Bellend Sebastian

Half way through and really like it. Paul Ready doesn't seem to mind being typecast as well intentioned but feckless characters, does he? Nice to see the horrible mum out of Andor as well

Police helicopter was hovering over our house yesterday (I've done nothing, guvnor!). Typical! They're usually too late to do anything so for a change they turned up too early. Broken Britain etc

We think it moved its kill to behind my neighbour's car, as the fuss continued even though we couldn't see it. It has at last gone quiet, mercifully. Was just reading how magpies sometimes team up with other corvids, and there a WERE a couple of crows getting involved but very much on the fringes so I doubt their efforts will be particularly appreciated

This is still going on. Bloody hell

A Peregrine Falcon has just killed a Magpie on my neighbour's driveway and about ten other Magpies are going absolutely mental at it. I've never heard such a racket, I'm trying to sleep here, lads

Bleak isn't it? I'm always interested in how much influence they have on public perceptions in reality. Whenever the media is under any scrutiny itself it tends to downplay the extent to which people pay it any mind but in some demographics (I'm thinking of my parents' generation here, mostly well into their 80s) tabloid newspapers are still their go-to for pretty much everything

I suppose I should be pleased that Farage has got The Mail on Sunday on top of the Times after him now and his popularity taking an actual hit for once but you cannot ignore that they could have done this years ago but chose not to

Like Reform Home Affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf, for example

I'll add this to my library of things to respond with when the bleeding doom-mongers that cross my path too often tell me that "the country's not what it used to be" etc etc. I've just seen this story on Threads and the most common response is that it isn't true, which I guess just underlines that not many people go on the internet to say things like "that's good then" and "nice to hear that progress is being made"

Spoke too soon. Just found one with a lot of glowing comments about his balls. The strange times comment still stands though

I have absolutely no idea what to read into this but as a keen consumer of absolute shite Facebook content, there's recently been what looks like a massive influx of actual people commenting on posts about Farage, the vast majority of them being extremely negative. I struggle to believe that loads of people have suddenly decided to go on the attack and am instead idly wondering if the literally thousands of the usual "only man I can trust to be PM" and "this will make the lefties cry" utterings that pad out the comment sections have mysteriously disappeared. Even if I'm right, what does this even mean? Strange times

Nostradamus walks among us!

Farage statement due at 2 pm on his "future in public life". I know what it might be but let's see

Tentative signs that the UK is at last deciding that maybe it does not want to be your Auntie Jean who has inexplicably started going out with a blowhard crooked financial adviser that drives a Vauxhall Vectra which he claims is "the greatest car ever made", was done for PAYE fraud in 1997 and lost his original job as a teacher in a girl's school for something you're not allowed to ask about and all your cousins hate

Gave up on a 10k about two thirds in. The heat wasn't helping but I think I'm just absolutely knackered