I wasn't sure whether to share this but the editorial board said "F it, go for it" This tattoo is on the arm of Arsen Ostrovsky, a survivor of the Bondi Beach Chanukah shooting - no further comment needed.

Ken spotted this on US TV - I think it would make a great caption contest. Go for it!

★★★★ James Comey’s FDR Drive is a sophisticated legal procedural that feels less like a traditional thriller and more like a sobering dispatch from the front lines of modern America. While it leans more on courtroom strategy than the high-octane drama of his previous novels, its deep relevance to our current era of digital extremism makes it an incredibly compelling read.

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Reinder spotted this magnificent illuminated globe at the railway station in Leiden. I think it's a perfect choice for our Xmas day post. Happy Christmas to all who celebrate it and Seasons Greetings to the rest of you.

A few days ago, my pal Ken Field posted about a new project he is planning for 2025: "Ten years ago I had an idea to write about a map a day for a year. I've had another idea… Introducing the #365DayMapChallenge where Ian Muehlenhaus and I will make a map a day, using only natural language prompts and AI, for a whole year.

Jeremy spotted this in the Lemon Tree pub in London. He said "It was really interesting to interpret. Around 1850 we reckoned. The Crystal Palace is still in Hyde Park, no Tower Bridge, the terminus main railway stations are in." You might think "that's really neat" then Ken chipped in to identify the maps as "Balloon View of London as seen from Hampstead by Henry Banks, 1851" - you could visit the original in the…

Reinder said "I saw this brand new edition of Ulysses in a 2nd hand bookshop in Leiden. Quite remarkable I think, that this design with a Dublin town plan was not used earlier… or was it?"

Australian police have published a report into the antisemitic massacre that Naveed and Sajid Akram perpetrated at Bondi Beach on the first night of Chanukah.

Reinder spotted this poster for Billy Wilder's 1953 film Roman Holiday nestled amongst underwear in a clothing shop in Rome

★★★ The Midwinter Martyr is a prequel novella to S.J. Parris’s acclaimed Giordano Bruno series, transporting readers to 1576 Venice. Bruno, the heretic philosopher and spy, is on the run from the Inquisition, seeking refuge in the labyrinthine streets of the lagoon city. However, he is quickly pulled into the investigation of an aristocrat's murder when a coded letter surfaces, suggesting that the accused parties are innocent.

Elizabeth spotted this in a cafe opposite Gospel Oak station, probably Little Oak Coffee. Looks like both Kentish Town and this cafe are worth visiting.

Another one from Reinder's trip to Rome. "Saw this textile work of art in Rome, in the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art. It dates from 1990 and is made by  Alighiero Boetti" I had never heard of Boetti, it is worth clicking on the link to look at his Mappe series.

Another piece by Kerry James Marshall. "The past and future merge in this work. The Afrofuturist household appears to be in a cosmos far from Earth. The domestic interior is decorated with modernist furniture and ancient African artefacts, such as Yoruba sculptures. As the children look back at Earth, a hologram of the floating globe positions Africa towards the viewer."

★★★★★ Lori Inglis Hall’s The Shock of the Light is, quite simply, breathtaking. From 1942 Cambridge to the perilous shadows of occupied France, Hall weaves a narrative that is as mesmerising as it is unputdownable. This is not just another wartime thriller; it is a profound, atmospheric journey through the lives of twins whose bond defies both distance and the devastation of war.

I'll say it again: if any other ethnic or religious minority said "please don't use this particular term or chant, you might not have bad intentions but it is deeply racist and threatening to us", the reaction would be mortified apology. And that's without a mass terror event four days ago

We went to an exhibition of paintings by Kerry James Marshall at the Royal Academy, there were a couple of maps in the wild tucked away in his fabulous work. The gallery blurb says "In Terra Incognita, Marshall uses multiple techniques that call attention to the complicated legacy of the Middle Passage. The collage-like composition shifts our gaze around the painting.