… @georgedobell.bsky.social tellsyou what “personal circumstances” really means

Consultants endlessly making money on something nobody has the energy and ambition to actually build.

I'm sure carbon dating is very good, but forgive me if I think it's more likely to be 1910.

Ms Hopps has just asked if I am watching the 2nd half. Not sure if I dare. #lufc

The Observer Walk from @theobserveruk.bsky.social is an interesting idea and I'm sure once they have bought OSMaps they will even manage to get out of London...

Yes, but how much do they (*and all parties) really know about some of them? The number of paper candidates - often tokenism at its worst - is depressingly large.

Political parties are desperate to find candidates in so many wards. My interview consisted of "will you stand?". But even that is better than this, err, politically confused individual

Full marks for creativity to Umesh Kumar, who put in nomination papers to stand for Hounslow council in Heston East ward for the Lib Dems - and also to stand in Heston West ward for Reform UK. Unfortunately multiple candidacies aren't allowed these days, and he's been disqualified in both wards.

🌅 Blue hour on the Minho river... Caminha wakes up in perfect silence, fishing boats resting on a mirror of water. One of Portugal's most beautiful hidden corners. 🇵🇹⛵ #Photography #Travel #Portugal #Sunset

Hall of fame FT correction

Quality from Surrey. @kiaoval.com repeatedly shows Championship cricket the way forward. Time for other county clubs to learn and upgrade what in some cases is their utterly dismal Wi-fi.

Well, there's a surprise. Have you seen the ticket prices? Not worth being arrested at immigration because you might have remarked in passing that Trump is a dangerous demented narcissist.

There is "a need to build a case for Leeds trams?" How so? You have all been taking large sums of cash for talking about it for my entire life! The fact is, the DofT and Treasury oppose regional tram systems at every opportunity and would always have the entire North shoved onto unreliable buses.

Himalayas as seen from Space 🌍 📷

Morning.

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson's former best friend and Spectator journalist, James Delingpole, is speculating on Artemis 2 being fake. Quite how he still has a career is something of a mystery.

The biggest story in the world right now is that the president of the United States is a demented old man who takes pleasure in torturing and killing people and is committing crimes with impunity. And yet most legacy media outlets are too cowardly to tell it like it is.

If it goes to penalties, and Leeds lose, somebody is bound to blame Farke for picking the wrong players in the wrong order. #lufc

Iran is not a bloody Tom Cruise adventure movie. Billions of people are facing the threat of economic hardship and all people are talking about is Hollywood-style rescues. For God sake, get a grip.

Maybe Bluesky's issues of declining interest encapsulate the very issues of communication - insular, unappealing, dreary - that have allowed the populist right to dominate... 🤔

People attend the opening of a free public library in Ramsden Square, Barrow-in-Furness, 1922 (Sankey Archive).

Middle East crisis live: ‘Go get your own oil,’ Trump tells allies in angry outburst

I have just set up a County Cricket Matters league for this season’s county championship on CricketXI. This a FANTASTIC way of keeping in touch & focusing on the championship. cricketxi.com The joining code - BPWBQWKI Any problems let me know 🏏

15-year-old cricket prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashes 15-ball IPL half century

"The club has been poorly led for too long" 💬 Middlesex greats call for change in open letter | @georgedobell.bsky.social

Here's my starting squad. Join "The Grumbler's Anti-H*ndred League" - fantasy.thecricketdr... b436a2975bd Or insert this code on the app/site: 6b436a2975bd

Dim www.espncricinfo.com/story/beyers...

This judge is a disgrace and presumably has a holiday booked. There are nearly 70 million people in the UK and not all of them can afford to go on holiday. news.sky.com/story/russel...

I’m enjoying Saturday Night Live UK - more than I expected. Not everything works but there it has regularly made me laugh out loud and there is verve and freshness from a largely unknown group of comedians. I really hope it succeeds and quietens the scepticism.

‪David Hopps‬ It's also careless journalism. The study by TruthEngine says 50% of reviews are suspicious, not fake, based on patterms of behaviour. By the way suitelanka.com has 100% true reviews. Including the insane criticism from the weird naturist German with the passport-less "girlfriend".

There IS an issue with fake reviews. Google checks are non-existent and criminals take advantage. But Tripadvisor are tougher now and the allegations vs Feefo sound unfair - the customer has to be an absolute gold-plated lying twat to have any chance of removal. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The book banning school in Manchester has now been named, the Lowry Academy. Some of the books have been returned to the shelves but not all. Glad to hear CILIP are supporting the librarian ://www.indexoncensorship.org/2026/03/greater-manchester-school-library-censorship-who-is-accountable/

Australians now have better mobility into the EU than Brits “Under the new scheme, Australians can live and work in Europe for up to four years without needing a job offer before arrival.” Second class citizens in our own continent www.skynews.com.au/lifestyle/tr...

Every journalist should have walked out in sympathy, but this rarely happens because they are too terrified of the office reaction. The much-vaunted “power of the pack” becomes a silent & slightly guilty willingness to sacrifice the vulnerable animal in the herd. www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/m...

Our latest substack, from @gthwaites.bsky.social, considers whether the social mobility gap could be bigger than the gender pay gap. Read more ⤵️ buff.ly/IoBOOob

I've just written about the impending danger to county cricket if it does not urgently become relevant as a community-focused game. There are some big names in this very timely Lancashire revolt - Atherton, Bumble, Fairbtother, Allott - and I wish it success.

Workers who fall for ‘corporate bullshit’ may be worse at their jobs, study finds

The world is diametrically opposed on everything. As cancellations rain down on my little Sri Lanka hotel, 50% of guests behave decently, negotiating good discounts with real concern about staff welfare. The other 50% are crass: vultures picking at the carcass, demanding insultingly cheap deals.

Personally, I'm all for English cricket getting rid of its stuffy image 🤣

It’s dementia right?

Don't go back to bloody Kookaburras

This Champions League round is quite a disaster for English clubs. Spurs to follow no doubt . And people criticise Arsenal…. A lot of focus on Liverpool tonight. Chance of redemption for Slot.

End of the road for England’s most working-class player? Very good from @mattrollercricket.bsky.social Suspect there may be faults on both sides (not close enough to know these days) but IF the Rob Key comment is accurate, it is not very impressive. www.espncricinfo.com/story/liam-l...

What a jerk

So many miseries have craz’d my voice That my woe-wearied tongue is still and mute.

It's fortunate I didn't have 1% of the talent to be an international sportsman. Because in Shoaib's position I'd have said "f*** you, I'll talk if I want to". I've known a few players over 45 years who'd have said that, but not now. Free speech has been suppressed by the financial rewards on offer.

it's natural not to want England players to dominate the narrative at county media days when they rarely play. But Shoaib Bashir didn't play in the Ashes. He has a chance of a fresh start at @derbyshireccc.bsky.social. But as well as not playing, now he's banned from talking. Scandalous censorship.

In today’s game of Make Millions With Market Manipulation: 1. Energy Secretary posts that a tanker has been safely escorted through Hormuz. 2. Oil price falls 10%, friends buy. 3. Energy Secretary deletes post. 4. Oil price rises 12%, friends richer. Thank you for playing, see you all tomorrow.