Preferable to Starmer he may be, but there is scant sign of a sharp political break in Burnham’s policies so far — while left challenges aren’t making much of a running either, finds ANDREW MURRAY. How can socialism be put back on the map?
THEY will be out, as they are every summer, beneath the canopy of high trees, in Fermyn Woods in the heart of the Rockingham Forest. They are the secret members of a quaintly named society called the Purple Empire.
They and I have been out, and online, seeking delicacies for the planned annual breakfast. Chief items on the menu will be the most pungent and malodorous exotic oriental shrimp paste that members of the Empire can find.
Popular brands are Big Cock shrimp paste and Thai Boy shrimp paste.
Millions of elms were wiped out by Dutch elm disease in the 20th century, transforming the landscape forever – yet pockets of hope are keeping this beloved tree alive. MARK SEDDON explains
JAN WOOLF relishes an extensive history of our long relationship to trees in Britain that underlines the current emergency
TOMASZ PIERSCIONEK is intrigued by a the changing significance of its vast areas of forest to Russia’s history
In his fortnightly Borderlands column, MARK SEDDON visits overgrown forts along Offa’s Dyke and reflects on wars past and present



