The enticing remains of Grace Dieu Priory in Leicestershire

Our History Underfoot – like and subscribe, my pretties – takes a break from the railways to explore the enticing remains of Grace Dieu Priory in the west of Leicestershire.

You can read more on the Friends of Grace Dieu Priory website.

Down a recherché rabbit hole: More on Vaughan Wilkins's family

One of this blog's more obscure heroes is Vaughan Wilkins, a now-obscure historical novelist who had quite a following from the 1930s to the 1950s. Through him, we discovered the spooky "strategic advisory" firm Hakluyt that occasionally features in Private Eye. That's because Wilkins's son Christopher was one of its founders.

Another of Vaughan Wilkins's sons is the artist William Wilkins. And his daughter Laura has published fiction under the names Laura Powell and Laura Vaughan. Powell and Vaughan are the middle names of her father and grandfather (who was christened William Vaughan Wilkins) respectively.

Vaughan Wilkins's only children's book, the interestingly of-its-period After Bath, was published in 1945. It is dedicated: "For Four Children with all my love: William, Christopher, Christine; and Richard."

So it looks as though he had at least one more child to investigate (that semicolon is intriguing), at least until the injunctions come in.

New strategy aims to help nature recover in Shropshire

Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin Councils have published their Local Nature Recovery Strategy, reports Shropshire Live.

David Walker, the Liberal Democrat run Shropshire Council's cabinet member with responsibility for planning, tells the radio station:

"Nature underpins everyday life, from clean air and water to the green spaces that support our health and wellbeing, yet many species and habitats across Shropshire are still in decline.

"This strategy sets out a shared, locally‑led approach to turning that around. It’s about bringing councils, landowners, organisations and communities together to deliver real, practical improvements for nature. I’d like to thank everyone who contributed and the whole team who have pulled together such an excellent piece of work. The focus now is on turning this ambition into action on the ground."

An LNRS sets out proposals to help recover nature and improve the wider environment, but doesn't give anyone extra statutory powers to make change happen.

You can read the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin LNRS on the Shropshire Council website and the BBC News report is worth reading too:

Dave Cragg, from Natural England, said "there's a lot that needs to be done" to address "the global biodiversity crisis".

In Shropshire, "there are definitely places where it is really good", Cragg said, noting the county's nature reserves and Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

The diversity of Shropshire's nature makes it special, he added, recalling "those brilliant hills, the Stiperstones, the Long Mynd" as well as "bogs, fens, and a brilliant river system".

"It's got a bit of everything really."

The Joy of Six 1510

Charlie Young, Carole Cadwalladr and Ian Tucker have discovered "a 'revolving door' that has led to dozens of highly experienced UK government officials, former ministers, intelligence service chiefs and members of the House of Lords taking up key roles in the controversial Silicon Valley surveillance tech company co-founded by Peter Thiel, the libertarian friend and ally of Donald Trump."

"There is no need for the UK to replace its warheads. A Holbrook’s maximum yield is ninety kilotons of TNT-equivalent, about six times the size of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. But the US Navy wants a new warhead in the mid-2030s and the UK has to follow suit even though there are no good reasons to do so. No one in Britain played any part in choosing the parameters of the W93." Norman Dombey dissects Britain's nuclear subservience to the US.

Because of the way they are trained, large language models capture only a slice of human language. But it's feared that this slice will come to dominate how humans communicate, report Ada Palmer and Bruce Schneier.

Pam Jarvis offers a personal memoir of the Blair-era widening participation policy for higher education, which promised opportunity but left a complex legacy.

"It is impossible not to talk about The Reckoning in the same breath as Get Carter. Both films are about men who have left their working class roots to become successful in their various professions in London, and who are then forced to come home due to a family tragedy. Liverpool, like Newcastle in Get Carter, is depicted as a tough, rainswept working class town. And much like Jack Carter, Marler is intensely uncomfortable in its bleak surrounds, the tiny council house that his family still live in, with its wood panelling and flocked wallpaper, the raucous smokey pubs they drink in, with their bad torch singers and cheap bingo games." Andrew Nette watches Nicol Williamson heading north before Michael Caine.

