It hasn't been pretty, but it'll do for now. I now have the summer to reset my optimism.

Proust summarised. We have a winner.

Lots of good suggestions in this thread, so I'm going to add Russian Ark. It's an amazing film, but when I recommend it to friends I always say "don't read anything about it before you watch." Just enjoy the experience.

I miss Blackburn a lot, and - at the same time - not so much.

THREAD: The IEA global energy review 2026

* CO2 record high, but growth nearly ground to halt
* Clean energy shaved 3bn tonnes off CO2
* Fossil-fuel power pushed into reverse
* Age of Electricity "confirmed"
* "Extraordinary" solar growth
* Batteries up 40%
* EVs up 20%
1/10

Well, if you give the people what they want...

Me too - the calendar is awesome. It is more than just the headline gag you see in the images below: there are gags tucked into the smallest corners. @christhebarker.bsky.social and @quantick.bsky.social

Exactly. The team for whom the phrase "winning isn't everything" was destined.

I'm not joking when I say a sinecure is my career goal: I'd be bloody good at it. I have just enough diligence and energy to complete the minor and slightly pointless required tasks, and then would be off to get a positive mention in other people's diaries when they are published in 50 years.

A screenshot of a TV, showing the panel where you can choose from several films. The film highlighted is Jackie Chan's First Strike, but the image behind it is from the poster of Escape to Victory. We wish, we all dearly wish, that this was a real film.

We all have to accept that this would be the greatest film of all time.

I'm looking forward to Michael Sheen playing him in the film.

... and you do it better.

There is hope for the future.

You utter bastard.

There are a few Anglican orders of nuns, so it's possible Hugh tagged along with some of those. You are probably right that they just went "old church=nuns" though.

Well, we've found the house MC Escher grew up in.

media.rightmove.co.uk/property-pho...

But without continuity and canon, how will we know who the real fans are?

Steep, but there have been times when I was so homesick I would have paid that much.

There are folk clubs I used to go to that make you think he succeeded.

A monochrome photo of a swan. It is dipping its beak in the water.

Swan

Sometimes there are flares, but yes.

"We'd put holes in it. Unlike last time."

One of the minor tragedies of modern Britain is that electric bikes have become associated with drug dealers and phone thieves*, when they are really an ideal urban transport option for a lot of people.

*Or the ne'er-do-well of your choice.

There is hope for the world

The solution to a Squareword puzzle. One of the correct words is ARSES.

Well, I never expected to see such language in a word puzzle, especially one called Square Words.

Blame Canada - South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (3/9) Movie CLIP (1999) HD YouTube video by Movieclips

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOR3...

My parents' solicitor was Mr. Titt. A friend of mine is a lawyer called Pratt. I dearly wanted them to go into partnership.

For a long time, I kept two old university text books simply because they put my laptop solidly at exactly the right height for meetings when working at home.

It's a great learning tool, but a bit pointless if you're already good at cryptics. I couple of years ago I was hopeless at cryptic crosswords after years of trying, and I have credit Minute Cryptic with getting me properly started on the path.

Place on the front row at the Cenotaph for men who never served in the military but reckon they would have been great at WW2.