February 28-March 6, 2026
SATURDAY 28 An article in the Guardian says that after the disaster of the Gorton and Denton by-election, Keir Starmer will come out fighting, but nevertheless goes on to list his weaknesses. The author says that Starmer is crippled by an inability to speak out with conviction about the issues that really matter to voters. He dances around policy trying to find a diplomatic fix, but inevitably ends up sounding like “the vegetarian manager of a butchers shop”.
SUNDAY 1 If you watch a lot of spy series on the TV you know that you can scarcely whisper into someone’s ear in a train station without it being detected by the hundreds of snooping devices installed therein. Which is great news for the pursuit of terrorists but not for some poor drunk called Brian, who according to The Londoner accidentally fell onto the track at Stratford tube station when the line was clear, was unable to haul himself back onto the platform and was therefore run over by SEVEN successive incoming trains. Only after the fourth train had mashed his dead body into the track did anyone twig that something wasn’t right.
📌 In his excellent Warming Up blog Richard Herring rarely gets political. I always presumed it was a tactical measure for comedians to be either politically agnostic or of the lunatic fringe. Herring today digests Keir Starmer’s shaky predicament with gentle humour but a forceful point of view.
MONDAY 2 On Saturday we re-watched the 1995 David Fincher neo-noir film Seven. Yesterday at lunch we wondered about the significance of all the very heavy rain featured in the film as Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman go after serial killer Kevin Spacey. All that rain certainly added to the claustrophobic atmosphere, and maybe, we thought, there was a religious significance in the mix. I decided to investigate and my phone’s AI Assistant came up with an answer that is as surprising as the film’s ending. Apparently, Brad Pitt was only available to work on it for 55 days, which meant all his scenes needed to be shot in that timeframe. To avoid any potential loss of shooting time due to bad weather, director Fincher decided to make it rain constantly, thus maximising the use of Brad Pitt’s available time. And, says Fincher, heavy rain is easier than fine rain to recreate on film.
📌 The last thing Britain needs right now is to be dragged into another one of America’s wars in the Middle East. Yet Keir Starmer thinks it’s a good idea. No wonder his popularity rating is -49.
TUESDAY 3 Rafael Behr rationalises Starmer’s decision to fall in behind Trump on his war in Iran by claiming the PM’s “limited” support sits somewhere between a rock and a hard place. It was a bad decision, says Behr, but there weren’t any good ones available. The only positive is that it signals a slow, protracted closure of the so-called Special Relationship and a reliance on US strategic protection.
The US president doesn’t see alliances as long-term relationships based on mutual advantage, but as rolling transactions on a mafia model.
📌 Shirley got hold of some cheap tickets to see a flamboyant Lebanese violinist and storyteller called Ara Malikian at the Barbican. This is rock-n-roll violin, with a full repertoire of backing band, flashy stage lights, prancing, body popping and string-driven riffery that cleverly owes more to the Rolling Stones than to Nigel Kennedy. They even did a Jimi Hendrix number (alongside some well-known classics and sublime melancholic Armenian folk meanderings).
WEDNESDAY 4 I always thought that when Labour got elected to power in 2024, they needed to score a quick political win to make voters feel that change was on the way. Instead it has made a lot of rookie errors, which given their past experience in government looks too much like gross incompetence. Now they are mired in the idea that they haven’t got a clue, with a leader who personifies cluelessness. But according to critical friend LabourList, the slow but steady approach (ie, boring) is starting to get traction and a steely reserve is finding favour even among Labour radicals. All they need to do now is convince voters, something they have a solid track record of failing to do.
If Labour’s first two years have been about firefighting and repair, the challenge now is ensuring that the stabilisation phase translates into tangible improvements that voters can feel. The direction and desire to deliver on this is visible.
📌 Karen says there’s a proper rumpus going down at Tudor Rose Court in which one of the residents has been the victim of dirty gossip claiming she is subletting her property, which is against the rules. She has sent a letter to all residents saying shut up or I will set my lawyers on you.
THURSDAY 5 George came back to tell us that on July 22 at 11.30am we will be granted the Freedom of the City of London. We hope afterwards to dine lavishly at the Guildhall with our proposers, Dawn and Liz.
📌 My wife tells me that Poundland in Hoxton Street has closed down.
📌 Sam gave me some stickers that commemorate 120 years of the Kop.
FRIDAY 6 Last night at the Guildhall School we watched a bunch of over privileged classical guitar students attempt to impress their classmates. Technically, I’m sure they did a great job reciting what must have been some of the most boring music ever known to the guitar. Not a flamenco note or flourish in sight, or even a happy tune. Just a lot of dreary0p 17th Century European salon plucking and some ridiculous English folk. Good job it was free.
📌 In a razor-sharp essay disguised as an open letter to whoever succeeds Keir Starmer, Peter Kellner slashes at any benefit-of-the-doubt inclinations you might have for the Prime Minister by carefully measuring his performance so far against all his Labour predecessors. The conclusion is that before his 2024 victory Starmer was well prepared on how to get elected, but made no plans beforehand on how to run a country.
When Starmer does go, you will need to reconnect with Labour’s past and its core values.
📌 One of our friends is to visit Zurich in Switzerland to check out the assisted dying facilities at Dignitas.
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