Can it be 40 years to the day since Running Up That Hill on Wogan?youtu.be/-5Y52Gx2A4w?si…

Living DNA autosomal map. Going to be hard to convince Interpol I'm not British. Even picked up my Alston born great granny Thompson. Either very accurate or the Barnum effect. Unknown Welsh bit too. Always felt drawn to Catherine Zeta Jones.

Love cooler, mellower mornings in August. Almost like Autumn has stolen itself into the garden already, like a cunning fox.

I don't think I've ever read the mineral molybdenum without having to say it twice in my head. Sounds like a book being dropped down the stairs.

A brunch break before a drive down to Torquay later. The food of champions.

As Sep approaches, just finished Eagle Days by Victoria Taylor. Engrossing testimonies from Luftwaffe personnel. The spin that Britain was wholly culpable was a neat bit of political Jujutsu. RAF bombers played an oft overlooked role too. God bless Stuffy Dowding.

Annual agonising about Rule Britannia kicks in from Arts luvvies. No need to feel shame. My Grandfather's merchant shipping line had Chinese, Norwegian, Irish and Indian crew on their lists between 1939-45. I sing it without a trace of discomfort. God bless em all.

Spent several years working in Moreton in Marsh. Nice to re-visit again at weekend. Now so many celebrities moving into the Cotswolds the local foxes have gone vegan and the scarecrows are making tiktok videos about wellness and jam!

Great to be back at CBS Saturday. Only get to four or five games a season due to work but 30,000 and nothing beats a late goal. I arrived a tad early, by time game started I'd emotionally bonded with the stewards and could recite the contents of the matchday programme blindfold.

When I was a 90s student the historians and sociologists were always falling out. Now they call it culture wars. It didn't turn on flags or immigration though more about whether you were a Blur or Oasis fan.

James May

Sad to see Robert Redford passed away. Three Days of the Condor, All The Presidents Men, Sneakers, so many of my favourites. A true great.

So by 2034, without the Triple Lock, my very first pension withdrawal will basically cover a 200 yard Taxi fare from Euston station. Alf Garnet face, "Sodding marvellous innit, hitchhike to ya own bladdy funeral".

I do love a Mackerel sky!

Heart goes out to Lewis Moody at the news of his MND. Heart of a lion.

Spent 2 hours collimating a Dobsonian last night. The telescope is now aligned but I've aged 47 years and my frustration is orbiting the Orion Nebula along with several Allen keys.

Just survived a 4 hour company training session where words like "efficacy" "strategic drivers" and "global capacity" ganged together like combination punches on a purple PowerPoint presentation. I am dying inside. Utter balls!

youtu.be/WYDWVQFGbIw?si…. Voices of Coventry 1961, 21 years after blitz. Fascinating look back. For anyone who thinks Coventry people are Brummies, listen out. The Arden Forest meant separate linguistic characteristics way back when.

Anniversary of Senlac Hill, Hastings 1066. A dark day for the Old English, but probably a silver lining for the English language. Personally, I'd have quite liked to be called Oswulf Buchanan but oh well, every cloud.

it’s a 2 minute radio program, never repeated, broadcast 18 times a week. Bigger audience than Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon … combined. Millions listen, with no need for the information it gives. Just to listen. The BBC Shipping Forecast is 100 years old.