Our daughter took a first class languages honours degree from @bristoluni.bsky.social, learning German from scratch, and owes much to its excellent German Department and her Lektorin.

Just worked out that they used to call the sauce "Graddsas".

Certainly not local, but we found a shop in Schwerin entirely devoted to products made from sea buckthorn, including ice cream.

Thinking today of my late Hungarian unifriend whose architect grandfather designed one of the prominent memorials in Budapest and who grew more and more to resemble a Hapsburg Erzherzogin as she grew older.

Neither did much practical waterproof underclothing and sheeting, Their development from C19 onwards remains a somewhat unsung game-changer.

A bit depressing that the best pitch I can make for voting for one of the establishment parties (for me, Labour) is that the Greens and Reform are worse. But there we are. My column in today’s Times.

www.thetimes.com/article/ffc8...

all these universities kept axing medieval history departments as if they thought tyrants beefing with the Pope was going to stop being relevant

I think the original Tweet (not mine!!) may well be the greatest ever written.

So sorry to read this. Peter was an enormous help to me when I dealt with liquor licensing policy at the HO in the days before the 2003 Act. RIP.

Good to hear.

Dear me. Doesn't seem that long ago you were playing at the Hop Oast in front of a decent away following.

"It's Good Friday"

"It's good any day!".

Thank you!

Slough snatch a point in injury time in the #SLClásico!

A pulsating final 25 minutes saw the Rebels comeback from two goals down thanks to goals scored by Tyrese Dyce and Kiki Oshilaja.

#OneSlough

With Lord David Frost - possessor of the world's most mediocre mind - announcing his conversion to Catholicism, this timeless Tweet is well worth a resurrection (geddit??!!) ...

American singer & actress Rachel Sweet takes the driver's seat of a class 40 locomotive at Edinburgh Waverley station during the 'Be Stiff' UK tour of 1978 (where all the featured acts travelled the length & breadth of the UK to gigs on a special ‘Stiff’ charter train).

Rachel Sweet - I Go To Pieces (March 1979) Original Stereo Recording (New Media) 27/10/2025 YouTube video by Square Disc

I believe it's called coming over all unnecessary.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_biY...

Open with a tin opener and watch the jet of foam hit the ceiling and soak everybody nearby.

Don't forget to wear your dungarees.

Me too, but maybe not the same one.

A wonderful piece of writing about Italy's windy city.

Written by Charlie Chaplin no less.

Shirley Bassey - Burn My Candle YouTube video by József Csáth

I don't think so. The guy who wrote this also co-wrote We'll Meet Again and There'll Always Be an England.

Reform UK government would replace top civil servants with those ‘more likely to implement party’s priorities’ Exclusive: Senior party figures conclude outsiders or existing senior staff deemed more suitable should take over from current permanent secretaries

This would obviously be very bad for state capacity.
The binding constraint on civil servants getting stuff done is, very clearly, not their belief in the political project. Have tried to capture some of this - while obvious it still bears saying.

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/refo...

Bobbysocks - Midnight Rocks (Kanal 1, 1984) YouTube video by WeLoveBobbysocks

Nordic noir
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fEG...

Steady on !

Love those buckles.

Fabulous black mac.

Beautifully coloured outfits.

Both (always the answer).