Sunday 26 April 1668 Lay long, and then up and to Church, and so home, where there come and dined with me Harris, Rolt, and Bannister, and one Bland, that sings well also, and very merry at dinner, and, after dinner, to sing all the afternoon. … I and Balty walked as far as Charing Cross, and there got a coach and to Hales’s the painter … to the Crown tavern … stayed a minute, leaving Captain Grant telling pretty stories of people that have killed themselves, or been accessory to it, in revenge to other people, and to mischief other people, and thence with Hales to his house, and there did see his beginning of Harris’s picture, which I think will be pretty like, and he promises a very good picture. Thence with Balty away and got a coach and to Hide Park, and there up and down and did drink some milk at the Lodge, and so home and to bed. John Banister A court composer and music director. Balthasar St Michel ('Balty', brother-in-law) Capt. John Graunt John Graunt (1620–1674), a merchant of "notions" like buttons, pioneered demography with his 1662 work, Natural and Political Observations Made upon the Bills of Mortality. Called "a stunning breakthrough"* for using sampling and probability, Graunt, at 42, created the first life table, analyzed London’s death records, and laid foundations for statistics and epidemiology. His work led Charles II to propose him for the Royal Society, advising, "if they found any more such Tradesmen, they should be sure to admit them all, without any more ado." *He is featured prominently in “Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk” by Bernstein which explores the history of risk management. He traces how probability, statistics, and economic theory transformed society’s approach to uncertainty and decision-making. It is one of my favorite books. milk at the Lodge Keeper's Lodge (Hyde Park) L&M say "milk, whey, cheesecakes, etc" were sold here. In the 18th century it was known as Cheesecake House. John Hayls The English Baroque era painter who painted the most famous portrait of Pepys. “Hayls also painted portraits of Colonel John Russell (third son of Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford), Lady Diana Russell, and the poet Thomas Flatman. He was known as a good copyist of the works of Van Dyck.” Wikipedia Painting attributed to Hayls: Portrait of a child (sold at Christie’s: 2011) & “Against The Gods”

@TimandraHarknes Spotted in the wild at Heffers in Cambridge

Two lesser known books today, both illustrated by Ronald Lampitt (1972)

'The Online Safety Act aspired to make the internet a safer place. We might ask: safer for whom, and from whom?' The problem with a risk-based regulatory framework is that the incentives only go in one direction, writes @TimandraHarknes 👇 buff.ly/3ZEmHxt