What a fantastic gig in Chandler's House as the closing event of the Rath festival. Suzanne Savage and band were mesmeric in giving their take on the Joni Mitchell songbook. A great evening.

NEW. The woman who was strangled, beaten and raped by Paul Quinn in Salford in 2003 is a "hero", said Mr Justice Bright. His remarks at the start of the sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court must be read. I don't think I've read anything like them before from a judge in a Crown Court:

John Eric Bartholomew, AKA Eric Morecambe, was born 100 years ago today. Few people in history have made as many people laugh as Eric, and as someone whose life was dedicated to that purpose, I am sure it is an accolade he would have been incredibly proud of. For me, Eric’s brilliance lay not just in the laughter he created, but in the anticipation of the laughter to come. That gift was omnipresent, following him like a comedic halo. To see him was to smile instinctively, followed quickly by genuine laughter. His friend Tommy Cooper possessed that same rare quality, and I have many treasured memories of watching them both when I was young. Thanks to social media, Eric’s work continues to be enjoyed by millions worldwide every day, and appreciation for his immense talent only grows. Long may that continue. Here he is, with Ernie and Mr Preview, creating some 22 karat TV comedy gold. God bless Eric Morecambe x

I have it on good authority that he actually wrote the Acts of the Apostles gospel.

The real world threat to Farage is tiny compared to actual working politicians like Starmer. The worst he has faced is a milk shake.

NEW: Standards commissioner finds Nigel Farage committed seventeen breaches of MPs code of conduct. He failed to declare around £380,000 in outside interests (approx 4x MPs annual salary) incl payments for promoting gold, presenting on GB News and from his friend George Cottrell, within 28 days. Reform UK leader apologised for what he described as administrative errors by his team.

Looks like @Nigel_Farage has been signing a load of shirts over the bank holiday. Wonder if he'll sign this one?

Always about the Money…

To understand Reform UK, follow the money thetimes.com/comment/columni…

A wall of crypto money is waiting to flood UK politics, as it did America's in 2024. It now has a vehicle: Reform UK. And Nigel Farage, who took a £5m "personal donation" from a crypto king. This isn't an insurgency: it’s a counter-elite. My column:- times-comment.com/farage123

To understand Reform UK, follow the money thetimes.com/comment/columni…

I stopped listening to the Today programme because of this inane and pointless style of interview. We learn nothing about the issues when Robinson and his ilk never let an answer finish, constantly interrupt. It allows Pols to get away with obfuscation as they play the game.

Just here with my parents (aged 70s & 80s) @SkyIreland They’ve been trying for ages to end the contract & keep getting passed around by your call centre Looking at their bill here & they are being charged for stuff like Sky Kids and Sports package that the never wanted. Awful

I’m not a Catholic, but wouldn’t it be great if we could get #Ilovethepope trending as he’s plainly a good, decent, principled human being, and, on Musk’s platform, this will annoy a lot of powerful, evil people. Do please repost.

They were thinking that simply EVERYONE*, darling, would applaud like seals. *Obviously excludes such non-persons as nurses needing to change their clothes at work, rape survivors who can't afford private therapy and female prisoners locked in with male sex offenders.

The piece is yet further evidence of the decline of the @thetimes under their current editor. Rage bait, infantalising their readership.

Pope Leo’s attitude to the Iran war is shocking says Melanie Phillips - proving how right Pope Leo is. thetimes.com/article/2123bcd…

As another man who once worked with me declares himself saddened by my beliefs on gender and sex, I thought it might be useful to compile a list for handy reference. Which of the following do you imagine makes actors and directors who aren’t involved with the HBO reboot of Harry Potter so miserable? Is it my belief that women and girls should have their own public changing rooms and bathrooms? That women should retain female-only rape crisis centres? That men don’t belong in women’s sport? That female prisoners shouldn’t be incarcerated with violent men and male sex offenders? That women should remain a protected class in law, because they have sex-specific needs and issues? That language should reflect reality rather than ideological jargon, especially in a medical context? That women shouldn’t be harassed, persecuted or fired for refusing to pretend humans can change sex? That women should not be threatened with violence and rape when they assert their rights? That freedom of speech and belief are essential to a pluralistic democratic society? That troubled minors, especially those who are gay, autistic and trauma-experienced, should be given mental health support instead of irreversible surgeries and drug treatments on non-existent evidence of benefit? That gay people shouldn’t be pressured to include the opposite sex in their dating pools, nor should they be smeared as ‘genital fetishists’ when they don’t? That cross-dressing heterosexual male fetishists aren’t actually oppressed, but having the time of their lives piggybacking off gender identity ideology? That said ideology, and the privileged, blinkered fools pushing it because they suffer zero consequences themselves, have done more damage to the political left’s credibility than Trump and Farage could have achieved in a century? Let me have your thoughts.

Today's arrivals - a Brambling at Kinramer and a Sandwich Tern scoped from indoors were both our first sighting of the year. A Chiffchaff merrily singing away was our first since 20th March, and a flock of 10 Fieldfares were also fresh in