Django Django: Cameos

This is perhaps typical of the sort of track I hear on BBC Radio 6 Music and like. It's a little bit retro, stronger on melody than rhythm and involves white boys and guitars. Could it be that I'm getting old?

Still, Song Bar likes it too:

A crisp, catchy, acoustic sound with orchestral strings and their distinctive vocal harmony style sees a welcome return from the  London-based art-rock quartet of David Maclean, Vincent Neff, James Dixon and Thomas Grace, heralding their upcoming sixth LP Doveland, out in November via Clouds Hill. 

Produced by Nick McCarthy (Franz Ferdinand), the title of the album takes its name from an online urban myth: a supposedly vanished midwest town that appears on no maps, yet some believe they once lived there, even holding souvenirs as proof. 

In answer to the question in my first paragraph... No, they won't get me. And there's more about the Doveland myth online.

The Joy of Six 1546

Toby Buckle argues that it's time for liberals to throw John Rawls under the bus. In his philosophy he guided the creed toward neutrality, but we can no longer afford that in the age of Trump .

"After huge reductions in first-time entrants and custodial sentences in the youth justice system in recent years, a smaller, more complex cohort of children remains. Their offending behaviours mask deep vulnerabilities including earlier childhood abuse and trauma, poor mental health, school exclusion and poverty. This cohort need stability and care to rehabilitate and change. Yet the custodial estate has seen an alarming deterioration in conditions in recent years, with two secure training centres, a young offender institution and the country's first secure school all closing on safety and quality grounds." Ann Graham on the need for reform in the treatment of children in custody.

Ekaterina Balabanova and Gemma Horton report research that finds the British press has undermined the European Convention on Human Rights over many years: "Arguably, the government’s current approach reflects some of this coverage: conceding ground on specific criticisms of the ECHR in order to salvage its overall legitimacy. But looking at the long history of press coverage, we suggest that this strategy will continue to erode legitimacy, rather than bolster it."

"On one level, perhaps, that is down to a regionally specific reluctance to seem overly expansive on certain topics ('No mysticism please, we’re British'). But I spend quite a lot of my time in a church context where talking about spiritual matters is normal, even encouraged – and, remarkably, even there very few are willing to open up; mundane matters swiftly return as the main subject of conversation whenever a spiritual matter comes up." Francis Young asks why we find it so difficult talk about numinous experiences.

"The football games we obsess over are the ones that tell a story." Natasha Chahal says this World Cup has been full of them.

Maysa Monção watches Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver: "More than the cab driver, the taxi is a character. It is the car that sees underground New York. It is the car that chases the scum of the earth: the pimps and hookers. From inside the taxi, there is a perspective of New York that must be eliminated. The marginalised inhabitants of New York don’t fit in Travis’s reactionary idea of a 'clean city'." 

The Joy of Six 1539

Roz Savage says our electoral system is not just unfair but dangerous: "Manifestos are written for floating voters in constituencies that might change hands – not for the country as a whole. And when governments make spending decisions, the incentive structure pulls them in exactly the same direction. The Towns Fund, which directed 40 of 45 allocations to Conservative-held seats, was not an aberration. It was the system working as designed."

"Some schools have glass atriums, which were a common feature of those constructed during the government’s Building Schools for the Future programme in the early 2000s, but which now give the effect of walking into a Kew hothouse." Harry Paticas explains why hot spells now turn British schools into heat traps.

Jack Meredith says it's time for Liberals and trade unions to talk again: "The last Lib Dem leader to engage seriously with the movement was the late Charles Kennedy, who in September 2002 became the first to address the TUC Congress. Nearly 24 years of near-silence since then is beyond disappointing/"

Simon Skinner reviews a history of the World Cup: "Argentine reverence for Maradona endured because and not in spite of his anti-Corinthian ethos, up to and beyond the point in 1991 that he failed a drugs test when unable to deploy his habitual expedient of squirting someone else’s urine through a prosthetic penis. The penis was later displayed in a Buenos Aires museum as a quasi-religious relic (before being stolen)."

"Plans to moor a large vessel beside London Bridge have run into an unexpected complication – a disused tube tunnel buried beneath the Thames," reports Ian Mansfield.

