Philip Astor

@AdamHayNicholls @greateranglia 17.18 is surely peak peak.

@greateranglia hello, I’ve got an off-peak ticket from London KX to Kings Lynn. Can I take any train this afternoon? 17:18 ok?

@peter_sarris @adwooldridge @TheEdwardHowell Go easy on the Pink Gins at 9.30am… He was a delightful man, and a legend in the Gridiron Club.

@TheEdwardHowell @adwooldridge My old tutor Maurice Keen had a much finer one (and a pith helmet)

New office in College coming together…

@vicderbyshire @sommervilletv Delighted for you @BBCSteveR, but certainly not surprised. Your reports are never less than engaging, insightful and courageous. And of course your piano playing deserves an award in its own right.

Amazing Steve Rosenberg - our Russia Editor - has won the Outstanding Contribution Award at the Royal Television Society TV Journalism Awards He’s genuinely a legend ❤️

@HughSykes I'm a member of our local Parish Council: voluntary and unpaid. But I'm still bound by the Nolan Principles of Public Life.

#AndrewWindsor The position of 'trade envoy' appears to be voluntary and unpaid. If that's always the case, was Andrew ever officially a 'public officer'? If not....misconduct in public office....?? The ever-present danger of the wrong charge.

@ArmandDAngour Not forgetting Oxford's EJRA, which may not strictly apply, but I dare say they would have regard to.

@PDPAstor Admittedly 67 is the new 47. But appointments panels may not appreciate that

Job for a MAGGA candidate. Make Ancient Greek Great Again!

@ArmandDAngour Crikey - I see: HL-J was effectively our age when he retired.

@PDPAstor 😄Make Age Go Away! (or Ageism)

@ArmandDAngour @FreyaOstara Just as long as we keep the Gods happy.

@PDPAstor @FreyaOstara Yes. To stay silent is “literally” to speak well. But literally speaking, silence is not speaking at all.

@ArmandDAngour @FreyaOstara "To suppose a word’s etymology was what it ‘literally means’ is silly. And by ‘silly’ I don’t mean ‘holy’, though the word is related to German ‘selig’, holy." Continuing the religious theme, how about εὐφημί ??

It literally means “truth”. Its etymology might be ‘unforgetting’ but it is never used to mean that in Greek. To suppose a word’s etymology was what it ‘literally means’ is silly. And by ‘silly’ I don’t mean ‘holy’, though the word is related to German ‘selig’, holy. Heidegger can ‘reveal’ what he wants to but he shouldn’t have used etymological hocus-pocus.

@SophyRidgeSky I don't know if this was your experience, but I certainly remember him parrying any question he didn't like in the course of interviews (not about his private life) by saying, with a hint of menace, that he detected something actionable in the line of questioning.

Peter Mandelson is obviously a very charming man. Funny, well connected, gossipy, you hear a lot of people talk about him with affection in Westminster. My own stand out memory of him is a little different. The first time I met him was at my first ever Labour Party conference, I was a trainee reporter in my early twenties.  In other words, I had no status or any connections really at all. And I guess the best way to put it, is that Peter Mandelson was dismissive rather than charming. The reason I'm saying this is because I think it goes to the heart of Westminster's problem, a problem that I believe is deeply connected to the Epstein scandal (in Epstein’s world status - connections - and money - was everything.) Because people who look at Westminster - in the same way as they might look at Washington - and think, this is a closed group of elites, who all know each other, who go to the same parties, and share the same in jokes... well, to a large extent, they are right. There are too many people in Westminster who look over the shoulder of the person they're talking to see if there's someone more important in the room. Status is everything... what stories can they give me... how can they further my career? The personal and the professional become blurred.  And Peter Mandelson is the embodiment of that. Charming, well connected, gossipy. In the inner circle.  If we're honest with ourselves, that's the reason he's been allowed to fail and then be rehabilitated so many times. It's the reason he was given the best job in politics - US Ambassador - despite being friends with a paedophile. And it's the reason he's had a softer landing than many others would have in his position.  A softer landing... until now. Because after the latest dump of Epstein emails, there really is no coming back. Not even for the most charming man in Westminster.

@simon_schama @washingtonweek @FranklinFoer Yes, that pathetic but egregious way he barged his way to the front for a NATO photocall was pure Spode.

@washingtonweek @FranklinFoer I still love Wodehouse's invention ( for Roderick Spode) that fits Trump to a t - " amateur dictator"

"Putin doesn’t name buildings after himself," said @FranklinFoer. "The only leaders in the world who do this are in places like Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. There’s a tin-pot dictator quality to what [Trump is] doing and how he’s afflicting his insecurities on the world."

@DrFrancisYoung The flying buttresses are remarkable.

I have no connection with Lincoln of any kind, so I don’t say this from favouritism, but I really do think Lincoln is one of the few English cathedrals that isn’t just impressive, but a world-class wonder that stands among the greatest churches ever built

Something I’ve not noticed before on the west front of @LincsCathedral is that someone added 17th-century mitres to these figures of the Apostles - a rare example of post-Reformation ‘enhancement’ of medieval images

@MartinKnight_ Weird. I can see all the other Traveling Wilburys too.

I can see Jeff Lynne. What’s wrong with me.

@BeranKnox @AntigoneJournal While we’re in the realms of redundant expressions, how about “The thing is is…”?

@AntigoneJournal Can we next discuss the virtues of unburdening that capable verb “meet” of the superfluous preposition “with”? “I’m off to meet with Mr. Gibbon today in Bentinck Street …”

Stop using "likely" as an adverb. It is an adjective, and plenty of other adverbs are waiting in the wings to convey the same meaning. That's the tweet.

@pre_historic @gunsnrosesgirl3 or Fried Bread, for choice

@gunsnrosesgirl3 Carbs ! Needs something to soak up all that goodness, like hash browns, toast, or maybe some pancakes!

Be honest, what’s missing here

@RodneyMarshall1 Yes, brilliant soundtrack, on top of everything else.

A fifth of the £2 million budget came from an American production company, allowing the six-part Edge of Darkness to be ambitious in every area: cast, crew, location filming and even attracting an Eric Clapton/Michael Kamen to provide the music score. 5/

Next week will mark the 40th anniversary of Troy Kennedy Martin's landmark political thriller Edge of Darkness. No drama had a more profound impact on me as a teenager. Initially broadcast on BBC2, it was given an almost immediate repeat on BBC1 in double-episode chunks. 1/

@tonyhazzard @Robert___Harris He’s in Dark Hearts too - which is also brilliant.

@Robert___Harris It looks as if it's got Thierry Godard in it (Spiral), so I'll have to watch it.

I cannot recommend this series about a small French town in the Second World War too highly. At long last it is available in its entirety, subtitled, on ITVX, as The Line.

@durbs75 @WG_RumblePants I also liked his story about the golfer who always took an extra pair of socks, in case he got a hole in one.

@WG_RumblePants I remember one his stories/anecdotes (probably made up but who cares). Bumps into an old friend who introduces his girlfriend - Annette. Johnners - oh I thought you were off to play cricket when you said you were having a net! 😂

Any Johnners fans out there? I’ve no idea what he would’ve made of the current cricket landscape, but I’m sure he would still have managed to find fun and joy in it and - what’s more - project that so that we could all enjoy it with him too.

@SimonMcCoyTV A charity shop.

Where would you exile Prince Andrew to…?

@henrymoeranBBC Very nice manner in the commentary box.

From when he looked like this to a multi-Ashes winner, Chris Woakes has been a total delight at all times. Did so much for England for so many years and should go down as a true great. What a servant he’s been 👏