Chris Baker on an 18th-century plan to build Britain a new capital – in Rutland.

Bridgnorth's New Market Hall is on the Victorian Society's list of endangered buildings

The Victorian Society has named its list of the Top Ten Endangered Buildings for 2026, reports Herald Wales. Perhaps the most striking structure included is the Tees Transporter Bridge, Middlesbrough, but my eye was also struck by the presence of Bridgnorth's New Market Hall.

The revised Shropshire Pevsner is honest about it:

Of 1855-6, the magnum opus of a local man, Robert Griffiths of Quatford. In the grossest Italianate with an angle tower with typical Victorian-Italian roof. The material is yellow brick, blue brick and red brick. For Pevsner the whole seemed artless and tasteless, though not over decorated. Yet for all its bombast it fits well into the varied fabric of the town, and the tower tells in the town silhouette as a minor accent midway between the major ones of the two churches. (In practical terms the Market Hall was a failure. When it opened traders refused to move in, and still today the Saturday market takes place in the High Street.

Ludlow had a similarly uncompromising Victorian market hall - it was demolished in 1986, shortly after scenes from the BBC's adaptation of Tom Sharpe's Blott on the Landscape were filmed there. Its loss opened up a welcome space in front of the castle entrance, now used as a market space, but I wonder if the town would be quite so gung-ho about razing it now.

Anyway, Griff Rhys Jones in in no doubt the we should prevent the loss of Bridgnorth's hall:

"No, no, no. Come on. They are building huge enclosed shopping centres which threaten the high street, and here is a purpose made building on the high street standing by and perfect for small shops, cafes and a new life.

"This is the centre of town. This is the centre of urban life. Stand by and make something of it."

The Dam Busters' training was a spectator sport for Great Easton

Eyebrook Reservoir Dam: John Fielding

Being a well-prepared visitor, I brought the Harborough District Council leaflet about Great Easton with me yesterday.

And here's an interesting snippet from it about a nearby reservoir:

For several months in 1943 up to a dozen Lancaster bombers regularly used Eyebrook Reservoir as a training ground prior to setting off on the famous Ruhr "Dam Busters Raid".

Initially the low flying night flights caused considerable disturbance to the surrounding villages. However local residents, who recognised their sleep would be interrupted, regularly congregated around the lakeside to witness the spectacular rehearsals.

Discover Rutland says:

Practice flights took place from the 3rd May 1943, with a full ‘dress rehearsal’ on the 14th May of 14 Lancasters "attacking" the Eyebrook Dam.

The reservoir, which straddles the border between Leicestershire and Rutland, was built between 1937 and 1940 by Stewarts & Lloyds to supply water to its Corby steel works.

String Driven Thing: It's a Game

Someone posted a track by String Driven Thing on Bluesky the other day and I wondered why I knew the name. And then I remembered this.

It's a Game was covered by the Bay City Rollers in 1977 and provided them with their last top 20 hit. But I already knew the song, so this original version by String Driven Thing must have received airplay in 1973, even though it didn't make the charts.

String Driven Thing began as a folk trio, but were encouraged by their record company to adopt the folk rock sound that you hear on It's a Game. They toured America, supporting Lou Reed at one point, but never troubled the singles chart there or here.

Their Wikipedia entry reveals rapid line up changes, and also the interesting destinations of former members. These include being the guitar technician for Steve Winwood and Jeff Beck, and membership of the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra.

Is there anything else you would like to say?

Just that I really hated the Bay City Rollers.

Great Easton: Leicestershire ironstone and thatch

I ventured out into the Notswolds today. By changing at Corby, you can reach Great Easton by bus (though only on Wednesdays and Saturdays).

It's a pretty village, though perhaps without quite as much character as Hallaton or Medbourne, and it still has a pub and a little coffee shop. So it was well worth the visit.

