Before anything happens in the Gorton & Denton by-election. My thoughts are that if Labour win it is a bullet dodged and they should be happy, if Reform win they will have snuck through, but obviously it’s good for them, biggest winners would be the Greens if they pulled it off.

Is there a version of social media in which we don’t need to put up with Americans who are beyond privileged to the point of literally thinking the whole world revolves around them. It’s really, really boring.

Ok - drawing a line under this. Shouldn’t get myself so worked up over ignorant Americans. I can only see this idiocy and ignorance continuing, and there has been more than enough time for people to be responsible and stop it, Let us hope Trump gets his way and isolates the whole rotten country.

I genuinely do not know with the discourse today around Tourette’s has angered me so much. I think it is the absolute blind certainty spouted by people who know nothing of Tourette’s, how it works and what it does, but happily condemn regardless of their own lack of knowledge.

Until today I genuinely thought that Tourette’s was a much more widely understood disorder. I have also been surprised at how many people who are generally well-meaning have wanted someone with a disability to not be allowed access, or for all of us to be shielded from the reality of that disorder.

So, is Brian Aldridge like this youtu.be/owGykVbfgUE?... or is he #thearchers

Sad to see Lyndsey Vonn crashing out in the Women’s Downhill, the story of competing having ruptured her ACL last week was so impossible as to be unbelievable. Surely she shouldn’t have been allowed to do this? #winterolympics

A bunch of people who were in power at the time of allowing immigration to get out of control, opened loads of hotels to house asylum seekers and ruined our immigration control arrangements with the EU are all joining forces to blame other people for what they did, and want to be elected to fix it.

I know America is too divided to care, but I’m pretty sure that a justification for the state killing individuals just included carrying a gun and not having identification papers with you. That really sounds like something that a lot of American people would be against.

Just saying that something is a ‘negotiating tactic’ doesn’t excuse it. If you say things in public, everybody hears them, and you own what you say. Even right wing Brits (maybe especially) who support a lot of what Trump says will not stand for Britain being bullied, and our troops disrespected.

The Trump ‘schtick’ is really obvious. Throw a grenade, create panic, aim to divide your opponents and get them to come and beg you for a concession. The problem for him is that it is a game of diminishing returns for him internationally and in the long term, the loser will be the USA.

Cannot express just how much I despise this and the whole misjudged Newsom show this week.

Can America now only speak in ‘abuse’? #Newsom #Trump

I know that shame isn’t really a word in the US government’s vocabulary. But shame on you, America. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... #trump #greenland

In terms of the current madness from Trump with relation to Walz, I would urge the Governor’s in Republican states to consider the precedent being set and how it will be used against them in the future either by Trump if your interests get in his way, or by a democratic opponent.

Just can’t bring myself to watch the new 28 Years Later film. I love Ralph Fiennes in basically anything, but I can’t get past this whole Savile thing from the previous thing. I can’t accept using that man’s legacy in any sort of entertainment format. It’s just wrong to do it.

Whenever the American madness ends, the first thing they should do is revoke the second amendment. There isn’t anybody out there who agrees with it who is trying to stop federal government tyranny.

I know that some things are bought and paid for, especially for social media reactions but it is sadly not at all surprising how many people will simply ignore what they can literally see with their own eyes in order to be absolutely comfortable with murder of people who they disagree with.

The lies defending the murderous ICE officer are the same as the pardons issued to the Jan 6th rioters. It is saying that if you oppose the administration there will be violence and that it will have no consequences to the perpetrators. There will be more violence, and they will get away with it.

When did fans of sci fi and fantasy shows decide that their aspiration should be to be like Comic Book Guy? The absolute desperation to hate on everything that is created will only lead to less content. It’s just peculiar to hate the things you love so much.

There are a few things at play right now in America: 1) deflection from Epstein; 2) genuine expansionism; 3) further provocation to assert emergency powers before mid-terms. Be under no illusion, Trump aims to be President for life, and I would probably put a bet on him still being in office in 2030

Well, I thought #strangerthings had an awesome (if ridiculously long) finale. So many people get to be heroic in their own way, throughout the whole of the season. It’s great to get shows that capture the imagination and create ‘event’ viewing.

