Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the railway by travelling via Euston

For mens' football, England's women have managed it #totp

now *this* is what robots should be like

Gah Northern Powerhouse Rail plans delayed again www.bbc.com/news/article...

This is wonderful news. Three generations of a family in our village have been wiped out by this appalling condition.

What the hell , @theguardian.com ? This should not be a question. It’s rubbish. Regardless of what the article says. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

People say "autism never used to exist" and then you go to the Natural History Museum and the exhibit has a caption like "Born in 1762, The Revd [name] was famously irascible, steadfast in his routine, and dedicated his life to collecting 25,000 rare beetle specimens".

F that . Cheaper holidays ? In an alternating inferno / flood ? www.theguardian.com/business/liv...

Reform are filth. They represent hatred, extremism, ignorance and irresponsibility. They'd make us a wretched vicious hateful little island. If people don't stand up to this, they won't stand up to anything.

Thank you, Ben

The same Trevor Phillips had Peter Mandelson as his best man at his wedding.

I hope he stays up here

Very grateful to @jenwilliamsft.bsky.social for fab newsletter today: www.ft.com/content/ad1c...

NEW Has the government overreached in using terrorism law against Palestine Action? A disclosed MI5 document indicates that the basis for proscription may be weak By me, at @prospectmagazine.co.uk www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...

“Bring it up to date” means “exclude foreigners from the full protection of human rights” and you can pretend not to see that much, but I can’t.

In which (among other things) I invite you to join me this weekend at the York Printmakers Print Fair.

The Trump v the Truth programme is excellent . Calm debunking of lies. www.channel4.com/press/news/c...

Some written constitutions work - see Germany, Ireland. Some unwritten ones are atrocious - see Israel. But ultimately form makes no difference if there is no culture of constitutionalism. If the gatekeepers surrender and the checks and balances are unused, it is game over.

Jimmy Kimmel deserves better than this. He’s a class act. Case in point - after my first appearance on his show back in 2018, he very thoughtfully asked whether I was receiving adequate security at that time, as Trump was repeatedly smearing journalists as “the enemy of the people,”

Ace!

The police have arrested a man filmed calling for the assassination of Keir Starmer, citing malicious communications (which suggest the online dissemination of the call is the issue). But no news about the billionaire who called for violence from the main stage www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Welcome to the United Kingdom! 🇬🇧 Never before in U.S. History has a President been acknowledged by another country in this unique way! 🇺🇸 At Windsor Castle, in London & all across the land, people are United! ✊ They all want to see the #EPSTEIN_PedoFiles, ASAP! 👀

It might feel a bit early, but I’ve had so many requests already… My 2025 Christmas Cards are now available to pre-order www.gailmyerscough.co.uk/christmas-ca...

Remarkably blunt words from United Nations officials who just declared Israel is committing genocide: "Gaza will be with me for the rest of my life." "Netanyahu, like everything he says, is simply lying." "The treatment of children, the amputation without anesthetic…That will haunt me forever."

No 10 today: "This morning, [the PM] met the Hillsborough families in Downing Street as the government introduces the Public Office (Accountability) Bill – to be known as the Hillsborough Law." This is a big deal and deserves to get plenty of attention.

I once accidentally sent a work colleague a text at 10pm saying 'good night, remember to brush your teeth properly. You need to remember your shin pads tomorrow' - it was for my son

I will not rest until I hear Stanley Tucci's take on this.

This lived up to my expectations, if anything MORE exactly than I had already predicted

Eurovision literally came into being because of politics.

Today’s #NotRothko

No.61 (Rust and Blue) https://botfrens.com/collections/25/contents/4851

Xx

"La Musique". Marthe Donas. 1919. 

.but it should not be beyond capacity of civil society to organise against what is happening now - through demonstrations, public campaigns, etc. Not just on Bluesky. [Rock Against Racism emerged at the time of economic crisis and an unpopular Labour govt, after all.] [3/3]

Yes, definitely this

Entirely on form for Starmer but still absolutely mind boggling

Starmer and the Labour government need to start treating the rise of the far right as a problem to be addressed rather than a movement to be accommodated.

Gove on the other hand …..

Your post reminded me of this letter from 'The Big Bang: Christmas Crackers 2000-2009' by John Julius Norwich ...

I really rate Peter Kyle

Right now, this is an extreme minority magnified by a social media that sends extremes viral. If nobody has the courage to say that’s what it is - & that normal people, even if worried about immigration, spend their Saturdays in Tesco or taking the kids to football - it won’t stay extreme for long.

Disappointed with some actions of this govt and some very poor decisions . But plenty of good stuff. Still a million times preferable to the last lot. And the PM is not going away - it’s silly and self- indulgent to go on about it.

"Nigel Farage appears to have broken parliamentary rules by failing to register a visit to the United States where he headlined a $500-a-head fundraiser for Donald Trump." [Times]

"Nigel Farage’s claim that his girlfriend bought their £885,000 home may be undermined by an admission that she moved in with him because she could not afford to rent." [Times]

Excellent report about this ghastly company and the man behind it

NOTHING will prepare you for this 45-second story arc. From "I'm just doing this because I love the flag, it's totally grassroots, and I'm not part of anything political"... to who actually gave him the flags the night before. Anyone who believes it is an innocent movement needs to see this.

Digested week: Marsupial brings cheer in dark and dysfunctional days | Emma Brockes

Particularly helpful piece in explaining the effect of the widening of the (already overboard) Terrorism Act 2000 in 2019. It helps explain why people who are protesting against the decision to proscribe Palestine Action are being arrested as though they are encouraging support for the group