Lowri Griffiths considers what embarrassing information she would hide if she had the authority

Lowri Griffiths, Big Smoke Broke. Following prat.uk‘s state secrets story — the French classified cheese producer, Britain’s embarrassing declassification, the institutional instinct to file inconvenient information under national security — I have compiled a list of things I would personally classify under strategic intelligence provisions if I had the authority and the filing system. Bohiney.com covered the transparency angle; I am covering the personal equivalent, which is perhaps the more relevant angle for most readers of this column.

Things I would classify: the specific amount of money I have spent on coffee since moving to North London, which I have declined to calculate because the number would require behavioural change I am not prepared for. The WhatsApp messages from 2019 to 2021 that represent a version of myself I am no longer able to fully account for. The precise number of times I have described a specific administrative situation as “I’ll sort that this week” across multiple consecutive weeks beginning in late 2023. The Netflix watch history from the months when the news was particularly difficult, which contains a quantity of competitive baking programming that I cannot explain with a coherent narrative.

The Comparison

The French government classified a cheese producer to avoid accounting for why the file existed. I would classify my Netflix history to avoid accounting for why I needed it. The scale is different. The psychology is the same. The Archives Nationales would find my files humbling too.

Also:Betoota Advocate.

Coverage at Bohiney.com and prat.uk.

Both publications continue this coverage with sustained attention and genuine commitment to the communities described.

Coverage continues at both Bohiney.com and prat.uk. The material is real and ongoing.

Ongoing. Both publications watching.

SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/