So, if this was Ambridge but not Ambridge. If it was all in Emma’s head, I think I can buy it about all the stuff as it was all local knowledge or at least rumour. Except, Clive sneaking around? How would Emma have imagined that? #thearchers

Go on yersel’ Jessie #Hootenanny

Anybody who regularly listens to #thearchers should be ready for the ‘rampage’ to be way less than we are hoping for. Hope you prove me wrong folks!

So, video did not kill the radio star, and Queen were apparently correct we have indeed grown tired of all this vision.

As a morbid soul, I’ve always followed the Deathlist website. Really hoping that they are a bit more daring this years 41 of their 2025 predictions were over 90, and about half of the remaining 9 had a terminal illness. Be more creative folks! #deathlist

Musicals week on #Strictly really is such a stretch for Amber and Lewis, I hope they can just about cope.

I’m I the only one googling Dick van Dyke every day in this run up to his 100th birthday? I don’t think I could cope with another Betty White situation.

Of course I may well be proved wrong and maybe it will fade away as a story, but I cannot believe how badly Farage and Reform are dealing with this. He needs to just apologise for the things he said and did 50 odd years ago, and it will go away. Of course, now he’s dug in it’s too late.

The single biggest line item cost on the government benefits bill is to pensioners. The triple lock needs to have an end point where it is related to one thing (probably cost of living) or the country needs to accept it is going to keep paying for this.

Despite being one of the generally despised ‘centrists’, I am just utterly fed up of what Labour are doing right now. The Motability thing seems to be to appeal to people influence by Lee Anderson, the refugee messaging is appalling. What is the point of Labour in power if they act like this?

The people launching these attacks on Reform are the same type as those who said Brexit would be a disaster, Boris was a liar, that Trump was a fascist. And all that was just scaremongering, wasn’t it?

Genuinely think Lewis should consider doing dancing for a living after that performance #strictly

I saw a trailer for One Battle After Another and thought it might be a relatively fun action/drama type film, just looked on Cineworld for the release date and saw it is 2hr 42mins long. Do people making movies not understand how insane that is? Maybe I’ll be wrong and it’s an epic masterpiece.

I’m sure this has been covered but how exactly do we explain to the American president that we have sacked the ambassador for being embroiled in a scandal that the president himself is embroiled in?

I’m not sure ‘FBI informant’ is a label that Trump’s supporters will like.

Inspired by my Christmas films thread from last year - here are all the films I’ve seen at the cinema this year, with the thrill of marks out of 10 for each of them. #2025movies

Totally my own fault for getting sucked in, but I left Twitter to get away from this kind of thing.

Massive shock that Djokovic is struggling and suddenly needs a medical time out. I do hope he is ok and can continue…

You find Neil Young pretty dull, so switch over to see if Charlie XCX is any more interesting

I’m a dull centrist, so I just find it amusing how elated/upset the various factions are with Kneecap and Rod Stewart. It’s all a nonsense and utterly irrelevant. Baby Jane is a banger though.

I don’t wish to sound too grumpy here, but could the UK calm down about the f***ing weather. It’s been a bit hot for a couple of days, there may be thunder… these do not need breaking news alerts and repeated warnings!

Watching BBC2 and the whole 40 songs from 1985 thing. I know I’m just an old man, but the songs were just so much more joyful back in the day.

As much as I have enjoyed the latest episodes of #Andor, it was especially nice to see George Lucas’s dream of a key plot point being the use of parliamentary administrative procedure, took me back to the days of the prequels.

One of the more impressive tricks pulled by the populist right is that they are free to insult everyone they don’t agree with, in as extreme language as they like, but if anyone insults them back, it is unacceptable. If you voted for Brexit and now Reform you are stupid and/or duped and/or racist.

Between Liverpool running away with the league and the teams at the bottom being so far adrift, I can’t wait to see Sky going hard on ‘the battle for 3rd’ on the last day.

@marcusbrig.bsky.social saw the show last night in Nottingham, really funny, smart and a genuinely interesting take on masculinity. Also, very popular with my wife accompanying me, and as ever, the master of accents. #vitruvianmango

I remember the old days when all of the communist dictatorships called themselves ‘People’s Democratic Republics’, this is very similar to America lecturing the world on freedom nowadays. Academics are being silenced, minority groups are being othered and courts/lawyers opposing will be ‘enemies’ …