John Davies

Amazingly, in our London suburb we have three shops selling newspapers within walking distance. And one (which actually has a paper boy who delivers) also displays mags like the New Yorker and Philosophy Now. No TG Jones, tho

Text of poem - Pact. This is my child; that is yours. Let peace be between them when they grow up. They are far off now; let it not be through war they are brought near. Their languages are different. Let them both learn it is peace in the hand is the translation of peace in the mind.

Pact - RS Thomas

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi hapus...

#HappySaintDavidsDay #DyddGŵylDewiHapus

'Life affirming poor football' - yes, exactly

#primroses #earlyspring

If you read only one article today, don't click on another thing about Trump, or Mandelson, or royal wrong'uns, read this.

Yep. The niche-ification of news has been a disastrous thing. I don't just want to read about the things I'm already interested in – I'll find them out anyway from multiple sources – but about the subjects I'm not, but might find interesting or important anyway. And it's even worse at local level

This excellent article covers everything I hate about genAI too, and, of course, it begins with Douglas Adams.

V perceptive review of wonderful film seen last night on iplayer. For two hours luxuriate in beautifully shot French provincial cooking, forget the starving peasants #thetasteofthings

If children were more politically active they would be quite pissed to be told that their screen time is “the most urgent public health issue” while the largest measles outbreak since the vaccine sweeps their schools because of conspiracies that the adults in their life believed from social media.

This is part of a bigger story that hasn't had much coverage about the FCDO being cut to ribbons.

Development funding has been slashed but foreign office staff are also being reduced by 20-30%.

A fascinating politician. Does not do the job, visibly and audibly not interested in the brief…bizarrely aggro about people pointing it out.

A lot of people really don’t realize that there is a vast amount of information out there that is not online and plausibly never will be, or can’t be.

The thread on one page: skywriter.blue/pages/did:pl...

Absolutely unbelievable that he is attempting to use legislation that was put in place to protect grieving families and celebs in crisis from the tabloids to avoid answering questions about the treason and the noncing and all the other heinous shit he’s been caught doing. Despicable creature tbh

... but we've lost (perhaps only temporarily) an earlier O - Obiero - fondly remembered for his cool shoot-out penalty against Derby last year #lofc

Well, looks like we've returned to normal moany-fan settings. And quite right, too #lofc

(To be honest, I'm only halfway through Tyll, but it's good so far)

This is what I read in January, plus Herland (Charlotte Perkins Gilman)

The books in the fireplace, though ...

Jamie O recommends vermouth if you have any of that to hand

If people are using AI to create emails, maybe those emails don’t actually need to be sent.

We all receive bucketloads of emails that would be better off not existing at all.

A clunky version of the @radiotimes.bsky.social logo from 50 years ago

I hope all the AI boosters understand that they’re training their kids that only chumps do things the hard way—by working diligently and going through the discomfort and hassle of learning and acquiring skills.

And also teaching them that a 30% error rate is good enough.

Feel privileged to have known her. And to have been at her sparsely-attended funeral

Despite his reputation as a Potteries novelist, Arnold Bennett wrote some good London novels - Riceyman Steps (set in Clerkenwell), Buried Alive (featuring Putney), The Pretty Lady (the West End in WW1), Imperial Palace (another hotel)

'The first few months were behind her' (R Seethaler, The Cafe with No Name)

Typical of the BBC, which often seems to be unaware of the quality of its output

It's not really relevant, but I think 'sequoia' is the shortest English-language word to contain all five vowels

I wish R3's Private Passions had a Nope list: I think Michael Berkeley must sigh inwardly every time his guest chooses Soave sia il vento ...