Such beautiful lyrics, made all the more charming if you imagine it’s Godzilla in love

#FridayFive is going to Scandanavia ... 1. Norwegian Wood – The Beatles 2. Viking Peter – Peter Hamill 3. 50 Words for Snow – Kate Bush 4. Ride of the Valkiries – Richard Wagner 5. Baby, It's Cold Outside – Dean Martin

One thing that strikes me here is the politicization of officials - for all the faults of our professional civil service (and I’m not claiming there are none) it’s still possible to believe that they will process the day to day business of people’s lives impartially rather than tribally.

Rule 54. AirBnB rules should be taken seriously in Willerby. willerby.substack.com/p/rule-54

1. Willerby. A haunted village in the middle of the heartlands of England. A little scratch barely on the map it's mostly unremarkable But *strange* things happen here too. Ghosts of all sorts. Timeslips. Visits from strange folk who come from near and far and far, far away.

This is such a lovely aspect of a mad, mad story. Reminds me of this: willerby.substack.com/p/the-charm?... @welcometowillerby.bsky.social

The first extended review of our book A Year in Willerby. The first edition is sold out but we'll reprint when there's demand. If you'd like one let us know here. www.welcometowillerby.co.uk/blank

This week’s newsletter was written before Jim Radcliffe’s comments but seems strangely prescient in light of its determined repudiation of what he said - it has clearly struck a chord. 0e58658be539ee7325a0-220f04f871df648cf4a4d93a111e3366.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/harris_westm...

I’m behind on this one, it seems, but Dawson died and I’m sad about that.

We live in a strange world, but I’m looking at this story on the BBC website and wondering “is this true, can this be true, …. ????”

The Green Man strengthens as he leaves the south. While it is too early to see anything of him beyond the faintest suggestion of a gigantic figure just before sunrise, buds on the fingers of the trees and a different taste on the breeze prepare him a path. Sap rises. Soon, he will be here. Soon.

If you’ve not already read this then you should.

Well, that's my weekend sorted! #geometrypuzzle #mathsky #UKMathsChat

Lully, Lullay. The first Macdebs Enquiry. willerby.substack.com/p/lully-lull...

An assembly where I was struggling to find the right packaging for the idea and woke up singing the perfect Maisie Peters song: james-handscombe.co.uk/ambition/not... (Also includes an amaxing piece of history I got from @garius.bsky.social and am hoping is true and not trolling of the unwary)

Buying Time. A Willerby Story. You would if you could, but at what cost? willerby.substack.com/p/buying-time

The tales of Willerby take an intriguing turn. I recommend a visit to this wondrous village.

It's Friday and it's almost five. Time for an early doors drink at the Green Man. Come down if you're free. willerby.substack.com/p/the-green-...

Let's get one thing straight Keir starmer is not in the Epstein's files, but others Are . In the fullness of time It will come out about their Involvement. I'm a very Disappointed Labour Supporter but I don't think The situation is fatal.

An assembly where I was struggling to find the right packaging for the idea and woke up singing the perfect Maisie Peters song: james-handscombe.co.uk/ambition/not... (Also includes an amaxing piece of history I got from @garius.bsky.social and am hoping is true and not trolling of the unwary)

A Harris Westminster reunion in an Oxford pub - amazing to have such a huge number of students from our little school flourishing across a huge range of subjects.

I saw today a student-facing behaviour policy that lists as one of its reasons for immediate removal from class “Public refusal to follow rules” and I think this is rather good - that it encapsulates (far better than “low level disruption”) the main reason for sanctions in schools🧵#UkEd #EduSky

This is a key question - integrity means having morals that are, at least sometimes, inconvenient. Otherwise you’re simply doing as you please and being smug about it.

This is it now. If you want one, order now. Suspect we'll sell out by the end of today. Last ever chance for the first edition of the first ever Willerby book. www.etsy.com/uk/listing/4...

Take me down to the Parallax city where the far moves slow and the near moves quickly

A grey morning.The River Cherwell has reclaimed the water meadow. Masses of gulls, and two wild roe deer in the Fellows' Garden.

