Wednesday 29 July, 2026

Who do you think your are? Sitting quietly by myself in the garden of the Orchard in Grantchester yesterday, I was joined by this teenage Jackdaw, who gave me a hard stare. So I stared back and he kindly posed for his portrait. Quote of the Day ”Let us do something, while we have the chance”. Vladimir, in Waiting for Godot. This could be a good motto for American electors, coming up to the mid-terms. Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Fergus O’Farrell | Something right Link Long Read of the Day Lionel Messi and the Baby in the Bassinet As I was clearing away all the pieces about the World Cup that I’d collected during the competition I came on this essay by Michael Ignatieff on two great footballers, Lionel Messi of Argentina and Lamine Yamal of Spain, on whether great stars deserve fame and fortune. When talent of such an extraordinary kind is in play, we enter a magic realm where normal rules and expectations cease to apply. Which is why we watch: we want our side to…