In 1977, Muhammad Ali came to South Shields. He toured the town, sparred with locals — and even held a wedding ceremony in the mosque. A forgotten story of British history. #MuhammadAli #BoxingHistory #SouthShields #BritishMuslims #CulturalHistory bbands.band/blogs/news/i...

The right once stood for “sound money.” Now it’s Trump coins, Melania coins, and crypto scams. Casino capitalism is the new Conservative ideology #Crypto #Politics #RightWing #DarkMoney #Trump #Farage #ReformUK jon-chadwick.com/2025/09/27/t...

And here it is, September’s quiz. Share the pain/pleasure with your friends and family #quiz jon-chadwick.com/2025/09/27/q...

AI is great at chasing the perfect answer—but terrible at knowing when “good enough” is better. Vinyl collecting taught me more about bounded rationality than ChatGPT ever could. 🎶🤖 #AI #BoundedRationality #Economics #BehaviouralEconomics #Vinyl #DouglasAdams jon-chadwick.com/2025/09/24/a...

Far right promised a “summer of riots.” Britain got protests smaller than a non-league football crowd — and one big Tommy Robinson march. Why are politicians and the press so keen to talk up violence? #UKPolitics #FarRight #CivilUnrest #NigelFarage #TommyRobinson jon-chadwick.com/2025/09/21/u...

America has entered its third great era of political violence. The lynchings after the Civil War, the assassinations of the 1960s — and now. Are we already seeing the first casualties of a new civil war? #America #CivilWar #Democracy #PoliticalViolence #charliekirk jon-chadwick.com/2025/09/20/a...

The legendary Blue Monkey nightclub in Sunderland is being reborn — not as a rave venue, but as the Redeemed Christian Church of God.” 
#Sunderland #BlueMonkey #RCCG #Immigration #LocalHistory #VenerableBede #NorthEast jon-chadwick.com/2025/09/16/s...

The Action: the 1960s mod band who never had a hit but inspired generations — from soul clubs to Sufi devotion. 
#TheAction #ModCulture #60sMusic #PaulWeller #SoulRock #MusicHistory #fileunderpopular #musichistory bbands.band/blogs/news/t...

@bobmort.bsky.social always pleases

Why do people hate woke? The backlash isn’t really about pronouns — it’s about class, globalisation, and who got left behind.
#WokeCulture #CultureWars #Globalisation #ClassPolitics #UKPolitics #IdentityPolitics jon-chadwick.com/2025/09/13/w...

#CharlieKirk . Trump removed a whole echelon of experienced agents in all branches of law enforcement and security and replaced them with inadequate yes men. Those who were left were moved to deport and target immigrants. This is the terrible consequence #CharlieKirkshot

Every September the press recycles the same nonsense: “100 languages in British schools.” It’s not about languages. It’s about immigration, fear & lazy journalism. #UKPolitics #Immigration #Education #MediaBias #LanguageMyths #BritishSchools jon-chadwick.com/2025/09/11/1...

UK private school fees jumped 22% after VAT, but enrolments barely shifted — proof that demand is far more inelastic than ministers expected.
#UKEducation #PrivateSchools #VAT #Economics #TaxPolicy #Elasticity jon-chadwick.com/2025/09/09/u...

Immigration in Britain has dominated headlines from Brexit to Reform UK.
But what do you think? We’re running a short survey — have your say #Immigration #UKPolitics #NetMigration #Brexit #Labour #Conservatives #ReformUK #MigrationDebate jon-chadwick.com/2025/09/06/c...

Italy’s €1 houses look like a dream — but they reveal the nightmare of ageing populations, immigration politics, and the future of rich economies. #Immigration #AgeingPopulation #Economics #UKPolitics #Italy #Migration #Demographics jon-chadwick.com/2025/09/04/c...

Green Party Leadership. Polanski wins #greenparty #zachpolanski jon-chadwick.com/2025/08/05/g...

Small boat crossings fell last month. The lowest August crossings for years. But that isn't what you will read about on-line or in the press. #smallboats #asylumseekers #UKpolitics #reformUK #nigelfarage #dailymail jon-chadwick.com/2025/09/02/t...

