This is the Llangollen Canal, one of the loveliest canals in the UK. I have happy memories of narrowboat holidays with friends back in 1986 and 1991. Thankfully, nobody appears to have been injured, but this will close the canal for many months. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I've seen this movie and it does not end well 😬 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Every December, I have a good-natured argument with a work colleague about when winter begins. He follows the meteorologists, who say it's the 1st of the month. I'm an astronomer, so for me it's the solstice (the 21st, this year). Another colleague created this for our team Slack channel.

December's MileagePlus email from United Airlines: "Discover Florida!" I think someone already did, guys.

This is what a statesman and President writes

Is the tide turning? New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog. Renewed talk of a customs union may well come to nothing, but rapidly changing geo-politics mean the UK needs urgently to face up to the failure of the entire Brexit ‘strategy’: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2025/12/is-t...

Russia cannot be beaten. "But Putin can. He’s losing, not winning. And sooner or later, like the tsars and totalitarians of old, that same eternal Russia whose name he glorifies will chew him up and spit him out." Outstanding piece on Putin's deluded gambit. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

CloudFlare was down again this morning, taking Zoom with it.

Amazon, please stop asking me if books I bought month ago met my expectations. I still have unread books I bought in 2012. Be real.

I think we can all relate to Rocky the Rat-Arsed Raccoon. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

I found a flowchart which helps you navigate the IT landscape

I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes. It's now thirty years for me and my Beloved. I hope Randall and his Beloved are as lucky as we've been. xkcd.com/3172/

It’s crazy to think about the crimes we’re going to learn about after this regime ends. We’re already hearing about Watergate level crimes every week. Imagine what will come out after it’s over. We’re going to need a full accounting of all that’s been done in violation of the constitution.

"In her telling, racism and xenophobia seem not themselves objectively bad things that must be combatted, but a natural outcome that occurs when too many rights are given to immigrants and asylum seekers." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

American politics ✨

why can they not just fix it

A few weeks ago my Labour MP responded to me that "The government is not led by Reform and its migration policy does not match theirs." I don't think that was a very truthful statement.

The Prime Minister said in September that we are at a fork in the road. These asylum proposals suggest we have taken the wrong turning. The idea that recognised refugees need to be deported is wrong. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

@number10cat.bsky.social It's a very good likeness! www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death. Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written." Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating. 🧪🧬🧫

When people celebrate the individual genius of folks in science, they should also mourn the collective loss of genius of folks who were actively discouraged or disadvantaged from a career in science because of the same person(s)

I lived in London as a student in the early 1980s, and again in the 1990s. The centuries-old mix of cultures is part of what makes it a truly great global city. And everyone gets along. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

You couldn't make this stuff up. Newmarket is, famously, the home of British horse-racing. There's even a giant statue of a horse on one of the main roads into Newmarket. And yet ... www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Haha yesss. Japanese copyright law doesn't fuck around. Since I get challenged on this a lot: U.S. and Japan are both Berne Convention signatories, meaning the copyright is recognized between countries. They CAN go after American companies. And they are. And I love it. variety.com/2025/digital...

Always remember this place is run by Yanks, so this advice is vitally important. Remember those people will shoot each other in the face but absolutely freak out at the word 'cunt'.

That popping sound you can hear this morning is the sounds of racists' heads exploding in London and New York.

So apparently there was supposed to be a giant beaver mooning the sky last night. Did anyone see the beaver? I missed it. Maybe it was only in Canada?

Today marks 75 years of the European Convention on Human Rights. The product of high aspirations & the ultimate step in taking seriously the idea that every human being should be treated with equal dignity 🧵 #ECHR #ECHR75

“There are some people who hate London, and hate New York,” Mayor Sadiq Khan told me, on Bloomberg TV. “There's a reason why they demonize London, and now, indeed, New York. Why? Because we are progressive cities. We are liberal cities. We are multicultural cities. And we are incredibly successful.”

Pied Wagtail over water. 😍 Taken recently at the Huntspill seawall in Somerset. 🐦 #birds 🪶 You can buy my exclusive 2026 birds calendars here; www.carlbovis.com/2026-birds-c...

Hannan and Frost in the Telegraph. Sunak in the Times. Kwasi Kwarteng in the iPaper. Johnson in the Mail. Gove editing the Spectator. Farage everywhere. All of them shamelessly honking out their ‘Listen to me!’ garbage, as the country flails around in the unbelievable mess they’ve made. Nauseating.

Yesterday's attempt by Farage to take the UK out of the ECHR represents a story we're all too familiar with; selling a movement as a lie. Remaining in the ECHR ensures human rights, equality, and a mutual respect across communities, and it's essential that we continue to challenge these lies.

The history and legacy of the British Empire with @davidolusoga.bsky.social Coming in November. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m... 🗃️📚📺 #history

“A Led By Donkeys spokesperson said: “It’s good the police now accept it’s not illegal to project a film about Donald Trump’s close relationship with America’s most notorious child sex trafficker on to a wall.” www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Just spotted a guy delivering Reform leaflets in our street. Managed to catch him and hand back the hate-filled shit-rag he'd put through my letterbox. Told him it would be a cold day in hell before I voted for his bunch of fascists. He seemed stunned. I went home with a spring in my step.

Brexit eruptions. New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog looking at Tory madness, Labour’s ‘blame Farage’ strategy, the Brexit impasse and a suggestion of a way forward, and the latest ‘reset’ news. Bonus feature: a feeble new Brexit metaphor: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2025/10/brex...

Donald Trump really really doesn’t like this photo, so whatever you do… don’t share it. He would HATE that. 😈

The Nobel Peace Prize committee has awarded the 2025 prize to Venezuelan democracy activist Maria Corina Machado. The announcement speech was a powerful message of rejection of Trump's vision of the world and everything he stands for.

Labour spokesperson on Zack Polanski’s speech at Green conference: “It is no surprise that Zack Polanski, a man who said he wanted to learn from Farage, has done so in his speech today: using his platform to sow division & grievance." Not sure what they mean here - division against the ultra-rich?

The mystery of medical diagnosis!

Nostalgia time: Bus 73 from Stoke Newington to Oxford Circus. I caught this bus every day as a student at UCL in 1982-3. www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE6Q... Remember this @addledone.bsky.social @thedimpau.se ?

On Yom Kippur many Jewish people in Britain have their phones off to mark the holy day. As it ends at 723pm, some will hear the tragic Manchester news for the first time. At that time, please join many of us to send a message of solidarity to British Jews.Thanks Together coalition for proposing.

Again, for those Labour supporters at the back, telling us the good stuff that Labour is doing *doesn’t help*, even if on a smart infographic, whilst the big stuff, the headline stuff, is awful. Cut out the big xenophobic crap, and we might be able to hear the good stuff.

I wrote a thing about digital ID cards. It’s rather long… paulbernal.wordpress.com/2025/09/29/d...