@susiedentwords.bsky.social just watching 2nd episode of New Year @taskmaster.tv (you were ace btw!) - what was the connection between the word bumpf and your fabulous toilet seat? Your story was interrupted & we really want to know!

‘Pretty decent effort’ is classic Tony - attempt to be complimentary, actually confirming all Alice’s worst thoughts. And suggesting Brian might like to lay hedges! Has he ever met Brian??! #TheArchers

Amber does sound desperate for George, and the police, to think it was Marky’s thugs. But I really can’t imagine Brad, Jazzer or Harrison following him out into the dark in order to attack him. Maybe in the heat of him being awful, but not like this. #TheArchers

Another one for the "Reform voters are really unlike everyone else" file.

Great e.g of voluntary, tailored, hyperlocal employment support, overseen/funded by @learnworkuk.bsky.social Youth Futures Foundation & DWP. Feels like DWP should focus on fast scaling of this kind of approach to tackle youth unemployment & inactivity. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

I'm not sure how well this pattern maps on to the wider electoral map for up coming elections? But if at all reflective will be wild to have an election where neither Labour nor the Conservatives view the other as their main opposition, and it's all about which challenger party you're up against.

Fun fact: Lab and Con now make up the top two in only 2% of council by-election results.

Really LNER? No trains going from London up north *every weekend in February*? Good thing no one needs to be able to get down from the north or Midlands in February to support family. 🙄

Just discovered untouched Christmas cheese in the fridge! Lunch just went to a whole other level!

There are really four levels to what happened last night: US, regional, global and Venezuela. I'll go through them in that order, as it moves from easiest to hardest in terms of making sense of them. 🧵

We know Trump doesn't care about democracy. He loves dictators. We know he doesn't care about drug smuggling or US law. He pardoned a Latin American president convicted in the US for drug smuggling. This can only be about power & controlling the US zone of influence.

Just to say - George being attacked doesn’t make him any less of a vindictive, violent, dangerous thug. He’s remorseful now, maybe for a while. But the next time he doesn’t get what he wants he’ll lash out again. Amber was right to leave him. #TheArchers

Caught up now & I think it must be a Marky thing. However angry the family & village are with George, it doesn’t feel plausible that one of them went after him and did this? #TheArchers

Just catching up on last night’s #TheArchers - we still don’t know where Keira is? Could she have lamped George? Lots of people have motive, but I think most would have said something, not just crept up and hit him.

Omg. I haven’t listened to tonight’s #TheArchers but just read the 1 line synopsis. How stiff a drink do I need to go in? (Although the summary of last night as ‘hell unleashed at the Horrobins seemed a tad over dramatic for the actual content.)

Weird. 5 years ago I had electrodes & wires implanted in my back & neck (pain control). Still now, when I get too stressed or tense, I feel the wires poking me sharply inside. And there’s nothing to do - I can’t scratch it or smooth them down. I just have to try & relax!

Was trying to work out why I’m feeling a bit tired & irritable. Realised it might be loosely related to being on day 11 of a straight 12 days either visiting or hosting family over Xmas. Just can’t wait to get home & not talk to anyone for a bit!

Motorway service stations should be banned from having pianos. Or people (especially toddlers) should be banned from playing them.

💯 the right Christmas #StrictlyComeDancing winner!! (Unlike the main Strictly this year)

And Blue are still incredibly dull. #StrictlyComeDancing

Fair play - Scarlet Moffat had the most dance content & was by far the best dancer tonight. #StrictlyComeDancing

She was excellent. He was…also there. #StrictlyComeDancing

I’m pretty sure *no one* assumes you can dance because you’ve been in a boyband. Because we’ve all seen boybands ‘dance’. #StrictlyComeDancing

Watching Christmas #StrictlyComeDancing & I think the judges have been at the sherry with those scores!!

For added perfection, the fire is now blazing!

Happy Christmas! 🎄Turkey’s in the oven. 🎄Just gave the adults Kir Royales. 🎄Teenager A is upstairs playing her new electric guitar. 🎄Teenager B is showing his grandma his coin collection in the new display holder he got in his stocking! 🎄All’s right with the world.

Tomorrow evening it’ll be my annual duty to vaguely shepherd the activity on the #duvetknowitschristmas hashtag and urge people to give small sums to charity. 7.30pm? Something like that?

Elsie is *not* stuck down there. She’s waiting for me to take my eyes off her, just for a moment, so she can either chew the wires or scratch the sofa.

Everyone benefits when those with disabilities are included ✍️ Anna Taylor www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

Watching an old dvd. I forgot how they used to punish you for buying a legit dvd by forcing you to watch really long & irritating anti-piracy adverts. I mean they literally made you sit there considering getting a pirated one next time just so you didn’t have to watch those anti-piracy ads.

Something awful’s going on with George, that’s upsetting Keira isn’t it? I’ve got such a feeling of dread. #TheArchers

Karen worked her socks off for #StrictlyComeDancing & her improvement from the start was really impressive. (Although I still think George was robbed, obvs.)

Nothing against them, but Five are a strange choice for the climax of this emotional series of #StrictlyComeDancing. Did someone drop out?

I'd love one of them to say they really want the glitterball, I'm the best & I deserve it! #StrictlyComeDancing

I thought that was excellent from Amber. But not convinced it was quite as good as the first time? #StrictlyComeDancing

I guarantee no one is waiting for the third dance before deciding how to vote. Or the first 2 dances tbh. By now we're all Team Someone. #StrictlyComeDancing

I really think that's a fair score from Craig. Motsi & Anton were way over marking. #StrictlyComeDancing

Karen did very well. But she emphatically wasn't better than George or Amber. Feels like she got the first 40 just for the show's narrative arc,not based on differences in quality. #StrictlyComeDancing

It seems such a waste for the judges to have picked dances for them to do that they were already good at? Why didn't they pick each person's weakest dance and see how much they've improved?#StrictlyComeDancing

It's like the Peaky Blinders suddenly doing a quick dance number in between hits.

This is a very odd outfit for Karen to do the Argentine Tango in. #StrictlyComeDancing

Dapper & debonair. George's waltz. #StrictlyComeDancing

Are Five still a thing? #StrictlyComeDancing

Note: next time start with the cool group dance! Given that's why we're watching. Dull, slow intro with contestants talking about their 'journey' adds nothing to the jollity. #StrictlyComeDancing

#StrictlyComeDancing final starts in 9 minutes! Team George Assemble!!

Sophy Ridge to someone from Trussell: "Can I just ask, demand for food banks is going up and this is often seen as a negative thing basically, that it shows that more people are in need turning to food banks. Could you flip that and say its a good thing..." er, no.

As well as being half the size it should be, just announced the train will be terminating early. Again, for no given reason. Happily for me it's the station after mine, but there's a lot of deeply unimpressed people having to change and hope there's another train going North.

On a very crowded train. 5 carriages instead of 10. For...no particular reason? I'm sitting next to a young man having an incredibly loud conversation. He's really projecting.

Huge new poll puts Plaid ahead of Reform with Labour and the Conservatives on just 10% each. willhaywardwales.substack.com/p/bombshell-...

And of course the next train is shorter than usual and packed. Grrr.