Sunday morning music blog. Why is it so hard to write about religion in music? What songs would you put on a religious music playlist? #musicblog #MusicHistory #religiousmusic #FileUnderPopular #soul #gospel #reggae #christiancountry bbands.band/blogs/news/p...

Wealth taxes are popular — until you realise they mostly hit pensioners. Reeves won’t wave a new magic wand, but she’ll quietly squeeze existing taxes. #WealthTax #ukpolitics #RachelReeves #taxpolicy #PublicFinances #LabourParty jon-chadwick.com/2025/08/30/w...

August Quiz. With a bonus football round to celebrate the new season #quiz #football #premierleague jon-chadwick.com/2025/08/30/q...

Farage’s Reform UK promises mass deportations and a new surveillance state — but the plans are illegal, unworkable, and would tear up our rights. #ReformUK #Farage #Immigration #DeportationPlans #ECHR #HumanRights #Brexit #UKPolitics #PrivacyRights jon-chadwick.com/2025/08/28/r...

Are we heading for an AI stock market crash? Valuations are sky-high, profits are scarce, and the dot-com ghosts are stirring again. #AI #StockMarketCrash #AIBubble #DotComCrash #Investing #Economics #Finance #TechStocks jon-chadwick.com/2025/08/26/a...

Not every “flag moment” belongs on a lamp-post near you. #EnglandFans #FootballCulture #FlagEtiquette #flags #flagshaggers jon-chadwick.com/2025/08/24/h...

Bank holiday weekend #movie #quiz jon-chadwick.com/2025/08/22/m...

We’re reading less, thinking less, and demanding ever simpler answers to complex problems. The decline of reading isn’t just cultural nostalgia — it’s a threat to democracy itself. #Democracy, #AttentionSpan, #ReadingCrisis, #LiteraryTradition, #CriticalThinking jon-chadwick.com/2025/08/23/d...

Why do Reform voters deny the reality of climate change? Why betray their children and grandchildren? #ReformUK #NigelFarage #climatechange #netzero jon-chadwick.com/2025/08/21/r...

The next Stephen Lawrence will be called Sajid, Salman or Sachin. Judges who side with racist mobs baying for ethnic cleansing bring that next murder closer #epping #eppinghotel #eppingprotest

Refugees, asylum seekers, ‘illegals’ — Britain blurs them all. Here’s what the data really says about UK asylum and immigration #Immigration #AsylumSeekers #UKPolitics #SmallBoats jon-chadwick.com/2025/08/19/a...

From Northern Soul swagger to Irish literary wit, Kevin Rowland’s music is a masterclass in authenticity — and why it still matters today. #MusicHistory #dexysmidnightrunners #kevinrowland #classicalbums #80smusic #BritishMusicHistory #ModCulture #FileUnderPopular bbands.band/blogs/news/s...

Sunderland’s back in the Premier League — but that’s not the only comeback. From new doctors to gourmet pies, the city is changing fast. The question is: which Sunderland will win? #Sunderland #PremierLeague #SunderlandAFC #LevellingUp #EconomicGrowth #SAFC jon-chadwick.com/2025/08/16/s...

People blame asylum seekers for putting pressure on the NHS. But is it true? #asylumseekers #refugees #smallboats #NHS #NHScrisis jon-chadwick.com/2025/08/14/a...

Climate change could wipe $1.4 trillion from global markets as stranded assets lose value—putting pensions, jobs, and economies at risk. #ClimateChange #StrandedAssets #GreenTransition #ClimateFinance #JustTransition #EnergyShift #ClimateRisk #RenewableEnergy jon-chadwick.com/2025/08/12/c...

Trump and Farage built their brands on fighting grooming gangs—so why do they fear laws that protect kids online? #FarRight #OnlineSafety #GroomingGangs #Trump #Farage #Disinformation #EstablishmentCoverUp #ChildProtection #Politics #QAnon jon-chadwick.com/2025/08/09/f...

Corbyn and Musk both launched new political parties. One’s chasing a lost cause, the other’s chasing power — but neither’s interested in democracy. #Corbyn #Musk #UKPolitics #USPolitics #Authoritarianism #NewParties #Labour #Corbynism #PoliticalGrift #FutureOfTheLeft jon-chadwick.com/2025/08/07/c...

