The Joy of Six 1114

Neil Schofield Hughes thinks Sue Gray's appointment as Keir Starmer's Chief of Staff is a problem: "I have no idea what induced Gray to accept this post - although it’s obvious that she was disgracefully used by Boris Johnson, forced to provide a human shield for Johnson’s wrongdoing and then sidelined - but surely she can see how dangerous it is for the Service, and even for Constitutional government."

And so is Isabel Oakeshott's decision to hand Matt Hancock's WhatsApp messages to the Daily Telegraph, says Steven Barnett.

Oliver Balch reviews Urban Jungle: Wilding the City by Ben Wilson: "Wilding our cities does not even need a top-down push. Ripping up our lawns and allowing wildflowers back in can do wonders. Back gardens, after all, can count for around one quarter of a city’s total area."

Party colours used to be much less fixed - Jon Kelly on the seats where Tories weren’t blue and Labour wasn’t red.

"No matter how provocative, obscure, and even obscene it may be, Pynchon’s novel makes American literature richer by its existence and continuing relevance, serving as a sort of experimental laboratory for exploring what can be done within the scope of a novel." M. Keith Booker marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow.

Tom Cox visits Nottingham and its history, taking in the Park Tunnel, The Great Cheese Riot and much else besides.