The Joy of Six 1509

"Orbán built a glittering façade of think tanks, conferences and podcasts on a brittle framework of prefab ideas and exorbitant contractors’ fees, only for it all to collapse in the blink of an eye. Not in anything its personalities actually wrote or said, but in the history of its decline and fall, does the Budapest scene express that sentiment most Christian: omnia vanitas, memento mori." Franz Pokorny looks at the impact of the death of Orbánism on the European right.

Dan Reed, who directed the explosive documentary Leaving Neverland seven years ago, has come to a sad conclusion: "People don’t care that he was a child molester. Literally, people just don’t care."

"It makes sense to try out Kantian ideas here, because the issue touches on questions of a good future, humanity and a decent life. The question of hope arises in this crisis because, on the one hand, we know that we must remain capable of acting in order to improve the situation. On the other hand, in view of the size of the problem, resignation or even despair can quickly set in." Claudia Blöser says the philosopher Immanuel Kant can help us face global crises today.

Rowan Thompson introduces his new book on the Air League, the Navy League and organised militarism in Britain between the wars: "To foster sea- and airmindedness among the nation’s youth, the leagues were active in schools and universities, while they also formed their own uniformed youth branches – the Sea Cadet Corps and Air Defence Cadet Corps."

Ian Mansfield visits the new V&A East Museum at the Olympic Park in East London.

"Popular supposition is often that the Chelsea and Leeds rivalry emanates from the 1970 FA Cup Final and, particularly, the replay. Not quite true. A few games in preceding years appear to sow the roots of the mutual antipathy." Tim Rolls on the long history of enmity between the two clubs.

Russian submarine found in Lake Windermere

This land sits right next to the Furness railway line - a vital transport link to both BAE Submarines in Barrow and Sellafield nuclear power station. That’s why I made representations to ministers asking whether this sale would be compliant with the UK’s sanctions against Russia.

[image or embed]

— Tim Farron (@timfarron.bsky.social) 24 April 2026 at 15:37

A story peeks out at me from behind the Financial Times paywall:

Russian businessman and his daughter have triggered national security concerns by seeking to buy a golf course located next to the railway that serves the UK’s main shipyard for nuclear-powered attack submarines.

As Tim Farron points out, the line also serves the nuclear site at Sellafield. You may not be surprised to hear that the deal collapsed this week after government intervention and enquiries from the FT.

My first thought on reading this was of the old joke in Whoops Apocalypse about a Soviet submarine being found in Staines reservoir.

But nothing should surprise us in a country where we have a Lord Siberia sitting in the upper house of our parliament.

Fisherman’s Friend factory construction held up by reptile

Congratulations to the citizen journalists at North West Bylines: they've won our Headline of the Day Award.

The rise and fall and (slight) rise of Lionel Bart

By my calculation, this edition of The South Bank Show dates from 1994. As much of my politics come from reading Oliver Twist too young, and as Oliver! is the great British musical. I had to watch it.

And there is much to enjoy, beginning with Lionel Bart's adventures in the new world of pop music with Tommy Steele and Cliff Richard.

Then there's Oliver!, whose first night was just as triumphant as Bart makes it sound. On to the film, where I note that Mark Lester was still giving the impression that he sang in it. He didn't.

The disaster of Twang!! caused the crash of Bart's career, but maybe the warning signs were there with his musical Blitz!, which Noel Coward claimed was "twice as loud and twice as long as the real thing".

Note the presence of Mark Steyn, who had yet to reinvent himself as a commentator on geopolitics. As I wrote of him in 2008:

Steyn is a good film critic, able to write intelligently about unintelligent films. But the fact that for several years his was the predominant voice on foreign affairs in the British Conservative press was simply bizarre.

If you enjoy this, it gives me the excuse to give another plug for the superlative South Bank Show on the London production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd. 

My latest article for Central Bylines: Freda Jackson and Henry Bird

"There has never been anybody like her. To say that she loved acting just would not be enough. We realised only recently when we were looking at some old clippings that newspaper banner headlines had called her London’s greatest actress."

