Allie Wharf

@jessicaduchen posted it to the Newsnight alumni WhatsApp. So much love for Henrietta and your wonderful tribute. Can I copy it and post it on FB ? With your name. Thank you - reminding me that people like Henrietta are becoming rare and should be treasured for sticking to their values. X

@alliewharf Thank you!

I needed to write something in tribute to my friend who died two days ago. open.substack.com/pub/jessicaduc…

@davidemanuel @Camp4 I can’t seem to find it as an app? Can only access it through your link above? And no results when I search for forge55.co? Can you help? Thanks. It looks great and I’m keen to use it.

@Camp4 Made some updates. Enjoy.

Today I turn 55. I’m the fittest, sharpest, and happiest I’ve ever been. If I’m an outlier, it’s not because I’m built different or discovered a secret formula. The truth is far less glamorous: It’s a million tiny choices, compounded over decades. Here are 55 of them: 1. Walk 15+ miles a week, even if you do other exercise. Humans are uniquely made to move slowly over long distances—it’s critical to longevity. 2. Develop a writing practice. It’s the single best way to sharpen your mind. And remember, you don’t have to be a good writer to write. Start with 10 minutes a day. 3. Swap out your toothpaste, deodorant, lotions, soap, shampoo, and other personal care products for natural versions. Here’s a rule of thumb: Don’t put anything on your skin that you couldn’t safely eat. 4. If you have a positive thought about someone, don’t keep it to yourself—share it immediately. Encouragement defies the laws of physics: When you give energy, you also receive it. 5. Wear shoes with a wide forefoot (I like Topo Athletic) and wear toe spreaders around the house (search “yoga toes” on Amazon). Spine health begins with the feet. 6. Get sunlight regularly. Moderate sun exposure (without sunscreen) is hugely important for overall health. 7. Do a 3-minute deep (“ass to grass”) squat every morning. Deep squats are often called the anti-aging exercise. It’s been said that, “It’s not that you can’t do deep squats because you’re old, it’s that you’re old because you can’t do deep squats.” 8. Explore minimalism (it’s not what you think it is). 9. Set boundaries on toxic relationships. We tend to cling to relationships past their expiration date, and it takes a bigger toll on our health than we recognize. 10. Eat real food. Not too much. Don’t eat garbage. Binge occasionally. Fast occasionally. That’s the diet. 11. Learn about FIRE. It’s a great framework for financial success. 12. Don’t take antibiotics except in emergency situations. They’re massively over-prescribed and aren’t needed in most cases. Antibiotics have done untold damage to our guts, which is where health begins. Great natural alternatives are out there. 13. Get 8 hours of quality sleep each night. To optimize sleep: —Don’t eat after 6pm —Get blackout shades and cover LEDs with black tape —No screens 2 hours before bed —Try ashwagandha (an herb) to calm the nervous system 14. Stop drinking, even in moderation. People find all sorts of ways to justify drinking, but there’s no escaping the simple fact that alcohol is a toxin and it limits your potential. 15. Travel as much as possible. Nothing expands the mind like seeing the world. And travel doesn’t have to be expensive—the best experiences happen outside of fancy resorts, when you live like a local. 16. Let go of resentment. When you forgive someone, you release the prisoner, and the prisoner isn’t them… it’s you. 17. Show up on time, every time. Poor time management limits success more than most people realize. If you struggle with punctuality, stop everything else and fix that first. 18. Spend lots of time in nature and touch the earth. Humans evolved over 300k years to live in harmony with nature, and only recently have we retreated indoors. If you don’t spend time outside, you’re fighting biology (hint: You won’t win.) 19. Stop doing dumb things. As Leo Tolstoy said, “People try to do all sorts of clever and difficult things to improve life instead of doing the simplest, easiest thing—refusing to participate in activities that make life bad.” 20. Find your happy place and (eventually) move there. Most people live where they live because... that's where they live. We are products of our environment—choose yours carefully. 21. Find a hobby and pursue mastery. You can’t have a happy life without a passionate pursuit that isn’t your vocation. Your work—even if you enjoy it—isn’t enough. 22. Avoid mainstream medicine except as a last resort. The results are in—our healthcare (or more appropriately, sick care) system is badly broken and only makes people sicker. 23. Have a mindset of abundance. There is no advantage to being a pessimist—even if you’re right, it’s a miserable way to live. In a very real way… whatever you believe, you’re right! 24. Do hard things. Choose courage over comfort. Everything you want is on the other side of fear and hard work. As Jerzy Gregorik said, “Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life.” 25. Ignore haters. Hurt people hurt people. Negative/toxic people live in a prison of their own design. Don’t join them! 26. Say no. Protect your time and energy like it’s your most precious asset… because it is. 27. Become a water snob. As an alien said on Star Trek, humans are “ugly bags of mostly water.” You are what you drink—literally! We have Mountain Valley Spring water delivered in glass 5-gallon jugs and also have whole-house water filter (Aquasana Rhino). 28. Stop drinking sodas and sugary energy drinks. After a few weeks you won’t miss them, and a few months later they’ll seem disgusting. Refined sugar causes inflammation, which is the root of most disease. 