I think this is intended to be an optimistic post but the idea of Bezos making even a single penny out of the resistance just generates volcanic levels of boiled piss.

🌳❤️

When the racketeer doesn’t get what he demands, the protection ‘offered’ is withdrawn.

Gibb it a rest! Nick Gibb’s Reforming Lessons aims to defend his ministerial legacy, but instead reads like a desperate attempt to rewrite England’s education failures By Joe Hanley @yorkshirebylines.co.uk

So - who knows what the heck is going on in Venezuela? Because it’s a big hole in my geopolitical understanding and - on the one hand - Trump didn’t get the prize he wanted, but - on the other hand - I’m not clear whether this selection was a dis to him or a backhanded HT. Informed opinions pls.

This is the real mischief.

Life in the shoe: I would be a fan of Long Island Iced Tea, but for the fact that I loathe cola. So here's broadly the same drink, but made with Vanilla Cream Soda instead. I guess that makes it a Thames Valley Iced Tea? 🍸🧚🏼‍♂️

Axiomatic, surely?, that if an entire nation needs to brace for the geopolitical consequences of this toddler-brained despot not getting what he wants, he can’t possibly deserve a peace prize (even if Israel does temporarily halt its genocidal actions in Gaza at his behest).

Some great examples here for @secondmentions.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

What a perfect way to start a day! Well done that man.

Apparently the existence of autumn is news now, but I guess it’s nice to see a cheery headline.

The Apollo at Hammersmith is my favourite and my best gig venue. Been coming here for 40+ years!

You know, it reminds me of medieval cathedrals at this point. Huge edifices that took literal generations to complete, a vast investment of resources: time, materials, money, even lives. All for the glory of god, because people thought (as they always do) they were living in the End Times.

Aha! It's here. Black opaques day. 🥶 No more legs till spring.

"If something's not working..." my SKETCH of the unassailably, frankly unreasonably confident Kemi Badenoch.

Refugees and migration books for children and teens, featuring books by Erika Meza, Na’ima B. Robert, Brian Bilston, Eoin Colfer, Onjali Q. Raúf, Sita Brahmachari, Armin Greder, Michael Rosen, Ele Fountain and Malcolm Duffy. schoolreadinglist.co.uk/genres/refug... #teachertwitter #kidlit

This is a very enjoyable rock+ rabbit hole to go down.

Life in the shoe: Thinking of more innocent times when Soviet spaceware seemed a little less hellbent on mutually assured destruction. Today in 1957 USSR launched Sputnik 1, which Difford's Guide marks with a Sputnik cocktail. 🍸🧚🏼‍♂️ #confinedcocktails

I think this is super-interesting and would love to take some time to turn the wisdom here into a menu rotation that feeds my family in a way that suits me (as a cook) and them (as happy eaters). It looks mostly doable - except for the low cheese levels. 😢 www.theguardian.com/environment/...

First class Guardian Blind Date this week: www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle... Sounds like a fun night out and rewards two people with realistic expectations and warm, non-judgmental attitudes.

Life in the shoe: One of those fat boi house spiders moved into the bathtub overnight. 😬🕷️ I guess he lives here now.

To reduce child poverty, government must scrap the two-chid limit. And that means fully scrapping it – no benefit cap, no tapers, no new limit. All children deserve the best start in life, and messing around the edges of this policy won’t cut it. 2/2

Could someone not coax these fuckwits into a cage-fight in outer space?

Sensible, knowledgeable, despair-inducing thread.

Seeing the ICC bring charges against former President Duterte. Arc of the moral universe bending towards justice, and all that. Gives me hope that Mango Mussolini will one day go the same way.

More than 1800 detainees are missing after the closure of Alligator Alcatraz. Their families and lawyers can’t find them and they’ve vanished from the ICE database. Feels like this should be a much bigger story www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

Life in the shoe: All my chooks are grown ups! 🐥🐥🐥🐥 Happy Birthday 18yo!