Maria J. Pérez Cuervo looks at legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin and what may lie behnd it: "The Pied Piper, like the Trickster, is a shape-shifter who wears a number of different masks – the psychopath, the hero, the rebel… even Death himself. Like Shakespeare’s Puck or Barrie’s Peter Pan, he spreads a net of enchantment, leading our children to the Otherworld. Whether this Otherworld was a new land to colonise, an altered state of consciousness or the realm of the dead remains a mystery."

Why Kenneth Williams wanted to be serviced by Terence Rattigan

Having recently posted a video of Fergus McClelland with Leo McKern in Brecht's Gallileo, yesterday I had a look in the British Newspaper Archive to see if he had gone on acting for long.

He did for a while, because here's a report from the Coventry Evening Telegraph for 14 March 1966, when he would have been 15:

Duke of Edinburgh Introduces 'Nelson' 

Duke of Edinburgh has recorded an introduction for ATV's specially commissioned play by Terence Rattigan: 'Nelson: A Study in Miniature,' to be screened at 9.25 tonight. 

The play has a strong cast headed by Michael Bryant and Rachel Roberts as Nelson and Lady Hamilton, and including Celia Johnson, Michael Hordern, Sir Felix Aylmer and Fergus McClelland. 

This interpretation of Nelson – which covers the 24 days he spent in London and at his country home at Merton before his final voyage to the West Indies and engagement of the combined French and Spanish fleets off Cape Trafalgar – is largely seen through the eyes of his nephew.

And as McClennan played the part of Nelson's nephew, he must have been central to the production.

Today an extract from an episode of Round the Horne appeared in my YouTube feed. It contained a classic Kenneth Williams rant about not being properly serviced by the scriptwriters – you can listen to it above.

And when you hear Williams say they should get Terence Rattigan to write the show, "then we could have Prince Philip introduce the show ... like he done that thing on Nelson," you will recognise what he was talking about, just as I did.

Incidentally, this a good example of how Round the Horne got away with murder. "Terence Rattigan would service me" indeed.

Kenneth Horne had a parallel career as a business executive and the view at the BBC seemed to be "Horne's a good man" and "If Horne's involved then it's probably all right."

I suppose this coincidence is just an example of the quantum level of weirdness I mentioned the other day, just as I mentioned Kenneth Williams and his wish to be serviced.

More missing scientists: The GEC-Marconi deaths of the Eighties

The "disappearing scientists" panic sweeping the US has led to a rediscovery of a spoof television programme along similar lines that was broadcast in Britain in June 1977. It had originally been scheduled for 1 April.

And it has reminded me that there was similar concern here, 10 years after that broadcast, about a spate of deaths among GEC-Marconi scientists.

There are some not very good podcasts about it, but the video above is a contemporary news report of one shocking death that refers to several others. It's from Thames Television and dates from 1987, so the conspiracy theory had made the mainstream by then.

And here's a report from the Sunday Express (12 February 1989):

Bizarre case of 25 dead scientists 

Defence Secretary George Younger has denied there was anything sinister about the bizarre deaths of 25 British scientists over the past seven years. 

New evidence and fresh allegations of murder are revealed in a television programme, The Marconi Curse to be shown in Australia today. 

The programme, Sixty Minutes, says nine of the defence scientists to die mysteriously were connected with the electronics firm, Marconi. Relatives were assured that their bizarre deaths were either accidental or suicide. 

But Sixty Minutes asks: "Could they have been murdered?"

In his first public comment on the deaths Mr Younger told the programme: "If you've got thousands of people working on a project, quite a number of them are likely to die. I don't see anything sinister in that."

You can see what I think is the programme on YouTube. Be warned: there's a lot about suicide.

As is generally the way with such news stories, it just faded away after a time with no proof of the conspiracy or definitive refutation of it found. Remember those mystery drones that were assailing the US a couple of years ago?

I like the theory that there is a quantum amount of weirdness in the world, whether it's strange phenomena or bizarre coincidences. Study any topic closely enough and you will become aware of it. The closer you study the crowds in Daley Plaza when JFK was assassinated, for instance, the stranger they seem.

But this GEC-Marconi deathsepisode has shown me an unexpected bonus of growing older. Your memory improves – you remember a lot of things most other people don't.

The Joy of Six 1532

About 1 million 16- to 24-year-olds are not in employment, education or training – and the obstacles they face are bigger than ever. Sammy Gecsoyler talks to some who have been unemployed for a year or more about how they are coping.

