David Peckham

The Standard are reporting the rental home as being in East Dulwich. I hadn't realised she was that local. "Rachel Reeves apologises for London rental rules breach as Tories demand her sacking | The Standard" https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/rachel-reeves-rental-rules-break-east-dulwich-family-home-southwark-council-b1255584.html

There was quite an old clip on BBC4 recently where they were introducing yoghurt to the British public. They called it a 'Balkan Dairy Preparation', which sounded to me more like something you'd ask to speak to the male member of staff about in the chemist in those days.

I miss milkmen. It was the sign of a good night out if you met one on the way home. But could quality produce, in 100% recyclable packaging and home-delivered by zero emission electric vehicles really catch on these days? They should bring back the Corona pop man, as well.

It was a bit of a jump by me from Cyclemonkey seeing a similar presence at London Bridge. Larnaca wouldn't have brought a huge amount of fans, but it was the first time Palace have hosted a competitive European tie. There's the issue of Northern Cyprus and heightened media interest around footy because of the Villa Maccabi game at the moment, so that may have had a bearing on the scale of the operation. It does seem unlikely if it was at four o'clock, though.

My apologies. The timing of your original post suggested it was after 6pm, which would fit with them herding away supporters onto the train at London Bridge and trying to get to Selhurst station to escort them to the ground.

Palace were at home last night, kicked off at 19.45. The timing sounds about right.

That sounds like a very short pub crawl.

The drivers generally have the same set area to cover every day, so they're fairly easy to follow - quite often on bike. They organise their drops to maximise how many they can do within a given time - there's actually software at the depot to do this before they set off - so they tend to follow the same route. Certain addresses are delivery hotspots, some have two or three drops a day from the various couriers. It all adds up doorstep deliveries being incredibly easy to target. I suspect Vladi's neighbour hasn't had their fake parcel nicked, not because of their security, but because the thief simply wouldn't have seen the driver stop there, so there's nothing to steal. The losses are factored in, driving prices up for everyone, and the drivers are treated abysmally. It's a dreadful business. It needs regulating. Sorry, cross post with Angelina and Alec1

Harry's polo ponies will be shitting themselves about whose bed their heads will be found in. I offer my friendship to Don William.

To be fair to Royalists, it didn't work out too well for anyone last time we canned the monarchy. I'd imagine quite a few French, Germans, Spanish, Portuguese and Russians had second thoughts after they' found out what you get in their place - those really didn't work out well. Maybe elected heads of state only work well where there's never been a monarchy. The countries I'd aspire to - the Scandinavian states, The Netherlands - have slimmed down monarchies, and that looks like the way we're moving. I'd take that and abolition of an unelected upper house, most particularly the hereditary element of it, as a decent starting point.

I've never been a big fan of the Royals - I used to think that their severed heads should be hung all along The Mall, but I've softened as I've got older. A slimmed down monarchy would be quite profitable for the UK, and a better option than an elected ceremonial president. Apparently, William has had quite a role in the uncompromising treatment of Andrew & Fergie and Harry & Megan - it reminded me of Michael Corleone's purge of the family's enemies at the end of 'The Godfather'. It was brutal, but at least Michael waited until his father, Don Vito, was dead to secure the future of the family business. William is putting his complications out of the picture now - I'd avoid massages or revolving doors if I was Beatrice or Eugenie. I think I'm developing a sneaking admiration for William.

Are you sure you were, to put it delicately, 100% upright at the time you took the photo? No cartwheels, handstands or anything like that?

Fair point, those do look pretty eye-watering for the average fan. Maybe the first tranche is aimed somewhat at the corporate hospitality market? FIFA did make a huge cock-up with the Club World Cup pricing and had to heavily discount even the semi-final, so there's still hope of some cheap tickets. I can't imagine Cabo Verde vs Uzbekistan on a wet Wednesday night would be a sell-out, unless New York or Los Angeles have a 'Verdeville' or 'Little Tashkent'. Of far greater concern is that Budweiser will be the only beer available in the stadia. That's reason enough to boycott the whole thing. FIFA seem deaf to any concerns about the quantity of football being played. There are going to be more inconsequential games, but for many 'elite' players, like Kane, Mbappe and Bellingham, this will be their third summer tournament on the bounce. They'll be knackered and that's got to affect the quality of the bigger matches.

I'd not really been keeping up on the National Guard situation, but having just had a quick Google, Portland is one of the cities where their use is pending. Obviously, anywhere inland is going to be much hotter than than coasts - even the Great Lakes cities like Chicago and Toronto hit very high temperatures when the Humidex is factored in - so I can't imagine what Kansas City could be like in high summer. Most of Kansas City is actually in Missouri, which is pretty strongly Trump country. The Mid West states tend to have higher gun ownership rates as well. Worth remembering if you're thinking about discussing politics in a bar. In general, if someone's wearing a Stetson and has a pick-up truck outside, they probably won't take well to talk about Democrats. And they probably have a gun. I'd stick to the Pacific coast. It's the most progressive part of the States, so at least you can open your mouth in a bar. The weather won't be as oppressive as the Mid West or the East Coast either. Vancouver, Seattle and Portland all have MLS teams - SF is getting one in the next couple of seasons - so the locals know something about football. It's worth driving the Pacific Coast Highway down from San Francisco towards LA, if you've not done it before. San Jose isn't really worth your time but Big Sur, Monterey, Santa Cruz and the beach towns like Capitola are well worth a visit. The National / State Park networks down the coast all provide decent campsites for next to nothing, and the whole area is really well set up for hiking, mountain-biking, canoeing and fishing.

Fifa are discussing expanding it to 64 teams for the 2030 tournament South America, which would mean 128 games. That's mad. They're aren't enough hours in the day to watch that much football and I'd have to move house to find a place with enough space for my 'Super Sun World Cup Wall Chart'. There are games in Mexico and Canada in 2026, so that's an option. Mexico will be unbearably hot, Toronto will be unbearably dull - Leonard Cohen once described it as 'New York run by the Swiss' and he was spot on - so I'd say Vancouver. Possibly the most beautiful setting for a city outside Sydney and a great food scene. Nick over the border and there are matches in Seattle as well. The Amtrak train down from Seattle to San Francisco, another WC venue, through Oregon is staggering - and they have an observation car with a bar! Portland and Eugene are worth a couple of nights as well. That part of northern California and the Pacific Northwest is the most un-Trumpy part of the US, so I wouldn't worry too much and Vancouver is surprisingly interesting, for Canada at least. You've actually made me think about making the trip again.