From a bit in last week’s Times in which various writer-y types recommend books for the new Prime Minister (I hope)
The last thing the next prime minister should do is to read a book about political history. He’ll draw all the wrong lessons - they always do - then spend the next five years worrying about how he’ll be remembered. Since one of the most important political assets is a sense of humour, he’d be much better off with PG Wodehouse’s The Code of the Woosters, a valuable reminder that behind the stern façade of even the most formidable politician, there lurks the potential proprietor of a lingerie shop.
Dominic Sandbrook historian and columnist
I got an alert from the BBC just now.
It alerted me to the fact that I can now discover who Chesney Hawkes, Nina Nesbitt and Aitch think will win Euro 2024
I wonder what Lord Reith would have made of it?
Euro 2024 winners? Chesney Hawkes, Nina Nesbitt and Aitch have their say - www.bbc.com/sport/foo…
Words I like - The Limerick Rake
“Now there’s some say I’m foolish, there’s some say I’m wise, Though being fond of the women I think is no crime. Sure the son of King David, he had ten thousand wives, And his wisdom was highly regarded.”
Limerick Rake by Ronnie Drew - songwhip.com/ronnie-dr…
Very much enjoyed reading, and simultaneously listening to, the Rime of the Ancient Mariner
35 minutes well spent
Text at : poets.org/poem/rime…
And on Spotify at : open.spotify.com/show/5TBy…
Finished reading: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge 📚
I often find myself thinking, if not saying out loud, “He’s doing his best, but then so was Liz Truss”
I take a disproportionate amount of pleasure from surrounding a word with stars to make it bold
Shortcuts to fold and unfold text in VS Code #VsCode
![ctrl+shift+[ to fold and ctrl+shift+] to unfold](https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/139254/2024/a00bd3fda7.jpg)
Not the nicest of thoughts
Microplastics found in every human semen sample tested in study - www.theguardian.com/environme…
Would’ve liked to have been at Stamford Bridge for SoccerAid again - it was a good afternoon out last time
I’m compiling a mental list of results to look up on July 5th
Basildon and Billericay is one of them
This was my May, in doodles
Congratulations, USA! 🏏
On days of remembrance, as well as gratitude for the sacrifices, I think of the people I knew who fought in the war, and to some extent my thoughts aren’t all about what they did at that time.
I just miss them.
This is slightly weird
I am a politics geek.
I did politics at university, i listen to various politics podcasts, and i rarely miss Peston or Question Time
I find politics fascinating, vital and often entertaining
But i always get a bit bored with it during election campaigns
Which absolute idiot wrote this?
$ThisTimeYesterday = $(Get-Date).AddHours(24)
Interesting episode about Chanira Bajracharya, who went from being designated as a goddess until puberty to being a financial analyst 🎙️
From a goddess to a graduate Witness History - youtu.be/LvvDZIkDy…
I hadn’t heard of David Fricke before - he’s very Cool, but in a really cool way
Rolling Stone’s David Fricke plus signed Velvets (“banana intact”) - Word In Your Ear - youtu.be/LvvDZIkDy…
i’m sorry to be a dreadful football snob, but for me the highlight of an international friendly is when the Chelsea player goes off uninjured
⚽
I like this, from Austin Kleon’s newsletter:
As the poet Donald Hall wrote in Essays After Eighty, everybody who works with their brains all day needs to lighten up a bit at night: “Before Yeats went to sleep every night he read an American Western. When Eliot was done with poetry and editing, he read a mystery book.”