I will, of course, follow back. My modest aim is to climb to 1,000 followers. This is me on Reform, Farage, Trump, Ealing (no Reform councillors), Sunderland (far too many) … and of course Starmer #safc @nextwavef.bsky.social @ealingcouncil.bsky.social francesalut.substack.com/p/ealing-pri...

Big decision for me, easy enough to make. I will soon finally cut my ties with Twitter/ X . Same reason that has sent so many others to Bluesky. It means losing nearly 3K followers to my accounts there. I have just 150 here. Any help from those followers to boost my presence would be appreciated…

V grateful for the interest shown when I posted on the contrasting fortunes of my Reform-free Ealing and my Reform-swamped Sunderland. This is Ealing’s grand, unpolluted Town Hall (not one Faragist candidate elected). And this was the piece: francesalut.substack.com/p/ealing-pri...

Notre Dame de la Garde, supposed to look over Marseille and protect its citizens . Maybe Sunderland needs its own version to protect those who didn’t fall for Reform snake oil.

Why am I here, #bsky.social, which feels comfortable, but also - still - at Twitter/X? Not because I can’t claw my way out of Musk’s far right swamp but because I have 2.5 followers there, not yet 150 after months here. Despite having run websites, I am not IT savvy. Help!

Because i expressed horror at Sunderland voting Reform into power, I’ve been told by a fellow #SAFC fan to keep my politics out of football.. And yet the (minority) co-owner of the club has invited Farage as a guest at the stadium. francesalut.substack.com/p/ealing-pri...

Why should @mrjamesob.bsky.social waste a day off worrying about Reform? Sadly, the rotten choice made by fellow Sunderland fans, & happily the greater wisdom of my adopted Ealing, kept me busy @kevmag.bsky.social #safc @philsmithreporter.bsky.social francesalut.substack.com/p/ealing-pri...

@parodypm.bsky.social Where along the line do reality and parody collide? francesalut.substack.com/p/dear-nigel...

Dear Nigel: a glimpse inside the the murky mind of a proudly patriotic if imaginary Reform voter who warns against overdoing the Not Racist card francesalut.substack.com/p/dear-nigel...

Ahead of the local elections, a heartfelt plea from one Reform non-racist, maybe imaginary, to another, Nigel Farage: avoid being too non-racist about things. Ban Bridgerton , he declares @nextwavef.bsky.social @mrjamesob.bsky.social #bridgerton francesalut.substack.com/p/dear-nigel...

Ahead of the local elections, a heartfelt plea from one Reform non-racist, maybe imaginary, to another, Nigel Farage: avoid being too non-racist about things. Ban Bridgerton , he declares @nextwavef.bsky.social @mrjamesob.bsky.social #bridgerton francesalut.substack.com/p/dear-nigel...

A possibly fictitious Reform voter’s recipe for keeping Reform racists content: campaign to banish woke Bridgerton from TV

Dear Nigel: a glimpse inside the the murky mind of a proudly patriotic if imaginary Reform voter who warns against overdoing the Not Racist card francesalut.substack.com/p/dear-nigel...

Beverley Martyn put up with a lot in life, especially when married to the musically gifted but horribly abusive John. Here, a week after her death, Andrew Curey - aka @nextwavef.bsky.social - looks back on Beverley’s achievements as well as the misogyny and sexism she faced

If you like folk, folk-rock and indie music, please give Salutfolk.com a try. Today we offer an excellent appraisal of the life and work of Beverley Martyn, who has just died. Take a look at the Salut! Folk Facebook group and follow the link from there to our obit

Ed Pickford has written many exceptional songs and this is one of them, well worthy of Salut! Folk’s acclaim

A bit of a non sequitur. But my tale of strange AI encounters and sinister far right advances is followed by a mesmerising musical encounter - @katherinepriddy.bsky.social’d glorious song, Icarus. @nextwavef.bsky.social francesalut.substack.com/p/figures-fu...

@katherinepriddy.bsky.social hi Katherine. No need to wade through the main piece - another of my rants about the far right . Second item features your breathtakingly great song Icarus francesalut.substack.com/p/figures-fu...

This really is a lovely review of three great musicians in concert at the Irish Cultural centre in London. Salut! Folk’s @nextwavef.bsky.social was lucky enough to be there @irishculturalcentr.bsky.social salutfolk.com/2026/04/25/m...

A week on ftim moya Brennan’s death, my tribute at Salut! Folk salutfolk.com/2026/04/20/m... @clannad.bsky.social

Exchanging London for Le Lavandou, and mourning the death of Moya Brennan, a great figure of Irish music … francesalut.substack.com/p/back-in-fr...

Mad, bad or both? A quick look at POTUS and MAGAland by a comformed TDS sufferer francesalut.substack.com/p/inside-the...

