I want to tell a story about King Charles III.

It’s shaped a lot of why I am a supporter of the present-day Monarchy and our new Monarch.

A longish thread 🧵 1/12 The story starts in the Middle East. I served in Iraq, running the reconstruction of Basra province during the war. It was a tough, unforgiving assignment. We were mortared daily, militias hunted our staff, progress was limited and sadly thousands of Iraqis died 2/12

This anti-semitic attack in Norwich makes me want to tell a story of the Jews of Norfolk. By way of background, the first synagogue in Norwich dates back to 1087. This is a story of both hatred and decency. Of English antisemitism. This is the story of William of Norwich. 1/8

https://twitter.com/ariehkovler/status/1393165754267226118

William of Norwich, born in February 1132, was an English boy, a tanner, who was offered a job in the kitchens of the Archdeacon of Norwich. But he never made it. For the twelve-year-old’s body was found in Mousehold Heath, part of Thorpe Wood, outside Norwich. 2/8

THREAD You may be thinking - #Belarus? Where? Odd European corner of the post-Soviet community. But many great people were born in what is modern-day Belarus, people who created much of our modern world. Belarus is Europe. It’s America 1/9 Let’s start with Irving Berlin, arguably the greatest songwriter in US history - his songs including “Puttin' on the Ritz", "Cheek to Cheek", "White Christmas" - was in fact born in Talachyn in northeastern Belarus 2/9

Excited to have been asked to help the Govt. think through the potential role of freeports. A great opportunity to ensure that tax-focused initiatives are coupled with a drive to spur innovation in British ports and the shipping and logistics industry thesun.co.uk/news/9636784/b… Many of the potential benefits of freeports have been well documented, especially in Rishi Sunak’s report for CPS - cps.org.uk/research/the-f…