Daniel Bundred 🦡
@danielbundred.bsky.social
Head of English; overuse of nautical metaphors; very sporadic blogger. Views are not necessarily those of my employer, unless focus testing reveals them to be very uncontroversial.
But that just brings us back to the question about the scare quotes on 'Chief Rabbi,' or to what extent he thinks that Britain's Chief Rabbi is responsible for the actions of Israel.
November 6, 2025 at 11:35 PM
But that just brings us back to the question about the scare quotes on 'Chief Rabbi,' or to what extent he thinks that Britain's Chief Rabbi is responsible for the actions of Israel.
I don't know the exact circumstances, but I think Bristol Uni might have had a point...
November 6, 2025 at 7:42 PM
I don't know the exact circumstances, but I think Bristol Uni might have had a point...
He is a man with the integrity not to learn from his mistakes.
November 6, 2025 at 7:40 PM
He is a man with the integrity not to learn from his mistakes.
I wondered that, and it turns out Mark Regev isn't the Chief Rabbi, he's the Israeli ambassador to the UK. Not a tremendously surprising person for the Mayor of London to have met.
November 6, 2025 at 7:30 PM
I wondered that, and it turns out Mark Regev isn't the Chief Rabbi, he's the Israeli ambassador to the UK. Not a tremendously surprising person for the Mayor of London to have met.
The curriculum review has been an emotional rollercoaster for the sector, and like all rollercoasters it's been thrilling, terrifying, and in its final reckoning a bit pointless.
It has recognised existing success, been cautious and evolutionary.
Government curriculum policy happens regardless.
It has recognised existing success, been cautious and evolutionary.
Government curriculum policy happens regardless.
November 5, 2025 at 10:28 PM
The curriculum review has been an emotional rollercoaster for the sector, and like all rollercoasters it's been thrilling, terrifying, and in its final reckoning a bit pointless.
It has recognised existing success, been cautious and evolutionary.
Government curriculum policy happens regardless.
It has recognised existing success, been cautious and evolutionary.
Government curriculum policy happens regardless.
At least one was between two countries who don't share a border, don't have substantial militaries, have maintained perfectly good diplomatic relations throughout their entire histories, and would have both been very surprised to hear Trump tell the world that they were at war.
November 5, 2025 at 6:17 PM
At least one was between two countries who don't share a border, don't have substantial militaries, have maintained perfectly good diplomatic relations throughout their entire histories, and would have both been very surprised to hear Trump tell the world that they were at war.
Yep, basically.
October 30, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Yep, basically.
Also there are no international export restrictions on selling nuclear *powered* submarines to South Korea. If Trump had said no then the UK or France would have no difficulty selling SK a small reactor; the Rolls Royce PWR2 has been sold to multiple tech companies to power data centres.
October 30, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Also there are no international export restrictions on selling nuclear *powered* submarines to South Korea. If Trump had said no then the UK or France would have no difficulty selling SK a small reactor; the Rolls Royce PWR2 has been sold to multiple tech companies to power data centres.
UK government: If we initiate Gold Command and then redeploy all of capacity in Met TSGs from London to Birmingham; we can then use British Transport Police to lock down a transport route, and we can close these roads...
Maccabi Tel Aviv: or we could just play without our fans in attendance...
Maccabi Tel Aviv: or we could just play without our fans in attendance...
October 21, 2025 at 11:20 PM
UK government: If we initiate Gold Command and then redeploy all of capacity in Met TSGs from London to Birmingham; we can then use British Transport Police to lock down a transport route, and we can close these roads...
Maccabi Tel Aviv: or we could just play without our fans in attendance...
Maccabi Tel Aviv: or we could just play without our fans in attendance...
October 21, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Police: we don't have capacity to police this, Maccabi Tel Aviv fans include loads of hooligans.
PM: That's antisemitic
Tel Aviv police: We've called off their last match due to hooliganism.
Birmingham Jewish community: It's not antisemitic, they're hooligans.
Maccabi: sorry, we're hooligans.
PM: That's antisemitic
Tel Aviv police: We've called off their last match due to hooliganism.
Birmingham Jewish community: It's not antisemitic, they're hooligans.
Maccabi: sorry, we're hooligans.
October 21, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Police: we don't have capacity to police this, Maccabi Tel Aviv fans include loads of hooligans.
PM: That's antisemitic
Tel Aviv police: We've called off their last match due to hooliganism.
Birmingham Jewish community: It's not antisemitic, they're hooligans.
Maccabi: sorry, we're hooligans.
