Touching my toes

Eugh.

LinkedIn.

That is all.

I'm not saying this is anything new, or in any way uniquely related to this government, or that this issue should bring the government down or whatever, I should add - but that doesn't make it acceptable. It should stop.

Robbins explains why he disagrees with Starmer's claim he should have been given details of Mandelson's vetting Robbins told the committee that he did not accept Keir Starmer’s argument that he should have been given more details of Mandelson’s security vetting. He said: I hope it’s clear from everything I have said so far that I believe that’s a misunderstanding and a dangerous misunderstanding of the necessity of confidentiality of the process. I’ve been interested, of course, over the last couple of days to read Lord Hague on this today and David Lammy even on Saturday, the former foreign secretary, deputy prime minister, where both have said in different language that they have never had vetting issues discussed with them in all their time as a minister and nor would they expect to. I’m afraid that’s exactly the culture I have been brought up in. It’s supported by guidance. You are not supposed to share the findings and reports of UKSV other than in the exceptional circumstances where doing so allows for the specific mitigation of risk. From the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2026/apr/21/olly-robbins-peter-mandelson-vetting-keir-starmer-uk-politics-latest-news-updates?filterKeyEvents=false&page=with%3Ablock-69e741d38f08b6bcfa47a684#top-of-blog

For me, this sticks in the craw almost as much as Mandelson - it speaks to a culture of cronyism, treating a key arm of government with contempt for its professionalism and reducing it to a means of dishing out nice cushy jobs to your mates.

Well, I at least wasn't expecting Olly Robbins to morph into Mr Blonde from Reservoir Dogs ahead of his big hearing TBF

We already have the chaos, so we might was well have the Ed Miliband.

You, BlueSky people, are probably already registered. But you may know someone who has just moved flat, or in student accommodation, or is wary of interacting with officialdom but would still like a voice.

The insider trading suspicions looming over Trump's presidency The BBC has found a pattern of spikes in trades ahead of public announcements by the US president.

"Some analysts say it bears the hallmarks of illegal insider trading"

"Others say the picture is more complicated and that some traders have become more adept at anticipating the president's interventions."

Who to believe? 🤔

I somehow ended up on Facebook the other day and saw some odd-looking "sponsered content" which turned out to be an entirely fake story about Nigel Farafe "destroying" Andrew Bailey on Newsnight, with Bailry "storming out". Apparently they tried twice to cut to cut to the commercials - on the BBC...

I enjoy (like at train stations, only more so) feeling the weird sense that all these people are here together right now for this special moment but in a few hours' time they'll be scattered to the four winds, never to be assembled again. But not for too long, or it triggers an existential crisis.

Robots from I, Robot

HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey

Civil Sevice under Tories Civil Service under Labour

Interesting to compare Tory portrayals of the civil service as The Blob - indefatigable erectors of insumountable obstacles in the path of HMG's wishes - with Labour's portrayal of them as an unstoppable battering ram, smashing down any resistance to HMG's wishes even when they don't want them to.

I once booked a cheap advance 1st class ticket to London as a mini treat. It was about 5am, I just wanted to lie down and sleep; the first class seats were the only ones where the arm rest divider didn't go up; the 2nd class area was empty. Only my pride kept me in 1st class ....

The ulimate goal is to have just enough time to graba coffee after security that you have precisely 12 minutes to drink before a brisk walk to the gate and immediate boarding.

This is a strong amateur effort - I feel that with considerably more money and enough commitment, the owner could have been the Sir John Griffin Griffin de nos jours.

Maybe @barry.mogwai.scot knows the answer

The cover of Come On Die Young by Mogwai

Mikel Arteta

Is it a good or a bad sign for Arsenal's title hopes that Mikel Arteta has morphed into the cover of Come On Die Young by Mogwai?

That's OK - in fact, it isn't even necessary to make any more Doctor Who episodes. We simply need to appoint someone to the position of Doctor for a period of four years and give them a unique, eccentric costume. And when the monarchy finally collapses, we'll have a ready-made replacement waiting.

The Temple of Concord at Audley End house - a sort of mini Parthenon Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Temple_Of_Concord_-_Audley_End_House_-_Essex,_England_-_DSC09432.jpg

Needless to say, there is a folly at Audley End house - the Temple of Concord, which is at the top of the hill at the back of the house (near the visitors' car park, should you visit).

Perhaps another subtle difference is that that in Johnson's case is was more grift and decandence - wanting his private lodgings to be ridiculously luxurious, preferably paid for by someone else - than a public display of ostentation so others can see how rich is is, which was the angle of Sir JGG.

Yes, that came to mind too (although IIRC, a designer was involved in that particular case, supposedly to make a coherent piece?)

Trump’s Oval Office redesign includes $58 Home Depot item: report Internet sleuths say the gold trimming recently added to the Oval Office is actually from Home Depot.

In this sense, we can see Trump's much-derided efforts in the White House as the continuation of a long tradition of wealthy folk without even a concept of taste exressing their wealth and power through opulence, albeit a low-grade, Home Depot version. Sir Donald Trump Trump.

The Mackintosh House | The Hunterian | University of Glasgow The Mackintosh House is Charles Rennie Mackintosh's only surviving domestic interior in his native Glasgow.

There's no attampt to create anything tasteful (for an example of which, may I recommend the Mackintosh house at the Hunterian museum in Glasgow👇). It's about expressing wealth and power through maximalism. The skill of the artisans is to be greatly admired - the "taste" of the proprietor less so.

The drawing room in the south wing of Audley End. Every available square inch is crammed with ornamentation. Source: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/audley-end-house-and-gardens/history-and-stories/history/

You can see this best in the interior rooms. Here's a good example - the drawing room in the south wing. Every available square inch of space is crammed with the grandest ornamentation. The workmanship is exquisite but there's no coherence - I felt like I was being punched in the face with decor.

Anyway, what struck me was less about Sir JGG, who was a man of his time, but more about Donald Trump, who it occured to me was also a man of Sir JG's time. In those days, the idea of "taste" was very much secondary to the expression of grandeur, as a means of flaunting one's wealth.

Audley End house today Source: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/audley-end-house-and-gardens/history-and-stories/history/

Then along came our hero, Sir John Griffin Griffin. He inherited the house in 1762 and had the central part built up again to basically what you see today (if you're not familiar, it's well worth a visit - you could spend a whole day there easily, and it's next to Saffron Walden, which is lovely).

Audley Enf house, c 1760 - a really big, grand house in the English countryside. Source: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/audley-end-house-and-gardens/history-and-stories/history/

The house fell into decline, and much of it was demolished. Here's a reconstruction of what it would have looked like around 1760 - still massive, of course, but nowhere near the same scale.

A reconstruction of Audley End circa 1614 - a *big* palace in the English countryside Source: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/audley-end-house-and-gardens/history-and-stories/history/

Background: Audley End was once absurdly big - a palace in all but name. This is what experts think it looked like c. 1614, in its pomp.

Walking around Audley End house last weekend, I was thinking about the brilliantly named Sir John Griffin Griffin - Field Marshal Sir John Griffin Griffin, in fact (or is that Sir Field Marshal John Griffin Griffin? 🤔). Anyway, I was struck by something...

Reports of a third attempted arson attack on Jewish targets in North London this week. It's getting really scary and more people need to start taking it seriously.