This is the Northampton-born artist Henry Bird paying tribute to his wife Freda Jackson when she died in 1990.

My latest article for Central Bylines pays tribute to them: Northampton's arts power couple.

W.H. Auden wrote a sonnet about Richard Jefferies

I was reading Nicholas Jenkins's The Island: W. H. Auden and the Last of Englishness – or scanning for a column I'm writing, if I'm honest – when I came across a reference to a sonnet by Auden on Richard Jefferies.

It turns out to have been written when the poet was 18 years old and to be included in the collection W. H. Auden. Juvenilia: Poems 1922–28. It also seems that the young Auden's chief acquaintance with Jefferies' work came via the biography of him by Edward Thomas.

I can't find the whole sonnet online, but here is an extract:

What more? When dying he could praise the light
And watch larks trembling over fields of corn
Until the whole sky sang, with eyes as bright
As kestrel perched upon the splintered oak,
A sentinel, dark, motionless, at dawn.

The Joy of Six 1508

"Between calling for an end to 'the postwar neutering of Germany and Japan' and a reinstatement of the draft, Palantir also demanded an end to cancel culture and more competitive pay for civil servants. One particularly disturbing point makes the claim that some cultures are objectively superior due to the advances they've made in technology, while 'others remain dysfunctional and regressive'." Cydney Hayes reports on the backlash against Peter Thiel's company Palantir.

Tanya Park defends Lib Dem South Cambridgeshire and its four-day week: "Its staff complete 100 per cent of their work in 80 per cent of the time, for 100 per cent of the pay. The government told them to stop. They didn’t. The results came in: £371,500 in annual savings, a 120 per cent rise in job applications, a 40% fall in staff turnover. Services maintained. Budget improved. Staff retained."

"Building more homes is necessary. But announcing that the mechanism for financing this expansion will unlock £53 billion of additional private lending into the housing market is not a break from the pattern. Channelling more bank credit into residential property is the pattern. If the credit mechanics are left intact, developers and existing owners will capture the gains while affordability ratios drift further from wages, exactly as they have done after every previous supply intervention." Vincent Gomez analyses Rachel Reeves' attempt to make housing more affordable.

"To remove benches, or to curate who gets to sit, is to abandon the work of defining a civic ideal and determining, together, how to live up to it. When seating disappears, our relationship with public space becomes more grudging and utilitarian. Benches are symbols of hospitality, an invitation to participate in the civic realm." Gabrielle Bruney on the disappearance of benches from public space and what it means.

Henry Jeffreys supports the right of English whisky producers to do things differently from the giant Scottish whisky industry: "There are now 69 whisky distilleries in England, up from 61 in 2025, with 40 having mature whisky available for sale. It seems bizarre to tie this tiny, fledgling industry so closely to its northern behemoth."

Marc Morris slays some myths about England and St George - he didn't gain popularity in England until the 15th century, and Richard the Lionheart had nothing to do with his adoption as our patron saint.

Dave Mason (1946-2026)

Dave Mason, one of the founding members of Traffic, has died. Steve Winwood, now the only one of the four still with us, paid this tribute:

We were deeply saddened to hear of Dave Mason’s passing.

Dave was part of Traffic during its earliest chapter, and played an important role in shaping the band’s sound and identity during that time. His songwriting, musicianship and distinctive spirit helped create music that has lasted far beyond its era, and continues to mean so much to listeners around the world.

Those years remain a special part of the band’s story, and Dave’s contribution to them is not forgotten. His place in that history will always be remembered, and through the music, his presence endures.

At this sad time, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and all those who loved him and his music.

It's no secret that there were tensions between Mason and Winwood – indeed between him and the rest of the band. While the other three liked to jam and allow songs to emerge organically, Mason sat down on his own. wrote songs and had firm ideas about how the other members should play on them.

