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Alastair

@as-j.bsky.social
423 followers 928 following 2.1K posts

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇨🇵 Retired but not retiring. Cycling, Rugby Union, Steely Dan, #RadioParadise, Familial Hypercholesterolemia victim. If it works, do it. When it stops working, stop doing it. Once ate Prince Phillip's Pavlova. #NoCarBiggerThanAGolf #Rejoin

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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 2h
Bike ride today and I achieved the Holy Trinity. In succession, I was accorded courtesy by drivers of, first, a Range Rover, then a large Audi and then a BMW. I had to stop for a minute to take it all in.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Almost half an hour before Nigella mentioned salt. Slacking. #GBBO
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
They just can't bring themselves to say the word, can they. #Rejoin
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I'm not sure this is something to brag about but, almost without fail, I predict Craig's scores on #Strictly. I'm hars to please, daaarling.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
You know not to expect much from #Reacher on Amazon and Series 4 delivers on that expectation in spades. So many plot explanations mid-episode, the only surprise was they didn't use Powerpoint. They even had the chance to kill him off in Ep 6 and fluffed their lines. Utter guff.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Reluctantly, in a #Starbucks. Anyone else remember when they at least tried to have the ambience of a local coffee house? This is just a McDonald's without the burgers. And the coffee still tastes of burned rubber.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Hearing #NickRobinson on #r4Today hand-wringing about bias in the news we hear is quite the way to start your morning.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Intro to #GBBO. "Thousands applied...... but inexplicably we still chose Nigella".
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Watched #Strictly tonight. Was well prepared for it to be a massive disappointment. All I can say is, Tess who?
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
This might not be popular but I wish someone would remind Andy Zaltzman that the News Quiz is about the news, not Andy Zaltzman.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
This might be a stupid question but if AI broke out of its sandbox into the real world, isn't it still out there?
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Why have #Guardian podcasters started pronouncing poll (as in, Burnham performing well in the polls) to rhyme with doll and moll?
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
A huge advantage of living where we have universal health care is that, when you reach a certain age, you get free shingles vaccinations. The downside of the free shingles vaccination is... the shingles vaccination. I feel like death. This is worse than covid. 🛌
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
#Piddington is a joke until you realize that 90% of those who voted automatically consider anyone foreign to be a threat.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
No idea why but I'm finishing the day lamenting the fact that pubs don't do a ploughman's lunch any more.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
I have financially supported #MSF by for at least 20 years and I will continue to do so as long as I can afford it. This might sound a bit un-Bluesky but Lawyers for Israel can just FOAD.
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Reposted by Alastair
Mark Monro | He/Him 🌈 @thatidiotmonro.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Need to harness the power of Bluesky, so reposts are appreciated. If anyone here, or anyone you know attends Bangor University (the Welsh one) and needs a room for the upcoming year, get in touch. One of my son's housemates has dropped out at the last minute, so their house is one short.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
This thought has come to me quite late but if the 500 or so pseudo paramilitaries had, instead, blocked Dover's roads riding bikes, I am pretty sure some knuckle dragger in a pickup would have ploughed into them.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Call me old fashioned but a lot of, often serious, posts on here would benefit from some basic punctuation. The odd comma. Perhaps a semicolon every now and then? I shouldn't have to read a post three times to understand the point they are making.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I'm generally happy to give someone like Burnham a bit of time to get things in order but I'm already pretty impatient for an explanation why an octogenarian holding a small protest placard gets a criminal record but 200 people dressed as paramilitaries blockading Dover can just get the train home.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Hoi, Bluesky uses who don't allow replies. That's not social interaction. It's just demanding a free platform. F**king stop it.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Telegraph, Times etc very slow off the mark with stories about James Orr's background, childhood, CV etc.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Ironic that Nige and his fellow rebels are so keen on meeting at Rules. Must be the ambience, because it certainly ain't the food.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
And so it begins. A couple of streets away from me, someone claiming part of the highway as theirs 12 hours a day.
A blue, wooden gate with 2 signs on; one asking for the roadway to be kept clear for EV charging, the second proclaiming overnight charging 8pm to 8am.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
There's a lot going on at the moment but I've still managed to find some time to ponder how anyone can listen to The Lumineers and actually enjoy it.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Back in the UK so we have the cat back. I realise now that I've been misinterpreting the 9 lives thing. It actually means they overstay their welcome, nine-fold.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Got back to the UK yesterday after 6 weeks in France. It took 3 hours for me to want to start taking hostages. 6 mile queues to get 4 lanes of traffic into 4 lanes of Dartford tunnel. Explain that to me. And you think the French are rude? Try Prêt at Bishop Stortford services.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
If, like me you can't find anything elegant to say about Dolly's passing, this hits the mark.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
At the French vet. Embarrassing hearing the "expats" not even attempting to speak French. Not even a bonjour. Rude, arrogant, lazy.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
I've had pizzas smaller than this.
A huge, 15cm pain au raisins on a white plate with the sun glinting off the glass garden table.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Today was a fantastic, good value lunch in a rural French restaurant with just one glass of rosé. Followed by a 90 minute nap. How does this country function?
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Never thought I would consider 27° as refreshingly cool.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Never trust the beer the expats bring when you do aperitifs. Worst example this time was Heineken almost 3 years past its BB date.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Oh, and their Apps are a car crash. #BBC
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Today, I cancelled the DD for my #BBC TV licence. Quite apart from the Reform propaganda it peddles almost daily, I have the timerity to be abroad and can't access a service I've paid for because they can't be arsed providing a way. I've been pro #BBC for decades but it deserves to die now.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
#EuropeanAthletics. Speed walking. Not a real sport
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
He's a crook, a fraud, a racist, a liar but over twenty two thousand people braved a heatwave and voted for him. England's problems do not arrive in rubber dinghies.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Oh, the French. I chatted with the very old French neighbours. She asked, "Did you see the eclipse?". " Yes, I said. How about you?". "Non. We have dinner at 7:30"
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Considering a ban in instant BBQs. What a relief to see a new Prime Minister who understands the seriousness of the crisis confronting us and isn't afraid to take unpopular decisions.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
European Athletics on French TV. Commentators are, shall we say, a tad partisan. And it's fantastic.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
European Athletics. Women's 400m hurdles. Since most of these women are about 5ft 11in, why are they still jumping over diddy little hurdles?
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
So, the moral of the day appears to be that #rodliddle is dead and no body gives a f**k.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Nothing soothes the soul quicker than your dog choosing to leave where they're sleeping to snuggle up next to you.
A golden doodle lying on a grey striped settee with her head on the cushions.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
My French gaff nestles in a village with about 24 houses, a third of them owned by non-French. Everyone is white and every single conversation eventually turns to too many immigrants coming into the country expecting a free ride. I wonder who they really mean.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Sitting here contemplating the return of my addiction. These demons always come back to haunt me when I return to France. I think I can beat them but I'm staring defeat in the face once more. Damn you baguette et beurre demi-sel.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Admittedly not exactly over imbibing UK politics from over here but the jist appears to be "Starmer's biggest problem was communication" followed by "Sure, Burnham's a great communicator but where's the substance?".
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
My place in France is over 200km from the Cap Ferret fires but this morning we have woken again with the smell of smoke in the air. Very much looking forward to someone in Farah slacks telling me this is "called Summer".
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
#TourDeFrance last day is now a 2 horse race. Group Mailot Jaune and Groupe rien à foutre.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Well, overnight we had thunderstorms followed by the smoke from Bordeaux region. Just waiting for the locusts to arrive.
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Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Bordeaux is 100 miles from where I am in France but the setting sun was blood orange and we can see the smoke "front" to the west already. If the wind is in the wrong direction, I'm really going to regret leaving the washing on the line.
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