My book in memory of Sophie is @thepoetrykit 's Book of the Month; it is being sold in aid of @smitf_london 's Vicar's Relief Fund for the homeless: poetrykit.org/blog/?p=403 If you'd like a copy, email your address, & I'll send you details of how to pay.

Western audiences are completely failing to grasp the monumental scale of the war in Ukraine due to a constant barrage of disinformation and competing international crises. The sheer volume of casualties (including civilian) has been systematically downplayed, leaving the true magnitude of the war nearly invisible outside of Ukraine itself. There is a pervasive belief among even pro-Ukrainian Europeans that this conflict is a somewhat ”clean” war with limited civilian casualties. This narrative flies in the face of reality, as the war has amassed approximately 2 million total casualties over the last four and a half years, with a breakdown of approximately two-thirds Russian and one-third Ukrainian. Despite Russia having more total casualties, Ukraine has dozens of times more civilian casualties than Russia. This crushing disparity tells you everything about the ruthless reality of Russia's campaign. A purely numerical comparison with the war in Gaza highlights the gap in Western perception. As of May 2026, more than two years of war in Gaza resulted in at least 75,811 reported deaths, both sides included. In stark contrast, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program reveals that the single three-month siege of Mariupol saw between 27,000 and 88,000 fatalities. Most of them were Ukrainian civilians. Even though Mariupol had a population five times smaller than Gaza, its death toll in just three months potentially surpassed Gaza's total over two years. On a bigger level, the approximately 2 million total casualties in Ukraine match the population of the entire Gaza Strip. This comparison is strictly statistical, used only because the public is highly aware of Gaza's bloodshed. The Kremlin has skillfully hidden its atrocities and suppressed civilian casualty data in occupied areas, but the West must look past the propaganda and recognize the historic scale of this devastation

Private Eye:

All-male theatrical troupe preparing for a masked performance, on a mosaic from the House of the Tragic Poet

Perhaps the Irish upholders of the Russian aluminium plant don't realize that, if Russia invaded the UK, they would be as much part of that takeover as Kent or Gloucestershire. Ukraine is standing in the way of Russia ploughing as far west as Putin's whim goes...

A lovely little street in Bologna commemorating the artist Guido Reni. He had two large studios there and produced primarily religious works although he did paint some secular subjects. Identify his paintings by those upturned eyes to heaven. #arthistory

For too long, russian propaganda has distorted the truth. Its time to realize that Crimea was never russian.

This is Olha, she was 22-year-old. Russia killed her yesterday in overnight attack on Chuhuiv, Kharkiv region 🕯💔 She was seven months pregnant. Olha’s husband is currently serving in the Armed Forces, defending Ukraine. ​Olha worked as a psychologist at "Shans" (Chance), a local comprehensive rehabilitation center for people with disabilities, where she dedicated herself to helping children.

A Roman fired clay brick with a footprint of a caliga (Roman military sandal) dated to the 3rd-4th century AD that was found locally. It is now on display in the exhibition space of the "triangular tower of Serdica" in Sofia, Bulgaria. #archaeology

She lost her leg to a russian strike. She didn’t lose her dream. Ukrainian gymnast Oleksandra Pascal won gold at the “Carla’s Rhythmic Cup” in Romania — competing with a bionic prosthetic leg. In 2022, she survived a russian strike on Zatoka, spent weeks in intensive care, and underwent amputation. Today, she stands on the podium. Stronger than war. Stronger than what tried to break her.

I’m delighted to present my #Makerfield By-Election campaign flyer. I’ve made mine digital only, to help save your planet. Take that, Zack!

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This is Sir #NormanHartnell’s wedding dress sketch for Princess Elizabeth's wedding to Prince Philip, inspired by Botticelli's Primavera. This week, we're celebrating his birthday with a #frockingfabulous theme week!

Ви не знали, але є такий старий друг українців 🇺🇦 бельгієць Тінтін У 1929 році вийшов альбом "Тінтін у країні Сов’єтів” Через комікс, світ дізнався про злочини радянського режиму: репресії, Голодомор, колективізацію І ось знову: Тінтін, українці і мертві московити...

Demà dia 10 de juny, quan el sol es pongui, la torre de Jesucrist quedarà il·luminada durant la seva inauguració. A partir de les 19:45 podràs seguir-ho a les nostres xarxes socials en directe!

Overheard at the Bell, a Thursday, the regulars three deep at the bar and the talk, as it increasingly is, about the animals. "You'll have heard Dave's goat got into the churchyard again." "He did the east section. Vicar's delighted. Saved the PCC a fortune." "My niece follows it all on her phone. Knows more about that bull in Herefordshire than she does about her own family." "There's a calf now, in Wales. A bison. First in six thousand years, they reckon." "Get away." "It's true. Ginger thing. She showed me. I'll be honest with you, I had a look at it for longer than I'd admit to." The landlord, drawing a pint, not looking up: "We've all had a look. Don't pretend you haven't, Trevor." A silence, of the comfortable kind. "Funny, isn't it. Half the telly telling us the farming's killing the planet, and then you see the goat clearing the churchyard and the old boy's bull with his wildflowers, and you think, well, that doesn't look like it's killing anything." "It's not killing anything. It's the only thing round here that's doing any good." "To the goat, then." "To the goat." And they drank to a goat in Devon that none of them have met, in a pub in a different county, because the thing about these animals is that they have stopped being somebody's livestock and started being something a village holds in common, a shared good, a piece of news that is, for once, not bad. The landlord rang the bell for last orders. Nobody mentioned the goat had a name. They all knew it. You do not need to say Keith's name at the Bell. Everyone has already had a look.

🚨Mr Jean-Marc Germain MEP from France directly contacted our team at alumina21.com to request to be added to the list supporting sanctions on Alumina exports to Russia This is the 76th MEP to express support and 4th from France. Merci! 🇫🇷🇺🇦

There are only 10 of these telephone boxes with postbox and stamp machines left in Britain. (Only 50 were ever made). When I lived in Whitley Bay I walked past it so many times without realising it's so rare. Station Road, outside the Metro. #telephoneboxtuesday

#TempleTuesday - The Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens was one of the most ambitious building projects of the ancient world. Construction began in the 6th century BC under the Peisistratid tyrants, but the temple remained unfinished for centuries. It was not until Hadrian, an ardent admirer of Greek culture, that the colossal sanctuary was finally completed and dedicated in AD 131/2, more than 600 years after work first began. Built of Pentelic marble and adorned with 104 Corinthian columns over 17 metres high, it was the largest temple in Greece. Ancient visitors could also admire a colossal gold-and-ivory statue of Zeus and an equally monumental statue of Hadrian himself. Hadrian's completion of the Olympieion transformed it into both a sanctuary of Zeus and a centre of the imperial cult, where the emperor was honoured as "Olympios," sharing in the prestige of the king of the gods. Today, only 15 of its original columns remain standing.

‼️The Irish Labour Party becomes the first Irish Political Party to come off the fence and stand against Alumina entering “Putin’s war machine”.