A few days ago I finished Do Not Disturb by Michela Wrong. This book is an astonishing work of journalism, understandably Orwell Prize nominated, casting a light into an appalling Rwandan regime successive UK/US and other governments have lauded. Potted version by Wrong here at the Guardian.

Quite the most remarkable, revealing book I have read in a long time. Try thinking about the UK plan to fly people to Rwanda after reading My Fourth Time, We Drowned by Sally Hayden.

Tremendous news that the EFL taking some simple actions to help people who are colourblind. Premier League are laggards as one might expect.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jun/10/efl-clubs-allowed-to-wear-away-kits-at-home-to-help-colour-blind-people

Great article in the FT and rather wonderful quote from Peter Hennessy on asked what he thought of Starmer’s promise to resign if get a fine for breaching lockdown rules: “I think it’s exactly right. He’s an honourable man. History would record him very favourably. Why do I know that? Because I’m writing the fucking history, that’s why.” 

https://www.ft.com/content/37a5b18a-77d0-4f17-ae0a-99802396ff36

Powerful emotional article in the FT about the death of a young man with epilepsy written by his sister. Recommended. https://www.ft.com/content/b2e9e0fd-b5fb-4a9e-91b6-f6b137e5a512 🔒

The song, This Is the Day, by THE THE, is still a regular for me and it sits on my running Spotify playlists. Fabulous to see a Guardian article about it but I can’t watch the YouTube video as it will wreck the images in my head: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/apr/25/how-the-the-made-this-is-the-day

If you are wondering what the hell a dead cat is, in political parlance, then read this excellent article by Sam Freedman on the Substack, Comment is Freed. It also does a brilliant job of explaining how politics largely works - spoiler - it’s usually cock-up rather than conspiracy.

Miles King has written a review of Wild Fell by Lee Schofield on the excellent A New Nature Blog. He doesn’t post often now, apologising unnecessarily, and I’m just happy to enjoy the content he does create. It’s a bit of an old school blog - excellent writing and a place where one feels reasoned debate can be had without degenerating into a slanging match. Bookmark the blog, visit regularly, and enjoy.

The book, Wild Fell is on my to-read list but I wasn’t sure about it. The review has convinced me. I think I vaguely thought it was advocating for the status quo and I’m now not quite sure why I thought that. Kings says:

Almost everyone (dare I say even James Rebanks?) now accepts that there are too many sheep in the Lake District, and that has been the case for many decades. So it’s very inspiring to read about a large scale project where reducing the sheep numbers (and also changing the times they are out on the commons) is actually happening — and how quickly the land and its nature is responding.

I find it hard, running on the Howgills nearly every day, not to be depressed at the effects of sheep on the uplands. King has covered this a fair bit in the past and there are some links in his review. I need to read this book and Mardale Common is not too far from here for a quiet run sometime soon.

There is an excellent short article in the FT today by Hannah White covering some of the detail around the consequences of Johnson’s lies and the importance of the ministerial code. It caught my eye as White has just released a new book three days ago, Held in contempt: What’s wrong with the House of Commons?, and I have it on my to-read list.

The book blurb suggests that White thinks the Commons is in decline and urges MPs to reform. The article is sharp and it bodes well for the book.

A charming article on how an elderly Spanish gent is selling his books rather than have them all dumped in a flea market when he dies and sold for a euro each. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/22/barcelona-bookshop-gracia-albert-costa