Neither man could possibly have imagined that just one generation later, Europe would be defending itself against both of their future successors. What is happening is truly unfathomable.

I would like to thank all those who have prayed for me in recent days. I wish to express my particular gratitude to the doctors, nurses and all the staff of the Gemelli Hospital. This experience has made me feel particularly close to all those who are living with illness or infirmity. Now that I have overcome this delicate phase I will gradually resume my activities, always with God’s help and your prayers.

Fleabane (Erigeron Karvinskianus) and a creeping rosemary growing together in my garden. I think they look so nice.

Algernon Newton's 'City of London from Hampstead,' (c1920) brings to mind Constable's views painted from a similar spot of commanding elevated views across Hampstead Heath to St Michael's in Highgate.

VATICAN: “This morning, the Holy Father underwent blood tests and a chest X-ray, which confirmed the steady improvement in his overall condition. Sessions of respiratory physiotherapy have continued. The postoperative recovery allows him to carry out normal daily activities with complete autonomy.”

A good bit of news after a sad day yesterday. You may know that priests can offer the Masses they celebrate for an intention, but a layperson can also bring an intention into a Mass they attend. Why not offer your next Mass, clergy or lay, for Pope Leo's recovery?

NEW: Pope Leo XIV has made Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the man Rome nicknamed “the Asian Francis,” the face of the Catholic Church while he recovers from lung cancer surgery. Tagle drew the fury of conservatives for singing a karaoke version of John Lennon’s “Imagine,” but his decades of preaching on wages, corruption and the poor earned him Leo’s trust. Now that Leo’s cancer has upended the assumption of a long papacy, the Filipino cardinal is emerging as a possible successor. thelettersfromleo.com/p/chit…

Pope Leo XIV had a good second night in Gemelli Hospital after his lung surgery on Tuesday. The Holy See Press Office said on Thursday morning that the Pope got up and had breakfast.

Why do old people (like me) go to a garden centre for coffee and cake, or lunch? Easy to park. Free to park. No one working on a laptop. No one in a zoom call. No one playing tik toks on speaker. No one shouting into their phone. The guy on the counter isn’t having a phone conversation while he serves you. Tables are clean. Toilets are clean. Coffee is the same as most coffee shops, cakes are better.

PG Wodehouse b otd 1881!!! “He had just about enough intelligence to open his mouth when he wanted to eat, but certainly no more.” “The voice of Love seemed to call to me, but it was a wrong number.” “I could see that, if not actually disgruntled, he was far from being gruntled.”

An Irish Blessing May the road rise to meet you. And the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face; And the rains fall soft upon your fields And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Pope Leo XIV’s surgery to remove a “small, localized nodule” from his lung was successful and he has returned to his room in the Gemelli Hospital, according to the Holy See Press Office.

May God bless and quickly heal our beloved Pope Leo.

Listening to Courtney Pine on radio3 Private Passions...an absolute delight. Another fascinating guest for Michael Berkeley. What a fab programme this is!

One of those shortened notifications just came up on my phone, the ones ending in dot dot dot.... 'Need a quiet wee....'

Cuts to @BBCRadio4 continue. You and Yours, thinking allowed, free thinking, open country, digital human.

Terrible. The slow death of Radio 4 is for me the very worst aspect of current BBC mismanagement. Killing a gem to save relative pennies.

Kathleen Ferrier d otd 1953, age 41 - what a loss. Bruno Walter: "She was in art and in life a shining example, and whoever listened to her or met her personally felt enriched and uplifted. By her sublime art and by her loving nature she gave happiness and received happiness."

I wonder how they feel about their little slogan now?

My favorite kind of gender reveal is the one where they just tell me and I don’t have to go to a party.