A particularly haunting image today from the BBC -

Never thought the day would come (I'm on Plan 1/had 3k fees so is actually possible to pay off..)

Georgia Gould and Jackie Smith so far confirmed to be continuing in DfE (which is great from a continuity POV)

Great to launch @smfthinktank.bsky.social report with @populationhealth.bsky.social on recognising gambling harms in frontline services in Manchester today - particularly given Greater Manchester's innovative approach on tackling gambling harms locally.

While there has been some progress towards treating it as a public health issue (more akin to other similar addictions like alcohol or drugs), progress is patchy and slow. Our recommendations to health leaders, as well as local and national government:

In slightly stupid things I've transported by bicycle - today, a gazebo

And train #12 takes us back to London

A full day in Paris, including going to Galeries Lafayette which I'd never visited before (and has amazing views over the city as well as a great souvenir floor) - much cooler than when we were here a week ago, highs of 31.

Gorgeous views on the TGV, although it was an hour and a half late in (can confirm having now tested it, the first class recliner chairs are pretty good to nap on) - a late night arrival into Paris just as France's game this eve is ending (with packed cafes all around the station) 🇫🇷

Milan has so many smaller cars - it felt like going back to the 90s/up to the early 2010s (in a good way!) before SUVs took over cities - I don't think any particular policy from what I can tell (?) just smaller cars for tiny streets. Felt nice to see so many normal cars (or tiny ones) again.

And now I think train #11, Milan 🇮🇹 to Paris 🇫🇷 This is a long one, seven hours on this train - so one we've gone for first class on (will post the full price of this leg at the end of the trip) - we've got seats facing one another but I've taken a pic of some of the other first class seats as well.

A morning and early afternoon in Milan

Adding to the flags (french one is particularly prized given they no longer have parkrun in france...)

Milano North parkrun (taken extremely easy as was 28 degrees at 9am!) #parkrun 🇮🇹

Beautiful evening in Milan - there's an ongoing heatwave here too, it's almost 8pm and 33 degrees, but much lower humidity/feels far more bearable than Paris was.

A few hours of lake Como views and we've arrived in Milan 🇮🇹 - have a day here before the trip back

And we have reached our 3rd country of the trip, Italy 🇮🇹 - a very brief stop at Tirano and on to the train to Milan 🇮🇹 (so happy this is back as a train, when we did this with friends last summer it was a bus while they fixed the line pre winter Olympics)

The star attraction, the famous loop -

And a few more -

Views so far -

And on to the Bernina line - we got on at Pontresina, heading up over the Alps. The trip includes 196 tunnels and 55 bridges to reach Tirano 🇮🇹 - top tip, getting a normal local Swiss train is much cheaper than the tourist one (the Bernina express) -

And we're on the way back! (sort of) - we're going back via a high speed train from Milan, which means getting to Italy first, via the UNESCO world heritage bernina railway over the Alps. First we need to connect on to the Bernina line, starting with Scuol 🇨🇭 to Pontresina 🇨🇭

How can I un-see this

Final day of Alps hiking views -

Kids play area on a train in Switzerland -

The apartment we're staying in has two of the passive cooling installs that are too hard to get in the UK - external shutters (which need planning permission as they alter the external appearance of the property) and awnings (which sometimes need permission e.g. in a conservation area)

A few more Alps hiking views ☀️

Comparison of the carbon produced doing this route (London to Scuol 🇨🇭) by train vs plane - estimated 27x higher carbon emissions from flying (not counting in you still need to take the train from Zurich)

Happy Monday (some of the views so far this morning, highs of 24 degrees)