It’s difficult to know where to begin with this week’s reading list. We range from the uplifting research that finds marked change in Canadian birdsong to the perils of WhatsApp, Idris Elba’s impassioned plea to support the independent cinema, Europe (remember that?) and the Irish dancing phenomenon sweeping TikTok. It’s quite a mix. 

However, we start this week with some powerful images from Antarctica, courtesy of The Atlantic. I was supposed to be walking to the South Pole next year, not only to satisfy a desire to do something crazy before I turn 50, but to raise money for the brilliant Polar Academy. That adventure has been put back a year for understandable reasons, but the old car tyre I will haul around the Scottish hills in preparation will soon be put back to good use.  

The Polar Academy is a Scottish charity that inspires secondary school children through the power of exploration, in its case in Arctic Greenland, redefining their mental and physical limits and building self-esteem and resilience. The importance of an organisation like that seems more important than ever (see ‘the lost generation of Covid’ below) and if you don’t know the academy, you should look it up and wonder how you can help. 

Whatever you’re doing, please enjoy our eclectic reading list and have a restful weekend.