Well, that Jim Ratcliffe turned out to be a nice bloke...

Oh God. Just one more thing to worry about... and if Reform get in here they'll try the same sort of tricks.

Thanks to everyone who came to see us at Readifolk last night. As you can see, we had a really good time.

Elon Musk is a white supremacist. Case closed.

Looking forward to playing at Readifolk on Sunday - have played a few gigs there with @magpielane-oxford.bsky.social but this will be the first time Mat and I have done it as a duo.

THIS SUNDAY at the club! @rdgwhatson.bsky.social @acespacenewbury.bsky.social @magpielane-oxford.bsky.social #SundayNight is #FolkMusicNight in #TheDing

It's come to something when a non entity like Cleverly is held up as a potential saviour of the Tory party!

If you don’t pay attention to UK politics, “what is their policy on civil servants wearing fetish clothing in the workplace” sounds absurd because noone wears gimp masks to their office job. If you do, you immediately know she wants a policy prohibiting trans women from wearing skirts or dresses.

There are now at least 365 UK MPs with accounts on Bluesky – more than half (56%) of all MPs 🔴 This includes nearly 70% of Labour MPs 🔶 Nearly 90% of Lib Dem MPs 🟢 All the 4 Green MPs 🔵 But only 5% of Conservative MPs ➡️ No Reform MPs

I have no time for dictators, nor for drug dealers. But The US intervention in Venezuela is a fragrant breach of international law, and must be unequivocally condemned by all democratic leaders.

Well done flag-shagging RefUK supporters. That's £16K that won't get spent on education or social care or mending potholes.

This is all true, of course. Except there's no 'e' in Sharp.

Thanks to St Saviour's at St Albans for providing such a glorious space for our final Christmas concert of 2025. Even more splendid than usual, decked out as it was with dozens of decorated Christmas trees. Merry Christmas one and all. www.instagram.com/reel/DSief-c...

Thanks to Dick Wolff for some fantastic photos from our gig in Oxford on Saturday. More on our Instagram - www.instagram.com/magpielaneox...

There you are @jackieoates.bsky.social - I told you you're now officially iconic!

Thanks to everyone who came to see us at the Wesley Memorial Church in Oxford on Saturday. I think we're all agreed it's a very good venue for us - we'll see you there again next December. Here's a photo from first time visitor Maria, who says she's coming every year from now on! More to follow.

This was also my view of proceedings at the Old Band Room, Dungworth yesterday afternoon, but I was too caught up in the absolute joy of joining in with the wonderful singing to take any photos.

Shepherds Arise - Andy Turner and a cast of thousands (well, 20 actually). Recorded remotely in 2020 by a virtual choir including @jonboden.bsky.social @jackieoates.bsky.social @jimcausley.bsky.social **All proceeds to Cancer Research UK** andyturner.bandcamp.com/track/shephe...

Is it Bandcamp Friday? (Spoiler alert) It is! isitbandcampfriday.com

The Magpie Lane Christmas extravaganza hits the road this weekend: we'll be at the Second Time Around Folk Club, Beeston near Nottingham tomorrow, and then at Royal Traditions, Dungworth near Sheffield on Saturday. www.magpielane.co.uk/ml_news.htm

"Part of the iconic Wetherspoons brand—imagine Denny’s and a Greyhound bus station have unprotected sex, and the baby is raised by carpet... The customers—the bitter, the deranged, and the men in full motorcycle outfits eating lasagne at 11am—shoot us curious, guarded glances." 😱 This is perfect.

If you're an ordinary, vaguely disorganised mortal, probably best to buy this now while you remember. But if you're the organised type, add it to your Bandcamp Wishlist today, then come back and buy it on 5th December - that's a Bandcamp Friday, so even more money will go to Cancer Research.

Here's a first: I've just released a charity Christmas single. Recorded remotely in 2020 by a virtual choir including @jonboden.bsky.social @jackieoates.bsky.social @jimcausley.bsky.social Costs £1.50 but you can pay more - all proceeds to Cancer Research UK. andyturner.bandcamp.com/track/shephe...

Someone should ask Starmer and Mahmood whether they think the Kindertransport, for example, should have been a return ticket. Whether Alf Dubs, rather than becoming a Labour MP and now Lord, ought to have been sent back with his family to Czechoslovakia once it was liberated from German rule.

