Six of the Best 815

"Never has it been more important for the decent to stand up to the intemperate, to ignore the promptings of fatigue and pride. Designing your own comfort zone is for losers. Stand and fight." Matthew d’Ancona makes the case against a new centre party.

Christopher Kissane reviews David Edgerton's 'The Rise and Fall of the British Nation' for the Irish Times: "Our neighbours to the east feel the hand of history on their shoulders. Britain’s Brexit future stands on a foundation of faith in a particular past. A 'unique' and stable 'island story', we are told, sets Britain apart. This is, of course, nationalist delusion."

David Roberts on how the Dutch created a casual cycling culture.

The class war in space? Steve Fielding has been watching Once in a New Moon, a strange 1934 British film in which a village is whisked off into space by a passing rogue star. The villagers respond by combining their scarce resources to ensure fair shares for all, but this experiment in communism is soon abandoned.

There is a secret island in the Mersey with abbey ruins and a 24-hour ferry service. Alistair Houghton has been there.

Curious British Telly searches for the remains of The Gnomes of Dulwich, a lost 1969 BBC2 situation comedy.