The Digest 29/09/25

Writing

"Argh!! The World is going to hell in a handbasket!"

Look, there's plenty going wrong. I don't deny that. However, lifting our collective petticoat and standing screaming on a chair is not only faintly ridiculous, it contributes to the feeling of powerlessness and hopelessness that pervades the media and discourse.

Stephen Yaxley Lennon, (no relation), football hooligan, jailbird, bankrupt, journalist and politician paints a picture of the UK being overrun by Muslim men bent on rape, murder and chaos.

Thing is, it isn't.

So, I'm determined to paint pictures of what I see, from a distance both in geography and time, and supplemented by the odd visit. You'll find this week's posts below.

Gurt lush

Bristol has a long maritime past, including a close association with slavery. As a major port, migrants came in to Bristol, and migrants left Bristol for the New World (not always of their own volition).

Writer, interrupted.Stuart Lennon

Forty-Five Religions

Slightly worrying ones were the 114 Bristolians who identify as Satanists, who greatly outnumber the followers of the Occult, who just pip the Witches.

Writer, interrupted.Stuart Lennon

Walking

This my weekly beg. Just in case you have missed it, at the end of October, I am walking 100km across Cyprus with a friend who has overcome two separate cancers in the last few years. We're doing it to raise money for a cancer charity, so if you are able to make a donation, please do. Read about it here. Cancer touches everybody.

Consuming

A bunch of Cannucks sitting around and conjuring music from beer, pizza and friendship. Beautiful.

Prairie Valley #13: We Be Jammin’ — Justin Twyford

It was supposed to be beer and pizza. Hang out in my bar. Talk some BS and generally destress. It’s just a few guys getting together for a few hours on a weeknight to chill and hang out. With family and work commitments, it’s something that gets put off far too often. My friends are musicians, and

Justin TwyfordPrairie Valley #13: We Be Jammin’

Paris. Harry's Bar. The Jazz age. Who can resist? Reviving a magazine, this is a worthy cause. A wonderful bar too, that it has been too long since I visited.

The Boulevardier

Cal Newport makes the case for a cold-eyed look at our use of Social Media

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