Absolutely MIND-BLOWING! A zoom out of the sharpest view of the Andromeda Galaxy ever, showing more than 100 million stars....

Empire Day Children’s Parade. 🇬🇧 c. 1914 to 1918. “You know, when I was a girl, the idea that the British Empire could ever end was absolutely inconceivable. And it just disappeared, like all the other empires.” - Doris Lessing

Gibraltar’s tunnels are a wonder. Look forward to seeing them again!

Today is the funeral of Andrée (Codename 'Nadine') Dumont, one of Belgium's #WW2 Resistance heroes. As part of the Comet Line, she escorted Allied Airmen out of Belgium. After an incredible life, she passed away aged 102. The UK and #RAF remain forever grateful for her courage.

11 Feb 1942, Germans launched Channel Dash, codenamed Operation Cerberus, with aim of running Kriegsmarine squadron of ships, including battleships Scharnhorst (photo) & Gneisenau & Cruiser Prinz Eugen, from Brest, France, through British blockade to home bases in Germany. #WW2

36,000 years ago, humans painted mammoths, cave lions, and woolly rhinos in a cave in France. The Chauvet Cave paintings aren't just cave art. They are a time capsule of Ice Age artistic masters. Here's why: 🧵

Blimey! D.H. Lawrence once said that ‘Ugliness is the curse of England”. Et tu, Calpe?

12 Feb 1942, Lt Cdr Eugene Esmonde, died, aged 32. Posthumously awarded Victoria Cross while leading Fleet Air Arm bombers in 'Channel Dash''. Born nr. Barnsley. 1928, enlisted in RAF. 1934, joined Imperial Airways. Start of #WW2, returned to forces. Took part in Bismarck attack.

Amazing and of course we had a special message from His Majesty for the ceremony in Brest last year. UK Commando Force Operations Brittany Remembers

Remembering the heroic naval airmen of the Channel Dash -12 February 1942 - at a ceremony in Ramsgate. Helen Esmonde, Valerie Sayer, Malcolm Cornwallis and Carol Lee.

Service in Ramsgate marking 83rd anniversary of Operation Fuller, the doomed attempt to stop three German battleships dashing up the English Channel. Six Fairey Swordfish bi-planes of 825 NAS from Manston were all shot down. Their leader won a posthumous Victoria Cross.

Musee D’Orsay top floor…

The Italian Woman by Vincent Van Gogh…

. . . and the glorious sunsets and the figtrees in the Alameda gardens…

Cet homme s’amuse bien a Paris avec sa femme Maggie Gee …

The ‘Trump-Putin Axis’ smells like the Nazi-Soviet Pact of August 1939. Won’t end well, as bandits always fall out…

MAGA knows Trump is lying about Ukraine. They know Russia started the war. They know Putin in entirely to blame for targeting civilians from the start. They're so corrupted by evil that they'll flood my replies with praise of Trump's lies and Putin's murders. Watch.

Excellent summary by former head of MI6, Sir Alex Younger, of this new era in geopolitics…adapt or die

Norman Lewis was one of the great travel writers of the 20th century. His long life saw him travel to places as varied as Burma and Belize, Vietnam and Venezuela. Nicholas Rankin hits the road with Lewis via a new collection of his writings. literaryreview.co.uk/among-the-band…

The Weak Strongman (audio and text) - by Timothy Snyder snyder.substack.com/p/the-weak-str…