And, while Traffic are best known in Britain for Mason's Hole in My Shoe, his home-made take on psychedelia was not the way the rest of the band wanted to go. So for these reasons he was pushed out by them.

Mason would probably have replied that they were happy enough to use his songs on their second LP when he made the first of two brief returns to Traffic. And maybe he got his revenge by turning up as a black-hatted bad fairy on English Soul, the BBC documentary about Winwood's career.

Mason enjoyed a long career as a singer and songwriter after Traffic. He also played the acoustic guitar at the start of Jimi Hendrix's All Along the Watchtower and produced the Leicester band Family's first album Music in a Doll's House.

The video here shows the four founder members of Traffic playing at the Christmas on Earth Continued happening in 1967. I like to think that the second track, Giving to You, is how they sounded when they were jamming at the cottage where they got it together in the country.

Happy seventh birthday to Jennie

Happy birthday to  Steve Darling's guide dog Jennie. She is seven today.

Leaving aside the unfortunate episode when she briefly crossed the floor, she has consistently been one of the most impressive members of the Liberal Democrat parliamentary party

I can confirm that Jennie is in good health: she has a nice wet nose, as I learnt when she booped me on her way into the Glee Club at last year's Lib Dem autumn conference. I felt honoured.

Photo from Steve Darling on Bluesky.

Dr Feelgood: She Does It Right

If only the singles chart in 1975 had been this good.

New light on the Mods and Rockers

I've just got back from an event at Leicester Central Library:

High Flying Around: Memories of the 1960s Leicester Arts and Music Scene

Join Leicester author and curator Shaun Knapp, author, curator and graphic designer Joe Nixon, musician Kenny Wilson, and the University of Leicester’s Colin Hyde for a discussion on the arts and music scene in Leicester during the 1960s.

I talk to Kenny Wilson sometimes in my favourite coffee shop in Market Harborough and Shaun Knapp turned out to be a member of Gypsy (who were called Legay earlier in their career), a Leicester band of the late Sixties and early Seventies who some rate higher than the more celebrated Family.

At one point discussion turned to the Mods and Rockers. We are used to reading of pitched battles between them, but Kenny Wilson cast new light on their relationship for me.

The Rockers were older than the Mods. Because they had done National Service they were also much harder. So conflict between the two tribes tended to consist, not of fighting, but of the Mods annoying the Rockers and then running away.

You can read more about such matters on Kenny Wilson's blog.

Secret Northamptonshire on the building of the Welland Viaduct

I wouldn't call the Welland Viaduct exactly secret: it's nearly three-quarters of a mile long, 60 feet hight, contains 30 million bricks and is really quite hard to miss.

But having been inspired to write posts by the BBC's Secret Shropshire and Secret Leicestershire pages, I though I would have a look at Secret Northamptonshire. And this is the story that caught my eye:

Northants' "Grandest and Most Perfect" Structure

The Harringworth or Welland Viaduct is one of the longest of its kind in Britain.

Stradling the picturesque Northamptonshire valley, it is a magnificent example of Victorian construction and ambition.

But the story of its construction is even more remarkable... and terrifying.

Helen Blaby tells that story.

The Joy of Six 1507

"These settings are not registered – as they should be by law – with Ofsted. They are meant to be temporary, but a recent report by the children’s commissioner found the average placement lasted six months – one child had been in a 'holiday camp/activity centre' for almost nine months." Alexandra Topping explains why social workers are forced to place children in unregistered homes.

Heather Stewart analyses Labour's crabwise approach to closer economic ties with the EU.

Richard Kemp condemns the snobbery behind the use of classical music to disperse groups of young people: "I have instead asked the Council and Police to support the 'In Harmony' programme of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic which is taking music playing into some of the most deprived areas of Liverpool both during the day and evening. During the day they ensure that every child in three schools gets to play a musical instrument for an hour a week for three years."

"I hope what comes across at the end is an invitation for people to consider the aspects of British culture that they want to celebrate. Albion can't be determined by me; this is a personal quest and a personal vision of the aspects of Britishness that I feel need to be celebrated. It's an invitation for people to say: "I have a stake here, and what do I want to champion?" Zakia Sewell talks to Michaela Makusha about her first book, Finding Albion.

