Belle de jour

My photo shows the front of a warm-yellow coloured Minoan clay flask, hand painted in black with a frontally depicted octopus. The flask measures 27 cm (about 10.5 inches) in height. It has a short spout at the top with a small loop handle at either side. The octopus is swimming diagonally with its eight writhing, sucker-lined arms covering the whole surface of the flask. It stares out at the viewer with wide, almost cartoon-like eyes. Additional motifs include sea urchins, tritons, small rocks and seaweed. Minoan decoration depicting sea motifs is known by scholars as the ‘Marine Style’. The flask was excavated in 1903 at a Bronze Age settlement site at Palaikastro. The Palaikastro excavations, carried out between 1902 and 1906, were run by R. Bosanquet and R.M. Dawkins from the British School of Athens. The flask is part of the collections at Heraklion Archaeological Museum, Heraklion, Crete.

Marvellous 3,500 year-old Minoan clay flask decorated with a wide-eyed octopus 🐙❤️

Excavated in 1903 from a Bronze Age settlement site at Palaikastro, Crete.

Heraklion Archaeological Museum 📷 by me

#Archaeology

This is largely McSweeney’s legacy. You will never win against Reform by trying to be more like Reform. You win against them by putting clear blue water between your policies and theirs - and calling them out for what they are. I am not confident that lesson will be learned even now.

This could be one of the few occasions where his “why this could be bad news for Keir Starmer “ line actually has a point….

I was very disappointed they didn’t go with “ Democracy plumbing new depths”…. It’s been a joy to watch how this result has ruffled so many feathers….

@zackpolanski.bsky.social : "Once again Reform are spreading misinformation & smears, and the press & the media seem to repeat them.. its really important that the media.. take responsibility so when Reform or Farage says something they don't just keep repeating it"👏👏👏

Dear @lucympowell.bsky.social,

I have enjoyed our exchange of letters about which of our parties is best placed to stop Reform. Hannah Spencer MP and I trust that you agree that this question has now been resolved once and for all.

Thanks,
Zack Polanski

The British Museum photo shows a six-sided, cube-shaped die carved from rock crystal on a grey surface. The six sides are numbered one to six. The numbers are represented by circular incised markings, which comprise of a dark outer ring with a dark dot at the centre. Length: 9 - 13 millimetres, width: 9 - 13 millimetres. Display lighting casts a shadow beneath the die.

Timeless design!

Roman rock crystal gaming die marked one to six like modern dice 🎲 1st-2nd century AD.

📷 British Museum www.britishmuseum.org/collection/o...

#Archaeology

And an I.33 manual as well, by looks of it 😀

Fantastic scoop on this disgraceful Labour government! And a lovely bit of journalism to deliberately not mention that this happened in 2022 under a Tory government.

He certainly got away very lightly for taking such a calamitous gamble. Gets far less bad press than his due. But I beg to differ on the accolade - for me, it’s Johnson hands down. Both for needless Covid deaths, and radicalising the Tory party. MPs largely now with Reform.

Back in the day, it even had its own pop song in the charts….

Post by Nigel Farage on X: ‘I have been denied entry to the Chagos Islands by the UK government.’ Readers added context to this video: The British Indian Ocean Territory is not a tourist destination. There are no commercial flights, access is restricted and you need a permit before you travel. The video from Nigel Farage gives the impression that he was individually refused access.

I don’t use or like X, but I do like to see when Farage and idiots like him get Community Noted like this.

It’s not even his business. His business is Clacton.

There is nothing wrong with grifting and reaching out for the Musk dollar….

I was in Cardiff yesterday - the Stadium had a much better crowd than against France, but a friend put it to me the empty seats were as much a protest against the RFU as the team’s current performance on the field (and pleased to see it stepping up - we were the better side for 60 minutes!)

Portrait en noir et blanc de Sophie Scholl centré sur son visage et ses épaules. C'est une très jeune femme aux cheveux courts avec une raie sur le côté. Elle porte une veste sombre à col clair. Le regard est tourné légèrement vers la droite de l’image. Son expression est calme et déterminée.

Un jour, une antifa...
Sophie Scholl

Signed!

Over 80% of 16 to 24-year-olds would vote to rejoin the EU, ITV poll finds

Why would you pig-headedly ignore the voice of the next generation? Why would you saddle them with debt, shrink the job market and limit their opportunities? It runs counter to everything politics and society should want for them. For all of us. They’re the future.

www.itv.com/news/2026-02...

Stop calling me Shirley….

I’ll drink to that! Drop of malmsey, anyone….?

Tfw you didn't study much medieval history at school

This one may have a similarly tragic end..

Today's note: on the things Reform is doing to try and de-risk themselves, and the things which make me look at them and go 'nah. Someone else is gonna beat you'.

Although there are some notable exceptions, original films like this should be left alone. Likewise, sequels and worse, prequels more often disappoint than improve on the original….

Oh, the grand old duke of york
He ██████████████████
He ██████████████████
And he ██████████████████

Square glass bead featuring a checkerboard mosaic border in tan, white, black, and reddish tones, surrounding a female face with prominent white eyes and a subtle smile on a black background

A #Roman face bead: the miniature human face was made either through the cold bundling of rods or the hot working of pre-made parts to form the visage, which was then stretched to make a cane that was cut into sections with identical faces. This facial design had a relatively short production...🧵1/2

Okay, this is quite outstanding from Bedford Council.

A photo of the "Bay Pew" in the Old North Church, still decorated in the 18th-century style with red cushions, red wall coverings, and replica furniture.

Back in the 1700s, Old North's box pews were lavishly decorated, reflecting the wealth, and perhaps personality, of those who purchased them.

While today's box pews are mostly unadorned, the "Bay Pew" is still decorated in the 18th-century style with cushions, wall coverings, and replica furniture.

The Bleak Knight, Sir Keir Starmer, today vowed to fight on, despite losing the support of his parliamentary party, the Scottish Labour party and all his arms and legs.

From the new Private Eye, in shops now.

I would like to know if the Ofcom stance would be different if the person has said GB is not a Jewish country, and had called for the return of all Jews to Israel, would they have acted then?