On Sundays, I like to share three things I have enjoyed in the past week. They could be anything; just stuff that has, as Marie Kondo might say, sparked joy. They also don’t have to be new or recent, so long as I’ve enjoyed them this week.

Thing 1: Sir Adrian Hill Wins a European Inventor Award

Malaria really sucks. 2024 saw 282 million cases worldwide, with 610,000 deaths. Malaria vaccines have, historically, not been all that effective. That is, until Adrian Hill and his team developed their vaccine which, in clinical trials, achieved 75% protection.

This is a big step forward in combating a disease that disproportionally affects the poor and disproportionally kills children. The EU Inventor Award committee have recognised this achievement by awarding Sir Adrian an award in the Research category.

I am also delighted that, at a time where anti-vax nonsense continues to be spouted by a vocal, but growing, minority, the EU is recognising success in this field.

You can click here to read more on this story.

Thing 2: Count Binface

Nigel Farage, leader and a company director of Reform 2025 Ltd, has, as usual, decided to act solely in the interests of Nigel Farage as he has resigned his seat in parliament to slow down an investigation into his financial conduct. He states that this is to allow the People of Clacton™ to decide his political fate, despite the fact that this not how ethics investigations work. If he is re-elected, the investigation will resume and, if the findings warrant it, another expensive by-election will be held.

The other parties, it turns out, do not exist to cater to the whims of Farage, and are largely ignoring this by-election, but will run in the subsequent one that will be held, if warranted, in the wake of the investigation.

This leaves a handful of obscure opponents for Farage in Clacton, with Count Binface being the most prominent:

British democracy at its finest, no?

Thing 3: Season 3 of Frieren Announced

I really enjoy Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. It’s just a good show. It’s pleasant. It’s fun. It’s heart warming. I enjoyed season 1 and season 2. I am delighted that they’ve announced season 3:

It’s set for release in October 2027. That’s not too long a wait, all things considered. One slight concern, going forward, is that the manga on which the show is based has been on hiatus for some time now, with no indication of when it will resume. We’ve all seen adaptations take… interesting turns when the adaptation catches up to the source material and starts to… uh… improvise.

But, hey, that’s a problem for our future selves! I’m just looking forward to season 3.