When powerful people bully the press, they’re really trying to silence the public What looks like a personal attack is often an intimidation tactic aimed at the entire press and the people it serves www.poynter.org/ethics-trust...

The Consumption Ritual open.substack.com/pub/thehuman...

Remembering Raul Malo www.dontrocktheinbox.com/remembering-...

My dad died suddenly just before Christmas. I had to go to his flat to look for a signed copy of his will. Instead i found a big bag of weed and a grinder. I skinned up and smoked a fat dooby on the balcony. No will was found it'll go to probate.

My husband has sex with my friend's husband. Both of them think we don't know but we do and decided we don't care. I think I should but he's stopped begging for blowjobs and sex, and does more housework. So I don't.

Working in A & E is weird . Like a war zone at best of times. Even had a fella come in for dandruff, think he was just lonely but Jesus Christ.

The on-hold music for Waitrose’s customer helpline is just a swan reading share prices to some brioche.

I just saw someone yell “they’re just using it to generate ideas!” And I hate to say it But if you work in the ART DEPARTMENT and you need a death machine stuffed with your colleagues’ work to give you ideas Quit.

Ther ys no neede to ban bookes when you kan defund educacioun and promote easy-fix consumerist tech tools to make sure young people will have a much harder tyme learninge how to become confident, actyve, and critical readeres.

Man in a pub: He did it. All of it. And nobody’s gonna do anything about it.

When I was 12 he gave me a printed-out list of ADHD symptoms and told me to tell a doctor that I had them so I would be prescribed methamphetamines, and then I would give the meth to him, and we would do meth together, as a family thing. You wanted to do more family things, right William?

"You're a very moral person and that's really inconvenient for me." My Dad. He was 100% serious.

Many, MANY moons ago, I was briefly dating someone well above my social strata. She took me to meet her parents at their country house (yes, I know.) Her dad was a nice fellow. Her mother looked me up and down and after a long pause, said, "Yes, I suppose you might suffice."

“Oh wow you’re right, the Woolworths poster in this image I generated to be racist with IS historically inaccurate, guess I’ll embrace diversity and immigration now”

Pointing out the errors in an AI image someone’s used to accompany their racist post about London in the good old days - what are we achieving here?

Whenever I see this gorgeous photo it reminds me of the cock pheasant the first year we had hens who visited them almost daily and strutted up and down next to their run, and the reaction of the pullets reminded me completely of nonplussed teenage girls at the school disco as Darren does the robot.

Today I can't walk or sit but it was great.

Never mind it will soon be Christmas.

3/10 It was just me and the birdsong - and a magical sunrise over the Wrekin. I was standing 12 miles away on Wenlock Edge, watching as layers of mist drifted across the fields near Longville. A pale pink light filled the sky, turning the familiar landscape into something almost otherworldly.

Not long ago there was an EXTREMELY dramatic and heated argument on my local village message board about some mud on lane left by a tractor (here in the countryside, of all places!) and it made me think, "Actually, maybe I didn't go far enough with this?"

Don't do drugs.

"If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to."

Man on his phone on the bus: Yes, Happy New Year to you too and I’m just gonna say happy Valentine’s Day now to get that off my list.

A café. Abba plays on the radio. Two people sit at a table. They repeatedly lift the lid of a laptop, register what’s on the screen and then snap it it shut again and stare at each other.

Man in a cafe: Hi, are you Susan? Woman: No. (Looks at him) But I wish I was. (long pause) Man: Shall we...say you are? Woman: Yes.

#Caturday - what a change in the weather. Yesterday the villagers were out & about for #chickentime . It's still bright today but overnight we had snow & hopefully they would have stayed toasty & warm in the cottages #inthecompanyofcats #villagelife #seniorcats #catrescue

We’re now up to 7 games in a row where I’ve not had to get up from my seat to celebrate a Shrewsbury goal. I thought football was an entertainment business? #Incompetent #Shambles #RolandOut

#Snow just before sunrise. #LongMynd #ChurchStretton #Shropshire

A view from my garden. Caer Caradoc this morning #Shropshire

#Shropshire is landlocked — but we still love to celebrate the wildlife found across the UK! On the 9th day of #12DaysWild we’re feeling seal-abratory 🦭✨ Ever spotted grey seals on a #winter trip to the coast? Their snowy white pups look like festive fluffballs! #WildlifePhotography #Wildlife

Happy New Year you lovely people. A reminder that 2026 should be the year you leave X (if you haven’t already!)

Shropshire looking rather lovely today in the snow!

Music (2025 Highlights). I have just listened to Lux and it almost certainly is the best album of 2025, IMHO. Followed (closely-ish) by Once Upon a Time In Shropshire by Jerskin Fendrix. Hurrah! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Happens to all of us. Oh, wait, no ... What Horrible Things Did We Do To Our Penises Last Year? defector.com/what-horribl...

Pope/Catholic. Bears/woods. Google AI Overviews put people at risk of harm with misleading health advice Inaccurate information presented in summaries, Guardian investigation finds www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

How A Lockdown Hobby Became Birmingham’s Cross-stitch Love Letter mailchi.mp/ichoosebirmi...

UK ministers face increased pressure to restrict gambling ads Polling indicates strong public backing for a much less permissive approach to promotion, including sponsorship ✔️ Agree strongly. Fed up of incessant gambling ads and sponsorship on TV! www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

The Rock’n’Roll Doctor is IN

A calculator for women? Really? open.substack.com/pub/shoddygo...

The "Mastermind" Box Cover: What the Hell Were They Thinking? open.substack.com/pub/mcsweene...

Terrorism professor by day, legal reporter by night, Seamus Hughes is the journalist America needs right now open.substack.com/pub/depthper...

Rise in violence against women journalists and activists linked to online abuse apnews.com/article/un-w...

When powerful people bully the press, they’re really trying to silence the public What looks like a personal attack is often an intimidation tactic aimed at the entire press and the people it serves www.poynter.org/ethics-trust...

In 2025, extremely powerful people with terrible intentions did everything they could to break our spirits (and yet!) My favorite thing about 2025 was us, and how we didn't take the bait open.substack.com/pub/thewhite...