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David Owen

@dodo938.bsky.social
2.2K followers 684 following 370 posts

Sportswriter, biographer of racehorses, Francophile, ex-FT, Authors CC. New book: Aux Armes! - Sport and the French - www.thenightwatchman.net/buy/aux-ar…

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Reposted by David Owen
Martin Calladine @uglygame.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
In 2002, Turkmenistan dictator Saparmurat Niyazov renamed the days of the week and months of the year after concepts from a book he'd written. He died in 2006 and, less than 18 months later, the government changed them back. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renamin...
en.wikipedia.org
Renaming of Turkmen months and days of week - Wikipedia
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David Owen @dodo938.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Whoever ends up on top, the right-wing press (ie the owners) needs the right-wing vote not to be split in 2-3 yrs time. Don't think they're that bothered whether it's Farridge or Badenoch, as long as they don't slit each others throats. I guess that's a different way of saying what you just did.
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Alex Harvey @alexharvv.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Oh this can just fuck off An AI-'written' complete copy of my own book is now on Amazon; same title, more-or-less the same blurb, and exactly the same impetus. Reviewers of Amazon, I urge you to absolutely dive-bomb this plagiaristic piece of shit: www.amazon.co.uk/FORGOTTEN-VI...
A hollow copy of my book with a shit AI-generated cover
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John Gallagher @earlymodernjohn.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Herbert Hoover of course remains ahead of Donald Trump on one key metric: he co-published an English translation of Agricola's De Re Metallica, something Trump has over two terms signally failed even to attempt.
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John Harris @johnharris1969.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Latest from me: social care was this big thing at Labour conference. So why did neither Andy Burnham nor Yvette Cooper mention disability? www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Social care for disabled adults is in as much crisis as support for elderly people – so why is the government silent about it? | John Harris
Working-age adults such as my son, who is autistic, face an unreliable system, yet ministers talk only of a national care service for older people, says Guardian columnist John Harris
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David Owen @dodo938.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
You can't any longer treat pensioners as a monolithic group. Those on basic state pension will almost all be struggling. Those with a private pension will very often be doing fine. The former probably still need the TL. The latter don't. What % of pensioners are the latter?
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Nick Webb @nickwebb2017.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🏏BBC county championship cricket live text page gets 27.8 million page views across the summer, averaging 464K per day Thanks to all who’ve joined us to follow red-ball cricket this year 👏🏽😎
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Somerset Confidential @somersetconf.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Well folks if you follow Somerset Confidential you might like to know that we’ve been interviewed by @Channel4news.bsky.social who are doing a series on modern journalism and combatting news deserts. We are told it will be shown on 7pm Channel 4 news either tonight (1 Oct) or tomorrow (2 October)…
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Gavin Esler @gavinesler.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I do wonder what some politicians are scared of ….
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Manchester University Press @manchesterup.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Join authors @lilydunn.bsky.social and Blake Morrison at @gowerst-books.bsky.social where they'll be discussing their latest books on the power and importance of memoir writing. A must-attend event for any writer or reader of memoir. Tickets: www.waterstones.com/events/the-p... #London #booksky
waterstones.com
The Power of Memoir: Lily Dunn & Blake Morrison in conversation with Richard Beard | Events at Waterstones Bookshops | Waterstones
Events at Waterstones get you closer to the books and authors you admire most. Find information and tickets about The Power of Memoir: Lily Dunn & Blake Morrison in conversation with Richard Beard…
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Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The ‘harm’ from immigration is illusionary. The harm from too little immigration is all too real.
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Matthew Stewart @roguestrands.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
No way I can compete with the major poetry publishers who get collections stocked by bricks-and-mortar bookshops But I do have word of mouth and all you wonderful people here on Bluesky, pushing the numbers of readers of Whatever You Do, Just Don't far beyond the sales of the big boys. Thank you!
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BladeoftheSun @bladeofthes.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The number of people who go bankrupt every year because of medical bills. Norway - 0 UK - 0 France - 0 Spain - 0 Portugal - 0 Denmark - 0 Australia - 0 Iceland - 0 Italy - 0 Finland - 0 Ireland - 0 Germany - 0 Netherlands - 0 Sweden - 0 Japan - 0 Canada - 0 United States - 643k
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Anti-Reform @antireform.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
"Representing the magical melting pot of the Midlands" via Birmingham Now "Birmingham artist makes community Union Jack from lamppost flags" www.birmingham-now.co.uk/news/2657889...
