Here's another film lecture from Ian Christie. We've seen him on Gothic London, and here he talks about the forgotten London film pioneer Robert Paul.
Paul, who was born in Islington in 1869, vividly portrayed the variety of London at the end of the 19th century, conscious of its historic appeal but also emphasising the modernity of which he was a part.
A wasp comments: It said "wildlife" on the door, and we're wildlife."
To their credit, the Norfolk Wildlife Trust's staff appear to view things in much the same light.
Neath, Mansfield, Gosforth, Farington, Arundel, York and Cheltenham. Towns and cities you wouldn’t normally link together, but what they have in common is they all hosted sell-out games of cricket in the first week of the One-Day Cup.
These are a combination of brand new, rediscovered or longstanding outgrounds that are proving very popular with fans. This is despite relative indifference from the ECB and county squads being depleted by the existence of franchise cricket being played on test match grounds.
This year sell outs mean a crowd of between 4,000 and 6,000. Now, football fans might be dismissive of such numbers, as they're equivalent to fourth-tier attendances in the English league, but they represent a historic high for cricket and many outgrounds are in small towns where no other professional team sport is played.
For perspective, in 2003 the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) got very excited at crowd numbers for the first season of T20 cricket (played on county or test match grounds at evenings and weekends). These averaged around 4,000 and were far higher than the tournament it replaced, the Benson & Hedges Cup, which had an average attendance of 1,100 in 2002. At the time ECB Marketing Manager, Stuart Robertson crowed in Wisden magazine, "We are delighted by the response we have had so far."
I doubt we'll see such a positive statement from the ECB about bumper One-Day Cup attendances. It’s somewhat awkward for them that numbers are up for the Cup in provincial grounds, but down for their precious franchise tournament.
In many ways outground cricket is the antithesis of the Hundred. Crowds are dedicated and knowledgeable, you're likely to bump into parents of players (hello David Fulton’s dad), ex-players (hello Martin McCague – you are as wide as you are tall), BBC local radio commentators (hello friendly BBC Radio Gloucestershire team). It’s a pleasure to rub shoulders with people who don’t have to ask what’s going on and have been to every home game this season, so have seen every player talked up into England reckoning.
Outgrounds are small enough, without the surge in popularity, to create a good atmosphere, Maidstone with 800 people spread evenly across the grass bank didn't feel sparse. As cricket in England is not played in enormodomes the competition isn't so much about numbers as experience.
Which is the prettiest ground? Certainly Abergavenny, Arundel and Tunbridge Wells would be in with a shout (please comment below if you think I’ve missed a good one). I remember the Guardian making a
point of covering every county game at Abergavenny, despite its remoteness, because the surroundings were so lovely.
Food is a big factor in the cricket experience, I recall cupcakes and cakes supplied to a hospitality marquee by club volunteers at Guildford at reasonable prices, coupled with relaxed rules and regs about bringing your own provisions. Across the piece, it's great value for money – you’re not getting ripped off by ticket prices, car parking charges or catering.
While administrators talk of T20 and the Hundred bringing new fans to grounds, it's also the case that franchises alienate many established fans and the bigger counties absolutely need to play in several venues to reach out to their entire catchment area. In an ideal world the 18 counties would play at more than 60 venues a season, visiting several locations not covered by football or rugby. For example, Yorkshire play in Leeds, Scarborough and York. They could easily sell out in another half dozen venues, and some members would say they’re ignoring South Yorkshire altogether.
Is this year a one-off or part of a trend? Certainly the early summer heatwave in Europe has encouraged staycations and our own summer weather has made people more confident about getting a full day's play. Hopefully in a few years time I'll revisit this and talk of counties wrestling with fitting more temporary seating in the grounds that are bursting today.
Matthew Pennell blogs at Return of the Liberal.
At those elections, the Green Party won 22 seats and the Lib Dems 12, then used their combined majority to take control. Southwark is the only London borough currently being run by such a coalition.
The Lib Dems secured three posts in the leadership team, including that of deputy council leader which is filled by their group leader Victor Chamberlain.
Chamberlain told BBC News:
"The more we started talking, the more we realised that we had a lot in common, that we shared similar values and aspirations for our borough, and actually we wanted to build a borough that is more affordable, that is safer and that is greener.
