What a summer to be finishing a #book on the #history of #England through #poetry. I feel a deep ethical responsiblity. How have ideas of England been forged & troubled over 1300 years? Who gets to tell England's story? What can poetry & history teach us about radical empathy?

Nice piece based on Craig Brown’s new book about QE2. I love the analogy between the non-committal conversational styles of the Andy Warhol & the Queen, with his “Gee” or “Gee, that’s great” for her “How interesting” or “Really?” theguardian.com/books/article/…

"Sir Iain Livingstone, said the files contained “significant new material which appears to point to new investigative leads not previously known”... it was of “great concern” that more documents had been disclosed". thetimes.com/uk/defence/art…

The beautiful font of St James’ Church, Avebury, dating from Saxon times with Norman carvings. Helping to protect generations of Christians from the powerful Neolithic magic of the nearby stones.

A lovely obituary of Simon Verity, an inheritor of the medieval stonemason’s art who left Britain for the US and lent his skills to the ‘Portal of Paradise’ of the Cathedral of St John the Divine on the edge of Harlem. telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/202…

The family of Sir Shridath “Sonny” Ramphal is deeply saddened to announce his peaceful passing on 30th August, 2024. Sir Shridath was a towering figure in international diplomacy and a cherished elder statesman of the Commonwealth and the Caribbean. May he rest in peace.

A little bit of Magdalen College in Worcester Cathedral: Louis Francois Roubillac’s monument to John Hough (Bishop of Worcester 1717-43) includes a tableau depicting the fellows of Magdalen defying James II’s commissioners and defending their choice of Hough as college president.

The online headline of this interview with Peter Mandelson in the Times today seems to have mysteriously changed since this morning. I wonder why? (To be fair, the earlier one gave a rather misleading impression of what he was getting at).

The tomb and chantry chapel of Henry VIII’s older brother, Prince Arthur, in Worcester Cathedral this afternoon. And displayed in the nearby ‘Commandery’ (the HQ of Royalist forces before the Battle of Worcester), is what is claimed to be Arthur’s funeral pall.

Presumably an agent close to the family.

“For the Labour government, whose supersized majority rests on a fragile 34% share of the vote, the thing that matters is not the fury of tribal Leavers but the disappointment of tribal Remainers. For them, snubbing Olaf Scholz over youth mobility speaks not of caution but of

As a new school years begins, History & Policy Institute of Historical Research School of Advanced Study, University of London publishes a policy paper by John Stewart Glasgow Caledonian University tracing the long history of state intervention to feed schoolchildren and its role in addressing child poverty. historyandpolicy.org/policy-papers/…

From the archive 🔎 Trump Military Study Saw Brexit as ‘First Step’ in Russian ‘Information Blitzkrieg’ on West US Army study warned that a global information war launched by Putin in 2014 could escalate, reported Dr Nafeez Ahmed FRSA bylinetimes.com/2022/03/02/tru…

A lovely evening at Temperance Cafe Leamington celebrating the release of the new live album by After The Flood recorded at that very venue. Now streaming. Check it out. You’ll be impressed!

With the advent of a new school year and a new government, the issue of improving the nutrition of schoolchildren is back on the agenda. A timely policy paper by John Stewart Glasgow Caledonian University traces the long history of state intervention in this area. historyandpolicy.org/policy-papers/…

Nice to bump into Matt Western MP 🌹 🇬🇧🇨🇦 at the Leamington Food Festival #LeamFoodFest this afternoon.

Doesn’t everyone enjoy a good cemetery?