Marek Kohn

You can see why X is their platform of choice, can't you?

Ils sont fous, ces Anglais 🤣

okay, triggered, welcoming 'Dead Skunk In The Middle Of The Road' back into my head having only just dislodged it after several weeks' rent-free occupation

don't suppose the menu at the Grenadier is as traditional as Google makes it look

Yes, the answer to 'do you trust me?' has to be 'to do what?', as Russell Hardin pointed out long ago.

'130,161 people in Scotland had some Gaelic skills in 2022, an increase of 43,105 from 2011 ... 2,444,659 people in Scotland had some Scots skills in 2022, an increase of 515,215 from 2011'. What's driving this impressive stat surge?

My understanding too, as a UK author in that category.

Excited and honoured to be one of the judges! Looking forward to reading all that lit fiction:)

2026 Laura Shannon Prize in Contemporary European Studies shortlist named The shortlist for the 2026 Laura Shannon Prize in Contemporary European Studies has been named. The Nanovic Institute for European Studies at the Univer...

Very proud and thrilled to be on this shortlist, for books that 'stimulate new ways of thinking about contemporary Europe as a whole' nanovic.nd.edu/news/2026-la...

Jan Zachwatowicz’s ‘Vistula Gothic’ replacement after the WW2 destruction was a great improvement IMO, taking typically clever advantage of the postwar regime’s nationalist-communist ideology.

‘Defensive Wall: Why Ukraine’s Culture Is Everyone’s Fight’ by Uilleam Blacker
@uilleamblacker.bsky.social
londonukrainianreview.org/posts/defens... 6/10

Protesters in central Brussels: demo against government policies especially raising pension age to 67

The Belgian government is called Arizona. Central Brussels currently full of people protesting against it

Yeah, I'd like to hear less about mastering and odysseys, more about the humbler rewards of speaking a different language even if you have no idea how you're going to finish a word when you start it

Yeah, I'd like to hear less about mastering and odysseys, more about the humbler rewards of speaking a different language even if you have no idea how you're going to finish a word when you start it

Vladyslava Bondar standing at the edge of the boloto, or wetland, that borders the village of Trubaitsi, in the central Ukrainian region of Poltava oblast, August 2025.

Nature, belonging, and drones in the night: moments from our conversation at the edge of a wetland in the middle of Ukraine kupalabrighton.org/trubaitsi.html

'Vigilant teenagers' alert police to cannabis plants growing in public Police in Eastbourne, East Sussex, say they have "safely rehomed" cannabis plants that were growing in a public space

Teenagers grass up guerrilla gardening, police 'rehome' cannabis plants 😉 World's turned upside down in Eastbourne, isn't it? www.theargus.co.uk/news/2552206...

Turned Out Nice: How the British Isles will Change as the World Heats Up How the British Isles will Change as the World Heats Up

My book about climate change and the British Isles is in the new @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social ebook range; turns out that the 2100 future I imagined in 2009 is approaching faster than scheduled. #Climate breakdown and Britain's national identity crisis are on course to merge.
tinyurl.com/4663bue2

Turned Out Nice: How the British Isles will Change as the World Heats Up How the British Isles will Change as the World Heats Up

My book about climate change and the British Isles is in the new @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social ebook range; turns out that the 2100 future I imagined in 2009 is approaching faster than scheduled. #Climate breakdown and Britain's national identity crisis are on course to merge.
tinyurl.com/4663bue2

not sure Lizdeika would have been able to make much of that one ;)

Wonder what they would be, or are, saying now

Petition Map (by Unboxed) Visualise UK Government Petitions

apparently this is a map of where the elite live petitionmap.unboxedconsulting.com?petition=730...

Thanks. I may be missing it, but I haven't found any reference to that specific concern in those reports. The way that it has now come to the fore feels like a measure of how far things have gone since 10–15 years ago.

Did you publish or discuss those comments anywhere? Were these interviews for the 'A Sense of Place' report?

Yes. Remember the unbearable smugness of those remainers who were absolutely sure that they'd be in the majority at the Brexit vote? We might not be so far down this road now if they had been a little less smug and sure that we would win because we were right.

The immigrant experience, even the second or third generation immigrant experience, so often adds up to keeping the suitcases handy.

Bilingual Brains, Better Outcomes?: The Benefits of Multilingual Upbringing Bilingualism shapes minds, identities, and relationships. Research shows it’s more than a “brain boost”—it’s about connection and resilience.

'Bilingualism should not be reduced to a talking point about brain training ... it’s about helping children stay connected to their families, their heritage'. Yes. But brain training is an easier sell than helping children and communities keep their culture.

www.psychologytoday.com/sg/blog/empo...

also if they can't see what time it is when they wake up, press the lock screen, tap customise, change wallpaper, select the time and switch back to solid.

now to figure out how to deal with that retro wristwatch clockface

Screenshot of automatically generated Bluesky app query 'Are you writing in Polish?'

'Are you writing in Polish?' No, Bluesky, I'm trying to reply to a post in English by @benstanley.eu , why do you ask? now let me get back to complaining about ios26 pls

absolutely, look how well that's done in Poland, endless factional fun including the departure of a party rejoicing in the name of Together

As a child I gazed in awe at my father's slide rule, with its mysterious inscriptions, and imagined that one day its secrets would be revealed to me. But by the time that day came, they'd been rendered obsolete by calculators.

And yes, I do still have it.