#ProudBlue #Pinks #ResistanceUnited I agree with this 💯.

Looks like free-speech absolutism is relative.

Well, I thought this was an excellent puzzle - even more impressive given the time constraints. My blog is now up at fifteensquared.net if anyone needs any pointers for the solutions...

Nationalism is by default unimaginative and paradoxically every example of it is broadly similar to other examples everywhere else in the world. It's always about flags and chants and xenophobic exceptionalism. The mantra of people who don't have the imagination to actually love where they live.

This sign hasn’t lost so much as gained something in translation.

Been sightseeing in Glasgow today. Particularly enjoyed learning about this amazing and 100% true story…

The results are in... 🥇 @widdersbel.bsky.social 🥈 Temple 🥉 EssBee

made a handy little novel title generator for you

Motherfucking wind farms…

I'm sceptical of any story that starts "I recently heard about..." but this is one you'd like to believe is true

This is one of the best ideas I've heard in ages.

I set this month's news-themed cryptic crossword for the @financialtimes.com. Sample clue: Shoaib Bashir? No pressure - a worthy winner (6). Solve the puzzle on the FT app or print the pdf here: www.ft.com/content/c736...

Mine asked which of these could save my life: A: A St. Bernard with a barrel on its collar B: A French Polisher C: Both I answered C, and passed.

It asked me my opinion on Accrington Stanley football club

What kind of age check is this? It shouted "Papa!" and I shouted "Nicole!" and it said I was old enough

Ringlet

Speckled wood

Sick of everything being Orwellian or Kafkaesque. I demand more Scarrylous situations, where animals drive vehicles and run small businesses.

And that dull man has cast a dull spell over a country which used to be anything other than dull. Brexit Britain, forged in Farage’s image is in fact Beige Britain. Drained of imagination, ambition and colour. The equivalent of the Y front section in a 1980s Tesco megastore.

I’m in the Indy cryptic slot again today. A couple of sample clues to whet your appetite: - Dutch practised capturing Belgium for experiment (6) - Crime mostly lower in Greater Manchester area (8) Solve for free online at: puzzles.independent.co.uk/games/crypti... Enjoy!

People look at me like I'm nuts when I tell them the thing that scares me most are drivers, that if we die an unnatural potentially criminal death it is most likely going to involve a car. We've became such apex predators that we've built our own apex predator to thin our numbers.

What could possibly go wrong?

2000 years ago: the Romans would let an aqueduct destroy the Gardon Valley. We need clean water, but at what cost?

Superb debut by Gemelo in the Observer today. Highly recommended observer.co.uk/topics/gemelo

Address autofill is like a small child doing a magic trick. “Give me your house number and postcode and I’ll tell you your address” “I mean, I could just fill it in mys—“ “NO! I HAVE TO DO THE MAGIC TRICK!” *produces list of 134 addresses* “IS IT ONE OF THESE?”

Lads, this half-arsed mullet and tache look you've adopted is doing you fewer favours than the beards.

A superb piece of journalism in The Observer: it seems like the one of the sacred texts of Nature Writing (TM) is not quite as much of an unflinchingly honest read as claimed observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

Lots of butterfly action in the woods today - marbled whites and ringlets spotted, among others

Excellent. Very clever!

“April can be a bit showery Also sometimes rather flowery Then we go with banter merry All the way to Canterbury”

This reminds me very much of the time I had an argument with a Dan Brown fan that ended up with me and others rewriting the openings of famous novels in the style of Dan Brown. I’m now wondering if “Dan Brown” was actually some early prototype LLM…

Think this might be a new PB for the Times Suko - obviously a very easy one…

The woods are swarming with heath fritillaries today - delightful!

So yesterday, after a day at work I jumped on the bike at 4pm and rode a 200km DIY Audax with AAA points (hilly). Got in at 4am. Back at work today. Not sure I’d recommend it, but I would do it again 🤦‍♂️ It was a beautiful night

This is a serious road safety issue. We urgently need restrictions to stop the ever increasing size of motor vehicles and bonnet heights.

Signs you’re middle-aged pt.673…

Today, the Government launches plans to fast-track driverless vehicle trials in the UK. One of the companies involved says London presents a big challenge: “It has seven times more jaywalkers than San Francisco.” Except… it doesn't. 🧵

Farewell the brilliant Sly Stone.

It’s easy when you go early… WordGrid #374 🦄🦄🦄 🦄🦄🦄 🦄🦄🦄 Rarity: 0.00 wordgrid.clevergoat.com 🐐

Pleased to be a part of this alongside some very illustrious company. And massive thanks to Prolixic for the huge amount of work he put into organising and editing it

A star-studded NTSPP this week! crypticcrosswords.net/puzzles/ntsp...

That feeling when you’ve finished editing an 18,000 word document down to 13,000 words and the client tells you great but you’ve been working on the wrong version of the document…

Coming at this late today so pleased there are still some unicorns up for grabs, including some surprisingly “ordinary” ones. Two stolen unicorns as well. I’ll take that… WordGrid #370 🌌🌌🦄 🦄🦄🦄 🦄🦄🌌 Rarity: 0.05 wordgrid.clevergoat.com 🐐

Happy World Bicycle Day.

@theguardian.com overlooked the greatest "money hack" of all when it comes to avoiding the high cost of motoring: use a 🚲 for your everyday travel needs. I estimate my 2 bikes saved me around £37,000 over the years. www.theguardian.com/money/2025/j...

The very best #writing advice, perhaps the only advice a fledgling writer needs, is to read as many books as possible. Let the rhythms of fiction soak into you, and you can figure out the rest from there.

Well, the Liverpool attacker who drove his car into kids appears to be a Farage, Tate & Musk fanboy. Wonder if he voted Reform? As he’s white The Mail depicts him as a middle class dad who lived in a cul de sac and must’ve “panicked in the moment”. If he’d been brown the far right would’ve rioted

One question about the new series of Walking With Dinosaurs… how is it even possible to make dinosaurs so dull? They’re frikkin’ dinosaurs FFS! And the story about a cute baby triceratops was just infantile. Maybe I’m just too old for this kind of thing now - maybe I’m the dinosaur!