"Kew Gardens has had a weather station since 1871. This July was, based on third party analysis of Met Office data collected at the site, the first calendar month on record where no rainfall was measured at Kew."

London's first month without rain

Plus: There's nowhere to bury the dead • London wants to keep its money • When will it stop being so damn hot • Who is to blame for turning off the air conditioning in the tower block?

londoncentric.media

Once again, I think we can all agree that the real story here is Kemi Badenoch’s miraculous resurrecting of Tory fortunes.

When it eventually rains, the petrichor is going to be mindblowing!

People who think Emily Wilson is being mean have clearly never presented a paper at an academic conference

*types ‘the’* Autocorrect: looks like you’re about to write ‘theosophistical’ so I’ll just change it to that to save you time, shall I?

Ooh I know this one. It's by BANNING THE PERVERT GLASSES

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 2w ago

Meta’s smartglasses mean any child can be covertly filmed. In the age of AI, how do we tackle that risk?

This is very disappointing. Such an important and undervalued brief which was for years held by a succession of uninterested itinerants. A prisons minister who genuinely cared and who was starting to see results.

Cassia Rowland@cassiarowland.bsky.social · 2w ago

The day’s first casualty: James Timpson resigns as prisons minister. This is a big surprise! Timpson had a long history as a prisons reformer before entering government and seen as one of Starmer’s more innovative & exciting appointments. He’s also delivered a big change programme in gov. So: why?

Imagine if a woman president spent most her time raving and crying about an election she lost 6 years ago. Emotional. Unstable. Hysterical. Unfit to lead.

Bollocks.

How witless was it that the end of 142 years of gender-based injustice should be overshadowed once again by a bunch of male cricketers and their own inept timing? Andrew Miller writes ⤵️

Women's cricket shortchanged again as men's Test binfire sucks up the oxygen

ECB complicit in fanning flames as momentous month for English game is repeatedly overshadowed

cricinfo.com

it's the social determinants of health which we have not managed to meaningfully address - access to good housing, access to green space, access to good food, reduced air and noise pollution, access to employment www.health.org.uk/features-and... 3/4

There is something so wonderful about his face. A lifetime of intelligence, of smiling, and of appreciation for all-things-lovely, perhaps?

Eileen Oz@eileenoz.bsky.social · 3w ago

Sam Neil and Jeff Goldblum September Song, composer Kurt Weill

This is just so wonderful - it still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Richy Craven@richycraven.bsky.social · 3w ago

Sam Neil has so many great performances that it feels almost reductive to focus on one scene. Except it's one of the most iconic scenes in movie history and all of it, The groundbreaking CGI, the sweeping John Williams score *doesn't* work without the authentic joy and wonder of Neill's performance

Sam Neil has so many great performances that it feels almost reductive to focus on one scene. Except it's one of the most iconic scenes in movie history and all of it, The groundbreaking CGI, the sweeping John Williams score *doesn't* work without the authentic joy and wonder of Neill's performance

A celeb who I really did like very much. Gentle and funny and a fabulous actor.

The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL)@themerl.bsky.social · 3w ago

Farewell to the extraordinary Sam Neill. Among his brilliant highlights, we'll remember him for his wonderful social media updates about his farm and his many brilliantly-named animals. www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAaK...

When the "joke candidate" takes climate change more seriously than almost every elected politician.

Count Binface@countbinface.bsky.social · 3y ago

Under a Binface government, anyone who doesn’t accept human-made climate change as fact will be sent back to school, from Year 1 right the way to A Levels, to see if anything goes in the second time round. #VoteBinface

@jarrodkimber.bsky.social Lovely to bump into you! Team Cricket-Without-Boundaries-Rwanda is waving from the Warner Stand.

Have you considered simply not breaking the speed limit? www.thetimes.com/life-style/d...

The 20mph trap — I’ve got nine points!

I was a model driver. Now I’m one fine off a ban. By Jack Burke

thetimes.com

Less than four months after being found liable for building addictive design elements into Instagram, Meta is developing plans to lace its platforms with a novel gambling feature: a prediction market that could feed users an individualized stream of events to bet on.

Like “combining alcohol and cocaine”: Meta plans to add gambling to its addictive platforms

Less than four months after being found liable for building addictive design elements into Instagram, Meta is developing plans to lace its platforms with a novel gambling feature: a prediction market ...

oligarchwatch.substack.com

I had to check but this is genuine. What a way to trigger a by-election.

Mark@quigonsmith.bsky.social · 4w ago

🔥

“What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham…” —Frederick Douglass, 1852

Similarly, I had an email that started “sure, here’s a version of team message with added empathy” the other week. Have to say, the team did not feel more empathised with.

Rhodri Marsden@rhodri.biz · last mo.

Had an email today that began with a sentence they should probably have deleted – "Here's a more natural and polished version of your email" – and it made me sad

That’s probably the most interesting stat of recent days!

Cricinfo@cricinfo.com · last mo.

Only two out of Ben Stokes' 44 Tests in charge ended in a stalemate 😮 ➡️ srkl.in/63323B7IkP3

Did you know? Renewables have just overtaken coal as the world's largest source of electricity 34% – global renewable share, up 2x in 20yrs 48% – EU 37% – China 26% – US 24% – India

“Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'"

So they will be supporting tax rises to fund everything, I presume?

Jessica Elgot@jessicaelgot.bsky.social · last mo.

The Labour minister Hamish Falconer and the Reform MP Robert Jenrick have voiced anger at the cancellation or delay of key transport infrastructure projects to fund the defence investment plan. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

A very good idea. What a playwright!

WestEndTheatre.com@westendtheatre.com · last mo.

BREAKING: The Duke of York’s Theatre to be renamed The Tom Stoppard Theatre The name change will celebrate the extraordinary legacy of the playwright, who passed away last year. Currently playing at the venue is Arcadia, considered to be his masterpiece. 🔗 www.westendtheatre.com/359319/news/...

Meanwhile, in the US. It just takes your breath away. *50 years* in prison for protesting. Don't imagine for one moment that we are immune to this. Already, the legislative framework is in place in the UK to enable such convictions - before we get a Trumplike PM. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Alarm over ‘extreme’ sentences for anti-ICE protesters convicted of terrorism

First amendment groups call 50-to-100-year prison terms chilling as legal experts say sentences unusually long

theguardian.com

Definitely worth the extra 10 min on the bike to be among the first to use the new #CambridgeSouth station. Free tote bag and coffee, too!

It feels like success stories are rare these days - so all the more reason to celebrate this!

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan@london.gov.uk · last mo.

This is remarkable.