Kitty Melrose interviews Nova Reid about the creeping spread of book censorship in the UK. Reid says: "Non-fiction books about racism written to help readers learn about the topic and explore approaches to reducing racial injustice are labelled 'racist' as the reason for their removal. By closing discussion of racial injustice, one perpetuates the systemic harms of racism. If injustice for one group is dismissed and ignored, it gives license for other social iniquities to be continued too."

"Years of criminal justice reform have left the state, several counties and towns, as well as the profit-driven private prison industry hungry to fill empty bed spaces or to explore new sources of revenue. Incarcerating and exploiting immigrants for ICE has proven to be an opportunistic and lucrative alternative." Greg Constantine takes us to the Oklahoma communities gutted by ICE.

Larue Leglise and James Scott Vandeventer look at the barriers facing community energy projects in the Outer Hebrides, including ageing turbines and an application process that favours large-scale projects.

Mathew Lyons reviews Nonesuch by Francis Spufford: "Childhood stories and myths suffuse the book: Nonesuch is steeped in Edwardiana, and not always charmingly so. Spufford's world takes the overlap between Nazism and the occult seriously, and the antecedents of both lay in the esotericism of the late-19th and early-20th century. The Edwardian imagination wasn’t all treasure-packed attics, cosy burrows and curious rabbit holes."

"Of all the medieval women I have researched and written about, Aethelflaed is by far my favorite." Susan Abernethy is an Aethelflaed, Lady of Mercia, stan.

The mysterious mole men of New York caught on video

Adam Gabbatt reports from New York for the Guardian:

The first sewer episode happened on 5 May, at 2am. Three people, wearing hip waders and carrying flashlights, walked to a manhole cover in the middle of the road, hauled the circular cover aside, and clambered down into the darkness.

That was that, until Thursday 28 May, when a group of people shifted a manhole cover and climbed into the sewer in south Brooklyn. Hours after that, a group of people lowered themselves into a sewer hole in north Brooklyn.

"I could tell they were up to no good," Aki Jakupovic, who witnessed the first event, told NBC New York. "They went in there, closed the cover, like, you know, they were never here."

He added: "Three random guys walking around in a strange suit. Open the sewer, [and] go in like the Ninja Turtles."

 He goes on to quote an email from the city's department of environmental protection:

"Sewers can contain numerous hazards, including noxious and potentially deadly gases, unstable surfaces, flooding risks, and confined spaces. For these reasons, members of the public should never enter a pipe, drain, catch basin, manhole, or outfall."

No mention of the alligators that are rumoured to live down there, you note.

Whatever these modern ninjas are up to, they are not alone down there. Gabbatt tells us:

The sociologist Terry Williams spent two decades visiting people who live in tunnels, hidden passageways and abandoned railroads, documenting their lives in the 2024 book Life Underground: Encounters with People Below the Streets of New York.

And New York isn’t the only place with a track record of people seeking refuge underground. Hundreds of people live in tunnels beneath Las Vegas, in passageways designed as storm drains to manage flash floods. Last year, Greater Good Charities, a non-profit, estimated that 1,500 people live in 600 miles of tunnels and culverts under the city.

But how many people are there living beneath London?

Lord Bonkers' Diary: Too close to the wicker hare

When I had the idea of Freddie and Fiona buying a cottage in the village, I couldn't resist it even though I sensed things might not go well for them. But never did I dream it would end like this. 

Friday

To the village green for the lighting of the Beltane bonfire. As the kindling catches and dusk falls, I survey the crowd of excited villagers. Why are there so many elves amongst them? No one listened to me! The bonfire is too close to the wicker hare. Oh, the voices of the children! “Sumer is icumen in, loudly sing, Cuckoo! Groweth seed and bloweth mead, And springeth wood anew, Sing, Cuckoo! Sing, Cuckoo.” 

Who are these two on their phones amid the throng? “It’s a sort of rabbit thingy.” “It so quaint! Did you get my redraft of the media relea….” “Go back,” I yell to them. “Get away!” Who has seized the pair? Damn this smoke, I can’t see anything. Who are these imps running through it? “Sumer is icumen in. Sumer is icumen in.” What’s that screaming? “Sing, Cuckoo!” The terrible smoke and crackling of the flames. “Oh God! Oh Jesus Christ!” “If you celebrate him, obvs.”

I disappear into the Bonkers Arms for a gentleman’s measure of Auld Johnston. You need a stiffener after an experience like that.

Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South West, 1906-10.

Earlier this week...

• A cloud passes over the sun
• In return for a chunky donation
• Drinking gin with Matron
• Bouncing through custard on a Spacehopper

The Joy of Six 1520

"I saw a man wearing what seemed to be a hybrid of Hell’s Angels and Crusader outfit, with horns protruding from his shoulders, but I can’t be sure whether this was a political identity or Game Of Thrones fancy dress. Those two are very close together in the imagination of 'Western crusaders', judging from some of their on-line output." Discontinued Notes was in London on Saturday, the day of the Unite the Kingdom march.

James Graham suggests Andy Burnham's attempt at a political heist may turn out more Fargo than Ocean's Eleven: "He’s already watered down his commitment on rejoining the EU, something Wes Streeting is having fun undermining. This follows the 'Red Wall' seat logic of not challenging Reform on their favourite topic. We should not be at all surprised therefore if he waters down his criticisms of Labour’s hostile policies on immigration."

John Lanchester is our guide to the extraordinary world of money laundering. He explains why, when we're all using cash less and less, there is more of it in circulation than ever.

"The government has kept tight controls on the research into cannabis-based medicines, making it prohibitively expensive and a bureaucratic nightmare for scientists to build up the evidence base that would be needed for a wide rollout of the treatment on the NHS." Kojo Koram explains why the legalisation of medical cannabis has had so little effect on the patients who might benefit from it.

Amy Boucher explores the Devil's immanence in Shropshire: "Throughout Shropshire, the Devil is referred to in familiar terms, with epithets such as 'Uncle Joseph', 'Owd Nick', 'Owd Scratch' and 'Owd Mon' used to describe him. These appellations portray a stark familiarity and provide a sense of personhood to the forces that the Devil may represent."

"Beyond his unusual appearance and miraculous shots, there was further mystique because everyone thought they were watching an Indian prince. His skills were clearly a product of the East: mystical, unusual, magical. To many, he was a conjurer. And Ranjitsinhji played on the association, knowing that it helped to paint the picture he wanted. Because nothing was quite as it appeared." Giles Wilcock on the Edwardian conjurer of runs and myths.

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."

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.

The Joy of Six 1505

Bee Boileau, Lucas Conwell ans Peter Levell find that Help to Buy schemes don't help the people who most need it: "The affordability gains from the equity loan schemes were concentrated among higher-income individuals. Since these individuals would normally be expected to be able to save for a minimum deposit quite quickly even without Help to Buy, it is likely that these schemes accelerated their first home purchase by a few years rather than making the difference between becoming a homeowner or not in the longer term."

"Rebekah Pierre, deputy director of the charity Article 39, said ... posters advertising payments of 'up to £932 per week per child' 'stopped me in my tracks' when she encountered them in a local shopping centre." Joanne Parkes on criticism of a fostering recruitment campaign by Croydon Council, arguing that its messaging risks reducing children in care to a "price tag".

Emma John reports that some researchers say that the common framing of ADHD as a characteristic for success can be unhelpful for those who are struggling.

James Cracknell says that AI is being used to undermine real local journalism: "North London News features stories about Enfield and Barnet and other boroughs that are put together by AI bots using existing stories published on other websites, including our own. This is bad enough – but what's worse is that they are also adding fake quotes, fake people (including fake councillors), fake organisations and fake facts into these stories as well. Whatever AI system they are using, it is massively flawed."

"Several startling passages of dialogue have sent me scrolling through the week’s listings to unveil an author. Katie Hims can nail a character through their choice of confectionery: of course, the trad Jim Lloyd would go for wine gums. Nick Warburton scripted a bonkers visit by a character obsessed with train timetables and pebbles, then cleverly had one of the most stolid residents complain that the incomer was a bore." Susannah Clapp praises The Archers scriptwriters.

"In Britain hauntings occur in ancient manor houses, old inns, and Gothic asylums – places whose very age makes them groan and creak, where shadows sit deep, and which are scarred by the lingering imprint of lives lived and lost. And yet arguably the most famous British ghost story of the 20th century took place somewhere quite different: in a humble council house, only half a century old, in Enfield, north London." Ray Newman considers the haunting of social housing.

