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7 May 2025

This England: One previous owner

This column – which, though named after a line in Shakespeare’s “Richard II”, refers to the whole of Britain – has run in the New Statesman since 1934.

By New Statesman

Ewan Valentine, 36, from Solihull, woke up to find his car had disappeared from his drive overnight. After informing police and his insurers he started looking for a replacement and found one that looked “identical” about 70 miles away. But after he bought it he noticed similar items in the vehicle. It was then Valentine realised he had bought his own stolen car.
Birmingham Live (Steve Morley)

Knit happens

A group of head-torch-wearing female pensioners who recently gathered at Hertford town centre wielding long metal spikes were not looking for trouble. The women were part of a “yarn bombing” crew – a craft group that covers local structures, such as postboxes or bollards, with decorative knitted or crocheted creations. The ringleader of the Hertford Yarn Bombers, Jo Baily, 64, a retired marketing professional, helped found the club in 2017 after a friend saw a display in Herne Bay, Kent. “I thought, ‘Bloody hell that looks really good fun,’” she said.
Sunday Times (Amanda Welles)

Spanish field trip

When 100 Spaniards arrived at Bowden Park to watch Harborough Town take on St Ives Town, locals were taken aback. The Spanish fans, were subscribers to a Spanish YouTube channel, La Media Inglesa (LMI), focused on English football, which has now started arranging overseas trips for its followers. “Some of the local fans were quite surprised, probably wondering what 100 Spaniards were doing there,” said Álvaro Sanz from Madrid.
Harborough Mail (Catherine Dyer)

[See also: Cosplaying Reform will doom Labour]

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This article appears in the 07 May 2025 issue of the New Statesman, The Peace Delusion

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