Very funny and very true.

Rishi Sunak tells Radio 4 that "AI is changing every aspect of our economy and our lives, and if I was back in office and looked at my diary and where I was going to spend my time, I would spend it on that" At no point does he or the BBC mention the £373,000 given to him every year by an AI company

New book! The British Cemetery: Architecture, Landscape, Sculpture. Long-awaited study by Brent Elliot and Roger Bowdler. Details and how to order at churchmonumentssociety.org/2026/05/21/n...

AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW: 'Selling the Word of God: The Early Commercial History of the English Bible' - £25 A study of how the English Bible became a bestseller, charting the innovations, errors, rivalries and bankruptcies behind the 'book of books' Coming September 2026 tinyurl.com/2p3cdmwp

Just signed this petition. We desperately need electoral reform to keep UK democracy fair & credible. action.electoral-reform.org.uk/page/2401/pe...

I wrote this about Boris Johnson in 2021. It also applies to those, like Nigel Farage, who aspire to become prime minister. When a candidate for high office is taking millions of pounds in personal gifts, that is not a private matter. gladstonediaries.blogspot.com/2021/05/forg...

ME/CFS, a condition of extreme fatigue that doesn't improve with rest, affects ≥3 million people in the US. For decades, there hasn't been a serious attempt to map the genetic codes of those who experience it; thanks to public funding in the UK, thousands will now be mapped. #ShareGoodNewsToo

European alternatives for #ChatGPT? Check the following websites. #AI european-alternatives.eu/alternative-... europeantechmap.eu/alternative-... www.goeuropean.org#products-list

Europe needs stronger social media regulation, and it has nothing to do with censorship. We just need total transparency on the algorithms. We have the right to know exactly what these platforms are pushing into our feeds and why

Superb. From @adapalmer.bsky.social ‘s “Inventing the Renaissance “

Cleaning Wren's magnificent Great Model - the design he proposed but which the clergy rejected. youtube.com/shorts/M8bhe...

Cambridge Chapels Study Day Saturday, 12th September 2026 We shall visit four outstanding examples of college chapels in Cambridge. We are very grateful to each of the colleges for making this day possible. Book here: www.ecclsoc.org.uk/events/cambr...

This is a beautifully presented insight to some of the choicest treasures in the @lincoln.ox.ac.uk archive.

Started re-watching the box set of the truly glorious The West Wing. Difficult to believe now that there was a time when this was even remotely plausible. Almost brought me to tears.

Heartbreaking description of the pointless, thoughtless damage being done to the Kennedy Center. It was such an important part of life in Washington, and is now being destroyed for no reason www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...

I must recommend this brilliant book to anyone interested in the churches of Norwich and their history. Recently published, large format, loads of photos, maps etc, 500 pages, surprisingly a very reasonable price on line.

While I hesitate to promote AI slop, this is hysterically funny. www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4bH... I especially like Elizabeth I with Wren's St Paul's Cathedral in the background, the way that each building is completely different in each scene & the way warships move at speed with no sails.

"He wanted it big. He wanted lots of gold, lots of marble. He wanted visitors awestruck by his architectural expansion of the country’s symbolic seat of power." {gift link} www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Read about Two Bodley Churches: a study in contrast www.ecclsoc.org.uk/news/two-bod...

This.

Might be the greatest opening paragraph of anything ever.

Fears for future of church organs amid neglect Pipe Up for Pipe Organs has published a disturbing report: Silencing the King? The future of Britain's pipe organs. Download the report here: www.ecclsoc.org.uk/news/fears-f...

DWP have written to me to tell when my birthday is and that I will turn 67 in 5 years time. I can't help feeling there are better ways to spend public money.

Our public services aren’t for a secretive profit-hungry US tech firm. Sign the petition to tell the Government to scrap all contracts with secretive US tech firm Palantir. you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/st...

Superb.

My first visit to the revamped Battersea Power Station. Quite liked it. Preserves sense of its absurd grandeur and the quality of its craftsmanship. A bit hemmed in by new developments, though I liked the one reminiscent of Gaudi's La Pedrera.

I visited the Rameses II exhibition at Battersea Power Station today. Outstanding & fascinating exhibits nicely displayed and lit. Slightly marred by occasional History Channel-esque presentation and sloppy typos in labels & video captions, but still well worth visiting.

@ecclsoc.bsky.social's two big publications have just hit members' doormats. The journal has a European flavour with articles on Anglican churches in Europe & one in particular in Switzerland. An article by Janet Gough on St George's Chapel Windsor with fab photos by @fotofacade.bsky.social & ...

