William Simpson

I've been lucky enough to read this and can't recommend it enough. Even if you think you're not interested in the Kennedy assassination, seek it out - it's about so much more than those few short seconds in Dallas.

!! … ah

Of course not! Just a joke.

Yeah, no matter what a court says, no one is going to order a "latte with oat drink" anytime soon are they? And for good reason because it would sound weird and confusing.

There's a fantastically bitchy poem by Catullus for instance that mocks someone trying to appear upper class by changing their accent.

Actually we can work out quite a lot! From grammatical guides, literature, linguistic analysis of other languages, even spelling mistakes in graffiti.

"One suggestion is that Starmer should split the role in two, with one person taking charge of delivery across government and another handling politics and particularly relations with the Labour party."

Sort of like, I don't know, Sue Gray and Morgan McSweeney say?

Strong "don't throw me into the briar patch" vibes from that Reform source as well. No please, Labour, don't kick your voter coalition in the shin again! That's the thing we really fear!

I don't quite understand the significance of "families" in this either...are they suggesting that people gather the kids around the computer screen and scroll Twitter to find news? Or do they just mean that their users are spread over 10 million or so households?

Apparently, in the first football match between England and Scotland in 1870, there wasn't a Scottish-born player on the pitch.

Most had Scottish parents or grandparents, which seems fair enough. But they must have been desperate when they let a guy play just because his cousin had married a Scot.

My parents have gone on holiday and are complaining the hotel is "full of old people". They're in their mid-late 70s.

Mum, dad, love you but you're not stuck in traffic, you are traffic.

Who exactly do they imagine these people are who won't have noticed the PM went to China but will take the time to seek out and read his Substack? I doubt those who are so blissfully ignorant of current affairs even know what a Substack is.

Labour risks election wipeout unless it improves Britain’s high streets, study finds Decay of town centres a top issue among voters especially Reform UK supporters and is fuelling resentment against Westminster

Labour keeps talking about saving the high street without naming the real problem. Car dependency. You cannot fix town centres while planning everything around driving. The internet is permanent. Retail only survives where footfall is dense, local, frequent, and cheap to access.

I was in Amsterdam this past weekend for my wife's 40th and it was great. Easy to get to for a short trip, fantastic museums, a centre which is both remarkably quiet but still full of life thanks to the absence of cars.

Ha, all worked out for them in the end (and I'm really pleased for them! Such gallantry and loyalty!) - but still think they got away with one having not knifed Faraaz when they got that chance. Great series.

Faraaz made a mistake I think by telling *everyone* his suspicions. It gave Rachel an out. She was going to be under pressure anyway, she knew that, but Roxy would almost certainly have backed her. James would then have been banished, and they're into the end game in an incredibly strong position.

Still annoyed by that Traitors episode. They had to kill Faraaz, what were they thinking! Probably cost them the game that decision. Madness.

This guy doesn’t realise how much of a symptom of the problem he is. A back-combed, permatanned avatar of smugness handing out lectures to people whose responsibilities he can’t even begin to encompass.

There aren't enough NCT classes in the world to prepare you for just how tired you'll be are there! You can always try my wife's patented, 100% effective lullaby: "Go to sleep, go to sleep, go the fuck to fucking sleep" (best chanted while pacing somewhat aggressively)

Titanic Sinks Tonight Minute by minute - the night the unsinkable ship sank. Vivid first-hand accounts from passengers and crew tell the story of the most infamous disaster in maritime history.

Titanic Sinks Tonight - what a brilliant piece of storytelling. Having made docs on the subject myself, I know it's so hard to find something new to say, but the real-time format and survivor testimony brought the true horror of the story to life. Utterly gripping.

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Maybe if we stack them on top of each other they'll count as a first team player we can actually use

People who consider themselves decent, progressive, or left leaning should not only be embarrassed to remain on X in any active capacity - they should be deeply ashamed. The line was crossed long ago.

It's Corpus Christi College in the background on the right. Looks later than the 80s based on clothes and cars, late 90s/early 2000s I'd say?

Folks who still post on X, is this finally a red line for you? If not, then you seem to have no moral objections to using a CSAM site.

The cover of a large history of the Second World War - Richard Overy's 'Blood and Ruins: The Great Imperial War 1931-1945'

Picked up a new book to read this week. Can't wait to see how dreams of empire and rash overseas military interventions work out for the rest of the world!

If you are still using X, well there ain't a swamp you won't swim in.

Be great if leading figures in things like politics or sports stopped using the "lack of engagement" elsewhere as an excuse to stay on X and started showing some moral backbone.

Bearing in mind he obviously can't do any on field magic himself, and until last week at least, we had a specialist set piece coach, he's dangerously close to saying essentially there's nothing he can do about it.

A screenshot from Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give you up music video

A screenshot from Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give you up music video

A screenshot from Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give you up music video

A photograph of the seminary gym in knives out. It has the same window.

Just watched the new Knives Out and I think it's really important you know that the scene in the Seminary's Gym is filmed in the same place Rick Astley filmed the music video for Never Gonna Give You Up.

I saw the window tracery and immediately made my friends pause the film so I could tell them.