29. If you’re over 35, find a good functional/longevity medicine doctor and start tracking your hormones. Modern life is hell on the endocrine system and restoring healthy hormone levels can change your life. As we get older, we either accept a slow decline in performance or we do something about it—choose the latter! 30. Develop a morning routine and follow it faithfully. Win the morning, win the day! 31. Invest in experiences, not things. People frequently regret buying things, but rarely regret investing in great experiences (especially when shared with loved ones). Remember, there’s nothing you can buy in a mall that you’ll remember in ten years. 32. Explore spirituality. It’s arrogant and small-minded to believe there’s nothing going on in our universe that is beyond our comprehension. We know less about our universe than an ant meandering on a sidewalk understands about this planet. 33. Have a strong bias toward action—doing rather than talking. If you ask a bunch of old people about their regrets, they’ll talk about the things they *didn't* do—the shots they didn’t take—more than the things they did do (even if it went wrong). As Wayne Gretzky famously said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Most people don’t take enough shots. 34. Stay lean. Men in particular are obsessed with muscle mass these days, but bulk doesn’t age well. The goal is to be strong but lean. The fittest guys in their 50s and beyond aren’t meatheads, they’re lean guys who are serious about a sport. 35. Curate your inner circle carefully. Surround yourself with people you admire and who challenge you to grow. Remember, we’re the average of our 5 closest relationships. 36. Be the fittest version of yourself. Your body is your only vessel for experiencing life—so treat it as such. Fitness isn’t working out a few times a week, it’s a lifestyle. The older you get, the more time you need to devote to your health. 37. Take the time to appreciate art and beauty in all its forms. 38. Think globally, but act locally. Too many people put their energy into far-away problems they don’t understand and can’t impact, while ignoring problems right under their nose. Want to change the world? Start at home. 39. Try psychedelics. It’s one of those things everyone should do at least once, and it might be the breakthrough you’ve been looking for. 40. Limit bad habits, including unhealthy thought patterns. We all have them—practice avoidance and find substitutes. Get professional help if needed. 41. Be a lifelong learner. Your brain is just like a muscle—if you don’t feed and flex it regularly, it will atrophy. 42. Find your purpose. People with a strong sense of purpose are happier and live longer. Lack of purpose sucks energy and magnifies depression. 43. Only take advice from people who embody the traits you want to have. Talk is cheap—emulate those who have DONE it. 44. The goal is not to retire and do nothing, it’s to build a great day-to-day life that you don’t need to escape. A life of leisure is a slow death. Happiness isn’t possible without a little struggle, uncertainty, and skin in the game. 45. Have fun! Do frivolous and silly things that make you smile. As George Bernard Shaw famously said, “We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” 46. Whatever you want to do or achieve in life, start NOW. Don’t fall victim to “someday thinking” because someday never comes. 47. Accumulate assets—things that grow in value over time. It’s the #1 habit of rich people, and it can be done in tiny chunks. Instead of spending $100 on an impulse purchase that has no lasting value, put that money into an index fund or Bitcoin. It becomes addictive (in a good way). 48. Don’t ignore the big 3 canaries in the coal mine for health: —Low libido (and ED) —Frequent sinus & respiratory issues —Depression These usually aren’t medical conditions in themselves, they’re symptoms of an underlying problem. Find a good doc (outside of the mainstream) and figure out the root cause. 49. Have a clear vision for your future. How can you decide which direction to go if you haven’t clearly defined the destination? It sounds obvious, but 95% of people haven’t defined their “Ideal End State” in detail and in writing. (Check out my thread on this topic.) 50. Make your own decisions. We live in an era where most of what society tells us is wrong. Don’t be afraid to break from societal norms—if people say you’re crazy, it’s a sign that you’re doing something right. 51. Get hardcore about mobility exercise. As you age, it’s usually the knees, hips, and lower back that limit physical performance. 30 min a couple times a week can spare you a lifetime of pain. YouTube is a great resource. 52. Go all in on family. Get married, stay married, have kids. Burn the boats. In the end, family is all that matters. 53. Be ruthless with your time. Money comes and goes. Time only goes. Audit your calendar ruthlessly—cut the trivial, double down on the meaningful, and spend your hours like your life depends on it. (Because it does.) 54. Have a strong bias toward action. Be curious, try things, meet people—it’s how you increase your surface area for serendipity, the most powerful unseen force in our lives. 55. Reinvent yourself every decade. Over time, we slowly drift off course from our priorities, values, and true identity. Take stock and don’t be afraid to hit the reset button. Bold, calculated moves made for the right reasons almost always pay off—usually even more than you can imagine. 🎁 P.S. If you enjoyed this post, would you give me a birthday gift? Repost or comment with the item number(s) you liked best?