This whole debate prompted a re-read of @stulock.bsky.social’s superb blog, ‘Kevin’ mrlock.wordpress.com/2018/07/14/k... There are consequences to reducing consequences. And we do need to recognise them.

So excited that this arrived today, and the adorable little pin was a pleasant surprise! Thanks @welcometowillerby.bsky.social

It's just really insulting. Like the leader who spends their days in an office and comes into the shop floor with a big idea.

6. Here we seem to be dreaming up from first principles the work skilled pastoral staff are doing every day already. This feels a bit insulting to them to say we're going to start doing this.

If you’re a Republican president who isn’t happy about members of the public legally carrying firearms then I suggest you lean on your friends on congress to put forward an amendment repealing the 2nd amendment. I’m not sure you’ll get enough states to ratify it, but it’s worth trying.

I’ve been pruning (this is my pear tree with its new barnet) and I have two pieces of wisdom* 1) One tree is a lot of tree 2) Thorns are really thorny *in its broadest sense

216 followers on the prelaunch page - let’s see if we can get to 250 by the end of the month!

I see why the second amendment got into the bill of rights, and I see why it’s important to those who live far from an organized police force, but this shows one of the huge problems with it in cities now: the police a) have guns and b) are scared of those they are policing. That’s a bad combination

This rather lovely piece of architecture is a building extending outwards and gracefully curving so as to amplify, rather than obstruct the view of the church next door.

Love is a knitted octopus (apparently)

In retrospect, obviously the Kindertransport was safer than Vienna in the winter of 1938/39, but what a decision to have to make! Not being the one who puts people in this position is a low bar to get over - there really are no excuses for those that don’t manage it.

I love Isabel Allende’s writing, but she does have a tendency to put her characters in the midst of the worst of humankind. This morning we have to make a decision, in the most dangerous time, to send our kid away and hope that he’s safe with foreign strangers.

‘Terrible things are happening outside… Families are torn apart; men, women and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared. Women return… to find their families gone.’ Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Jack Smith: "My fear is that we have seen the rule of law function in our country for so long that many of us have come to take it for granted. The rule of law is not self-executing. It depends on our collective commitment to apply it."

I have long argued that the rule of law - the principle that laws apply equally to everyone, nobody is above it, nobody is outside it - is the most fundamental of British values. A masked force that kidnaps people without due process is someone’s private army, not the police.

I would argue that the case for dismantling ICE has, at this point, virtually nothing to do with larger questions of immigration enforcement and reform, it's just clearly incompatible with a free and democratic society to maintain a secret police force with sweeping and arbitrary authority.

Yesterday I observed a sixth form sociology lesson and, as always, was distracted from the job of examining the pedagogy and working out what was maximizing learning by the joy of finding out something new and engaging with the scholarship. It got me thinking…

Yesterday I observed a sixth form sociology lesson and, as always, was distracted from the job of examining the pedagogy and working out what was maximizing learning by the joy of finding out something new and engaging with the scholarship. It got me thinking…

At Harris Greenwich today to give an assembly and find a new way of packaging the amazingness of learning for a new audience (with a new muse) james-handscombe.co.uk/ambition/vie...

At Harris Greenwich today to give an assembly and find a new way of packaging the amazingness of learning for a new audience (with a new muse) james-handscombe.co.uk/ambition/vie...

Crowdfunding this March: LITTLE BUT FIERCE by DC Bradshaw. Based on the popular 5th Edition ruleset, Little but Fierce features: ⭐️ Streamlined Rules ⭐️ Simplifed Language ⭐️ A Family-Friendly Tone #dnd #dnd5e #littlebutfierce #ttrpg #tabletop #kids Follow now: www.kickstarter.com/projects/dcb...

Welcome to Willerby. A thread. More than fifty free stories with music, photos and original art on our village website. Ghosts, timeslips and the secret commonwealth. Can be read in any order. No AI anywhere ever. www.welcometowillerby.co.uk

“When I was small, not much bigger than a pollywog,” said Frog, “my father said to me, “Son, this is a cold, gray day but spring is just around the corner.”