He may have been eclipsed by the more progressive Paddington of late, but AA Milne’s creation is not just a Silly Old Bear

“Pooh, promise you won’t forget about me, ever. Not even when I’m a hundred,” Christopher Robin implores his bear in the final chapter of AA Milne’s The House at Pooh Corner. This week Winnie-the-Pooh himself turned 100, and he certainly hasn’t been forgotten. Birthday celebrations have included a week of special programmes, introduced by the queen, on Radio 4; a collection of Royal Mail stamps; and a Google doodle.

Not bad for “a bear of very little brain” who appeared in four slim books. Winnie-the-Pooh, illustrated by EH Shepard, was published on 14 October 1926 and had sold 150,000 copies in the US by the end of the year.

Pete Crockett says the history of British education is not simply one of children dutifully accepting adult instruction, while Simon Dawson says Kitty Sayers misses the mark when describing English attitudes. Plus a letter from Kevin Donnelly

Reading Kitty Sayers’ interesting article, I was reminded of the rich, and perhaps too easily forgotten, history of direct action by British schoolchildren (Angry French students take to the streets. British students don’t – and I think I know why, 10 October). Far from being historically meek or unquestioningly compliant, they have demonstrated a remarkable capacity for challenging authority.

At Marlborough college, troops were once summoned to dislodge rebellious pupils occupying an island in the school grounds. In the late 1700s, Winchester college experienced several rebellions.

We need to work together to build a more inclusive history, writes Mags L Halliday. Plus a letter from Shane Ritchie

Sandi Toksvig is right to highlight the systemic bias in information about women’s lives in history (Pass notes: Is Wikipedia ‘deeply biased’? Sandi Toksvig says it is – so she’s backing a rival, 12 October). Her comment about Wikipedia, however, implies that no one is working to correct this bias on the site itself. I belong to several projects whose goals are to reduce the gender gap on Wikipedia.

One, Women in Red, started in October 2014. At that point, only 15.53% of biographies on the encyclopedia were of women. As of October 2026, that has risen to 20.42%, in part thanks to the many volunteers who spend their spare time searching for reliable sources to draw on. The Women in Red project currently publishes an average of 1,500 new biographies every month.

Readers respond to an article by Rachael Stirling

I would like to reassure Rachael Stirling (‘I didn’t expect to be portrayed as a cannibal’: Rachael Stirling on eating her mother Diana Rigg’s ashes, 11 October) that, far from grimacing or feeling disgust over her admission of eating a few grains of her mother’s ashes, I was deeply moved. My best friend’s beloved mother died last year and I immediately sent the quote to her, as I knew it would resonate with her.

As your review of Stirling’s book entitled All About My Mother states, she eats a grain of her mother’s ashes so that she is “cloaked in her, shielded and shrouded by her. I am her. My mother is my superpower. She always was.”

Exclusive: Devon and Cornwall police formally apologise to nine women and settle claim without admitting liability

A police force alleged to have promoted and protected male officers despite knowing they were accused of domestic abuse has formally apologised and paid compensation to nine women, the Guardian has learned.

The women allege they were subjected to a range of abuse including rape, assault, threats, harassment and coercive control while in relationships with male officers from Devon and Cornwall police.

Initiatives to address youth employment crisis and offer training are being launched in towns such as Telford

Smaller cities and towns across England have higher rates of young people not in employment, education or training than the nine largest cities, analysis shows.

The Centre for Cities, an independent thinktank dedicated to improving the economies of the UK, used 2021 census data to work out the rates across 41 cities and towns in England.

An urn cost more than my rent. So I scattered my mother’s ashes at Yosemite from a Ziploc bag, without the federal permit I couldn’t afford to wait for

My mother is in a Ziploc bag on my lap, wedged between a half-eaten bag of trail mix and my purse.

My stomach is queasy from the switchbacks up to Yosemite, where I’ve come to spread her ashes, and I’m having an existential crisis.

Campaigners welcome legislation which follows recommendations by 2025 review into pornography regulation

Pornography that depicts strangulation and incestuous relationships will be banned in England and Wales from early November, the government has announced.

The content will be outlawed from 6 November after cross-party pressure prompted ministers to announce new legislation earlier this year.

The current system is unable to quench the public thirst for locking people up – and certainly doesn’t ensure proper care once they are released

Public services need more investment across the board. Every day, another wretched story. Look at the Institute for Government’s (IFG) Public Services Performance Tracker for a plain assessment of A&E corridor care, councils struggling to meet the demands of social care and the Send system, the courts backlog, GP caseloads or families lost in temporary accommodation. A chancellor approaching a budget is besieged by need. It’s easy for us journalists to pick out shock stories and claim each one is an absolute priority, but how should a chancellor choose?

Today it’s the probation officers, whose conference in Newcastle is launching a ballot for industrial action. Their caseloads overflowed long ago, but now thousands of prisoners released early – 2,000 this month – have been thrust upon them. The responsibility is overwhelming, with officers blamed for crimes their clients commit.

Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist

‘Unfair’ immigration and asylum bill could fail to support sexual violence survivors, anti-slavery commissioner says

Survivors of sexual violence could wrongly be denied recognition as victims of human trafficking under credibility tests in a new UK law, the independent anti-slavery commissioner has warned.

Eleanor Lyons said the measures in the immigration and asylum bill were fundamentally unfair and could lead to many more victims of slavery and trafficking, including those allegedly abused by Mohamed Al Fayed, being denied support.

Labour says idea is ‘tin-eared’ as report says fixing rate will cost low-paid workers almost £9,000 over five years

A shadow minister has called for the government to freeze the minimum wage for five years, a move that could cost low-paid workers almost £9,000.

The call came in a report from the Prosperity Institute thinktank, which carries an endorsement from Andrew Sharpe, the shadow business minister. Sharpe said in his endorsement that it was time to take action to address the low rate of young people in work.

Golden Valley, Herefordshire: Even vicars can get stuck too much behind a desk, and the 800th anniversary of St Francis of Assisi’s death is a good excuse to strike out, and speak to local people

I was sitting at my desk again, with the dull hum and the blue glow of the screen. It seems that every occupation traps people at their desk, and being a vicar is no different. But I wanted to resist, and it happened to be the 800th anniversary of Saint Francis of Assisi’s death. With Jesus of Galilee as inspiration, Saint Francis was known for his vow of simplicity, his love of the Earth and his critique of the wealth accumulated by the religious elite at the expense of the poor. He was also horrified by the Fifth Crusade, so he travelled to Egypt, hoping to make peace.

Francis also walked the walk, as it were, sleeping in caves in the Umbrian hills, taking nothing with him. No sitting at the desk for Francis. So I decided to do the same, spending three days walking the bridleways, holloways, footpaths and country lanes of the Golden Valley, speaking to people along the way. My sanctuary for the night was one of my parish churches – Madley, Tyberton, then Peterchurch, with its very welcome underfloor heating.

Pontiff is recovering from a lobectomy, which is standard treatment for lung cancer caught early and can be curative

On Tuesday, surgeons in Rome removed the lower part of Pope Leo’s right lung, after a routine health check found a small growth that tests have since confirmed as lung cancer. The operation, called a lobectomy, is the standard treatment for lung cancer caught early, and for many patients it is the only treatment they will ever need. So what exactly did his doctors do, and what happens next?