The Green Party’s 2025 leadership contest is weirder, and more revealing than you think — here’s the full story, from soil to space lizards. #GreenParty #UKPolitics #ClimatePolitics #ZackPolanski #AdrianRamsay #EllieChowns #NIMBYism #Corbynite #BritishLeft jon-chadwick.com/2025/08/05/g...

What happens when towns built on solidarity lose faith in the system? Seaham votes Reform—and tells us something uncomfortable about where Britain is headed. #ReformUK #NorthEastPolitics #PostIndustrialBritain #LocalElections2025 #BritishPolitics #LevellingUp jon-chadwick.com/2025/08/02/s...

London isn’t the crime-ridden hellhole social media loves to scream about — it’s the city that pays the bills for the rest of Britain. #London #UKPolitics #SocialMediaMyths #FakeNews #UrbanLife jon-chadwick.com/2025/07/31/i...

UK government debt interest rates are eating 8% of public spending – and it’s not just Liz Truss to blame. Trump, BRICS, and Japan all play a part #UKEconomy #GovernmentDebt #RachelReeves #InterestRates #GlobalEconomy #DeDollarisation #BRICS #LizTruss jon-chadwick.com/2025/07/29/t...

Cleo Laine didn’t just sing jazz — she fought fascists. The forgotten story of Britain’s first anti-racist music movement. #CleoLaine #JazzHistory #MusicHistory #AntiRacism #NottingHill #BritishJazz #Mods #FileUnderPopular bbands.band/blogs/news/t...

July #quiz jon-chadwick.com/2025/07/26/q...

Far-right riots in the UK are no longer fringe chaos – they’re being fuelled by online hate, cynical politicians, and a push for white nationalism. #FarRight #UKPolitics #WhiteNationalism #OnlineHate #FarRightRiots #BritishPolitics #StopTheViolence jon-chadwick.com/2025/07/24/r...

No, Starmer’s Brexit deal doesn’t mean paying the EU — it’s saving Britain billions by fixing Boris’s Brexit mess. #BrexitFacts #StarmerBrexitDeal #EUUK #BrexitMyths #UKPolitics #FoodPrices jon-chadwick.com/2025/07/22/u...

#musicblog Forget lurid tabloid headlines about #knifecrime My generation, born in the 60s, were the most violent of the C20th, and our music reflected that. You could get a kicking for wearing the wrong clothes, or just standing our bbands.band/blogs/news/t...

Trump’s own people built an empire on the Epstein conspiracy—now they’re the ones denying it. MAGA is eating itself. Welcome to Mar-A-Gulago.
 #Trump #Epstein #QAnon #MAGA #ConspiracyTheories #MarALago #PostTruth #USPolitics #Disinformation jon-chadwick.com/2025/07/19/t...

The UK pension system is broken—and it's not asylum seekers or scroungers driving the costs. It's the boomer generation who took out more than they ever put in. #PensionsCrisis #UKEconomy #Boomers #FiscalPolicy #WelfareState #TripleLock #TaxJustice jon-chadwick.com/2025/07/17/p...

Thousands of boys were abused in UK detention centres like Medomsley — yet the same politicians demanding inquiries into grooming gangs stay silent. Ask yourself why. #ReformUK #GroomingGangs #ChildAbuseInquiry jon-chadwick.com/2025/07/15/g...

The next credit crunch won’t start on Wall Street—it’ll start underwater, uninsured, and overleveraged. Climate change meets the housing bubble. #CreditCrunch #HousingCrisis #ClimateRisk #FinancialCrisis #RealEstateBubble #EconomicCollapse jon-chadwick.com/2025/07/12/n...

While Labour’s grooming gang inquiries lead to arrests, the Conservatives and Reforms demand a national inquiry to delay justice. What are they scared will come out? #GroomingGangs #ChildProtection #PublicInquiry jon-chadwick.com/2025/07/09/l...

Two bombs, 9 years apart. 1996 I was caught in the Manchester blast. 2005, I was an NHS CEO preparing for mass casualties on. This is a story of how we handled crisis then — and how much harder that might be now. #Manchester1996 #UKPolitics #NHS #EmergencyPlanning jon-chadwick.com/2025/07/07/7...

#musicblog 30 tracks from the 2nd quarter of 2025. Surprisingly summery bbands.band/blogs/news/q...