Can’t help but think that Stakeknife would have been torturing IRA men even if he hadn’t been working for Mi5

Newcastle v Burnley that Guimaraes beautiful sweeping curve kick into goal from the corner flag has to be the PL goal of the season but there should be some appreciation for Dan Burn being an absolute aggro unit and making a nuisance of himself on the goal line ⚽️

So I take it our latest episode of national self delusion is pretending Paddington Bear is some kind of real person. What I would like to know is what is inside that costume, I can only imagine some limbless horror like a Dalek

On the Nigel Farage school stories, I can only imagine the media response if over 20 people had come forward to say Jeremy Corbyn had tormented them with anti-Semitic abuse when he was a school student (17/18 yrs old)

I am Horrified, Horrified beyond belief at the hysterical melt-down by Rory Stewart during his interview with Zack Polanski. The greatest ‘you are not in our club’ moment I have seen since an american entered strike commands’ officers mess and tried to buy a Jack Daniel’s and Coke with cash

The full on assault on Rachel Reeves just shows how many of our media talking heads live in multi million pound houses

Celebrity Masterchef is without doubt always the least interesting of the series but there is an air of sadness about this one with John Torode without Greg and Grace Dent lovely but a little cautious so far

Badenochs response to the budget speech yesterday in Parliament was preplanned before any of the details were announced and consisted of a viscous personal attack that does nothing to inform or address issues within the budget. Tories loved it tho so should keep her in place for the foreseeable

I am the same age as Nigel Farage and I can empathise with trying to recall actions from so long ago but I do remember that aged 15 during the 79 election I was handing out communist party leaflets debating against the reintroduction of the death penalty and supporting rock against racism

I am afraid I can’t get excited by the Green Party rise in the polls. Apart from the excellent Zack Polanski what have they got? Here in Durham the Greens helped a Tory/Lib Dem admin in power for the last 5 years enacting disastrous policies that have led to a £10m black hole and ushered in Reform

I awake to beautiful thick snow and huge flakes falling softly. From the town centre I hear government speakers croaking ‘the Russians are coming, the Russians are coming’

A weasels tale: radio drama Lovely listen on a winter afternoon A real Christmas treat for Willows fans www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

The tedious celebcasting of day time Radio 2 is bring balanced nicely with some beautifully curated evening shows from Bob Harris, Gary Davis, Cerys Matthews and Angela Griffin

I think it’s possible to profoundly disagree with Andrew Marr on Kier Starmer being great and also disagree profoundly with Andrew Marr on Kier Starmer being hopeless

Liverpools decision to buy Isak this summer seems to have been based purely on his goal scoring rate and not taking any notice on how he was being played. Newcastle focused their team around him for him to score Liverpool have put him up front and hope he will figure something out for himself.

Here's this week's column: skills policy has been shunted around between departments yet again. Labour really needs to get this right if it wants to have a hope of tackling inactivity, and ultimately getting the benefits bill down. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

CBI boss calls for Reeves to tear up Labour’s pledge not to raise tax www.theguardian.com/business/202...

A shift in taxation from income to assets is hugely overdue and would be welcome. The north still needs major infrastructure projects to be green lighted by the government without this productivity will not rise www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Good morning! #happysunday #fullenglish

The U.K. govt has a window of opportunity to rescue hundreds of desperately ill children from the #Gaza atrocity. This will be remembered as a small act of mercy in the face of unprecedented brutality. True not the 10k rescued by Wintons Kindertransport but something at least

Once you get past the ‘wee timorous beastie’ nonsense Burns is a great romantic poet

Offering to the Tweed St Boswells #midsummer

Good morning from a lovely sunny Newcastle

I clearly have no clue how financial markets work. If I was a trader I would have sold stock last week when they were high and bought commodities when they were cheap. Seems I should have done the opposite #tariffs #gold #markets #bonds #trump

Happy St Cuthberts day Spent it in St Cuthbert parish where we are installing 2 otter holts 17km of hedgerow 10k trees numerous bird, bay and owl boxes hope he will approve

Starmers current domestic priority is to neutralise the far right who are now the only opposition forcing tories and reform to the lunatic fringe and enabling decades of labour in power This does open the possibility of an effective new left party

My I Ching reading today 47 - k’un oppression 6 - conflict 😦

I asked DeepSeek to make a gratitude prayer for me last night and actually it’s OK .

Starmer is walking a tightrope We can only hope it plays out

Time to jump

A question A voice said, Look me in the stars And tell me truly, men of earth, If all the soul-and-body scars Were not too much to pay for birth R Frost

The task facing Starmer today is to balance a reset with the European Union along with managing an antagonistic unpredictable US administration If he carries it off it will be the greatest political victory of our generation

It is the evening of the day

Very little from the government for the north so far apart from Old Trafford which southern people seem to know about for some reason

The mouth of Hell, York Minster

Ignoring the broo-ha with some calm intelligent viewing. Go on enjoy youtu.be/3_kdbJnCMwU?...

You are not a drop in the ocean you are the entire ocean in a drop Rumi

..’it has long been their habit to steal away Christian men and women and make servants of them or force them to take part in their dreary pastimes their dances their feasts their long empty celebrations of dust and nothingness’ Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

A brilliant and timely article from TJ Clark on Trump and spectacle www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

This is a brilliant initiative So pleased to support this woke organisation National Trust project to plant almost half a million trees this winter www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

0.1% economic growth is small but shows government on right track. Rachel Reeves is going nowhere

In the depths of our frozen winter the gulf stream has arrived bringing blessings of warm southern air to northern Britain

Incredible arrogance if true A ministry appealing against a court ruling that a river should be repaired

Latest Pilgrim episode on BBC sounds before Christmas but only just caught up. Great series creepy but funny as well www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

LA story

‘They see it is living’: Durham professor’s mission to get more pupils into classics www.theguardian.com/education/20...

All creatures are born through joy, sustained by joy and return to joy Upanishads