Rob Hakimian reports on a scheme to use the Grand Union Canal to transfer water from the Midlands to London and the South East.

"I have a soft spot for Waddon (1937). Beneath garish commercial signage is a striking Modernist building which can hold its own against any inter-war Tube station." Daniel Wright takes us on a tour of the South London railway stations built between the wars to rival the striking architecture of those on the Underground.

"An ingenious inventor is keeping his secret in some remote farm building between Market Harborough and Peterborough"

I've blogged before about the C.W. Allen and the phantom airships of 1909. It turns out that excitement was running so high that the Daily Express sent a special correspondent to Market Harborough. Here is part of his report.

THREE EYE-WITNESSES

“Express” Special Correspondent

MARKET HARBOROUGH, Tuesday Night

The mysterious airship with blazing headlights, which is reported to have been seen flying by night round Peterborough and across East Anglia, is being eagerly watched for again to-night. 

This strange aerocraft, with its suggestion of Mr. H. G. Wells' "War in the Air," has fired the imagination of the countryside, and the villagers everywhere are watching the sky for its reappearance. It has been seen driving through the night by several credible witnesses in districts wide apart, and many people believe that an ingenious inventor is keeping his secret in some remote farm building between Market Harborough and Peterborough.

I have motored this evening across part of ' the district in which the airship—judging from its line of flight—is understood to be concealed. The fenland of the country round is as flat as a billiard-table, and remote from the main lines of railway and high roads, and is thus admirably suitable {for an aeronaut who desired to keep his trial flights secret. 

Among the first to see the airship that flies by night was Mr, C. W. Allen, the pedestrian holder of the 2,000 miles road record, who lives in Northampton Road, Market Harborough. 1 have today seen Mr. Allen, who has given me an account of what he saw.

You can read Allen's account in an earlier post on this blog – he lived at 43 Nithsdale Avenue, not on Northampton Road. It seems there was a second panic over these mysterious airships in 1913.

Coalville: Railway ghosts of the town built on coal

In this episode of Lost Railway Towns, we travel to Coalville, Leicestershire – a town built on coal and railways. Once thriving when coal was king, Coalville was at the heart of Leicestershire’s industrial revolution, its collieries and railway lines powering Britain’s factories and furnaces.

We uncover the story of Coalville’s lost railways, the lines that once linked the town to Leicester, Ashby and beyond – and explore what remains today. Despite decades of talk about restoring passenger services, Coalville’s station remains closed, a ghost of a once-busy transport hub.

Joined by Steve, a lifelong resident of Coalville, we hear his memories of life in a town shaped by coal. I also revisit my own memories of Coalville railway open days – a nostalgic look back at the engines, exhibits, and excitement that inspired my love of railway history.

So says the YouTube blurb from Wobbly Runner Exploring – like and subscribe, my children.

The problem with the Leicester end of this line, which they discuss at the beginning of the video, it that it meets the Midland main line at Knighton Junction, which is south of Leicester station, pointing south. 

There used to be a curve at Knighton that pointed north, and would have enabled trains to get to Leicester station without reversing, but that has been built on.

I took some photos of Oliver's Crossing – a disused level crossing in the centre of Coalville – when I was there a couple of years ago.

Tories seize control of Harborough District Council as their £800k loss is revealed

HFM News reports that the Conservatives have seized control of Harborough District Council this evening:

A motion to remove Liberal Democrat leader Phil Knowles and replace him with Tory group leader Simon Whelband was approved by 17 votes to 16 at an extraordinary council meeting tonight.

Councillor Knowles had led a 16-strong coalition of Liberal Democrat, Labour, Green and independent councillors since 2023, although that number fell to 15 last week following the death of Labour councillor David Gair, who represented Lutterworth.

