I picked up a copy of the collected letters of JRR Tolkien for reasons, and this is the most bullshit table of contents I've ever seen. I'm actively angry that it exists
I wrote today's edition of @theleaduk.bsky.social looking at everything that's happened over the last fortnight in Teesside. Most of my writing over the last couple of years has been straight reporting, but this is a bit of a departure.
The death of seven people in one night has exposed the dark underbelly of life Teessiders have known for years
Extreme child poverty and rampant deprivation, coupled with police funding for a rural area rather than the metropolitan levels of crime being faced have been brought into focus by the A66 death crash
national.thelead.uk
As ever he's very Partridge but the way he ended that bit was perfect
Another weekend, another excellent game of Battlegroup NORTHAG with Ben and @andycrow.bsky.social. In a change we tried a BAOR counterattack on the Soviets. A tense game had the BAOR break just ahead of the Soviets. #wargaming #Battlegroup #NORTHAG #6mm
I don't tend to watch AI chatbot videos, but there's a guy I sometimes watch who talks with scammers to keep them busy and get info to get them in trouble. With the rise of AI chatbot scams, he's found ways to break them and it's honestly hilarious. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk3j...
Don't Hang Up On AI Scammers. Do THIS Instead.
YouTube video by Kitboga
youtube.com
++BREAKING++ The Daily Telegraph has... *rubs eyes* ...published something sensible about climate change: "I’m coming to the view that the Online Right is going wrong, eschewing compassion or charm, talking itself into corners of angry irrelevance. Take climate change."
Ahead of England v Norway in the World Cup, enjoy this classic from my old pal Patrick Kidd in The Times
"I know it's not the sort of thing you usually do Mr Havelange but speaking as a nuclear power we'd appreciate Gascoigne's yellow being overturned and the match result annulled"
It's nice to re-connect with an old friend. Today that was Kiss Me Hardy, a salty sea dog from 2003. Today an RN squadron took on a formidable Franco-Spanish fleet. Honors largely even, but Admiral Charles led a heroic boarding action taking the French flagship as a prize! #SpreadTheLard #Wargaming
It's hard to fathom what Europe will live next week. Thousands of records will be brutalized in Spain,France,UK,Benelux,Germany,Swiss,Austria and than the East Paris might record 4 consecutive days 40C UK will ridiculize its June national record Germany 10 days 37C+ This is CRAZY
Don’t just share this on here. Stick this on your family WhatsApp group. Send it to your Brexit uncle. Print it out and give it to that neighbour. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article....
“These men came here…to storm these beaches…not to gain anything for ourselves, not to fulfill any ambitions that America had for conquest, but just to preserve freedom, systems of self-government in the world.” ~Eisenhower to Walter Cronkite, “D-Day + Twenty Years,” 1964. Image: Eisenhower NHS.
With exactly 1 month to go so far we have sold 6 tickets. Now I'm not expecting this to rival Salute or anything but as we need 20 people to cover the cost of hiring the shop before we get into the fundraising area I'd really appreciate it if this could be shared around a bit. Thanks! #SpreadTheLard
maraviglia.bsky.social@maraviglia.bsky.social · 5mo agoLard game day! As it stands we are good to go albeit with only a few games on so far. However we still have time to add more games and players so please share this around! I also think it will be a good plan to chat about details on the Lard forum to bring everyone to one place. #SpreadTheLard
"The petition hit 10,000 - the government must now formally respond within 60 days. Parliamentary bars cost £7.4m a year. Pints are £2 below pub price." If you don't want your MP to be allowed to vote on vital issues while drunk - please keep signing petition.parliament.uk/petitions/768417
my grandad was at Normandy (RMC) and eventually made the papers reverse Private Ryan-style after him and three brothers *all* made it home safely
This Many Years Ago@thismanyyearsago.bsky.social · 4mo ago82 years ago, on the 6th of June 1944, 160.000 Allied troops crossed the English channel in Operation Neptune, now commonly referred to as D-Day. Op to 9.000 people lost their lives (both Allied and Axis troops) with thousands more missing or heavily injured. #otd #history 🗃️
No clip has ever captured the essence of born again Christians quite like this
If one of my party's recent prime ministers had redecorated the Number 10 flat in a way that ended up involving TWO separate inquiries and a Wikipedia page, I would simply not have put out a press release confirming that the current prime minister had spent less than the allowance he was given.
It may seem like nerdy detail that the increasing weight of cars is worsening potholes, but it matters. The car makers push to sell wider and heavier cars is increasing road maintenance costs and that affects us all. Not to mention worse crash outcomes and less space to pass (wider) parked cars.
The Guardian@theguardian.com · 6mo agoSUVs are making Britain’s potholes worse, say scientists
Yesterday saw an overdue return of O Group to the table. We played (in 6mm) the first scenario from the Normandy book; 6th Royal Scottish Fusiliers (Ben and I) were to assault St Manvieu in the early stages of Op Epsom against the 26th PzGrenadiers (@andycrow.bsky.social). #spreadthelard #wargaming
It's only worth going back to the Moon if it makes us look properly again at Earth, and appreciate how beautiful, precious and fragile what we have here is. The most famous images from Apollo aren't about the Moon - they're pictures of Earth. We need to stop taking our home for granted.
After the White House complained about an unflattering photo of Karoline Leavitt, it was removed from AFP and Getty’s systems. This is the photo in question. Please do not repost it. 👇
The Government is considering scrapping the NHS-Palantir deal. Do you want Palantir out of the NHS? RT if you do. #PalantirOUT
NBC: Under intl law, hitting civilian infrastructure is prohibited. Why is POTUS threatening war crimes? LEAVITT: POTUS has made it quite clear to the Iranian regime their best move is to make a deal or else N: Which objectives would destroying a desalination plant help? LEAVITT: Haley, go ahead
WILE E. COYOTE STATES ROADRUNNER WILL BE CAPTURED SOON IF PLAN IS SUCCESFUL
FinTwitter@fintwitter.bsky.social · 7mo agoDONALD TRUMP STATES THAT THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ WILL OPEN VERY SOON IF A PLAN IS SUCCESSFUL
So, pull up a chair, and let's look at where we are three weeks into the sh-tshow that is Trump's Iran war. TL:DR it's not great, but it's not catastrophic (yet) either and there's an opportunity here. 1/n
a brown chair with a plaid curtain behind it
ALT: a brown chair with a plaid curtain behind it
media.tenor.com