Got company in the office today..

Hard not to feel like an underachiever when in the company of ⁦S Sebag Montefiore⁩ (especially when you realise that even though you already have so many of his books there are always more left to discover).

At our favourite Kensington cafe. ☕️

A good morning to you all from me and my chatty cat…

Just a few hours of the bank holiday left…

I’ll be spending one of them with Carole Walker⁩ on ⁦Times Radio⁩ later to talk today’s news & the week ahead - minus my very vocal cat, who always has a lot to say about everything it seems…

Do tune in if you can 🐈

I’ll be on ⁦Times Radio⁩ with ⁦Henry Bonsu⁩ soon to talk about the UK’s local election results, Donald Trump’s legal woes, defense spending & more.

The Monocle Daily: James Rodgers and Nina de Roy dos Santos discuss the media access in Ukraine, the benefits of voter ID, why immigrants contribute to global growth and why Japan is struggling to fight hay fever. Plus: a clam-filled letter from Seattle
monocle.com/radio/shows/th…

Nice to be on today’s show to talk EU enlargement and concerns the Balkans could fall prey to the influence of Russia and China if strung along endlessly by Brussels.

Glorious 🧵from derek guy here which left me with a newfound appreciation of 2 things I hadn’t considered: 1/I’d never realised Kermit the Frog had a hidden ORLEBAR BROWN side & 2/ as much as Piers Morgan wardrobe may be a bit unstudied i applaud its consistency & nonchalance!

👀

Coming up on ⁦Times Radio⁩ ..
⁦Anny Cullum⁩ on rent reforms +
⁦Anthony Glees @anthonyglees.bsky.social⁩ on defence +
⁦Ciaran Jones⁩ on school +
⁦carolyn quinn⁩ & ⁦Stefan Boscia⁩ on papers +
⁦Nina de Roy dos Santos⁩ at midnight

Look who I ran into in West London today!

Germany arrests ‘Chinese spy’ in second AfD scandal

thetimes.co.uk/article/342493…

And earlier today:

Germany arrests 3 suspected China spies – DW – 04/22/2024 dw.com/en/germany-arr…

Important news on China/UK today
👇
CPS authorises charges against two men alleged to have breached Official Secrets Act on behalf of China | The Crown Prosecution Service cps.gov.uk/cps/news/cps-a…

Up early and off to ⁦Monocle Radio⁩ for a spot of talking about today’s news, including #Russia , #Ukraine , #Israel , #Trump and the obligatory “kicker”: why Milan (where I once spent a few happy years) is saying ‘niente gelato’ after midnight.

Here’s a positive story about Britain’s politicians today.

There are lots of them (from all parties) running the London Marathon for a range of worthy causes, including research on cancer, to migraines and dyslexia.

An uncertain economic outlook and a pummelling in the polls are not stopping the UK’s finance minister in his tracks today as he sets off to run the London marathon.

Where to begin?