PM: That's antisemitic
Tel Aviv police: We've called off their last match due to hooliganism.
Birmingham Jewish community: It's not antisemitic, they're hooligans.
Maccabi: sorry, we're hooligans.
A PM so bad at the concepts of law and order and reputational damage, that the football club he's supporting, over the judgement of the police force, has to step in to ensure law and order in because they're concerned about reputational damage.
October 21, 2025 at 10:58 PM
A PM so bad at the concepts of law and order and reputational damage, that the football club he's supporting, over the judgement of the police force, has to step in to ensure law and order in because they're concerned about reputational damage.
2021 PIRLS ranks the UK at 4th place in reading.
October 18, 2025 at 12:58 PM
2021 PIRLS ranks the UK at 4th place in reading.
England's period at the top of developed nations, outperforming every Western European country and the entirety of the anglosphere, was also a period characterised by relatively low state interference in secondary schools. It was two years ago.
It seems rather hubristic to want to improve on this.
It seems rather hubristic to want to improve on this.
October 18, 2025 at 2:55 AM
England's period at the top of developed nations, outperforming every Western European country and the entirety of the anglosphere, was also a period characterised by relatively low state interference in secondary schools. It was two years ago.
It seems rather hubristic to want to improve on this.
It seems rather hubristic to want to improve on this.
It would be difficult to make the case that he had even knowingly committed a crime. The age of consent is 16 in the UK; there are no prosecuted cases of him having sex with underage girls outside of the UK, and while his victim was trafficked for sex he can plausibly deny that he knew that.
October 18, 2025 at 2:09 AM
It would be difficult to make the case that he had even knowingly committed a crime. The age of consent is 16 in the UK; there are no prosecuted cases of him having sex with underage girls outside of the UK, and while his victim was trafficked for sex he can plausibly deny that he knew that.
You don't have to have always kicked off the violence where your team played. But if every place your team played you were involved in violence, it's perfectly fair to say you're not welcome there on a match day.
Your supporters brawled in a European city, we don't want a repeat.
Your supporters brawled in a European city, we don't want a repeat.
October 18, 2025 at 1:52 AM
You don't have to have always kicked off the violence where your team played. But if every place your team played you were involved in violence, it's perfectly fair to say you're not welcome there on a match day.
Your supporters brawled in a European city, we don't want a repeat.
Your supporters brawled in a European city, we don't want a repeat.
A weird aspect of the Amsterdam controversy is the dispute about who started it; but that doesn't really matter in this instance. The police are not ready to deal with Maccabi supporters as the perpetrators or the victims. It's English fans in the 1980s, didn't start all fights but always fought.
October 18, 2025 at 1:46 AM
A weird aspect of the Amsterdam controversy is the dispute about who started it; but that doesn't really matter in this instance. The police are not ready to deal with Maccabi supporters as the perpetrators or the victims. It's English fans in the 1980s, didn't start all fights but always fought.
All students should be able to view any lecture in the university and participate in it, and any barriers to participation should be combatted by the sincere industry of the university pursuing fair access. Live streaming is great here.
But we should also keep historic spaces in use.
But we should also keep historic spaces in use.
October 18, 2025 at 1:29 AM
All students should be able to view any lecture in the university and participate in it, and any barriers to participation should be combatted by the sincere industry of the university pursuing fair access. Live streaming is great here.
But we should also keep historic spaces in use.
But we should also keep historic spaces in use.
Wheelchair accessibility may be something that a university like Leeds can't accommodate well, I've been in a Victorian operating theatre on the first floor a la Jekyll and Hyde. AFAIK The English department is three buildings knocked though in a terraced row. Accessibility should be streamed.
October 18, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Wheelchair accessibility may be something that a university like Leeds can't accommodate well, I've been in a Victorian operating theatre on the first floor a la Jekyll and Hyde. AFAIK The English department is three buildings knocked though in a terraced row. Accessibility should be streamed.
One of the healthiest signs of a functioning society; the public trust the judgement of the police in keeping law and order.
Dysfunctional societies are characterised by no trust in embedded civil institutions, which are then reshaped by populist governments.
Dysfunctional societies are characterised by no trust in embedded civil institutions, which are then reshaped by populist governments.
October 18, 2025 at 12:52 AM
One of the healthiest signs of a functioning society; the public trust the judgement of the police in keeping law and order.
Dysfunctional societies are characterised by no trust in embedded civil institutions, which are then reshaped by populist governments.
Dysfunctional societies are characterised by no trust in embedded civil institutions, which are then reshaped by populist governments.