David Scourfield

Still 2 weeks to apply for this position! It’s to provide cover for me while I work on a research project, so I have lots of teaching materials I'm happy to share & the department can offer some extra funding for attending conferences, etc. Come work with us in @ceilteachomn.bsky.social next year!

Well -- if ever we're in Cardiff at the same time, we must go for a memory-jogging pint! 🍺

Absolutely! Great memories.

Now you're talking!

The first lesson of war is ‘know your enemy’ – and Britain’s enemy now is Donald Trump | Simon Tisdall As the Iran disaster escalates, the US president should be seen as an enemy whose actions threaten the lawful, democratic way of life everywhere, says Guardian foreign affairs commentator Simon Tisdal...

Unimaginable until now.

Starmer must learn the lessons of war, and defend Britain against Donald Trump | Simon Tisdall www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Alan Paton's 'Cry, The Beloved Country' is right up there. As is 'A Passage to India'.

It does! Almost baffling!

Worried about the demise of reading? Come to France, where we’re up to our eyes in print | Alexander Hurst From hefty literary magazines to thriving book sales, the French publishing industry refuses to let printed matter die, says Paris-based writer Alexander Hurst

Hurrah for France, land of the printed book.

Worried about the demise of reading? Come to France, where we’re up to our eyes in print | Alexander Hurst www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

After two months of what seems like perpetual rain, what a joy to be out in the first real spring day of the year here in Maynooth. A balmy 15 degrees C.

Llongyfarchiadau!

Read our letter today published in the Irish Times - regarding the announcement of the 12 members appointed to the National Science Advice Forum.

On St David's Day, I remember my maternal grandmother, born 1 March 1904 in Maesteg. Married a coal miner, had three daughters, very poor much of her life, beyond generous.

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi hapus i chi gyd! A very happy St David's Day to everyone! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

The UK can't be dragged into another protracted Middle Eastern war by a US President. Keir Starmer needs to rule out the use of UK bases for any future unilateral US strikes.

The Guardian view on Plaid Cymru’s rise: Welsh politics is on the brink of a revolution | Editorial Editorial: After a century of Labour dominance, disillusionment with both Westminster and Cardiff has given progressive nationalists a historic opportunity

The party for 'voters who see themselves as primarily Welsh and European rather than British, and associate that identity with socially liberal and redistributive politics'.

The Guardian view on Plaid Cymru’s rise: Welsh politics on the brink of a revolution | www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

An indictment of (some of) the insurance industry, but yet more of the US medical system, which the Faragistas want to mirror in the UK.

On this day, women first allowed to argue Supreme Court cases On February 15, 1879, President Rutherford B. Hayes signed a new law that would admit women as members of the Supreme Court bar and allow them to submit and argue cases at the high court.

#OnThisDay in 1879, President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a new law that would admit women as members of the Supreme Court bar and allow them to submit and argue cases at the Court.

constitutioncenter.org/blog/on-this...

Is the ‘Restore Britain’ madness just a wheeze to make Reform seem moderate?

RFK Jr. made promises to get his job as health secretary. He's broken many of them In his confirmation hearings, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told U.S. senators that he would not cut funding for vaccine research or change the nation's official vaccine recommendations. He did both.

In his confirmation hearings, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told U.S. senators that he would not cut funding for vaccine research or change the nation's official vaccine recommendations. He did both. n.pr/46QDn9p

Sky News Politics Hub excelling itself tonight with an interview of Farage and Reform member Tim Montgomerie as one of the two panellists. Total over-exposure of the far right.

Mind you, when I worked in the House of Lords in the 1980s, the dimmest were (a) hereditary backwoodsmen, (b) ex-MPs of no distinction. Life peers who were not former politicians were often superb, though. A straightforwardly elected upper chamber would be a complete waste of time.

😄

I don't think it's just my age that makes me despair about the calibre of politicians in every party. There are only a few exceptions to the endemic mediocrity.

Who knows?

Go for it!

Could deliver a great aria in a new opera called Tales of Hof(f)man(n)

or indeed Hofmann*

Well, um, yeah, 18 months on.

Well said. Not a great day to be a United fan.

Much good sense here. Strongly recommended.