Simon Fisher

NEW Larry the Cat has just killed and eaten a mouse feet from the door of 10 Downing St during the Prime Minister’s press conference. The mouse was killed in the courtyard of the Foreign Office, dragged across the street and consumed by Larry on the grass next to Number 10’s door. We have the film. This is not an April Fool. It is the first time this has happened in my long hours standing outside 10 Downing Street. Here is Larry moments before the mouse killing.

We have gigantic creatures in the sea which can sing for hours and have arteries so big you can crawl through them. (whales) We have birds that fly 50,000 miles every year. From the antarctic to the arctic and back again. (arctic tern) We have living creatures which never get old and never die naturally. (jellyfish) We have animals which you can force through a sieve, and they can reassemble themselves. (sponges) We have an ancient line of animals which once had 30 or more successful species, and has gone extinct down to just one single representative, and that representative has conquered the entire world (us). We have horrors that look just like rocks and if you step on them your whole world becomes agonizing pain. (toadfish) We have animals who hide inside other animals, and when you eat that animal, they enter your intestines and live there. (tapeworms) We have plants which live on other plants and never touch the ground. There's a fruit tree that grows around another tree, and eventually kills and replaces it. (strangler fig) We have gliding lizards, marsupials, snakes, frogs, and rodents. What the heck do you need fairies for?

Fascinating glimpses of the past in old detective stories: just finished one set in an "old people's home" where one of the residents was in his mid-50s. Nothing physically wrong with him but he was a widower whose daughter had married & so he had "no-one to keep house for him".

21,000 churches have become subject to VAT on repairs overnight, with the end of the Listed Places of Worship Grants Scheme. Visit our website for all the details on what we know so far, and how you can help churches affected by these changes.

The hereditary peers in the House of Lords ARE elected (albeit by a small electorate); it is the life peers who are not elected by anyone.

Lent is an important time in the Christian calendar, and one which allows us to step away from the business of life, slow down and reflect. Last year, our Dean, Dr David Hoyle, was joined by the Reverend Catherine Williams to discuss themes of repentance and how we might observe a ‘Holy Lent’ ⤵️