@chartmusictotp.bsky.social How TotP changed my life afolksongaweek.wordpress.com/2025/11/13/5...

A special commemorative edition of A Folk Song A Week: 50 years a folky! or The Wombles, their part in my downfall... afolksongaweek.wordpress.com/2025/11/13/5...

Our Christmas gig in Oxford on 13th December is now sold out. There are bound to be a few returns, so feel free to join the waiting list wegottickets.com/event/667363

I see there are still tickets available for @magpielane-oxford.bsky.social at Royal Traditions Folk Club near #Sheffield on 6th December. It's going to be a fabulously festive night as we'll no doubt all do some singing afterwards too. Get tickets at wegottickets.com/event/645679 #festive

I'm off to Lewes tonight, to play the excellent Lewes Saturday Folk Club with Mat Green: Elephant and Castle, White Hill, Lewes BN7 2DJ. 8:00 to 11:00 www.lewessaturdayfolkclub.org

A reminder that our Christmas concert in Oxford has a new venue this year. After 30-odd years we felt like a change! We think you'll like the venue just as much as the Holywell, and the seats are definitely more comfortable! Tickets from wegottickets.com/event/667363

If you're a member of the National Trust remember to vote for council members by midnight tonight. Use the Quick Vote option. Entryist pressure group Reform Trust is trying to seize control. Stop them Voting is quick and easy if your membership card is at hand secure.cesvotes.com/V3-3-0/nt25/...

A reminder in case you haven't yet voted in the National Trust elections

I seem to remember @johnfinnemore.bsky.social did a good sketch about the very same guy!

Everyone in this country is descended from immigrants. Every single last one of us. And many, like Mr Farage, will have very recent migrant ancestors indeed and not even know about it.

Netanyahu: ‘These So-Called Genocide Experts Have Probably Never Committed A Genocide In Their Lives’

Nadia Hussain

Yes indeed, tickets for our annual Christmas concert in Oxford are on sale, and you can buy them from wegottickets.com/event/667363 Saturday 13th December, 2pm Wesley Memorial Methodist Church, Oxford 2pm start

Worst day for crime in @metpoliceuk area as 857 people are arrested for writing seven words on pieces of paper and holding them up as new Home Sec gets tough bit.ly/3I9nwtp they face up to 6 months in jail, if space can be found. 33 arrested for other offences

Really informative post on the right's selective and misleading use of stats, and the threat that RefUK poses to us all.

The main issue facing any UK government isn't actually the number of people seeking asylum, in the grand scheme, proportionally, we aren't talking about huge figures, especially when compared per capita to countries such as France, but the constant images we see in the media. 1/

album covers but with muppets: thread

Sweet Jesus. Imagine a museum telling people that slavery was bad. What a ghastly thought...

I cannot decide if this is just a bit of silliness, or deeply meaningful.

It's Bandcamp Friday today, so a particularly good day to get your hands on any of the three most recent Magpie Lane albums - either as a download, or physical CD + download magpielane.bandcamp.com

#Reform Council in #Warwickshire claimed 6,500 potholes. So the Daily Mail reported 6,500 potholes. So the Daily Express reported 6,500 potholes. So GBNEWS reported 6,500 potholes. Actual number of potholes : 107. THis is how it works now. #Facepalm.

Actually, not being a film buff, the first time I cam across the phrase "300 Spartans" was when I spotted that it was the name of a fish and chip shop in Loughborough in the 1980s.

This is terrifying and horrible and, sadly, the shape of things to come. An AI-generated album on YouTube and Apple Music, and no doubt elsewhere, released under the name of an actual, living, trying-to-make a living singer. I don't often use all Caps, but DO NOT BUY THIS FAKE ALBUM.

With all this hot weather, the question a lot of you will have been asking recently is "When will the Magpie Lane Christmas concert tickets go on sale?" Well, the wait is over. Sat 13th Dec Wesley Memorial Methodist Church, Oxford Tickets from wegottickets.com/sct/cGMsEpy7rW Go get 'em!

An alert to all creatives using #WeTransfer. Basically, stop immediately! As of August, they will begin scraping everything you send for AI purposes (see the new paragraph in their Terms and Conditions below). If, like me, you’re a voice artist, they’ll clone your voice. Avoid at all costs.