1. I am largely persuaded by More in Common’s social segmentation of Britain into seven https://www.moreincommon.org.uk/seven-segments/

After a global pandemic, a decade of political chaos and rising public anxiety about the cost of living and national security, Britons are increasingly fragmented, and public opinion can no longer be mapped along outdated left-right lines. The British Seven segments provide a new map to help understand the divides and common ground that defines the British public.

2. Not something I was aware of until recently, tomorrow, 17^th October is World Vanilla Day https://wickedleeks.riverford.co.uk/features/premium-pods-the-real-vanilla-rainforests-and-how-to-save-them/

Vanilla is an orchid – the only one to produce an edible seed pod – that grows as a climbing vine on other supporting trees. Out of 118 species of vanilla, just two of them, plus one hybrid, are cultivated throughout the tropics. Seedlings grow for more than three years before they start flowering. Incredibly, each yellow vanilla flower blooms for just a few hours between October and January, and farmers hand pollinate the flowers to ensure a high pollination success rate. It takes another nine months for vanilla pods to mature, then pods are dried and conditioned once harvested the following summer. Vanilla farming is slow, labour-intensive and sometimes dangerous. It’s the second most expensive spice in the world after saffron, so theft is a huge issue – many farms have armed guards and specific plantation locations remain undisclosed.

3. Alexandra Mihai’s latest blog post, What do you choose? https://educationalist.substack.com/p/what-do-you-choose

As the initial buzz of the new Academic Year is slowly subsiding, we start looking at our agendas and all too often a sense of gloom replaces the initial enthusiasm. Despite looking forward to meeting the new students and working on new projects, it feels like soon enough we will be buried in so many tasks we’ll hardly have time to leisurely meet a colleague over coffee (this happened to me, as we realised our next joint availability was in December!) or fully enjoy a weekend without teaching preparation or catching up on writing.

If anything, I would like you to read this and have a moment of reflection, zooming out of a busy work day/week/month and regaining sight of the bigger picture. Why are you doing this? What do you love about your work? And how can you keep doing that in a sustainable way?

4. Maybe more for a UK readership (or for those with fond memories of their UK alma mater), the Demos-PwC Good Growth for Cities Index https://www.pwc.co.uk/government-public-sector/good-growth/assets/pdf/good-growth-2025.pdf PDF below.

A thriving high street, better housing and transport, and access to skills are increasingly seen as crucial to economic success. This shift is reflected in the Good Growth Index – the top performers, York, Edinburgh and Bristol score highly across many of these fundamental areas. But for most cities and regions, meeting the public’s expectations will be a significant challenge. Economic growth has slowed, demand for key services continues to outpace capacity and global economic and political affairs continue to create a significant amount of uncertainty. That’s why good growth must start with clear, deliberate choices. Incremental budget cuts won’t restore trust or deliver the outcomes that matter. Services must be redesigned to meet future needs, not simply scaled back.

5. And, finally, Mark Stephens posts a rich blend of the provocative and amusing on LinkedIn. Here’s one he labelled Oh no you can’t