. Dial: 1 for the money 2 for the show 3 to get ready 4 to hear the options again

“… and this must be the little woman.”

Sometimes art and color help me understand certain musical works. French artist Raoul Dufy (1877-1953), whose birthday is today, seemed to share this view, choosing music-making and instruments as frequent subjects. Art: The Red Concert, Raoul Dufy, 1946

France becomes the 14th member state of SKA Observatory 🔭🧪 www.skao.int/en/news/722/... 📷 The French flag flying outside SKAO Global Headquarters in the UK. Credit: SKAO

A collapsed nose gear is an ugly thing, but look closely at what happens when you design an airplane with an intense level of forethought for such a failure. The weight sits entirely on the 787’s nose — not the engines — and the MLG doors still open freely.

A waxing gibbous Moon above the Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand, captured from the International Space Station as it orbited 266 miles above Earth, May 30, 2026. Credit: NASA images.nasa.gov/details/iss0... 🔭

The Putin regime knows that it is failing on the battlefield, and that its war of aggression against Ukraine is economically unsustainable. So once again it lashes out against Ukrainian civilians. Democratic Europe must redouble support for Ukraine. kyivindependent.com/explosions-r...

No idea if I have many German speaking followers, but this is now out and looking very handsome.

Im ICE: "Liebe Fahrgäste, unser Zug ändert jetzt seine Fahrtrichtung. Das bedeutet... er ändert jetzt seine Fahrtrichtung." (girlforvalentine) #BahnAnsagen

Watching Magyar with interest. Maybe easier in a system as corrupted as Hungary to understand that part of the modern disillusion is the sense the rules simply don't apply to some people. Being seen to take that on is going to be popular.

Senator Mark Kelly: I’ve been in Odesa, Ukraine for the Black Sea Security Forum. The Ukrainian people are resilient and they’re not giving up, even in the face of attacks on civilian infrastructure. We have to continue standing with Ukraine in their fight against Vladimir Putin and Russia.

This week we're celebrating our many volunteers & their invaluable contributions. Amita Mehta has made several of our core records searchable; and listed the gorgeous pattern plates of William Swainson which he produced for "Zoological Illustrations". Read more here: bit.ly/4al5nnj #VolunteerWeek

Common Spotted Orchid enjoying the high life. #WildflowerHour #Orchid #SouthDowns

Mood over the Witterings

I'm speaking @ the Wealden Festival on 21 June. It's in Kent, fairly near Ashford. boldshaves.com/programme-en...

The anthem of Kyiv by the embassies of the UK, Germany, and France in Kyiv. Thank you, friends! Thank you for standing by our side during the sleepless and scary nights, for your tireless work and your love for our Kyiv. 🇬🇧🇩🇪🇫🇷🇺🇦

In The Meadow. 21°C and a stiff breeze. Phacelia. ( off for a short break , back soon )

Falbygden in Sweden has among other ancient remains three quarters of all of Sweden’s passage tombs. About 260 monuments have survived. This makes Falbygden home to one of the largest concentrations of megalithic tombs in northern Europe. #StandingStoneSunday

On the BBC World Service this morning, I argued that Pope Leo’s encyclical can be read by atheists as well as religious people as a “timely and stimulating philosophical text on what it means to be human in the digital age”. (And if Peter Thiel does not like it, tough.)

Moonlight sonata. I took one of my favorite photos last night. While looking for a scissortail, this eastern meadowlark perched itself atop a nearby tree and sang a beautiful song just long enough for me to position it directly in front of the nearly-full Moon. #Photography #BirdOfTheDay #Birds

Royal Mail privatisation Only 75.7% of UK first class mail delivered on time. Regulator keeps reducing targets, Royal Mail still doesn't meet them. Price of 1st class postage £1.80, 2nd class 91p. When privatized in 2013 by Tory/LibDem Govt: 1st class 60p; 2nd class 50p. We pay more for less.

i hope you all like my newest poem written in honour of the refugee struggle ❤️‍🩹

Es werde (Neon)licht. Your weekend Umlaut comes from Friedberg, half an hour north of Frankfurt; this was one of a number of surviving neon signs that could be spotted along the town’s high street.

My London #2026

After winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957 ALBERT CAMUS wrote a letter of thanks to his favourite childhood teacher, whom he'd never forgotten. Its wonderful.

This is what Trump's done to the people's house: A third of it is rubble. Another third is a cage match. What a metaphor.

Enjoying a day playing the Marcussen organ at Bridgewater Hall, Manchester for the @openuniversity.bsky.social degree ceremonies. #oufamily Music by Handel, Bach, Smart, Vierne, Gigout, Spicer and Powell/Lapwood…

The Air Current nominated for 11 2026 Aerospace Media Awards theaircurrent.com/feed/dispatc... #staycurrent