King Charles told me the public keeps eating his prime ministers so l asked how many prime ministers he has and he said he just goes to the parliament and gets a new prime minister afterwards so I said it sounds like he's just feeding prime ministers to the public and then his son started crying.

The “United Kingdom Of Butlins” teddy bear passport is really going out of its way to show it does not recognise the existence of Éire.

Which still won't stop the troop of malevolent idiots on X banging on about "third worlders" with "medieval views about women" coming to the UK.

Finally got round to watching “Project Hail Mary”. Then listened today to Empire’s interview with the directors Lord & Miller And when they said “We were inspired by Harold and Maude…” …I expect @tansyg.bsky.social would ticked another box on her bingo sheet after her series on Solo.

This Is Just To Say I have eaten the plums that were in your garden despite being nocturnal

Was out for dinner last week with an Irish friend. “What does make you proud to be English?” she asked. “Well, basically the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony - Shakespeare, Dizzee Rascal, the NHS…” “Thought so. You’d be amazed how many English people say the 2012 Olympics.”

This is the kind of nonsense that happens - in a HEATWAVE- if schools are overly attached to “zero tolerance” policies on uniforms. (From @londoncentric.media )

This is significant – and while the Makerfield byelection is unusual because it has such national significance, this chart indicates again that the anti-Reform bloc will vote tactically to keep them out. Source: www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

Self Esteem was phenomenal. An astounding gig.

One indication of how my day's going is I've drawn Curaçao in the office World Cup sweepstake.

This. 100 times this.

Interesting that the idea of another EU referendum is regularly discussed on broascast media as something that would cause division and thus a bad idea. But plans to deport literally millions of people are discussed as administrative questions.

Has The Spectator @thespectator1828.bsky.social ever apologised for its gushing profile last year praising the founder of The Crewkern Gazette as "the most important political satirist of the moment”? Even now its known that he's a convicted neo-Nazi, white nationalist and "proud antisemite"?

Picture caption of the week goes to @londoncentric.media.

The Telegraph school bias piece is based on a report by Tory MP Neil O’Brien. Stuff he’s annoyed about includes a Lancs primary “still using the terrible left-wing ‘boxes and fences’ picture to try and teach Year 1 kids about equity and fairness - a totally slanted introduction to these issues.”

How bad is the Punisher special? Well, let’s just say I’ve bailed after 20 minutes and I made it all the way through the entire series of Iron Fist.

Talking to pro “free speech” UK right-wingers who admired Orban I have often referred to this detail - which I still find astonishing. (From @iandunt.bsky.social’s How To Be A Liberal)

I love the original West Side Story film (1961), especially the opening scenes. But the more years that pass the clearer it is that the Spielberg version (2021) is the better movie.

Getting the stickers ready for when the Bayeux Tapestry comes to London this summer.

This is brilliant on the disappearance of the cultural "middle" - in film, food and work. readfoundobject.substack.com/p/they-kille...

Happy Slapping comes to the Netherlands 12 years later...

Got a suprise email today confirming a petition I signed 5 YEARS AGO against a road widening that would destroy beautiful parkland in Utrecht... helped the campaign succeed. One of the campaigners was Dutch actress Carice van Houten. Her magic probs helped more than the petition.

This reminds me of my favourite description of dealing with university academics (by an academic): “Not so much herding cats but herding kittens with flick-knives.”

I enjoyed Louis Theroux's delve into the Manosphere, but I have the niggling sense that the whole panic around it is a bit of a fantasma. The prevalence of misogyny among young men is no higher now than in 2015. The worst you can say is it's stopped shrinking. What am I missing here?

ICYMI: The Teacher Development Trust is to become part of the Chartered College of Teaching, the professional development charity has announced https://schoolsweek.co.uk/teacher-development-trust-to-become-part-of-chartered-college-of-teaching/

Excited that the Teacher Development Trust is to become part of the Chartered College of Teaching. As a trustee of TDT I'm very glad the trust has found such a perfect home to continue its legacy. www.tes.com/magazine/new...

I'd somehow missed that Keir Starmer had uploaded a Trump-style war bravado Tiktok about the UK's response to Iran - soundtracked to "Money for nothing" by Dire Straits. What the actual hell? www.tiktok.com/@keirstarmer...

South London friends have been telling me about their frustration at the Red vs Blue “school wars” - the huge time wasted by schools and clubs, plus the fear caused to their kids over online bollocks. @londoncentric.media’s reporting is, as always, top class. open.substack.com/pub/londonce...

In the 2024 general election, Democracy Volunteers found that 49% of those causing “family voting” were… women. They should urgently release their stats on that for last night’s by-election as many groups are leaping to assumptions.

Kurt Vonnegut stop being so applicable to all time periods of American life, you can’t do that Kurt Vonnegut, your insights are too evergreen Kurt Vonnegut

Like this Lisa Nandy line from her interview with @theguardian.com.

The Ring surveillance story is bigger in the US than UK. But Apple fans who went with Aqara doorbells instead because they worked with Apple Home may still feel a bit smug. (Until the inevitable 2027 story about how their doors are being monitored by the Chinese government instead)

Macbeth: SHIT

Q: What connects Darth Vader (18), Luke Skywalker (4), Han Solo (3), R2D2 (2), Princess Leia (1) and Boba Fett (1)? A: It’s how often they are named in the #Epstein Files.

Still getting my head round living in a UK where the most popular party with women under 50 is the Greens, while for men over 50 it’s Reform.

Thank you yes, her website is great. May her fame grow exponentially today.

Didn't see that one coming... #webcomics #comicsky

Celebrate #TheTraitors finale day by addressing colleagues in meetings using reflexive pronouns (“yourself”) instead of the objective case (“you”) for no apparent reason.

“It’s a rorsarch test, really. “And for some reason liberals keep insisting it’s a butterfly and not a bat.”

It's the national year of reading in the uk in 2026. Instead of asking "why don't kids read any more", ask "how can I help them find the stories (and non fic) they will fall in love with". Less "get off my lawn whippersnappers" and more "come, sit on the lawn, here's a comic".

Three of the top five British grid electricity records smashed in 2025! This is a huge success story, despite what Russian bots and U.S fossil fuel shills scream on X. Every unit of clean domestic energy we produce means a safer future for our children…🥳

I, for one, would happily watch The Muppets Maltese Falcon. Bogart = Kermit Astor = Miss Piggy Lorre = Gonzo MacLane = Fozzy Greenstreet = Sam The Eagle (Etc)

Die Hard was actually appropriated from pagans

My brother could not have got me a more “Best TV of 2025” surprise Xmas present unless he’d obtained a lock of Rhea Seehorn’s hair.

If you're looking for a short spooky story to listen to while wrapping Christmas presents, then you'll enjoy TOND, starring @carrieq.bsky.social. It reminded me how much I used to love the "Fear on 4" plays on Radio 4.

vibing with this chat support agent

So ZipCar's exiting London. Which means you can't plan to do anything past New Year's Eve. But it's OK! We can use @hiyacar.co.uk instead, right? Right? Nope. At just the perfect time they've got a bug with their app so haven't been able to process new drivers' licenses for weeks.

We ended up with another kid’s Christmas artwork so have sent their family a ransom note.