Six of the Best 816

"The behaviour in the party at the moment is such as to raise the question of whether a group of people who cannot behave in an inclusive way could really do so if they were in positions of power." Tom Harney comments on a Lib Dem Voice by former MP Adrian Sanders (which is itself worth reading).

Courteney J. O’Connor reviews a new book on surveillance and society: "It is possible to engage in extreme surveillance that would be popularly considered a horrific breach of social etiquette, personal privacy and security without ever contravening the law."

To tackle children's mental health we must transform school culture, argues Natasha Devon.

"Yerevan, to a greater extent than most other cities anywhere in the world, exists with the burden of history on its shoulders." Ido Vock visits the Armenian capital.

"In The Stone Book, a young girl is taken by her father down a series of mine shafts and through a small crack in the rock only large enough for a young child to fit through. Beyond this crack she discovers some ancient cave art. Her father had previously been taken there as a boy by his father." Corse Present reads Alan Garner's miraculous quartet The Stone Book Quartet.

The Gentle Author understands the loneliness of his cat: "When the church offered Schrodinger a refuge, he spent long nights patrolling the empty building in the dark. Whenever he drew unwanted attention from dogs in the churchyard, he could escape through a metal grille into the crypt and sleep among the dusty coffins."