@ArchRose90 And they will walk away witn massive pensions. Shameful.

BBC director general Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness have resigned following the revelations of BBC bias by the Telegraph. Good but they should be the first of many. The BBC is now a national disgrace.

@Ash_Lee_IRL @jk_rowling I don’t think you’re a man. I think you are a trans woman who has a right to be accepted as the woman you are now. I do not accept men who use the trans excuse to insert themselves into women only spaces who have male genitalia and can be aggressive in their actions.

@jk_rowling I do agree with men not being in women’s spaces. The fundamental twist in logic is that trans women (Women that have had to go through a process of transition.) Are in any way the same as a man. Men shouldn’t be in women’s spaces. Trans women are NOT men.

As another man who once worked with me declares himself saddened by my beliefs on gender and sex, I thought it might be useful to compile a list for handy reference. Which of the following do you imagine makes actors and directors who aren’t involved with the HBO reboot of Harry Potter so miserable? Is it my belief that women and girls should have their own public changing rooms and bathrooms? That women should retain female-only rape crisis centres? That men don’t belong in women’s sport? That female prisoners shouldn’t be incarcerated with violent men and male sex offenders? That women should remain a protected class in law, because they have sex-specific needs and issues? That language should reflect reality rather than ideological jargon, especially in a medical context? That women shouldn’t be harassed, persecuted or fired for refusing to pretend humans can change sex? That women should not be threatened with violence and rape when they assert their rights? That freedom of speech and belief are essential to a pluralistic democratic society? That troubled minors, especially those who are gay, autistic and trauma-experienced, should be given mental health support instead of irreversible surgeries and drug treatments on non-existent evidence of benefit? That gay people shouldn’t be pressured to include the opposite sex in their dating pools, nor should they be smeared as ‘genital fetishists’ when they don’t? That cross-dressing heterosexual male fetishists aren’t actually oppressed, but having the time of their lives piggybacking off gender identity ideology? That said ideology, and the privileged, blinkered fools pushing it because they suffer zero consequences themselves, have done more damage to the political left’s credibility than Trump and Farage could have achieved in a century? Let me have your thoughts.

