Postcards from Wyre Piddle
"The UK's greatest concentration of Piddles is in Dorset on the River Piddle. This flows through the villages of Piddletrenthide and Piddlehinton to join the River Frome near Wareham. It also flows through Puddletown, Tolpuddle, Affpuddle, Briantspuddle and Turners Puddle, all of which were originally piddles rather than puddles before 19th century prudes forced a name change."
The failure of British high-speed rail
"When plans for the new railway were approved in the early 2010s, hs2 was supposed to connect England’s premier cities...hs2 soon fell behind schedule and ran well over budget. The original line has been drastically pruned—it will now run only from London to slightly north of Birmingham."
Shoppers prefer retail parks to UK high streets despite lure of Boxing Day sales
"Footfall in central London down 7.7% on last year but Britain’s retail parks buck trend with 6.9% rise"
The article concludes that it's because driving is so convenient. I say it's because retail parks don't have cars and high streets do. The mall I walked to had people queued up at every store but the tiny sidewalks of the high street were uncomfortable.
Shoppers shun UK high streets despite lure of Boxing Day sales
How not to build an AI Institute
"The median founder, investor, or civil servant will cheerfully roll their eyes at the mention of the Alan Turing Institute, what’s less understood is why the UK’s national AI institute has proven such a flop, despite spending over quarter of a billion pounds since its inception. To piece this together, I’ve spoken to current and former Turing insiders, figures from the world of research funding, academics, and civil servants."
https://www.chalmermagne.com/p/how-not-to-build-an-ai-institute