Guided our of London Wren churches! Do it, do it 🤩🤩🤩

There're a few tickets still available for our Wren Watching: Wren Churches Walk in the City of London on Wednesday, 15th April 2026. Please book here: www.tickettailor.com/events/theec...

This company is increasingly embedded in UK Government, especially in defence. This needs to stop.

From my latest Digest: 🤔 “I order an oat latte and a Danish from the barista - and she says, “Sure!” with a smile. Then her smile diminishes as she looks down again towards my hands. “Are you ok?” she says.” www.digest.andymarsh...

Just ordering some teak cleaner for my garden bench. Very tempted by the free delivery option.

This made me snort tea through my nose.

UK: Prince Andrew arrested. South Korea: Former President Yoon sentenced for life. Brazil: Former President Bolsonaro serving a 27-year sentence. USA: President Trump demands $10 billion payout from taxpayers.

Delighted to receive copies of my new book published by Amberley. I’ll be speaking and launching it at the Lincolnshire Churches Conference in Heckington on Saturday April 18th.

Gouda, Sint Janskerk, Day 27. Yesterday's photos were the last of the figurative windows I was able to photograph at this truly spectacular and fascinating church. There are more windows in the clerestory (typological in the nave, Apostles in the choir/presbytery) but not ones I could photograph.

Gouda, Sint Janskerk, Day 26, window 28a. Designed & made by Charles Eyck, 1947. Given by the citizens of Gouda. The Liberation Window. This pulls no punches & is a powerful piece of modern glass.

Gouda, Sint Janskerk, Day 25, window 28. Designed & made by Claes Jansz Wytmans, 1601. Given by the City of Rotterdam. Jesus & the Woman Taken in Adultery (John 8).

Gouda, Sint Janskerk, Day 24, window 27. Design attrib. Hendrick de Keyser & made by unknown glazier, 1596-98. Given by the city of Amsterdam. Parable of the Pharisee & the Tax Collector (Luke 18).

Gouda, Sint Janskerk, Day 23, window 26. Designed by Isaac Claesz van Swanenburg & made by Cornelis Cornelisz. Clock, 1598-1601. Given by the city of Leiden. The Relief of Samaria takes the relief of Samaria from Aramean attack in 2 Kings 6-7 as a type for the relief of Leiden in 1574.

Gouda, Sint Janskerk, Day 22, window 25. Designed by Isaac Claesz van Swanenburg & made by Dirck Jansz Verheyden & Dirck Reyniersz, 1600-04. Given by the City of Delft. The Relief of Leiden in 1574. Leiden was besieged by a Spanish army for 4 months during the early years of the Dutch Revolt.

Superb. Every garden centre everywhere.

Gouda, Sint Janskerk, Day 22, window 24. Designed by Dirck Crabeth & made by his workshop, 1559-61. Given by Philippe de Ligne, count of Fauquemberg. St Philip Preaching, Healing & Baptising. Another nice but overcrowded composition by Dirck Crabeth.

Gouda, Sint Janskerk, Day 21, window 23. Designed and made by Wouter Crabeth, 1561-63. Given by Margaret of Parma, half-sister of Philip II of Spain, & Governor of the Spanish Netherlands. South transept window, 20m tall. 2 parts: Jesus Washing the Disciples' Feet; & Elijah & the Prophets of Baal.

Gouda, Sint Janskerk, Day 20, window 22. Top part designed and made by Dirck Crabeth, 1565-69, given by William the Silent, Prince of Orange. Bottom part by Daniel Tomberg, 1657, given by assorted Gouda civic dignitaries. Jesus Cleansing the Temple (Matthew 21, John 2 et al).

Gouda, Sint Janskerk, Day 19. After the cycle of windows on the life of John the Baptist, things get complicated. The nearby Emmaus Monastery was closed in 1572 & 7 of its 11 windows (new, probably by Dirck Crabeth) were transferred to Sint Janskerk. Here is the Betrayal at Gethsemane.

Gouda, Sint Janskerk, Day 18, window 19. Designed and made by Willem Tybaut of Haarlem, 1570. Given by Henrick van Swol, commander of the Knights Hospitaller in Haarlem. The final & gruesome episode in the cycle of John the Baptist windows - his beheading.

Gouda, Sint Janskerk, Day 17, window 18. Designed and made by Dirck Crabeth, 1556. Given by the descendants of Gerrit Heye Gerritz, mayor of Gouda. The theme continues the narrative of the life of John the Baptist, whose disciples question Jesus about his identity.