As Phil Knowles has been saying in recent weeks, with investment in leisure centres and a community grant scheme, this coalition has achieved more than the Tories did in 20 years before it.

And HFM News has another story today that shows what Tory control can mean:

A company owned by Harborough District Council is set to be shut down after making losses of more than £800,000 over two years.

Harborough District Commercial Services was set up in 2019 and purchased two retail units in Market Harborough town centre, currently occupied by  Sports Direct and Tesco, along with flats above.

The intention was for the arms-length company to invest in further property to generate income for the authority, but no further purchases were made.

The ruling coalition group at the council says the company, established before it took control of the authority, has been a "complete white elephant."

Am I being wise after the event? No this is what I wrote when the company was set up:

I am all in favour of municipal enterprise and councils having their own income streams. But they are being rather driven to these sort of speculations because of the savage cuts in central government funding.

Some councils are going to come a cropper doing this, and I hope Harborough isn't one of them.

Compared to some councils we got off lightly, but this episode doesn't make me feel any happier about the return of Harborough Tories.

The Joy of Six 1506

"A project that ought to be broad, open and compassionate has come to be dominated by a narrow set of ideological demands which leave little room for genuine diversity of political perspective." Vlad Vexler and Rupert Read argue that if the climate movement does not embrace pluralism it risks handing the future to the far right.

Laura López-Aybar reminds us of the way society can turn a blind eye to the human rights violations involved in psychiatry.

Melinda Wenner Moyer on studies that suggest young people are in many ways doing better than previous generations: "In addition to their interest in helping people, youths today also appear to be more accepting of others and their differences. Some research suggests that youths are becoming more open-minded and inclusive across various realms."

"While the directors express confidence in future revenue growth exceeding £700 million, the margin for error is non-existent. Any sustained failure on the pitch, or a further tightening of regulatory loopholes by the Premier League or UEFA, would jeopardise the entire capital structure of the Group." Paul Quinn digs deep into Chelsea's troubled and byzantine finances.

"Forteanism is not the same as 'skepticism', it is not front-loaded with an agenda of debunking, but it might end up doing some if the evidence (or lack of it) points that way. Skepticism is generally quite boring because the Skeptic is not the fearsome character who has haunted western philosophy for at least 500 years (and also philosophy in other times and places), but a person who thinks religion is A Bad Thing and science is A Good Thing." Yesterday Discontinued Notes went to an event at Conway Hall organised by the London Fortean Society.

 Gyles Brandreth remembers how Hayley Mills snatched the child role in Tiger Bay from his grasp. "This is another film with Mills, but set in South Wales. It’s about a young boy who witnesses a murder. Quite dark. Lovely script. You’ll be the boy. John Mills is the detective. They’ve seen your photograph, Gyles. They like the look of you."

Theatre: The Fall

Theatre? Breaking Tunes explains:

Hailing from the city of Limerick, Theatre are a rock band formed at the end of 2022 who have made a name for themselves throughout 2023 with their understated and ethereal sound, one which epitomises the guitar melodies of early '90s shoegaze and alternative rock, fused with their own style of unapologetic folk-laden sensibility.

With similar sounds to the likes of Lankum, Just Mustard, and Sinead O'Connor, Theatre have spent their time cutting their teeth and making waves as a standout name in Limerick's thriving underground, more recently gaining more attention in Ireland's stronghold Dublin music scene.

Secret Shropshire: The ghost of Copper Hole

Another tale from the BBC's Secret Shropshire series. This time it's the ghost of Copper Hole:

Richard Tisdale unravels the mystery of the Church Stretton ghost story that made global headlines.

In1874 the glowing white spectre of a woman who’d vanished off the face of the earth caused mass hysteria in the south Shropshire town. It’s a ghost story that has reverberated through the centuries and one that will never be laid to rest.

Peacock terrorises 92-year-old farmer's chickens

For the second day in a row, our Headline of the Day Award a) goes to the BBC News Suffolk pages and b) is about a bird.

The judges advise the birds to other counties to look to their laurels.