Not sure how long this will run for, but my NY resolution is to share books I’ve been reading. Expect lots of thrillers, with spies & history (and both) prominent in the mix.

This is both really useful for those of us outside NI, and an exquisite piece of writing by @SeeRedWoman1 sarawildtimmy.substack.com/p…

Today of all days, this briefing exposes exactly what Assisted Dying campaigners want Labour to do: rip itself further apart to force through an unsafe bill. Forget King’s Speech ‘reset’, plunge straight into rows over Govt time, facilitation, and taking over the order paper 1/

BREAKING: Dozens of Christians were massacred in Ethiopia over the course of the last week by Islamists. Tens of thousands of Christians have been slaughtered by Islamists across Africa, and the world doesn’t seem to care.

Every life matters. One law. One standard. For everyone.  This is about justice, for Henry, for his family and for all our children. They deserve better.

If I could, I would! Howzat for a view? £10m party penthouse overlooking Lord’s on sale thetimes.com/article/39a65a3…

Hello, we are Jonathan and Abigail - unashamed pedants who want to bring this affliction to bear on all things public policy and practice. We believe that details matter, especially in public administration. This is why today we are founding quibble: a campaign to fix the small stuff. Think, for example, about the cookie banner that we click on every webpage. Each instance is not a big deal, so we just put up with it. But its cumulative impact adds up - on average we press it 5 times per day. The European Commission estimates that it costs EU citizens 343 million hours per year. And who is there to represent the impacts of seemingly minor issues like this in a systematic way? We want quibble to be the answer. In the case of the cookie banner, lots of advocacy has rightly focused on privacy, but has this meant that user experience has taken a backseat? We believe there are ways to improve user experience without compromising on privacy. We will share more about this soon. Consider another example. Did you know that in some government-run car parks you can be fined for a minor keying error, such as accidentally typing a zero instead of an “o”? Again, we will come to the detail of this quibble in the coming weeks, but for now just consider again the question: who? Who is there currently to systematically represent the interests of the parker who is given an unfair ticket? An inherent feature of consumer interests is that those who have them rarely have enough other things in common to make collective organisation and representation feasible. This is the gap that quibble seeks to fill. Now of course excellent consumer interest groups exist. But understandably quibbles might not be at the top of their lists. Our hope is that quibble will be complementary; picking up the bottom-of-the-list issues faced by various groups - the stuff they are almost too embarrassed to raise because they are too small. We are not embarrassed about detail. If you’ve ever had a splinter, you know small things can have a big impact. This is what quibble is committed to tackling, and our wider hope is that by doing so we will also incentivise policy makers to be even more careful about detail. Check out our website here, including our first four campaigns: quibble.org.uk

You almost certainly already know this, but, lithub.com/the-pleasures-of-…

Please retweet and spread the word! What to do when you find a grounded swift 👇

The odds of having dementia at age 85 were close to 1 in 3 in the 80s; now they are 1 in 10. I don’t think we have a great explanation: better cardiovascular health, diet, and education are often mentioned. Good news nonetheless. Carnall Farrar. (2025, March 27). Dementia trends.

This is absolutely sickening. It’s as if someone turned the clock back to 1930s Europe. We must unite - all of us - and stop this and stand in solidarity with and support for our Jewish friends, neighbours and fellow citizens against #Antisemitism

A very special delivery for David Attenborough, beloved by people (and animals) everywhere 💚 To honour Sir David’s 100th birthday, His Majesty The King is supported by a cast of stars from British nature to relay his handwritten message in time for the celebration at the Royal Albert Hall. Watch David Attenborough’s 100 Years on Planet Earth on @BBCiPlayer. youtu.be/I1D9YF0YapQ?si=6zcB…

Attenborough at 100 — A Sting Cut We know what humans think of David Attenborough: the greatest broadcaster in TV history. But what do the animals think?

Dear David Attenborough, Congratulations on reaching your 100th lap around the sun, young man! Thank you for sharing the wonders of our world with such care and curiosity. Here’s to many more years, slow and steady wins the race! With admiration, Jonathan the Tortoise

RT @b_judah: Well said.

Re-posting this and extending blessing & solidarity to all British Jews. I felt it was a very small thing to do but a Jewish colleague let me know it had been of real comfort after distressing experiences at work. You are not alone.

Commenting @boys_nicholas said, “This poll once again confirms what we have consistently found in study after study: people overwhelmingly prefer new buildings that feel rooted in place, context and tradition. That preference holds across generations, incomes and political views. Should new buildings in Cambridge make the town better or worse? Should they be joyful or joyless, symbolic or meaningless? Does it matter if people like them or not? Should the planning system care? Does the “spirit of the place” matter more or the “spirit of the age”? Are we building for a self-regarding, isolated elite, ignorant of and contemptuous of public opinion, or for the passing man and woman? To judge by Christ’s College’s new proposed library which the fellows have recently submitted for planning and which the City of Cambridge has recently approved the answers are: “worse”, “joyless”, “meaningless”, “no”, “it should not care”, “the spirit of the age” and “a self-regarding elite”. And to judge by our national public opinion poll, the public don’t like it. Something is either very wrong with the people or with the way we design and build. The college should be ashamed that they commissioned this building which is as unpopular as it is bland and uncivil. The architects should be ashamed that they designed it. And the local council should be ashamed that they approved it. They all could and should have done better. This is a failure of stewardship, courtesy and love. I dream that one day planners, architects and developers will rediscover the humility not to patronise their fellow citizens but actually to respect what they say. The evidence for public preferences is building and building. How long can investors, developers, planners and architects keep ignoring it?” You can …

Please join me in praying for a swift and complete recovery for the victims of today’s attack: Nachman Moshe ben Chaya Sarah and Moshe Ben Baila.

The greatest voice ever given to a man