The comfort of strangers.
Reminded of this today on a train jouney to a family friend’s funeral.
A man opposite me unplugged from all devices (as did I). An hour later, we’d covered global war/peace, civic responsibilities & history.
And he listened to me solve a practical conundrum!
Chilly
Snow in mid November in London
This morning when I woke up my to-do list was a tad daunting. Glad I squeezed in a run. Where I swim, there’s a sign saying ‘you never forget a swim’. Well, you rarely regret a run too!
Autumn beckons
After epic downpour
What did you get up to this Bank Holiday? Had the most brilliant behind-the-scenes tour of British Library. Absolutely fascinating. Saw a Hansard record of parliament from 1806, world’s largest book (until 2012) & details I never thought I’d want to know. All for a tenner. Recommend.
#BankHoliday
Guess what this is propping up the window on a scorchiio day……
#heatwave
There’s a phrase at the reservoir, ‘You never regret a swim’. Yup, so true.
A series of crises….brewing over several decades’: highly respected Anne Owers lays bare the reality of prisons’ decision-making. Shame it’s August, this story definitely doesn’t belong in ‘silly season’. It’s serious stuff.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Last night I caught ‘Inter Alia’ the play starring Rosamund Pike as a judge at National Theatre. It’s due as a National Theatre Live (more reasonable cost). Electric performance with troubling reflections similar but different to Adolescence. If you can, I thoroughly recommend.
Wish I could be at this. Shame tech hasn’t found the way to clone us to be in two places at once!
What a party. #GoLionesses
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Lucy Bronze : “I just played the whole tournament with a fractured tibia"
Lucy Bronze: "I just played the whole tournament with a fractured tibia" 💪
They did it!
#Lionesses
#Euros2025
A mega busy media 24 hours. Check out ‘LGBT+ veterans fury at delays to reparation payments’ - Today programme, R 4
Independent, Standard & more.
Loved a screen-detox run. Mum swan (presume it’s mum?) gets her perch back.
A film, Lollipop, hits cinema screens on 13th June. I was lucky enough to have a sneak preview, courtesy of @sohohouse.bsky.social @bigissue.com @isabellamcrae.bsky.social
Wrote some thoughts over on LinkedIn. www.linkedin.com/posts/philip...
Love a buttercup
Beyond the headlines…
Prisons building not a silver bullet to our criminal justice crisis.
Better ways to address crime & the impact of crime lie in the community.
But
A key focus must be properly bolstering (staff/resources) probation to cope with new responsibilities
Ditto for third sector
@rachelsylvester.bsky.social led Times Crime & Justice Commission before moving to revamped @theobserveruk.bsky.social under @tortoisemedia.bsky.social.
Here’s her take on the direction of travel for prisons ⬇️
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Releasing people in prison a third of way into their sentence
‘Digital prisons’
Reducing short prison sentences….
More community payback work.
All floated in upcoming sentencing review. But govt adherence to prison-building persists. Probation in desperate need of investment.
Prepare yourselves. This week is expected to bring a much-needed sentencing review. For many justice & prison reformers it’s unlikely to hit the spot. Justice Secretary in @telegraphnews.bsky.social ⬇️
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05...
Hard to believe this story even needs to be written. Liz Stead is an incredible example of someone who absolutely NEVER should have had a criminal record.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
This goes on my catch-up list.
Thanks @madlinsudn.bsky.social for flagging.
Prisons still in crisis, says prisons minister.
Shame he - who knows the reality of people in/after prison well - has slipped into the ‘soft/tough’ binary presentation of responses to crime.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Stumbled upon this poem on the wall of a house in a Peak District village this weekend. By Paul Muldoon.
#poetry
#prison
#PeakDistrict
#BankHolidayMonday
On an April day - which pretended to be August - I’m lucky enough to have met & facilitated an influencing workshop with Roma community leader Simona Lazar in Ipswich. She has so much to say for positive change. With thanks to @lbfew.bsky.social for making it possible. I learnt so much. Buzzing!
Ooh. And The Observer goes digital….
Today is the first Sunday of the Observer online- under new owner @tortoisemedia.bsky.social.
Been scratching my head as to why Tortoise wants to enter the ailing newspaper market. Not been easy transition. Let’s see.
