Dusk over Peel.

Douglas harbour this afternoon: move over San Tropez!

Now why don't I have much faith in this book as a work of history?

As many people know, I don't do messing about in boats, but look what I was greeted by when I went to catch the bus from the end of my street the other morning! Atmospheric or what?

And this is a very hot and sunny Peel the other day: here's hoping that the sun continues to shine all summer!

Douglas marina this afternoon- eat your heart out Saint Tropez!

To anyone conversant with Catholic history, the reference to Leo XIII was blindingly obvious from the very start. Meanwhile, it is an excellent choice as a subtle statement that Leo will follow in Francis' footsteps, while yet not simply cloning him. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Re yesterday's events in Rome, as somebody whose birthday is 12 August, I have always believed that the best people are Leos!

www.bbc.com/news/article... Once again, all very positive. For all that I myself liked him,Papa Francesco was in some respects a divisive figure, so it is good to see that his replacement has such widespread support, while yet clearly standing for precisely the same values

Habemus Papem: Deo gratias! I'm much heartened by the election of Cardinal Prevost. As for the title he's chosen, it's a gesture in the direction of Rerum Novarum, the great statement of Catholic social policy promulgated by Leo XIII in 1890. All very positive!! www.bbc.com/news/article...

Please share. It helps everyone. 🙏😊

www.bbc.com/news/article... While most people on here would never eat at McDonald's, many of us have children & grandchildren who like doing so. Can I therefore humbly suggest that folks find an alternative venue for family outings? Americans need to learn that actions have consequences.

www.bbc.com/news/article... Fearing the Greeks even when they bring gifts seems an excellent maxim here!

A very balanced analysis: while his papacy had its faults, Francis I was yet one of the greater popes of my lifetime. www.bbc.com/news/article...

A humble question to folk interested in Victorian and Edwardian social and/or women's history. In brief, no fewer than four female connections of my family were pub landladies in poor areas of Southampton in the period 1870-1914. Was tavern keeping, then, a common profession for lower-class women?

See my traffic before I was added to all the moderation lists? 😒

Like millions of fellow Catholics, I was deeply saddened to wake up this morning to the news of the death of Papa Francesco. Eternal rest grant unto him, oh Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him; may he rest in peace, amen.

Having spent much of the 1980's shuttling to and fro between the University of Southampton and Florida State University working on the link that produced the Wellington Congress, I was horrified to read this news. Best wishes to all concerned. www.bbc.com/news/article...

This is a horrible decision that is the product of ignorance and prejudice, not to mention an attack on a small, vulnerable and defenceless minority which wants nothing other than life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. As ever, hard cases make bad law. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Hi @historicalsoton.bsky.social! Can you help? In brief, my gt-gt-g'father, Edmond Abraham, was the Capt. of the Vol. Fire Bgde that served Soton docks. Acc. to my Mum, his death in 9/1877 was brought on in consq. of a terrible fire he was called out to fight. Do you know anything re such an event?

To this day the funniest film I have ever seen! www.bbc.com/culture/arti...

War hero schools a chickenhawk.

Radio Free Europe provides independent reporting to many countries where media freedom is threatened. We‘ll work with partners including 🇨🇿 🇦🇹 🇧🇪 🇱🇹 🇱🇻 🇪🇪 🇩🇪 🇳🇱 🇸🇪 🇸🇮 to support RFE's award winning journalism. The world needs media freedom.

FFS, I keep seeing people indicating they believe that Trump has ended the war in Ukraine. No such thing has happened. A dodgy agreement to stop striking specific targets is not a stop to the war. People have no damned idea how to read for details.

Hegseth, Waltz and company texting war plans to a reporter on signal is just the tip of the iceberg. This whole administration is full of incompetent, inexperienced, and unqualified clowns. Our national security is compromised in ways we’re just beginning to understand.

🚨 CBS News has received an internal NSA bulletin from Feb 2025 warning staff NOT to use Signal app for sensitive info, citing vulnerabilities to Russian hackers. These docs were sent pre-Houthi chat scandal with Jeffrey Goldberg.

According to a source I have at the CIA, Director Radcliffe lied today under oath. Signal is absolutely not loaded on agency computers. As a matter of fact it’s specifically prohibited as an outside app. Skype is allowed for conference calls but not Signal. He’s lying. @markwarner.bsky.social

It’s worth stating this simply: For literally anyone in the US Govt from 1945 to 2025, Signalgate would require an instant resignation—and a criminal investigation. It would be a matter of personal *honor* to resign. The fact Mike Waltz & Pete Hegseth are choosing to fight it out is a terrible omen.

Pete Hegseth must resign or be fired immediately.

This is what happens when you have an entire cabinet full of folks who would NEVER pass a regular security clearance. Led by a president who would never be able to pass one either.

Complete nonsense from Mike Waltz who knows better. He likely thought he was inviting someone else with same initials and fucked up. Every 13 year old can grok this idiotic move.

I'm not saying anything novel here but it really is just truly despicable to watch them use THEIR OWN COLOSSAL SCREW UP to slander the reporter THEY INCLUDED ON THEIR CLASSIFIED GROUP CHAT

Does anyone know what '"R" Corps Signals' might refer to? It appears on a handbill advertising a show by a concert party from said outfit on 30 December 1916 in which my grandfather, Charlie Bartlett, a dispatch rider in the RE Signals Section, was due to put on a display of card tricks.

Just arrived in Paris for crucial talks. Europe’s security is at a turning point. Yes, it is about Ukraine—but it is also about us. We need an urgency mindset. We need a surge in defense. And we need both of them now.

the single most un-american and anti-constitutional statement ever uttered by an american president

As the song says, 'the things in the Bible ain't always reliable', but I do wonder whether something like this was the origin of the story of Jonah and the whale. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Received a letter from POTUS today purporting to remove me as Commissioner and Chair of the FEC. There's a legal way to replace FEC commissioners-this isn't it. I've been so fortunate to serve the American people and stir up some good trouble along the way. That's not changing anytime soon.

Fenella beach this afternoon: very cold, but very beautiful.

"A YouGov poll on 21 January asked ‘Who would you rather have as a closer trading partner to the UK…?’ Of all adults, 53% said the EU, and 21% said the US. The younger you were, or if you were a woman, the more likely you were to say the EU. Even 20% of Reform UK supporters said the EU!"

Convo with my friend from Hungary tonight who left after Orban’s election. She said “your head will spin with all the wild stuff they try to pull, new things every day, but don’t take your eyes off the money. It’s all about the money, and what they’re stealing, and for whom.”

When Russia chose to roll its tanks over Ukraine’s borders, breaking the UN Charter, it committed one of the gravest violations: The Crime of Aggression. Now, justice is coming. Justice for Ukraine. We have laid down the legal foundations for a Special Tribunal ↓ europa.eu/!wpfdRr

Well played, President Claudia Sheinbaum, for committing troops already at the border since 2021, knowing perfectly well President Man Baby would have no idea and take it as a win.

👀

I suppose proposing to fire 6k FBI agents without cause might have been considered an impeachable offense once upon a time.

This is Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll. Last Friday he refused Justice Department order to identify & assist in firing all agents involved in Jan. 6 riot cases, He is said to have pushed back forcefully. Thank you Brian Driscoll!🇺🇸

We could have had Kamala Harris. Instead, we have the most immature, petulant, stupid, needy, incompetent dipshit to ever enter American politics. What a tragically stupid country we are.

More Camino trail walk preparation and training. Don't think there will be many kangaroos.