Improve education for girls worldwide. A very strong link has been established by numerous studies.

Leaving aside points about driving licence numbers being unique or whatever, it would be the silver pentagram that I made back in the '90s and have worn (or occasionally carry in my wallet etc, when the cord breaks) ever since.

I think that the closest that I had at school was the library. Even decades later I am still happy when surrounded by books.

Otherwise, somewhere green: walking in woodland or sitting by a stream always improves things.

I’ve had the same number for 24 years now. I have only ever had a handful of spam calls in total over that time.

I probably get one a month or so on my work number.

Basically all of them.

A quick skim shows me that the only people who have called me this so far this year are:

• Doctor
• Dentist
• Sister
• Wife
• Close friend

I expect that this would be much the same for last year too.

I have no reason not to speak to any of these.

At the point where you and the AI can see someone straightening their tie in a certain way and you and the AI can exchange a single wordless glance and you both burst out laughing 'cos it was just like that thing that you both saw 6 months ago and found hilarious then - then maybe.

Not before.

That implies that the others have got complete maps - which I find much more surprising. Every time that I have had any dealings with any utility companies - which I do as part of my job - it becomes apparent very early on that they don’t have anything like accurate maps in whatever area I am looking at. And not just for old lines that they inherited - as seems to be the issue here - but for things like fibre optics that I saw them lay myself just 18 months earlier.

Biggest one for me was swapping from setting the alarm as late as possible and then rushing to get out of the house, to setting it an hour earlier and using that to read, do a little qi gong and have a leisurely breakfast.

I am - in the UK - and I think that it should be opt out rather than opt in.

• M (1931)
• Duck Soup (1933)
• Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
• The Third Man (1949)
• Twelve Angry Men (1955)
• The Wages of Fear (1955)

For me, at least, it correlates to the direction that provides the widest/least obstructed/most visibly clear/least disruptive/least hazardous direction to give onward travel. Clearly the direction that that boils down to varies according to the individual situation.

I don’t recall being alone with a single central obstruction in the middle of an otherwise deserted and symmetrical street with no other influencing factors enough times to have noted any innate bias on my part.

At the Cinema Sweet Sue (2023) - by Leo Leigh (Mike Leigh’s son) - a low key dramedy which walked the line between grotesque and sympathetic characters very well.

TV - The Sandbaggers from 1978. Cold war UK spy drama series focussed on the internal politics and strategising of MI6’s Special Operations Unit. A sharp and Intelligent script is the backbone for this one, overcoming the low budget.

TV - True Detective - season 4 - just the first episode so far. I have not seen any of these other than S1. This is not as intense as the start of that, but is intriguing enough to continue.

There is a great list here.

Also Wild Strawberries (1957).

As in production companies? I’d go for Hammer Films.

Is ‘consistent’ the critical thing here though? Or is introducing ideas to large numbers of people who could actually benefit from them?

Should all leftists just sit in a small room together and only talk among themselves to ensure that they are consistent? Or should they be going to places where there are other people and talking to them to actually spread leftist ideas among them?

Do you really find it that baffling that people are choosing to provide help and advice in a setting that has millions of active users rather than a setting that has some thousands?

Reading, hiking, film & TV, conservation volunteering

The ‘original’ game: Why Don’t You - Yes But was the one that I first recognised in myself. There are plenty of other examples on that website, but as the page says, it doesn’t have the full explanation and context.

There have been several. I’ll pick Eric Berne’s book Games People Play.

I immediately recognised a few that I had played and, having been ‘called out’ on them by the book, it did lead me to stop and behave more constructively.

Film

• Letter From Siberia (1958) - a fascinating, charmingly whimsical documentary now as intriguing for its distance in time as much as in location.
• The Fearless Vampire Killers/Dance of the Vampires (1967) - which I have always had a soft spot for. Very much of its time, but I continue to enjoy it.
• Life of Brian (1979) - I have always felt that the whole speech impediment section was out of place among the rest of the humour and that feeling was even stronger now. Oh yes, and the blackface in scene 1 really leaps out too. Otherwise, brilliant.
• You Won’t Be Alone (2022) - thoughtful and beautiful folk horror on the theme of how to be human.

TV

• Penda’s Fen - a Play for Today from 1973, very daring for the time. A coming of age tale with some wonderful combinations of ideas and imagery.
• Ghosts - the original UK version. I caught up with season 5 and the Christmas special and finale. I’ll miss the characters - especially Robin - but good that it has ended before outstaying its welcome.
• Slow Horses - end of season 3 and looking forward to the next. Evidently S5 has been given the go ahead too. It continues to shine.
• Big Door Prize - just started. Not sure where it is going, but looks as though it has some potential.
• Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) - the original 1969 version. I have seen most of the episodes before, but my SO hasn’t and I still enjoy them.