For anyone waiting for my newsletter- lots to write about, but wanted to focus on being here in China while I still could. So planning to send it in a day or two when I’m home.

This sums up my experience of China. Young man on the hotel reception desk read this, took me out of the hotel to a corner shop, bought me a screwdriver, and said ‘ this is my gift to you’.

Could do with some tech help from anyone who knows about iPads. Does anyone know how I can disable this tiny floating keyboard and force the iPad to use the full-sized one? Google says I can pinch it to the large one - that’s incorrect unfortunately. It would make a big difference to me whilst away.

Had the best day cycling in and exploring Taiyuan, China, with a brilliant bunch of people from an environmental organisation. A few photos. The posters are advertising an event for the launch of the Chinese translation of my book, The Cycling Cartoonist, on Wednesday.

Newsletter from China: open.substack.com/pub/diagramc...

This wasn’t when was planned for yesterday, but can’t complain as far as replacement activities go: Visit to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.

(1/3) Hello all. A little update, as I know some of you are following my progress in China / cheering me on. The photo above was taken at last night’s rehearsal for the TEDx talk. However: sadly the actual TEDx event today had to be cancelled, for reasons that I’m not going to elaborate on here.

Rehearsal for tomorrow.

First time seeing a physical copy of this today.

Been cycling today. This is the Greenway, a kind of cycling M25 that circumnavigates Chengdu, China. Opinion: this is what cycling infrastructure should look like.

Hello world. I’m in China!

From my newsletter (diagramclub.substack.com ): A drawing with title ‘Economic growth’.

Anyone print their own greetings cards, and able to advise?

Possibly incoherent rantings, but anyway: paragraph break for my newsletter that turned into a diagram: The new even- thinner mobile phone.

Travel insurance. Sobering to read the list of terrible things that could befall me, including Natural Disasters, or Golf.

Diagram Club #054 is available: - News about my China trip - Provocative meal-deal diagram - Cafe News: A volunteer moves some henges - Hand-drawn paragraph dividers - Colour of the week (filler) open.substack.com/pub/diagramc...

News. I’m going to China in September. Which, thinking about it, is the current month. Explanation in my newsletter: open.substack.com/pub/diagramc...

Butterfly field has become Blackberry field. 28 miles* from Tower Bridge**. * Approx, depending ** I had to pick somewhere

My letter in today’s Times:

Possible causes of your problems. It’s a diagram that (sadly) still seems relevant in 2025, so reposting a year and a bit on.

New diagram: Pep talk

Diagram Club number 050: - Celebratory bunting - Cycling cartoon: activity trackers - Some outdoor drawings - Diagram about milk - Complaint about a ferry where it’s cheaper to take a car - Hand-drawn paragraph dividers, as always open.substack.com/pub/diagramc...

You probably can’t read this without being a subscriber, but… 40 years of the Tour de France on Channel 4 then ITV, and it all ends this afternoon. And this year in particular has been exceptional. It’s been a part of my summer every year since I was a teenager, and I’m really sad about it.

Such an important feature on TotalEnergies by ITV Cycling and Matt Rendell on the Tour de France rest day programme this evening. In support: a repost of this drawing.

As it's Tour de France season, a bike-racing cartoon from 'The Cycling Cartoonist': Jerseys you may well spot within the peloton'. (Book currently on offer on the Bloomsbury site, by the way: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/search/?q...)

Selling a folding camper (have I already said this?). Pennine Sterling SE, location Essex. Ad is here on Facebook here but can tell you more if you’re not on fb. www.facebook.com/share/p/19zR...

New drawing: Hire bike Notes on this cartoon: open.substack.com/pub/diagramc...

Finally, an anti-seismic folding seat.

When you ordered ages ago but the service is really slow.

I draw paragraph breaks for my newsletter every week. Here’s some from last week’s. It’s free to receive, which you could argue is reasonable value. diagramclub.substack.com

Butterflies seen on a stretch of footpath near Basildon, Essex, this morning. Are there more butterflies this year, or was I just lucky? [I think they are, from top left: Comma, Peacock, Marbled white, Small copper, Hedge brown, Meadow brown.]

View of Canary Wharf and the City of London from Langdon Hills, South Essex. It’s about 30 miles away, assuming the crow (which I realise we haven’t mentioned until now) drives down the A13.

Diagram Club #046 now posted: - Cycling cartoon about close-passing - Climate cartoon about signs that things aren’t OK - Huge apology for last week’s hurdle diagram - Taking steps to crack the USA - Hand-drawn paragraph dividers and things like that open.substack.com/pub/diagramc...

Cartoon: The church fete

So pleased the government has listened. I'm totally claiming credit for this one.

This is encouraging news. The important bit is the funding to make it actually happen, of course, but political will is a good first step.

From my church cartoons account (@cartoonchurch): Any Other Business

Things have turned chaotic over in the Facebook Spot the difference comments. I didn’t specify not to post spoilers, and the situation is now way out of my control.

I don’t know whether a Spot the difference will work on Bluesky, but here it is. Two black/white hand-drawn images of a garage. The second is different in ten ways. Larger version / answers: open.substack.com/pub/diagramc...

Man standing in front of former flat, BN21 4LG. It had a plantless roof garden (a roof, I suppose you’d call it), dial-up, and a twin tub.

The massive hurdle. From Diagram Club no #045. (open.substack.com/pub/diagramc... )

For those who may not have seen this because I posted it at an ill-advised time: Essentially, ten messages for a hypothetical or actual man, who thinks that children should stay off the roads and stick to the park.

'Ten messages for a man who thinks children should stay off the roads and stick to the park'. [From my Diagram Club newsletter. Subscribe for more like this: diagramclub.substack.com ]

At a conference today, learning all about the latest developments in two-wheeled transport.

Pleasing irony this morning, as the DLR train carrying delegates to a transport / technology conference arrives at the wrong platform, saying ‘Bank’ on the front (other direction), ‘Woolwich Arsenal’ inside (different line), the only correct source of information being a man in hi vis, shouting.

Writing about I’ve appreciated during the week I decided to draw about AI: @jlukeroberts.bsky.social Not a poem about AI open.substack.com/pub/jlukerob... @gralefrit.bsky.social ‘s entire Bluesky timeline [Image: one of ten from open.substack.com/pub/diagramc... ]

Here’s another image from the AI edition of my newsletter. You’ll find all ten drawings here: open.substack.com/pub/diagramc...

Always appreciate resistance to the term ‘jaywalking’ - good thread by @adamtranter.bsky.social [Not-unrelated diagram, probably soon to be proved inaccurate]

I drew ten pictures about AI, and they are here: open.substack.com/pub/diagramc...

New drawing: ‘The artists whose work was used when you made a picture using AI, and how much they were paid’. One of ten drawings about AI from Diagram Club #042: open.substack.com/pub/diagramc...