This is what leads to commercial tourist centres thinly disguised as ‘quaint’ places. And that, frankly, is what most tourists actually want.

So if I understand correctly the plan is austerity for everyone except train drivers

‘The symptoms of the housing crisis cannot be neatly separated from Leicester’s recent political convulsions.’ The city of Leicester contains Britain’s thorniest political questions, writes Wessie du Toit:👇buff.ly/3STstcc

Problem is that after a few years, most people normalize extreme climate as normal They also normalize disappearance of world Bees insects birds wildlife, marine life, forests wetlands and their replacement with a sterile barren lifeless landscape as normal

Western ethicists delude themselves that their principles encompass all humanity, but modern tech has proved compatible with many cultures. The same will go for AI and advanced robots. My essay for UnHerd, on why the future is not W.E.I.R.D, just weird: unherd.com/2024/08/should…

The vendetta of politicians against pubs is really depressing. They’re one of the last British social institutions still showing signs of life. Without them we’re just a nation of lonely alcoholics necking cans in our living rooms.

If the government so desperately wants to ban something, could it start with people who play music on public transport without headphones

Abraham Francen, Apothecary linktr.ee/rembrandt_artb…

Starmer increasingly reminds me of a less inspiring Francois Hollande.

Useful for us tree-huggers to occasionally remind ourselves that nature can be absolutely horrific – and that Europeans are blessed to have such a forgiving environment.

It might have something to do with the monkey’s paw aspect of the whole business: you will have access to all this music, but it will sound worse than it’s ever sounded, and we will deprive those who produce it of their livelihood in the process.

Behold, the body of culture quite literally reduced to a skeleton.

The NYT has a front page Ukraine story about… the importance of women getting their nails done.

The classic creative industries pitch: “we made up this category that contains lots of different fields with very little in common and, woah, it’s crucial to the economy!”

Digital platforms were meant to cut out the middleman. Increasingly, it seems they have done the opposite, forcing us to negotiate layers of dysfunctional technology just to use simple products and services. My rant for Washington Examiner magazine: washingtonexaminer.com/magazine-life-…

Omnibus clevelandart.org/art/1937.646

In reply to a follower who asked my recommendations of artists involved in the 20thC etching revival, a favourite of mine is Robin Tanner - his skill is beautifully displayed in 'Christmas,' (1929) based on preparatory drawings he made in the Cotswold village of Castle Coombe.