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Alan Beattie @alanbeattie.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Will keep boringly saying this (no disrespect to OP): it's not a health surcharge. It's not hypothecated to the NHS; you can't choose not to pay it and thereby eschew healthcare. You could equally call it an education or roads surcharge. It's using the NHS's sanctified status to rip off immigrants.
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Tony Tassell @tonytassell.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
100th anniversary today of the birth of Don Dunstan, former premier of my home state. I would not describe many politicans as an inspiration but he was really one. Remarkable list of achievements. An interview here with Mike Rann, another premier here on Dunstan www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...
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Alice Fraser @alicefraser.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
One downside of algorithmic enshittification is artists get trained to be repetitive. If I’m told 2% of my audience will see any given post, it’s an incentive to repeat a joke or a plug 50x. Which means the most loyal people who TRY to follow all your stuff will get hosepiped away by boredom.
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Cornish Skipper #FBPE #RejoinEU 🇪🇺🔶🌹💚💙 @cornishskipper.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026
“UK goods exports to the EU have fallen by £27 billion since Brexit. Exports remain roughly 18% below pre-2019 levels. And around one in seven UK businesses have stopped trading with the EU altogether.” #RejoinEU www.eureporter.co/world/uk/bre...
eureporter.co
The impact of Brexit on trade uncertainty
The UK’s trade ambitions are clear: open new markets, reduce border friction, and make it genuinely easier for small businesses to compete globally. The government’s 2025 Trade Strategy frames this as...
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Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 11/09/2026
Breaking news: A military aircraft entering 'spurious' flight data into the UK’s air traffic control system led to an outage that caused thousands of planes to be grounded and unleashed a crisis that threatens to topple the head of the agency.
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Julia Laite @julialaite.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
25 years ago, almost every plane that was over the North Atlantic when the second tower was hit was forced to land in Newfoundland. A call was on the radio: they needed folks who spoke various languages to come to the stadium to help organize the sea of humanity that just showed up at our door.
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Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
It's always the way, isn't it giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Graph shows far right support higher where the number of foreign nationals is lowest
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 09/09/2026
EXC: Anthropic declined to submit its latest model to Britain’s AI Security Institute for testing before release, the first time a major model withheld from AISI Move has prompted fears in UK govt that tech firms are falling into line with Trump admin’s AI protectionism www.ft.com/content/560e...
ft.com
Anthropic withheld latest AI model from UK testing agency
Decision to exclude Aisi has prompted fears inside British government of protectionist shift among tech groups
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Cold War Steve @coldwarsteve.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
The Haywain 2026
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Dr Jo Kershaw @mthrjo.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
The RNLI have some of the best people in Britain volunteering for them. They put their lives on the line when they are called on and they will rescue anyone who needs them. Because every life matters, and offering help is the right thing to do. You can donate here: rnli.org
rnli.org
RNLI - Royal National Lifeboat Institution - Saving Lives at Sea
The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. We do this through lifeboat search and rescue, lifeguards, water safety education and international interventions.
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Le Monde @lemonde.fr · 07/09/2026
Météo-France a enregistré 40,3 °C à Lavaur, dans le Tarn, dimanche, nouveau record national de chaleur pour septembre
lemonde.fr
Météo-France a enregistré 40,3 °C à Lavaur, dans le Tarn, dimanche, nouveau record national de chaleur pour septembre
Le précédent record était de 40,2 °C à Pissos dans les Landes et datait du 12 septembre 2022.
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Gregory Norminton @gregorynorminton.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Now let’s get one hundred climate protestors in balaclavas to block a road and see how little talk there is from politicians and the BBC about ‘legitimate concerns’, even though it’s impossible to think of concerns that could be more legitimate.
