Not to be seen on the BBC TV News, doesn’t suit their agenda . Also not to be seen in the Telegraph, Express, Mail, Sun, etc. And nowadays not in the Guardian either.

"I have heard a lot off my friends and I am voting Farage" When it comes to influencing how people will vote in May's election, a lot of attention is put on social media. But conversations with friends and family can make a huge difference to how people perceive politics and issues.

released my self-published novel a few days and am riding that rollercoaster of ‘oh no, nobody’s reading it’ and ‘oh no, somebody’s reading it’

Keir Starmer should go immediately... ...to the shops to buy me some cat treats.

‘Bringing Britain closer to the level in high tax countries such as taxes Denmark rather than to the level in the USA’ is perhaps not the scare story that the Telegraph front page lead implies …

the ability of some people to shock anew each day is quite something

🤣 "Having the critics praise you is like having the hangman say you've got a pretty neck".

Excellent chart. And there may be another one somewhere that shows we could afford to look after the vulnerable PLUS spend more on defence if wealth was being appropriately taxed.

interesting. I learnt something here about the nature of corruption - and why populism can’t work without it

can see forever from Yes Tor #dartmoor today. I imagine the little shed is a military one.

what a week. House-martins returned to #Dartmoor, and last night I saw an otter wriggling into a hedge in the glare of headlights. This morning, lambs in gangs, running and jumping, as bold as teenage hoodlums.

been getting into a few of those ‘there is no point anyone doing a humanities degree’ discussions recently. It seems that the idea of being educated is old-fashioned, and that ignorance is a fine thing (especially in others).

I’ve reported and blocked two instances this week of AI videos posing as the real thing. Makes me wonder how much other fake stuff I’m falling for.

This is absolutely nuts

why does the USA have a government but Iran has a ‘regime’?

what a cracking front page, in the best tradition of popular British journalism.

1974: the top marginal rate of UK income tax was 83% + 15% unearned income surcharge. There were no university fees & food banks, short NHS queue. Now top tax rate is 45%. 1% have more wealth than 70% of the population combined. 13.4m live in poverty, food banks everywhere, £292bn student debt.

when those astronauts post pix and go on about the view from up there it feels, just a bit, like friends sending you pictures of their sunny holidays when you’re stuck at home in the rain.

Karoline Leavitt parody courtesy of "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" in Canada

this is an interesting read, from someone who knows what they’re talking about.

Great quote I saw here from Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 astronaut 👇

That’s one hell of a cover…..

been watching some normally shy deer chase each other around fields near Dartmoor all day. Mostly, to be honest, it was a boy deer with big antlers chasing a rather pissed-off looking girl deer.

this is fabulous

Zach. I hate to break it to you but Labour are already taxing the rich to pay for schools, the NHS and other services. All of which are slowly improving. It’s hard slog and they’re doing well. See new taxes they’ve already introduced. ⬇️

I’m enjoying this quirky and readable little book about one of my favourite places. Some nice walks in there, too. And a witty title. I’m biased because the book is by a friend of mine BUT if you like #monmouthshire I am sure you’ll like his book!

absolutely. The very act of reading a book.

couldn’t resist buying this shirt for my son

very odd to hear the sound of American bombers being refuelled mid-air over Dartmoor.

This is so true. 99% of money in publishing is made by about 4 people, the rest of us just do it for the love of the game. Or the hate. Or the love. Or the hate. Or the love. Really it varies by the hour.

had a wander along the coast at #hartland #devon this week. So steep, and little bit spooky with all those sheer black cliffs. Very brave sheep.

why would institutions dealing with truth engage with parties whose success is built on lies? Not sure either side would actually get anything out of it.

europeans when asked to help unblock the strait of hormuz

great fun teaching ‘how to edit your own writing’ at the #bristol #folkhouse yesterday. Always a fascinating and friendly group of students, writing all sorts of things for all sorts of reasons. Next workshop in June, book here www.bristolfolkhouse.co.uk No typewriters involved: I just like them

We might be a touch biased, but we think adding beavers to banknotes is an excellent idea 🦫

For anyone still worried about Geoffrey Cox's welfare, he received £111,000 from legal work in February, so is just about keeping his head above water.

just pressed the button on my self-published (and first) novel so I can buy a copy and take it off-line for final checks. I’m worried that it might, for example, have been printed back to front, or accidentally translated into a blend of Esperanto and Klingon. Or it could just be crap.

this is a fantastic bit of gently compelling work from Chris Meredith. Listening, I was transported to another time and place, and came back from there with so much to think about

This's excellent from the PM I am not prepared to commit our military service people to action, unless I am sure that what they are doing is lawful & has a viable basis. They deserve to know that their PM cares &pays attention to whether what I am asking them to do is lawful & I will always do that.

went to #fairisle a couple of years ago and did loads of writing, stupidly none of it relating to the island. Finally getting round now to attempting short fiction inspired by my time there and my goodness that place gets under your skin. Can’t believe how much I miss it - and its people.

anyone who calls their war ‘Epic Fury’ should have to wait until they grow up before being put in charge of dangerous things.

times like this I remember that my grandad got a medal for being in the 1919 Third (!) Afghan War. Never met him so don’t know why he was there, and I’d hazard a guess he didn’t know either. The track record of Western powers’ intervention far from home is too often as futile as it is long.

morning mist over #valor #alpujarras #spain

Pulp poetry.

a lunar halo over the Alpujarra #andalucia #spain tonight

so Reform’s nostalgia for a golden age of British values doesn’t include conceding defeat in a gracious and sportsmanlike manner.

turns out that people won’t vote for a party that wants to deport them and/or their neighbours. Who’d have guessed!

there’s Gary, thinking that if he stays still then the stupid English tourist can’t see him. His pal Glenda is in the other room though, to be honest, I’ve never seen both at the same time so who knows.

I’m reading #Hamnet and my goodness I have rarely read anything so rich. You can hear and smell and taste every scene. Looking forward to the film!

almond blossom at dusk in the Alpujarra hills #spain