There’s definitely something weird going on with the space-time continuum. My friend’s daughter, who I was sure was barely out of toddler-hood, has just had a baby of her own.

A friend of mine in the civil service used to describe this sort of thing as “white blackbirds”. No, we’ve never seen one, but we can’t say for sure that they don’t exist so we’d better make sure the policy covers them just in case.

Which is referred to in the article that you presumably haven't read.

You haven't read the article, have you? This piece was mentioned in it.

Just the right age! Mary Wesley was 71 when her writing career really took off.

I think the Kemi character will have to be toned down a bit. I know every soap needs a few good villains, but the audience won’t believe anyone could be that ridiculous.

I’m guessing the real reason he’s gone off on one here is that he’s been criticised for “flirting”. Even if it was meant to be just harmless fun (which I doubt) - not all women want to be flirted with, Piers, especially not by you. Ugh.

They are works of art!

If you can afford it, I recommend Ernest Wright kitchen scissors. Not cheap, but they last forever! www.ernestwright.co.uk

Her.

I think views on this change as one gets older! I didn’t think of myself as middle-aged until I was well into my 40s. I’m 63 now and firmly still in middle age; I don’t think old age starts until at least 70. What does make me feel old is people 20-30 years younger than me talking about getting old!

It is so difficult to get people to understand this. I think part of the problem is that the term “national insurance contributions“ makes people think they are saving a pot of money for themselves. It would be better to get rid of NICs and just call everything we pay a tax (which it is, really).

A bit more on the background to this:
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Excellent article. Thanks for explaining so well what a “challenge coin” is; it’s all rather baffling to us non-Americans!

Are you using a solicitor for this? You shouldn’t need to; LPAs are pretty straightforward (or at least, they’re supposed to be!).

It’s infuriating, isn’t it? And so many require you to tick a box to opt out of their mailing list, it’s easy to miss some of them. I think you should have to tick the box to opt IN.

Licence to tut.

Wow. I particularly like the part where she says she says “the money isn’t for me, it’s for the children”. Well that makes it perfectly all right then. What responsible parents don’t squirrel away the odd £29 million for their children?

Bali may sound exotic to European travellers, but to Australians it has been a cheap holiday destination for years (basically it’s their equivalent of Brits going to Benidorm or the Canaries). So It was on a downward spiral way before “influencers” got in on the act, though they have made it worse.

Did you see the one a couple of weeks ago when Twickenham rugby stadium was rebranded as The Vatican?

That’s what I was thinking! A night out there in my youth meant a game or two at the Stirchley Bowl. I expect that’s long gone now.

If the “median voter” is racist, it can fuck off. What the hell is wrong with you?

Has @mychal3ts.bsky.social ever done a CBeebies bedtime story? If not, he definitely should. Perhaps @floellabenjamin.bsky.social could sort it?

Ah. My favourite type of social media contributor: a moron who thinks they can challenge a renowned expert on a subject by quoting from an article they just read on Wikipedia. Please stop before you embarrass yourself any further.

It really shouldn’t be hard. And your software should be able to automatically adjust the contents page and index if the pagination changes.

The Coast to Coast is wonderful, if you have enough time.

I thought this comment about the US Democrats could apply equally well to the British Labour party.

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This stuff always puzzles me. Family members often have different political views and it doesn’t mean they hate each other. (I confess I have occasionally wondered what Glenda made of Dan’s politics, but I know it’s none of my business really!)

I went to Johannes Radebe’s show last year (which was fabulous!). One of the songs they danced to was “Gimme hope Jo’Anna”, the classic anti apartheid song by Eddy Grant, “Jo’Anna” of course being Johannesburg. It was clear that a large chunk of the audience had no idea of the song’s significance.

Though those signs do have a purpose, ie to alert emergency services to the child if the vehicle is in an accident. First responders have been injured trying to find a non-existent child, because people don’t bother removing the sign when the child isn’t in the car. Those people are the real cunts.