Somebody who doesn’t know that the population of the U.K. is not evenly spread. Wales could only begin to match the various crime hotspots if all the sheep turned into psychopaths, which seems unlikely to happen:

Are we sure the whole quote wasn't this? “Britain needs Nigel Farage as prime minister like a hole in the head.”

Windy up my way lately. As a good Welshman, R.S. Thomas knew a bit about wind (and rain):

Morning on Ynys Môn:

Musk looks back fondly on Rhodesia and Apartheid South Africa. But I doubt whether this will affect the enthusiasm for Musk of the Tories and Reform:

Surely it can’t still be just a Special Military Operation? It should now be the Great Patriotic Something or Other. Maybe the Great Patriotic Balls-up:

Bloody foreigners! Not coming here in big enough numbers to allow us to raise the taxes we need to raise. Have they no sense of decency? www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Good piece by @nickcohen.bsky.social on the “pro-paedo right”: open.substack.com/pub/nickcohe...

If the US invades Greenland, this ridiculous person will be knitting socks for the US soldiers:

Musk loves to give dictators a helping hand:

Musk calls the UK government "fascist" because it has said the Twitter platform shouldn't break the laws that apply to all platforms. It is important for the government to get across how extreme the unlawful content that X keeps protecting & even coproducing is www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

11 January 1914 | Irish Jewish woman of Czech origin Esther (Ettie) Steinberg was born. In Dublin, she married Vogtjeck Gluck & moved first to Antwerp & then to Paris. On 2 September 1942, the couple was deported to Auschwitz with their son Léon. None of them survived.

Putin’s “Special Military Operation” has now been going on for as long as the “Great Patriotic War”. One or other of these conflicts needs renaming.

Trump is clearly not well. At a meeting with oil industry CEO’s Trump suddenly interrupts his introductory remarks, gets up and looks out the window and starts talking about his ballroom. Trump then realizes his mistake and says “unusual time to look”, and sits back down to continue.

Russia struck Dnipropetrovsk region today. A 68‑year‑old man was killed, while three others: men aged 79 and 86, and an 87‑year‑old woman, were wounded. Attack on the elderly is the lowest. Terrorists.

Far too many people still seem to believe that Trump is basically benign and that is quite something when you see what's happening on the streets of America.

Maduro has only been in the US for a few days, and he’s already managed to introduce price controls.

Good piece on by @writesbright.bsky.social on the two MAGA tribute acts currently after votes in the U.K. If you like the look of Trump’s America, Reform or the Tories are for you. If not, don’t touch them with a barge pole: open.substack.com/pub/writesbr...

If the U.K. government was fascist, this guy would be right behind it:

A useful thread on the platform formerly known as Twitter and its owner:

The embroidery produced by Otomi (Hñähñu) women of Mexico is known as Tenango Embroidery. Created with an "Otomi Stitch", the colourful designs of animals, plants & rural life represent the stories & beliefs of the people who produce this specific form of embroidered expression #Womensart

Morning on Ynys Môn with light in Dyffryn Ogwen:

Good piece by @jamesbloodworth.bsky.social on the “progressives” and “socialists” who long made excuses for the Venezuelan regime: open.substack.com/pub/jamesblo...

Right wing nationalism is basically: 1. Protect my free speech, not yours 2. Protect women I approve of 3. Your paedos are scum, mine are fine 4. State overreach is fine if I like it 5. I've earned my welfare, you're a feckless scrounger 6. My public services are sacrosanct, yours are woke

very disappointing. There is a code of conduct for Royal Society fellows - it's not a value judgement to say that Musk has contravened it! see relevant bits of code and the Royal Society stated values below.

"And, quite frankly, I think the rush to judge Josef Mengele was also wrong."

More good sense from @chrisgrey.bsky.social on various aspects of the current political scene, all more or less closely connected to Brexit: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2026/01/enem...

Thankfully this spineless Epstein crony is no longer expressing his appeasement of Trump as a UK government representative

There is only one fraud ring that matters in the United States, and it's run out of the White House

Maybe WWII would have ended sooner if we had parachuted large numbers of sheep into Germany. @almurray.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

With a considerable number of Ukrainian refugees currently residing in North Wales, this is an interesting piece on some members of a much earlier group of refugees. No doubt someone will eventually be writing something interesting about today’s refugees: refugeesinrhyl.wordpress.com/chairs/

A dull morning on Ynys Môn (but dull mornings on Ynys Môn are better than bright sunny mornings in many places):

A young Jacob Bethell with Brian Lara in Barbados www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2024...

Mouth of Sauron to address British parliament:

"Tall shadows'' by Sarah Ross Thompson, contemporary UK printmaker #womensart

Nice comment by Michael Atherton on Jacob Bethell: www.thetimes.com/article/da42...

Ynys Môn fauna and flora (up my lane today):

Nigel Farage likes to pose as a man of the people, but his lifestyle is a bit different from most people, as reported by @writesbright.bsky.social: open.substack.com/pub/writesbr...

Morning on Afon Menai:

Good piece by @writesbright.bsky.social on the unsavoury American forces molding Farage's energy and climate policies: substack.com/home/post/p-...

Good piece by @nickcohen.bsky.social on how Starmer’s refusal to speak the truth about Brexit makes it more or less impossible for him to the deliver the change for the better that he promised in 2024: open.substack.com/pub/nickcohe...

The very weird second rate entertainer that millions of Americans wanted as their head of state:

Five years ago.

If Trump’s concern was drugs, he’d not have pardoned Honduras’s corrupt leader; if terrorism, he’d have gone after Iran; if world order, Russia; if preserving US power, China. If democracy, human rights or humanitarian motive, dozens of other worthy cases. What’s left is oil. And Epstein.

Imagine having this charlatan for a father and having his world view drummed into your head at an early age:

Winter is a time to rest. It’s a time for regeneration, reflection and recovery. Everything needs to rest, including your body. Take it easy . Give yourself a break

Russia will condemn this unprovoked aggression and say that international law must be respected.

Morning in County Durham (with the moon, gorse, and berries):

well it’s one way to move attention from the Epstein files

Well, there’s a surprise: