UM they did join the EU - they were in fact founder-members of it (a minority of middle Englanders want to vote the UK out in a referendum which may or may not happen in the next few years) The UK is very very much a part of Europe!

Halldor Laxness' Independent People was hard going at times. An interesting piece describing a half-familiar sort of place (I'm from a sheepfaring nation) but man, brace yrself for a LOT of sheep death (I don't think this is a spoiler? It is Iceland)

The Loved Ones is so small and perfectly formed it really ought to have been made into a film (made at Ealing Studios or somesuch). I suppose we could hand it to Bryan Fuller?