Taurus: It’s great that you have a 5 year plan, but maybe 4 of the 5 years shouldn’t be, ‘Scream repeatedly into the void.’

In a few years, when these young people are chronically online, with the diminished life, wellbeing and attitudes that entails, we’ll probably blame them for not having other interests.

Life in the shoe: DH has found mould in 25yo’s bedroom which led to some shouting, a big clear up and lots of quite angry sounding mclusky. Although we’ve now moved onto Shake That, which I guess is a sign his mood has improved. 😬 Room also a lot tidier. 👍🏼

The nation state perpetrating a genocide is really the least likely to agree that it’s a genocide. Come on, it’s not that hard! 🤷🏻‍♀️

Life in the shoe: It's autumn. I'm roasting veg with warming spices. An autumn cocktail needs some heat. Palabra Caliente. 🍸🧚🏼‍♂️

Life in the shoe: Back from a glorious day with my increasingly fragile mum and dad, plus 3 of my 4 brothers and 9 of the 15 cousins. The occasion: one of my nieces arriving from across the Atlantic to start uni. What better cocktail to mark the occasion than a DNA#1? 🍸🧚🏼‍♂️

Doesn’t make for such a pithy headline, but this piece is really ‘What if Putin, Xi (and Trump) make decisions as though they /think/ they’ll live for ever, or at least, outlive the concept of the nation state.’ and as such is quite interesting.

Life in the shoe: End of a long week. This is a Twisted Sobriety (though let me tell you, there is nothing sober about it!) 🍸🧚🏼‍♂️

For the first time in years I bought a hard copy newspaper, because I wanted news without the opportunity to doom-scroll down rabbit holes. In today's Observer I've come across this charming story of grassroots footballing prowess in Évry, France, which no algorithm would have served me.

Life in the shoe: Sidetracked from my vegan chocolate ice cream quest by making a lemon gelato. 17yo (who is my taste tester) says it is ‘obnoxiously lemony’ and that it should be ‘enjoyed in moderation’, which is quite the critique!!

Life in the shoe: On the phone to my mum, who is sobbing because /her/ mum was an immigrant and made her life here, and my mum can’t fathom the sentiment behind today’s march of stupid bigots in London. She’s worried about Dad’s carers - most of whom are from overseas.

Sending 23yo a text which includes the words ‘wrong colour’ and autocorrect changes it to ‘wetting committee’ and WTF!?

Life in the shoe: Used 20yo and 17yo as a random number generator to select this evening's cocktail from my huge Difford's cocktail book. An Alfonso Martini. 🍸🧚🏼‍♂️

🦸🏽♥️

At work. System is installing updates 🥱. Bar across the bottom of the screen shows % progress. Repeatedly reaches 100, then starts again with a progress bar for something else. Feels like a single progress bar for the whole update would be more useful information. 🙄 *twiddles thumbs*

Elbow released their third studio album ‘Leaders of the Free World’ (2005) 20 years ago this week | Listen to the album + read our tribute by @justinchadwick.bsky.social here: album.ink/elbowLOTFW

There used to be some little celebrity profile column that included the question “What word or phrase do you most overuse?” and I think mine would be: Alexa! Stop!

In my niche bit of public service, the shuffles at DfE are interesting. Daby out and Macalister in means he gets to see through the children’s social care reforms that have developed since his review. 1/2

Life in the shoe: 203(?) years of Brazilian independence today surely merits a cachaça-based cocktail? This is a Bitter in Brazil. 🍸🧚🏼‍♂️

Your last saved pic is your moral philosophy (That tracks)

Life in the shoe: Enjoying a breakfast experiment this morning, courtesy of The Courtyard Dairy, who supplied a version of Yoredale made with milk from a different farm (Kirkham), along with the original to do a side by side test. For further comparison there's also a Kirkham's Lancashire.

On a very different note, can we please stop just laughing at these people because they’re really stupid and start actively resisting them because they’re so fucking dangerous?