@homerjay_1888 Why would you bother to say that?

Madgewick is such a cunt #UniversityChallenge

@r4Today @bbcnews @bbclysedoucet @bbcnickrobinson dear BBC. Please can you decide how to pronounce Hezbollah. All your London presenters say HezbolLAH and all your foreign corrs say HezBOLlah. It’s weird. Thanks!

@MarkUrban01 Wow. I’ll never forget the great times we had working together and certainly never forget Surobi. Thanks for being a wonderful colleague back in the day and as everyone says it’s fun in the big wide world. (So strange we call it ‘the outside’). BBC runs deep. Xx

🚨personal news🚨I’ll be leaving the BBC at the end of May. Newsnight in its current format will end then, so most posts will go. I decided not to apply for other BBC jobs. Working there for 35 yrs has been life defining: an eyewitness to history collaborating with such brilliant colleagues. But it’s time for a change

@SamMcAlister1 @netflix Amazing. Huge congrats. Looking forward to watching 🥂🥂

Red carpet night Pure magic #Scoop @netflix ❤️

@MarkUrban01 @BBCNewsnight It was, and always will be, a high point of my working life to have been a journalist on Newsnight and to have worked with so many amazing and talented people like yourself. We survived! Xxx

The honour of presenting @BBCNewsnight falls to me tonight. I have worked on the programme for 32 years, around the world, risking my life many times for its journalism. You can well imagine my feelings at cuts to our staff and budget of more than 50% bbc.co.uk/news/entertain…

@johnsweeneyroar hi John. Could you send me a DM. I want to ask if you’re available to chair a Q&A for me at the Frontline. We worked together many moons ago at Newsnight. Thanks!

@MeirionTweets Yes because you live in central (ish) London. I would dispute the figure of 18% outside London. We don’t have a bus service where I live and although I have an electric bike and a scooter sometimes I’ve got to take the car. Having said that it’s pure electioneering on Sunaks part

Half the people where I live - Greenwich - don't have a car. Only 18% of adults nationally drive a car every day. And you are not part of the "nation of drivers" because you get driven everywhere by a chauffeur. Have you thought about a Cones Hotline?

@SnapperHarrison @CliveMyrieBBC We all fancy Clive. Mad not to.

Photographed the nicest person possible recently. Although my wife fancies him.. @CliveMyrieBBC

@CliveMyrieBBC Amazing suit @CliveMyrieBBC Rocking it. And a top interview.

Cheers Mark.

@sambrook Such an important topic which is seldom covered or thought about and should also include all data use and storage.

@WeathermanV @OlenaHalushka Why hate the west? Russia started this war and they are responsible for every lost life. It’s not nasty geopolitics. It is Russia waging war on their neighbour.

@OlenaHalushka This is why I hate the West as well. They’re using Ukrainians to weaken Russia. Just nasty geopolitics

It's truly hard to grasp what people we are losing in the russian war: dedicated, passionate, smart, bold dreamers and determined doers, the elite of our armed forces, businesses, politics, or creative industries. The infrastructure will be rebuilt, people are lost forever

@OlenaHalushka I’ve been working with young journalists in Ukraine since the beginning of the war. They are so resolute and brave but everyone is so worn down by the lack of a future and of all they have already lost. 🇺🇦

@NadineDorries Yay! At last you will be able to speak your mind, such as it is, free to speak your truth so cruelly tramelled by democracy. Can’t wait to hear … oh what was that? The whisper of tumbleweed over the barren landscape of your views…

@ivorgaber Lack of.

@ivorgaber Bit worried about my second apostrophe in my reply but I think you’re great and will forgive me.

Anyone any idea what this is?