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BBC Radio 4 seems to have performed a partial u-turn on its decision to cut the number of short stories it airs from three to one, going with two a week.

Listeners, authors and even celebrities such as Joanna Lumley and Stephen Fry are among 5,500 of those who signed an online petition opposing the move to reduce the number of short stories aired, which was borne out of Radio 4 controller Gwyneth Williams’s desire to extend the programme The World at One.

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Hello, Kirsty from OUP UK here. It’s my turn to share with you fine people the cream of the internet crop. Or at least, what I’ve been reading this week. It’s starting to get warm here in Oxford, so I’m planning to have a BBQ tonight. Hope you all have similarly sunny weekends.

Awww! Nothing like a blogular love story to warm even the hardest hearts.

The Booker Prize longlist has been announced this week. A few surprises on the list, and no less than five first time novelists. And Salman Rushdie.

I’m a 19th century geek, so this week I have been completely fascinated with this guide to Bethlem Royal Hospital in Victorian times. Bethlem was the psychiatric hospital which gave us the word ‘bedlam’, after the hospital’s nickname.

Joanna Lumley, one of the stars of Absolutely Fabulous and The Avengers, has made some controversial remarks about modern poetry.

This is one of my favourite news stories of the week: a New Zealand girl was made a ward of court so that she could change her name. Her parents had named her - wait for it - Talula Does The Hula In Hawaii. Poor kid.

The UK blogs and newspaper columns were this week alive with a leaked email from restaurant critic Giles Coren to the sub-editors at The Times. They had removed an ‘a’ from his copy. He was not amused. (NB. the email contains VERY strong language. Don’t say I didn’t warn you).

Is it just me that is suddenly obsessed with cataloguing their books online with LibraryThing? Who knew that entering a list of every book you own could be such fun. Turns out I have around 1,160 books in my house (not counting the box in the attic I haven’t got round to yet).

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