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Lee Hurley @hleehurley.com · 05/09/2026
As gangs of masked men block Dover port, I will just leave this here www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Five Just Stop Oil activists receive record sentences for planning to block M25
Campaigners receive longest ever sentences for non-violent protest after being convicted of conspiracy to cause public nuisance
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David Owen @dodo938.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
😂
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Support the journalist that did the actual work ⬇️
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The Long Play Sessions @kingsofliam.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
We're excited to welcome @sathnam.bsky.social to The Long Play Sessions to discuss his book, 'Tonight The Music Seemed So Loud', on the life, music and legacy of #georgemichael. Early-bird tickets are available for £5 on the link below. gigantic.com/sathnam-sang... #80sMusic #90sMusic #wham
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Massimo (mirror) @rainmaker1973-m.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
That tiny blue dot is a whale navigating busy ship traffic in Chile’s Gulf of Ancud, tracked for a week. Original post
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Stefan Bienkowski @sbienkowski.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Average transfer fee paid for Premier League players this summer: • When another Premier League club buys them: €33.4m • When a European club buys them: €8.9m
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David Owen @dodo938.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
You could define footballers as employees, which is what they are, instead of assets. Other businesses don't, by and large, pay transfer fees when they take on a star performer from a rival company.
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David Owen @dodo938.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
If you abolished amortisation and forced clubs to expense transfer fees in full in the year of acquisition, quality home-grown players would be extremely desirable. Then again, substantially fewer global megastars would be drawn to play here.
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David Owen @dodo938.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
See also the Friel play Translations.
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East Anglia Bylines @eastangliabylines.co.uk · 26/08/2026
Sea Kale's white blooms. Yellow Horned Poppy's waxy leaves. Poisonous Sea Pea seeds. These remarkable plants survive where almost nothing else can. They need to be protected, not swept aside. Rachel Fulcher reports.
eastangliabylines.co.uk
Our rare and fragile Suffolk shingle beaches
Unsuspected treasures – some of national significance – are under your feet as you trip down the beach to run into to the sea
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Jennifer Williams @jenwilliamsft.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Burnham: vb. to relentlessly pummel with political activity
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Jessica Schulberg @jessicaschulberg.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Today is my last day at HuffPost. After 11 years, I was laid off as part of the 33% cuts at BuzzFeed. My team, the National desk, was cut from 7 reporters to 3, after being cut from 14 to 7 just over a year ago
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David Owen @dodo938.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Burgh Island?
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Anders H. Eide @anderseide.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
The Norwegian Government strongly disapproves of the latest US sanctions against officials of the International Criminal Court. Targeting individuals who perform their legal duties undermines the integrity and independence of the international justice system. www.icc-cpi.int/news/icc-str...
icc-cpi.int
The ICC strongly rejects new US sanctions designations
The International Criminal Court deplores the announcement of new designations for sanctions by the US administration against Judge Tomoko Akane (Japan), the President of the Court, and Mr Abdoulaye S...
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Paul Garrard @paulgarrard.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Good night comrades
Patriotism exists to control you.
With a Joy Division graphic
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Barry Collins @bazzacollins.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
This is a bit strong… confirm your address within 30 days or we’re going to remove you from your GP’s practice list. Especially at this time of year, when people are away and come home to a mat full of mail.
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Neil Miles @neilsmiles.com · 17/08/2026
29th August 1985 - An excited Michael Fish gets to deploy the rarely seen red number as the temperature gets up to an incredible 26 degrees in London!
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David Owen @dodo938.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Good point. Also seems like the right thing to do on this occasion.
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David Owen @dodo938.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
What a great measure of how gullible we are.
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David Owen @dodo938.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I think it's probably 4%, Patrick. If it's net favourability ranking, it's likely to be 96% neg, 4% pos, so 92% net. I'd read about them too.
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David Owen @dodo938.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Agree. The sheer pace of the PL catches up with players, even if precision is often lacking. He'll be more effective in la Liga - and probably have an extra year or 2 at the top as a cinsequence of the move.
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David Owen @dodo938.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Stephen Chalke's cricket publishing house.
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David Owen @dodo938.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I think Fairfield Books will be there. Might be some kind of refuge? Will keep fingers crossed...
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Rosamunde Van Brakel @rosamundevb.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
A Dutch bank has warned that Europe risks falling into a “doom loop” in which climate damage slows economic growth, prompting governments to weaken climate policy, and so leaving the continent even more exposed to future heatwaves. euobserver.com/232026/eu-fu...
euobserver.com
EU fuelling economic ‘doom loop’ by weakening climate rules during record heatwave, Dutch bank says
Dutch bank Triodos argues that by prioritising “competitiveness” over tougher carbon pricing amid this summer's heat crisis, the EU is leaving its economy more exposed to future climate shocks.
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