My wife, who studied for two years in Berkeley, points out another huge cultural difference. American clergy have to sell themselves to their congregations, who pay them directly. C of E clergy are paid through their organisation.

Ely cathedral still has battle honours hanging on the walls, and a stained glass window in memory of the pathfinder squadron. Every time I see it, I think "But they were war criminals" -- and also incredibly brave young men who died to stop the Germans doing it to us. .

me too, and I still haven't got a theory of why it happened.

we call it The Epidural chez nous as its only when you try and stand up you realise you've lost the use of your legs

And to think that there were people who thought he was capable of being Prime Minister

Badenoch was selected as an MP before the rise of Farage. I used to live in her constituency, and racism was then taboo. Literally unspeakable, and thought morally wrong even within the Tory party.

One big reason was that during and immediately after the sexual revolution Christianity was seen on the Left as a bunch of old men trying to stop us getting laid: maximally uncool. Another is the the C of E was very much the church of imperial Britain. Also now uncool.

But it's not as if you reach your own beliefs from a standpoint outside the culture you were raised in.

Yes. Lots of them came from Lancashire. Malise Ruthven had an excellent book about it all.

I know. But they are only part of the reason, and sometimes, in limited domains, they can be used to work against others of their kind/

"Back when search worked" is the key. LLMs today can counteract the enshittification of Google search. I have had sensible answers back for the sort of queries ("What is the best {X}?") where Google is now completely poisoned. Though mostly I use Kagi.

Ah, the discotheques of my youth! So much whipped cream

Dutch scrabble must be the worst!