"I think we found it really very constructive to work as two parties that both bring great ideas to the table."
The article also quotes the deputy leader of the opposition Labour group, who seems rather fixated on process:
"Apart from a number of meetings being cancelled, we've had two proposed cuts, one being the Nest which is a free mental health support for young people and a dementia service being cut, but it's been reversed because the Labour group, along with residents have pushed back.
"It's quite clear that they don't know what they're doing and actually this [coalition] was done in a rush."
"The university’s own financial reports show that 16 members of the University Executive Board are paid an average of £241k – a 27 per cent increase over three years while the institution has been going through financial difficulties. We have also seen the recruitment of highly paid and non-academic 'professors of practice', who are often industry figures without teaching and research experience. New managerial roles with grandiose titles such as 'associate pro-vice chancellor for education and student experience' have been created across the institution." John Heathershaw takes us inside the crisis at the University of Exeter.
"Deaths, misconduct in public office, rat infestations, and a climate of fear." Emma Guy reports on Leicester's privately run HMP Fosse Way.
Gawain Towler explains Rupert Lowe's sudden interest in cooperation with Reform UK: "A man of sixty-eight, a man elected twice on the coattails of Nigel Farage, who has spent eighteen months declaring that his purpose was the destruction of Nigel Farage, has looked at 8.7 per cent in a nationally ignored by-election and concluded that his moment is now or never. It is not unity he wants. It is relevance, and he is in a hurry for it."
"Works such as Robert McFarlane's The Old Ways, Tom Cox's 21st Century Yokel, Benjamin Myers' Under the Rock, and Edward Parnell's seminal Ghostland explore the connection between the self, the landscape, and the stories and histories that permeate and in many ways 'haunt' these landscapes." Scarlett Butchers considers the role of environmentalism in recent 'folkish' English writing.
Fed Kandi photographs the public art on the campuses of Lougborough University and the University of Leicester.
Nevertheless, they gave Hull Live our Headline of the Day Award for its tale of a pissed off hedgehog rescuer.
John Rogers takes us on a walk through a quarter of Camden that surprises even him.
His blurb on YouTube says:
From the Euston Station redevelopment, the site of the Euston Arch and the Bree Louise pub we go looking for a reservoir of the New River. In this area, North Gower Street, we have Speedy's Cafe and the filing location used in the TV show Sherlock for 221b Baker Street.
From here we go to Cumberland Market, once London's last hay and straw market and look for the location of the Canal basin that served the market right until the 1930s.
This fascinating Hidden London History walk then follows the route of the Cumberland Arm of the Regent's Canal to the point where it joined the main course of the canal.
John Rogers has a Patreon account to support his videos and blogs at The Lost Byway.
Apparently the font wasn't academically gifted, but it had character and played in the front row for the first XV. It later became a management consultant.
Our photograph shows this very font, now to be found back at Upton Cressett in Shropshire.
The programme talks about the wider castle site, not just the wonderful Norman great hall you see above.
If you want to know more about the archaeology of this fascinating site, you can listen to an online lecture by Matthew Morris from University of Leicester Archaeological Services, who has led digs there.
An increasingly narrow English curriculum, with its emphasis on phonics and 'teaching to the test', is squeezing reading for pleasure out of our primary schools, experts in the field tell Lydia Chantler-Hicks.
Rebecca Johns finds that British scientist James Lovelock warned executives of the risks of burning fossil fuels in the 1960s. Rather than share his reports with the public, claims an imminent legal case, Shell responded by funding the Global Climate Coalition – an industry group that pursued multimillion-dollar influence campaigns promoting climate denial and misinformation.
Leanne Tritton reports on the fate of Shrewsbury's Shirehall, the modernist former home of the Shropshire County Council.
"Dirk Bogarde came in for some stick from certain quarters for his portrayal of General Sir Frederick 'Boy' Browning, who was under considerable pressure from Monty to deliver Operation Market-Garden. Dubious about taking Arnhem, Browning stated that they’d be going 'a bridge too far.' He said this before the operation, but there is no scene with Montgomery in the film, instead Bogarde gets the line after the snafu, coming across like an aloof clever-dick 'told you so' type." Tim Pelan looks back to to 1977 and the making of A Bridge Too Far.
