Bellend Sebastian

My wife's a Brummie so I've seen more of Birmingham than I would have done so I really like it. Not enough to be arsed to go on a regular basis, mind

I was a lot of things in the 90s including a failed human being, but I was definitely neither of those

I've heard some good things but I've been there even less than Manchester

How long have you lived there for? I've only been a handful of times and I think when I first went it was the early 90s and it was a bit grim - quite edgy and intimidating, and it's been less and less like that on each visit. I'd go so far as to say it felt optimistic on my last trip, made a nice change

I've no idea how much credit Burnham should take for it (and I suspect it's at least partly down to having the best part of a billion quid spent on the City Centre after the IRA blew it up) but when I went to Manchester a couple of months ago it was the first place I'd been to for ages (except London) that didn't feel like it was on its arse/seen better days. A proper buzz about the place, so I can see why folk might look at Manchester and say I fancy a bit of that

I don't see why you wouldn't go for it, but even if I wasn't a fan of the idea I would love to see it happen just to watch my father-in-law's head explode

"refrain from speculation online". Good luck with that

UNDERRATED

I think it was about 6 or 7 years old when I got it, and it was the last of the Smiths albums I got to complete the set. I think they're all amazing except the first one, which is merely good. Might stick it on later and sit in the dark and listen all the way through like I used to do in literally the last century

Good to see someone doing some journalism for a change. In fairness, more obscure media outlets have been looking into Russian interference for years but it never seems to get much traction in terms of getting people talking about it. As for our Stephen, it doesn't exactly weaken my belief that those he persuades to join him on his big days out might as well be covering themselves in Russian flags

I don't even know what this is. I don't think I could hate it more than that period of time when you'd see a nice shirt and there was a sort of false t shirt stitched into it, which I think is one of the very worst things to have happened in human history, an event my more fashion conscious colleague attempted to justify as being of interest to anyone aspiring to the 'layered look'

I disagree, surely that can only propel one on to the very heights of athletic excellence. Seriously, very well done though. Amazing stuff

On his way back from Russia where he met Elon Musk's Dad. You couldn't make it up etc A veritable Lord Haw Haw for our times

There I was pleased with myself that I'd got it in two! This has happened to me before as well, it's a bit mad isn't it? There doesn't seem to be much consensus on how many words are in Wordle, but it's long odds to get it in one whichever number you use

I tend to agree, unless the fines were excitingly disproportionate - five grand or something

Have some data to go to bed on, my lovelies. However horrifying individual incidents are, the bigger picture can provide at least some comfort, I find. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingseptember2025 Night night

Oh no, that does sound like a bit of a turd. I didn't think much of the TV show (even when it was supposedly good) so I shouldn't be surprised that a big screen version isn't any better. My kid has expressed zero interest in it so I can probably dodge it until it's on Disney+

And our compact friend Stephen Yaxley-Lennon has apparently been in Moscow meeting Elon Musk's Dad in I expect a very patriotic way, it really is all happening

That's all very well Mac but show me your graph of levels of people saying 'everything is broken', that would be OFF THE SCALE

I'd suggest a ten year flight ban for this. Influence that, cretins: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/09/air-passengers-bags-filming-emergencies-airlines-iata

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/jun/04/the-20-best-songs-about-football-ranked I was quite a way down the list and assumed that my favourite wasn't going to feature, thereby rendering the whole thing a complete dog crap exercise, but it was only at blooming number one!

"previous offending included four instances of public disorder and possession of a blade" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgz2xq7ykvo As per bloody usual

Yeah, I think we have to be a bit careful here. I looked this up and the way it's been reported isn't massively helpful, in that it's pretty easy to read it as the kid didn't stand trial because he's got ADHD, when they've actually said that's one of a range of unnamed conditions they'd got. My missus used to do a lot of work around cognitive and capacity assessments and though you cannot read that much from how the story was reported, it's quite possible that the ADHD didn't have much to do with the decision (people with ADHD are overrepresented in the prison population so that's definitely not a reason to not prosecute in itself). It's all about capacity at the end of the day - the media over simplifies things and makes it appear to the reader that there are 'get out of jail free' cards where having a condition (often erroneously lumped into a broad brush 'mental health' category) means you can get away with anything, and it's simply not the case. There's any number of things that might be taken into account in determining whether someone has capacity to stand trial, but it boils down to do they have capacity or not? It's interesting and probably significant that in the report I read "three doctors" had agreed on whatever assessment had been made - that's pretty thorough, this isn't being done on the view of some overly idealistic hippy support worker or something (apologies to any support workers reading) and is not a decision that would be taken lightly. Another thing that's massively unhelpful about the reporting is - and this becomes more and more of an issue as such stories get shorter and shorter (is that because of ever reducing attention spans or because journalism and actual reporting has been hollowed out to the extent there isn't anyone to actually write them anymore?) is again what isn't reported. The story reads as if they weren't fit to stand trial and that's that, end of story, everybody walks away when that probably isn't the case. There are inpatient mental health units and secure hospitals throughout the country full of folk deemed to be a danger to themselves or others, some of whom will have convictions but a lot of whom will not. I've not a clue what happened after the trial decision but the idea that you've got someone that will start a fire in a building with people in it AND has been deemed not fit to stand trial is not a combination where the system says 'nothing to see here, carry on' - just because they've not gone down the criminal justice path doesn't mean they are not still in the system

That's the one where Elon Musk called the British diver a paedo because he disrespected his shit miniature submarine. I'd have countered by asking why he's got a submarine for transporting children but hey not everyone has this gift

Two hours or so of pretty heavy rain in west Leicester in the night. Struggling to remember a storm with so much lightning but the volume and time between the strikes and the thunder made me think the worst of it was to the south so some folk were really getting it