"Haunted" Devon swingers club investigated by ghost hunters after "eerie" events

DevonLive wins today's Headline of the Day Award. The judges remarked that if the sub writing this headline is that fond of scare quotes – and the story below is even worse – they should get a job at BBC News.

And after reading:

A Plymouth adult entertainment venue, housed in a former bank, has become the focus of a chilling paranormal investigation. The "alternative" establishment, which features a well-appointed bar and a bondage "dungeon", is reported to have a "horrible" atmosphere in certain areas, a sensation that has intensified since recent renovation work commenced.

they suggested the owners move the bondage dungeon into one of the areas with a horrible atmosphere and charge extra.

Shropshire ley line quest: Bronze Age stones to Medieval fortress

Don't believe in ley lines? I'd like to, but I don't either. So let's just enjoy this as Shropshire hill porn.

This is freely adapted from the blurb on YouTube:

On the final part of the quest, we trek six rugged miles from the ancient Mitchell’s Fold stone circle across windswept hills to the mysterious ruins of Simon’s Castle, perched just east of Churchstoke.

Along the way, we follow the straight-line path of a 14-mile ley line that links Caus Castle near Westbury and Simon’s Castle. Expect stunning Shropshire scenery, hidden historical gems, medieval fortress vibes, and plenty of on-the-ground exploration as we close out this multi-part adventure.

Like and subscribe, my pretties. Like and subscribe.

The Joy of Six 1493

"Australian politics is beautifully, exquisitely, delightfully boring. It is boring in the way it used to be back home - sane, predictable, restrained, broadly rational, and consisting mostly of retail offers to voters rather than screeching rhetoric about identity and culture war." Ian Dunt says Australia can teach Britain how to kill populism.

Rose Runswick fears the Liberal Democrats have accidentally voted for a surveillance state: "Let us be clear, the tech lobby wants this ban to happen so they can have more data to push their agendas. We have seen this with Peter Thiel, an American plutocrat who claimed, "I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible," and the use of medical data to help create the ICE raids we see now in America."

"She traces the rise in entrepreneurship to changes in working patterns since the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020, when large numbers of people realised their jobs could be done from anywhere with a laptop. Across the UK, coastal towns saw a surge in interest." Zoe Crowther asks if digital nomads can breathe new life into failing resorts.

George Palmer-Soady warns against complacency about the regeneration of Nottingham's Broad Marsh: "Not only would any 12-storey building of its kind block the sunlight from shining over the beautiful Green Heart park, but it would serve as a grim reminder of everything the Broad Marsh had set out not to become."

George Scialabba salutes the moral beauty of George Eliot's Middlemarch.

"A couple of weeks ago I was asked on Times Radio whether I believe in fairies, and I suspect it is a question I will get asked a lot more now that Fairies: A History is published." Francis Young introduces his new book.

The Joy of Six 1487

"On this occasion Starmer has taken both the correct and popular position and stuck to it despite relentless attacks from the right. The result is that it is now his opponents, rather than him, who is having to embark on a humiliating U-turn." Adam Bienkov argues that the government should learn from Farage and Badenoch's reversal on Iran.

The Lancet dissects Robert F. Kennedy Jr's year of failure.

Michael Webb and Rebecca Flook say the choices universities and colleges make about AI are political: "The systems now being woven into education are shaped by a remarkably small group of people. Not 'the internet' as the source of training material. Not 'society' influencing the way we use these tools. It’s shaped by a small leadership class in a handful of companies, operating within specific political and economic pressures."

"I lived in a suburb on the very edge of London, far away from Soho’s Piano Bar or the Waterloo WHSmith glimpsed in the video to ‘West End Girls’. I was a lonely boy at the back of the garden. There weren’t out gay people or role models in my white working class neighbourhood, just an expectation that you would be the same as everyone else, and fit in – or else." John Grindrod reveals how Pet Shop Boys sold city glamour to queer suburban kids.

Parker Henry on Iris Murdoch as a philosopher. It seems to me she is being discovered in this role as her reputation as a novelist fades.

"Two Italian former amateur radio operators, Achille and Giovanni Judica-Cordiglia, claimed to have recorded audio from an orbiting capsule in the days before Gagarin made his flight, and it was actually the fourth slice of startling audio released by the pair." Was Yuri Gagarin really the first Soviet cosmonaut? David Crookes considers the theory that the USSR launched earlier, unsuccessful manned missions.