Happy Friday!

It’s been a week. There is a lot happening in the world, not much of it good. My favourite WTF moment came with the news that the Prime Minister flew from Dorset to London and then the next day from London to Cornwall. New zero is clearly only for the little people!

Energy bailiffs for the poorest, huge profits for the richest: this is Britain in 2023

Mould complaints in England’s social housing double over two years. This is directly related to the cost of living. If energy is expensive, you don’t put the heating on and you’re always cold so you don’t open the window. I have central heating and can afford to use it. Even so there is some mould in my house. Taking down the kitchen, it was all over the cupboard and outer wall where the sink had been leaking, which was to be expected but there’s some in the bathroom and by the windows in the living room and the bedroom. I use a bleach spray once every couple of the months but it’s much less this year because of the dehumidifier. Ma doesn’t have a centrally heated house the past couple of weeks have been an education is

You can’t raise children on the cheap, so why is this government set on doing so?

‘I knew I wanted to stay here for the rest of my life’: how London got its first LGBTQ+ retirement community. This is really interesting as a model. However, it does worry me how much money is needed for all the good retirement options!

‘I’m really worried’: homeowners and would-be buyers on UK interest rates. People with mortgages are worried, buyers are worried. Complete failure to mention renters. I’m never going to be able to afford a mortgage but I’m expecting my rent is going up as my landlords buy to let mortgage will too! Everyone is going to hurt. Not just homeowners…

‘It’s a control thing’: why are we so fascinated by super-organised homes?

A warm welcome to February, it’s time to dig in. One of the hardest things about not being at home right now, is that I should be gardening more!

Turkey’s two-faced ‘sultan’ is no friend of the west. It’s time to play hardball. I couldn’t agree more.

A warm welcome to February, it’s time to dig in. One of the hardest things about not being at home right now, is that I should be gardening more!

Netanyahu is an existential threat to Israel. He can be resisted – but only with Palestinian support. While it may be factually true that Arab Israelis could have an influence on the Israeli elections, it is not and cannot be the work of the oppressed to save the oppressor from the moral harm of its actions. Which seems to be the argument being made. It’s a great idea but does very little to address how difficult it is for Israeli Arabs to vote for starters. It glances at the prejudice but still manages to imply that somehow that the majority of Israeli’s aren’t to blame for Netanyahu and his far right cronies.

There’s no cycle of violence in Jerusalem – only Israel’s lethal oppression of my people

From This Hill, You Can See the Next Intifada

The ‘leftwing economic establishment’ did not bring Liz Truss down. Reality did

Dimmer than she appears or totally dishonest? Liz Truss may be both

This Is What Netflix Thinks Your Family Is. This is interesting. Ma and I live in different places (usually) but in a lot of other ways we are a household. I guess in another age, we would still be living in the same physical place because we couldn’t have afforded to do otherwise

Stop ‘wishcycling’ and get wise: how to recycle (almost) everything

Orca mothers make ‘lifelong sacrifice’ for sons

Mane of terror: the sorry return of long-haired men. I don’t necessarily object to men with long hair (or beards for that matter) and anyone who met my Dad will get it. I object to badly kept long hair, in men and women, it’s not that hard to care for but Christelle does not enjoy it at all, so she’s not going to be happy if it becomes a thing.