1. The first of three on politics this evening, Trust hits new low: 45% of people think politicians put party before country by polling superstar Professor John Curtice https://theconversation.com/trust-hits-new-low-45-of-people-think-politicians-put-party-before-country-232187

I wonder what the comparable figure would be in countries around the world? Maybe not so very much lower than 45%?

2. The second, A Report Card on 14 Years of Tory Rule: Bloomberg Opinion columnists assess what the Conservatives have delivered for the economy, society and Britain’s standing in the world. The challenges awaiting the next government are numerous https://www.bloomberg.com/report-card-14-years-of-tory-rule

Perhaps surprisingly, the one relative bright spot for the Tories according to Bloomberg, would seem to be education.

3. And the third, the Ipsos General Election 2024 site https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/uk-opinion-polls Well worth popping in to the site every now and then over the next three weeks.

And, no, there won’t be three items on the UK General Election every day!

4. The motion at this year’s ELTJ debate at the IATEFL conference in Brighton was ‘This house believes that AI can make language learning more personalised and inclusive for everyone’ https://youtu.be/4SvoWJUy8og?feature=shared

Joanna Szoke proposed the motion, Laura Patsko opposed it, and Alessia Cogo refereed (curious choice of word!) the debate.

5. And, finally, we’ve all heard of Venn diagrams. Not many of us will have heard of the Venn bowling machine, invented by the same man, Dr John Venn, though. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/jun/10/wooden-bowling-arm-john-venn-machine-rebuilt-cambridge-australia-1909-cricket-team