"Promises was my song, but I left the verses at home! There’s a demo where we’re having a bit of fun and I’m making the verse up as I go along. As I was doing that, Pete was by the mixing desk, so it was just me, John (Maher, drums) and Steve (Garvey, bass).
“We were working out which songs we had, and Pete [Shelley] said, 'I think I've got some verses for that melody.'
"The difference was that it was going to be a socio-political song about promises made by the Government. I said, 'You’ve turned it into a f***ing love song!'
"Having said that, it worked out well all round. That’s the thing with lots of the songwriting, particularly later on. We complement each other."
But perhaps they will pay more attention to a new report from the Institute of Alcohol Studies entitled Under the influence? Perspectives of alcohol in the parliamentary workplace among UK MPs and staff.
You can read a media release on the institute's website and download the report from there too.
The release says:
Westminster is a unique workplace where alcohol is woven into the working environment. Staff members based in constituency offices were far less likely to report being offered alcohol at work meetings or events compared to staff based in Westminster and MPs, and participants also drew stark comparisons with the presence of alcohol in other workplaces.
The foreword is written by Beccy Cooper, who was a public health consultant before she won Worthing West for Labour in 2024. She says:
Two findings stood out to me. Almost one in ten respondents reported a negative experience because of someone else’s drinking at work, and 70 per cent either didn’t know, or weren’t sure, how to raise a concern about a colleague’s drinking.
That combination – real, measurable harm, and no clear route to address it – is exactly the kind of gap we need to address. While social and networking elements are important in a healthy workplace, colleagues describing how the drinking culture plays a distinct role in career progression raises significant concerns about wellbeing, inclusion, and professionalism.
The Guardian story on Under the Influence? emphasises its tales of excess and the claim by one MP that other members have had their stomachs pumped after consuming so much alcohol that they ended up in hospital.
I am reminded of another British institution that has seen better days: cricket.
This is from a blog post I wrote in 2017:
In the course of my day job I went to an event on the psychology and wellbeing of military personnel.
A session on mental health saw general agreement that the biggest issue facing the Forces in that field was alcohol misuse. ...
Cricket shares many features with military life – slightly awkward male camaraderie, periods of boredom followed by periods of nerve-shredding excitement, public school officers – and alcohol seems to play the same central role in it.
Alcohol is used as a reward and a consolation, to oil the wheels of socialisation and quite possibly to ease the nerves of the battle-scarred too.
One of the attractions of political activism for me, I will admit, was that after delivering, canvassing or committee meetings generally ended in the pub. In fact, there was a theory that political meetings all ended an hour before "Last orders", no matter when they began.
These days pubs are open later but no one can afford the beer prices, so I suppose everything has changed. By the sound of it, the only place where nothing has changed is Westminster.
You don't have to be a Puritan to think it has the wrong attitude to alcohol.
England's chess prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan broke another world age record last week, reports Leonard Barden in the Guardian. At a tournament held in Aix-en-Provence, she achieved her first international master norm at the age of 11 years and four months.
This made her the youngest female player to achieve this feat, beating the record of Judit Polgár, who later became the highest-rated female player in history. She didn't manage it until the age of 11 years and 9 months.
International master is the title one below grandmaster in chess. To achieve it a player must achieve three such norms, which are acquired by playing at the required strength in a tournament, and reach a high enough rating on the international list.
Bodhana is also two-thirds of the way towards becoming a woman grandmaster. If she achieves her third norm for this in the next year, she will beat the record for the youngest holder of the title.
The separate title of woman grandmaster was introduced to give the stronger women players something to strive for. Whether it's down to nature or nurture, few of them are able to qualify for the grandmaster title the best male players hold.
But Judit Polgár became a grandmaster, and it's significant that her father (something of a chess Richard Williams) never allowed her or her sisters to play in women's tournaments but always had them competing with the men in open tournaments.
The appearance of a talent like Bodhana, and the large increase in the number of girls taking up the game, gives you hope that these separate titles will one day disappear.