Budgie smuggling

Few can contemplate without a sense of exhilaration the splendid achievements of practical energy and technical skill, which, from the latter part of the seventeenth century, were transforming the face of material civilisation, and of which England was the daring, if not too scrupulous, pioneer. If however, economic ambitions are good servants, they are bad masters.

I work with Gáspár on the book. We're almost finished with the final chapter and we have a foreword by Johanna Rothman coming. Only the other two books in the series to go.

I've ordered a pair of swimming trunks, in deference to pool policy in France, but when I open the pack it becomes clear that Speedo have a different sizing scheme to what I was expecting. I can barely get them on - they'll be going back!

I watch Metropolitan with Angus. I love it, but he loses patience and waddles off to listen to music through his new DAC, upscale and headphones.