Young children have a rich fantasy life, imagining themselves to be a famous celebrity, or a star footballer, or even a top general. The President of the US is a young child:

Thinking of getting AI to produce a picture of me in cricket whites flanked by Jack Hobbs and Joe Root. You don’t have to be President of the United States to be ridiculous:

Did Israel and the US help engineer the recent poor performances of the England cricket team? Jones needs to investigate:

Haven't heard much of this lot recently, but I hear they are going to release a cover version of John Lennon's 'Give Peace a Chance'. No doubt the MAGA faithful will snap it up:

Presumably this woman imagines that she would have put up much sterner resistance than the French if she had been there in 1940:

Good thread on racism:

Rob Ford@robfordmancs.bsky.social · 2d ago

This is what happens when anti-racism norms erode, and elites bear a lot of the responsibility for norm erosion, as they have disproportionate power to set and enforce norms

It’s worth remembering that quite a few western “progressives” cheered the return of the Taliban because it was a defeat for Western policies, and nothing could be worse in their eyes than Western policies:

Fereshta Abbasi@fereshtaabbasi.bsky.social · 3d ago

Taliban have entrenched one of the worst human rights crises and systematically dismantled the rights of women and girls since taking power five years ago. Afghanistan is also facing a humanitarian crisis with 40% of the population in need of assistance. www.hrw.org/news/2026/08...

Morning on Ynys Môn, with the Carneddau, Dyffryn Ogwen, and the Glyderau in the distance:

Lovely piece by @athersmike.bsky.social on a village cricket club that featured in a John Arlott film 40 years ago, a club where the teas “are recognised as among the best in the division”: www.thetimes.com/sport/cricke...

Retracing Arlott’s footsteps to club that is still village’s beating heart

Chardstock featured in a film by the legendary broadcaster 40 years ago and the same cricket-loving families are keeping its spirit alive amid bucolic splendour

thetimes.com

Nothing impresses Donald Trump half as much as Donald Trump:

Good piece by @davidsonofaaron.bsky.social on how ordinary people who are not particularly unsavoury and not obscenely rich seem to be turning against the activities of those who are both: open.substack.com/pub/davidaar...

Gianni and the Kushners

The world fights back

open.substack.com

Good piece by @nickcohen.bsky.social on how those who see themselves as really progressive can end up as an apologist for a brutal aggressive dictatorship: open.substack.com/pub/nickcohe...

Spain was part of the Roman Empire first. So maybe the Italians should demand it back. They could also demand France and Britain while they’re at it. But the Brits could demand Ireland back. And the 13 American colonies:

What could be better on a Sunday morning than reading John Arlott on a day in 1953 “when, it seemed, half the country held its breath all afternoon”? www.cricinfo.com/story/the-wa...

The Watson- Bailey epic

John Arlott's personal reflections on the great England rearguard at Lord's in 1953, when, it seemed, half the country held its breath all afternoon

cricinfo.com

If, by now, you do not believe Reform and Farage are dodgy as hell, you are also going to be someone who believes global warming is a hoax, Donald Trump tells the truth and covid vaccines were state-sponsored poison. In other words, you're an irredeemable moron.

Rowan tree and Bregalad’s lament in Lord of the Rings:

For Diane Abbott, newly restored to the Labour Party, these things are all a result of “NATO’s campaign against Russia”. Wonder if she thinks Guernica was a result of some Western campaign against Nazi Germany?

I’m a day late: nation.cymru/culture/cala...

Calan Awst: The ancient Welsh harvest festival celebrated on 1 August

Nation.Cymru Staff Before the National Eisteddfod became one of Wales’ biggest summer celebrations, 1 August marked the beginning of the traditional harvest festival known as Calan Awst, or Gŵyl Awst....

nation.cymru

Trump no more cares about what the people of Greenland want than Putin cares about what people of Ukraine want. Both men think they should have anything they want, and the wishes of ordinary people are completely irrelevant:

Elsi Eldridge, the celebrated artist and wife of poet-priest #RSThomas, was born #OnThisDay in 1909. Discover more at: meeldridge.com

Evening at Pentraeth beach (with some horsetails):

31 July 1932 | A Dutch Jewish girl, Rivka Regina Krzywanowski, was born in Amsterdam. She was arrested while trying to get to Spain. She was deported to #Auschwitz from Drancy on August 1942. She was murdered in a gas chamber.

Just finished this very interesting book on language death and the efforts that have sometimes been made to kill languages, and also the revitalisation of languages. Particularly interesting on Ukrainian, Kurdish, and Hebrew. @sophiasgaler.bsky.social amzn.eu/d/07sUoFxD

The thin line between US President policy making satire and reality ... via Arthur Barnes

When 60% of people believe wealthy donors give money to gain influence, trust in democracy suffers. Without limits on donations, we’re leaving our politics vulnerable to the influence of the ultra-rich. The time for finance reform is now.

What political finance changes are coming in?

Back in 2015 we published Deal or No Deal which looked at public attitudes to political finance following the failed cross-party talks on implementing the Committee on Standards in Publi

buff.ly

Good piece by @nickcohen.bsky.social on homophobia among Muslims, right wing attempts to exploit it, and the unwillingness of most of the left to confront it: open.substack.com/pub/nickcohe...

Morning in Cwm Cadnant, where a bit of rain in last two days has slightly increased the volume of water in the stream, improving the quality of the music it makes as it passes over the stones:

The Australians were doing well until they started beating us at cricket:

John Rentoul@rentouljohn.bsky.social · 7d ago

Australia was the richest country on earth, per person, after 1850s gold rush until 1890s depression marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevo...

For anyone interested in 20th century history (who can cope with traditional academic lectures - just someone standing there talking), these lectures from Tim Snyder and Marci Shore are very interesting: munkschool.utoronto.ca/phl/hitler-a...

Morning on Afon Menai: