Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 21hAlways a tad disappointing when you go to see a band and their lead singer turns up pissed as a fart. #Hue&Cry 000
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 09/10/2026It's almost comforting to see that, despite the tumultuous years we have gone through, Labour's love of in-fighting is undiminished. 000
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 09/10/2026The lazy answer is to blame Thatcher, which is handy, because it's also the correct answer. 050
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 09/10/2026"Best candidate". I have my doubts. I'm not sure he's the slam dunk some people think he is. 110
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 07/10/2026I'm fairly confident, had the 16 year old me been asked what I would be doing in 50 years time, putting a nappy on my dog would not have been in the list. 000
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 05/10/2026And the NIMBYs will be enjoying cheaper diesel too, if the LDs get their way. All those principles, ay? 010
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Just bought a new bike. I have to wait a week for delivery. I'm like a 9 year old in mid-December 120
Reposted by AlastairM Meerkat @kackbro.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Naomi Klein Is Spot On....... 15787863406
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 02/10/2026We need laws, right now, to limit the size of wide angle lenses used by estate agents. I have viewed houses online today with kitchens the size of tennis courts that turn out to be 12x8 FEET. 000
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Phew, I thought I was shouting into the void. I've been arguing a lot with rejoiners that support will wilt as soon as the Euro, Free movement and Schengen is mentioned. They still believe we can "just opt out" but the second they're mentioned, the right and the press will have a field day. 010
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Bike 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. 010
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 30/09/2026I agree that the rules can be changed or, sometimes, ignored. I think the skill is going to be how and when any exceptions or compromises are proposed. I think that's why Labour especially, until this morning, have studiously avoided the word Rejoin. 100
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 30/09/2026The EU's opening gambit won't be a list of things with which the UK doesn't have to comply even though that might be the eventual outcome. The problem there for any (Re)Join campaign is that anything on the table will be misrepresented by opponents. Canada might change that, but I doubt it. 100
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 30/09/2026I thought Ireland wasn't in Schengen. Have I been wrong all this time? 000
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 30/09/2026We'll tell them we will do it but we will have our fingers crossed behind our backs. Good start Jill. 000
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 30/09/2026I know about this but I think you're deluded if you think the EU's opening statement will be "let's just pretend the last 10 years never happened". 110
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 30/09/2026I can't quite work out whether you're having a go at me but my point is that I fear a lot of people who say they want to rejoin, subconsciously want to return to how it was before. At least at the start of any negotiations, that isn't going to be on the table. 101
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 29/09/2026"Nobody expects to get the same deal as we had before". Really? I think that is the first major hurdle. 220
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 29/09/2026My understanding is that new members (technically there is no such thing as a rejoining member) need to commit to adopting the Euro and entering Schengen. There is no fixed timetable. Not sure Reform and the papers will tell the whole truth about this situation. 520
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Almost half an hour before Nigella mentioned salt. Slacking. #GBBO 010
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 28/09/2026They just can't bring themselves to say the word, can they. #Rejoin 010
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Add illegally tinted side-windows and reflective windscreens. All these are just conspiracy to evade getting caught breaking the law. I'd impose immediate points on the owner's/driver's licence but police just can't be bothered at present. 010
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 27/09/2026I think you over-estimate the average person's knowledge, including me of "three centuries of history". People are clinging on to their impression of what makes the nation "great" which probably only stretches back as far as the blitz. 100
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 26/09/2026I'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. 010
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 26/09/2026This has been the great success/con of the motoring industry over the last century; turning beasts of burden into objects of desire with performance and features that, 99.9% of the time are not used or needed. In most cases, cars are white goods with wheels. 001
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 25/09/2026You 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. 000
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 24/09/2026I don't know. Being almost totally ignorant of the detail before giving her opinion brings her closer to a huge swathe of the British electorate. 010
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Reluctantly, 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. 010
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Hearing #NickRobinson on #r4Today hand-wringing about bias in the news we hear is quite the way to start your morning. 070
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Intro to #GBBO. "Thousands applied...... but inexplicably we still chose Nigella". 000
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 22/09/2026It was very thinkable 5, 10, 20 years ago. And they thought it and shouted at the telly. Now they can put it on socials. But they always thought it. 000
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 22/09/2026I dislike Euston as much as anyone but, jeez get things right. There is seating. Platforms are announced when the operator releases the train. Euston doesn't set ticket prices. The advertising board lasted about 9 months but quickly went back to showing train information. It's still a dump though. 100
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Pathetic. Ilfracombe has deadly, the deadliest, lazers on pedestrian crossings and all he can come up with is snipers? 000
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Watched #Strictly tonight. Was well prepared for it to be a massive disappointment. All I can say is, Tess who? 040
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 19/09/2026This might not be popular but I wish someone would remind Andy Zaltzman that the News Quiz is about the news, not Andy Zaltzman. 000
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 19/09/2026People's daily life in Britain is filled with stuff that just doesn't work or deliver. From trivia like bins and potholes to finding a place in a SEND college or getting an MRI scan. Yet we are told that, despite being the 5th largest economy on earth, there's no money. No one ever explains that. 010
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Thanks for the explanation. Still a bit sobering that this conversation is happening at all. 010
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 18/09/2026This might be a stupid question but if AI broke out of its sandbox into the real world, isn't it still out there? 100
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 18/09/2026I also quite liked the one that said that the reason there were so many aggressive middle aged men riding bikes in London was that they are the only ones courageous to do it in the first place. 011
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 18/09/2026interesting stuff. I recently cancelled my LD membership because of their lack of focus. They seem very happy with tiny incremental growth which might see them in power by 2094. They need to strike out with ultra-clear policies prioritizing Climate and Europe. Otherwise, they're almost pointless. 000
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Have you tried riding in front of one? Do they just sit tight or do they try to pass? 100
Alastair @as-j.bsky.social · 18/09/2026So, you didn't see Farage laughing at and mocking the woman being interviewed by Victoria Derbyshire? 010