Tom De Vecchi

Brilliant map. twitter.com/terriblemaps/s…

On holiday in Japan and need to do a confidential work call… of course there is a place a block from my hotel which will rent me a tiny soundproof cubicle at c.£7 for 2 hours. Brilliant country.

@RobiMangia Helsinki was pretty amazing a few days ago. Transfer time from the gate our London flight arrived at to the gate for our flight to Tokyo was about 2 minutes. Maybe slightly less.

Do you have a fav airport? I’m going with CDG for Swiss watches under MSRP, and SIN & DIA for the lounges & architecture. “The 20 Best Airports in the World in 2026” afar.com/magazine/best-…

@boys_nicholas Trompe l’oeil if this kind is common to the point of being typical in Liguria on the exterior of buildings (you probably know this… apols if so). Virtually every building in instagram friendly pictures of eg Cinqueterre has it.

It’s common place in designy circles to criticise “fakery” but it seems to me fakery should be welcomed in principle if well executed. Nearly everything in these 4 photos is trompe l’oeil, cost-effectively bringing joy to a service corridor in an Italian government building. Good

Singapore? No, she’s rather good actually.

@Masterofwhine @British_Airways @AirCanada Though this was a nice touch

@Masterofwhine @British_Airways @AirCanada Yep

@British_Airways I am really disappointed in your charges. We booked to go business LHR to YYZ. The prices were better than @AirCanada . But then you wanted to charge around £1k for seat selection (for multiple passengers).

@BilgeEbiri @criterionchannl Next you have to eat at the restaurants.

I was a huge fan of Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, and Michael Winterbottom’s THE TRIP films, but now I’m watching the full TV series versions of them on the @criterionchannl, and it is dawning on me that this is one of the great artistic accomplishments of the century.

@jwalkermobile Given the quantities involved compared to Bordeaux, I’m a bit surprised to see any Burgundy at all, let alone two of them, and one is top! They really are that spectacularly expensive.

Any surprises?

@rcolvile I’m not suggesting Sumption is correct, but the moment I started taking a less interventionist approach to my son’s homework and exam revision etc, his grades shot up.

The Jonathan Sumption parenting manual thetimes.com/magazines/the-…

@BlueEarthMngmnt Just take every opportunity you can to tell the locals to speak properly and I’m sure everything will go smoothly.

Slight drawback to hosting overseas clients on a trade trip to Glasgow. They have just told me they can't understand a word anyone is saying. This could be a long day.

@bonchieredstate You can see the exhibits in “cubby holes” by visiting each floor - you can see them up close, literally touching distance. However - and I used to live round the corner for 10 years 2012-2022 and visited often - I don’t think its renovation was an improvement.

Four of the five senior leaders are women with no background in military history. They turned a once-great, highly accessible museum into whatever this monstrosity of modernism is where what exhibits even remain are in elevated cubby holes you can’t even see.

@RadioFreeTom Perhaps it won’t be “boots”. The marines might be equipped with Florsheim oxfords.

So, some military footwear will make contact with some dirt, and that footwear will be attached to human beings, and those human beings will wear uniforms and have to hold hostile territory. Fortunately, that's not "boots on the ground"

@1968Tv It’s good but Grosso in the semi against the hosts in 2006 to break the deadlock late in extra time… nothing will beat that. Hair stands up on my neck thinking about it still.

BBC World Cup 1982 Probably the greatest World Cup celebration of all time. Marco Tardelli and his iconic moment. Commentator John Motson #WorldCup

@JapanTripFriend I saw Mexico v Croatia in Niigata in 2002. I don’t remember any sake machines!

Let me tell you one of the best day trips from Tokyo. Niigata. Just 1.5 to 2 hours by Shinkansen. People go for two things: the best rice in Japan and some of the best sake in the country. Niigata is famous as the home of Koshihikari, Japan’s most celebrated rice. It’s also one of Japan’s top sake regions. The first place you should go is Ponshukan inside Niigata Station. It’s basically a dream for sake lovers. Rows of sake vending machines. You buy coins and just keep tasting. That’s it. I’ll attach a video of the machines. My personal favorite is Hokusetsu Daiginjo YK35 Shin. It’s incredible. You absolutely have to try it. It was so good I ended up buying a bottle to take home. Also stop by Bakudan Onigiriya. They make ridiculously huge rice balls using Koshihikari rice. One bite and you start questioning every onigiri you’ve ever eaten before. Eat amazing rice balls. Drink a lot of sake. That’s basically the whole trip. But somehow you go home completely satisfied. On the way back, you fall asleep on the Shinkansen, and suddenly you’re already back in Tokyo. It’s just a day trip, but it really feels like you traveled. Have you ever been to Niigata?

@OBEhizele This works all the way out of London too. Brighton to London? No problem. Hastings to London? Fine. Brighton to Hastings? You’ll need all day to go there and back, best to drive.

One of the funny things about South London is that travelling from Lewisham to London Bridge or Cannon Street feels effortless. But trying to go from SE to SW — Brixton, Clapham — suddenly feels like a mission. I’d genuinely rather just go central or spend the day in Greenwich.

@paullewismoney @Moneybox Narwhal Axolotl Tabby cat Wasp Box Jellyfish

The most popular question on today's @Moneybox was what animal in the UK should go on the new banknote series the Bank of England is planning. Tell me your choices...

@sturgios Her name sounds like Gino D’Acampo pointing out a nice tree.

Nominative determinist of the day

@kristinatastic Witchsmellers pursuivant

I've been working on this important list for a couple of years now. What am I missing?

@nonregemesse Blackpool

I would like to immediately know where this is