Another tribute to Bill Leader, an extraordinary force in British folk music. "Leader led," says Salut! Folk. "It really is as simple as that."

Amid the normalisation of the far right, a minority stakeholder in my football club Sunderland has invited Nigel Farage to a game. francesalut.substack.com/p/the-right-...

At least I got one of your six. You might even approve of some of my other choices salutfolk.com/2026/03/17/s...

For Salut! Folk I compiled a St Patrick’s Day playlist of 14 classic songs & tunes. You’ll find Mary.Blaxk, Sinesd O’Connor, the Chieftains, Christy Moore & Dolores Keane (RIP) plus many more #irishmusic @andrewcurry.com Please share if you like it salutfolk.com/2026/03/17/s...

I felt I had to find room for a positive say on Luke O’Nien and some rare approval of Keir Starmer … @philsmithreporter.bsky.social @kevmag.bsky.social #safc #sunderlandafc francesalut.substack.com/p/luke-onien...

I felt I had to find room for a positive say on Luke O’Nien and some rare approval of Keir Starmer … @philsmithreporter.bsky.social @kevmag.bsky.social #safc #sunderlandafc francesalut.substack.com/p/luke-onien...

The sensational Katherine Priddy and her quite captivating new album, These Frightening Machines. Reviewed admiringly at Salut! Folk @nextwavef.bsky.social @katherinepriddy.bsky.social salutfolk.com/2026/03/09/k...

Did anyone else think of Tommy Robinson when watching that yobbish Israeli govt minister talking with such glee about reducing Lebanese cities to Gaza style ruins?

Chris Boffey was a gem, personally and professionall and his son Dan’s tribute is terrific. My own is at francesalut.substack.com/p/farewell-t...

Chris Boffey was a gem, personally and professionall and his son Dan’s tribute is terrific. My own is at francesalut.substack.com/p/farewell-t...

Going back to school instead of paying a speeding fine Plus some unwanted advice for Kemi Badenoch francesalut.substack.com/p/twentys-pl...

If you like the Pogues’ raucous Anglo-Irish punk folk and/or 100-year-old American country, Carter-style, try this salutfolk.com/2026/02/05/c...

If you like the Pogues’ raucous Anglo-Irish punk folk and/or 100-year-old American country, Carter-style, try this salutfolk.com/2026/02/05/c...

Salut! Folk’s Songs of the Day: the Carter Family from nearly 100 years ago & the Pogues from 1988. With due credit to the two best voices in radio, @laurenlaverne.bsky.social and @cerysmatthews.bsky.social With honourable mention of #safc @bbc6music.bsky.social salutfolk.com/2026/02/05/c...

Trump vs Springsteen No contest

Who represents the best of the USA: Putin's buddy Donald Trump, whose many false claims include a shameful boast (or crass aside) on 9/11 that he now owned Lower Manhattan's tallest building, or Bruce Springsteen, whose album The Rising honoured the victims? francesalut.substack.com/p/minnesotas-i…

Bruce Springsteen, @marshfamilysongs.bsky.social , Ed Pickford and John Clark have been putting the ICE murders to song. #minneapolis #minnesota #alexpretti #reneegood #trump francesalut.substack.com/p/minnesotas...

I feared the worst for some reason but think this is very good. See the Salut! Folk Facebook group, where I’ve shared it. #ICE #minnesota #alexpretti #reneegood And as if Trump could sink no lower, is it true he feels more sorry for Renee because her parents voted for him?

Up to now I’ve tried to show restraint and used phrases like ‘bordering on fascism’. The latest Orwellian developments suggest there is no longer a need for qualification

Minneapolis and #Alexpretti: They can’t claim the protests disturbed their sleep. ‘How do you sleep at night?’ Is a phrase that could have been coined for ICE agents,

“If you can tell me the difference between these two descriptions, then you are a wiser person than me.” @mrjamesob.bsky.social reads out two excerpts, written 82 years apart.

Écoute écoute!

Meanwhile in London, domestic dissent intrudes on Farage’s choice of mayoral candidate ….. francesalut.substack.com/p/reform-as-...

Laila Cunningham is Nigel Farage’s choice as mayoral candidate for London. Some of her own children are less than impressed. Plus another pop at mad-or-bad (or both) Donald Trump. Free to view francesalut.substack.com/p/reform-as-...

Right up Salut! Folk’s street. Salutfolk.com @nextwavef.bsky.social

Brigitte Bardot et l’extrême droite, la beauté et la bête? En anglais mais gratuit….

A little late, my reflections on the death of Brigitte Bardot, film icon and darling of the far right. She saw Marine Le Pen as a modern Joan of Arc. Mmm … francesalut.substack.com/p/adieu-brig...

Glad to see @theagilmore.bsky.social is happier here than at that other place, now a far right swamp. salutfolk.com/2026/01/01/h...