bovril

Brexit has resulted in lower growth and higher immigration and still people want to vote for Nigel Farage because they're angry about those things. I'm sorry but I don't see how council seats will make a difference to their popularity. People will just blame the left or something. What it needs is cult deprogramming.

People are clamouring for Farage as PM after Brexit so I don't think local council issues are really going to make a difference

Problem with British politics is that British voters still think we're a wealthy country and we simply need to redistribute that wealth away from people who don't deserve it. Hence the enduring appeal of Farage, Corbyn, Scottish Indy etc.

The Game, but you lose every time you remember Jeremy Corbyn exists

Similar appeal - politics as revenge fantasy.

We are cursed to live in the American empire, the only empire in history whose elite have no interest in high culture. There is great American art and literature but the world doesn't get that, it gets Marvel and NFL and American culture wars, and everything starts resembling those things. I hope the French regret supporting them in the war of independence.

I've long advocated for the adoption of Welsh as our official first language

A lot of the problems facing football culture are the same as in arts or popular culture in general. The Internet and mass media was supposed to shine a light on new and interesting things but instead it's just turned everything into a kind of American flavoured mush, which is totally inescapable.

Is it awful that the first thing I thought of was his penalty against us in the 1/4 finals of the League Cup.

Non Indians working service jobs in London

Wymsey redemption arc

It was said they had a pub for every day of the year and a church for every Sunday. Not quite as many these days but still plenty of great pubs and interesting medieval churches left.

it was entirely predictable that precisely this would be the excuse. Let's hope though it sticks, and we have no more investigations into any "hurry words" hate crimes because, you know, people are dying elsewhere.

I think Eavis and Lineker running into issues due to their soft support of Israel is a really good example of the huge change that's taken place in how political culture now plays out in our angry social media age. People of their age unsurprisingly struggle to get to grips with it.

You just knew they'd be Arsenal fans

Absolutely love Waitrose. Spacious, great produce and a much classier clientele.

Interesting also how politics and political slogans have never been more prevelant in arts and media and yet the actual decision making seems to be more distant than ever, and the public have ever less control. Watching fans of musical acts congratulate themselves on promoting whatever their cause is feels a bit like as a kid when you went 3-0 up on FIFA then realized it was on auto mode and the computer was controlling everything. It's all an illusion.

It'll never catch on

The need for English football clubs to embrace almost every aspect of American sport culture, right down to social media stuff like this, is quite remarkable to witness.

This is based more on vibes than evidence but I feel like Britain - its government, media and citizens - is quite tolerant towards groups who hold pretty anti democratic beliefs, or who support other groups with those views. Like Kneecap for example, whom I generally ignore, but it still catches my attention when a band who've professed support for Hezbollah end up so feted by much of the UK media.

Not sure if that liberal culture will survive much more in the age of the Internet and AI. All states need to be able to control the narrative to some extent.

We are very very tolerant in this country towards individuals and groups in media and the arts who are hostile to the British state and its interests. States hostile to Britain know this and exploit it.

Went in 2005 which had a great line up but my favourite had to be the Las with a drummer they pulled off the street the day before, playing 'There She Goes' twice in the same set

In Britain at least I don't think you can understand the rise of populism in the form of e.g. Corbyn, Brexit or even Tommy Robinson without acknowledging our relative economic decline and diminishing global influence. In that sense I think there are many similarities between the UK and post Soviet Russia. And things will get worse I am sure.