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Jonathan Calder

@lordbonkers.bsky.social
3.2K followers 2K following 14K posts

Blogger at Liberal England. Expect Dickens, politics, Steve Winwood, canals, British films, Richard Jefferies, Shropshire, Englishness, chess, social history, Malcolm Saville, philosophy, Leicestershire and Rutland, comedy, railways... That sort of thing.

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Reposted by Jonathan Calder
Jonathan Calder @lordbonkers.bsky.social · 1h
Woman ‘posed as substitute teacher to insult students because she hates kids’ 🏆 #LiberalEnglandHeadlineOfTheDay
liberalengland.blogspot.com
Woman ‘posed as substitute teacher to insult students because she hates kids’
Metro wins Headline of the Day and may just have identified a phenomenon that explains some of my own school experiences.
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 1h
I hate how good this is.
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Jonathan Calder @lordbonkers.bsky.social · 2h
the Tories don't yet see why they lost; Times Higher Education, Hungary and James Orr; David Goodhart's theory tested; MAGA's creepy family policy; Mercian Hymns and Penda's Fen; cricket's Sandpapergate liberalengland.blogspot.com/2026/10/the-...
liberalengland.blogspot.com
The Joy of Six 1588
"Tony Blair once observed that the first step from opposition to government is an honest analysis of why you are in opposition. Kemi Badenoc...
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Towpath Talk @towpathtalk.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
🎃 Scarecastle returns to Harecastle Tunnel from 25–31 October, with spooky boat trips, Halloween surprises and plenty of underground frights. Tickets are £5 per person and go on sale from 6pm on 7 October. www.towpathtalk.co.uk/spooky-scare... #TowpathTalk #Scarecastle #Halloween
towpathtalk.co.uk
Spooky Scarecastle returns to Harecastle Tunnel this Hallowee ...
Waterways charity, Canal & River Trust, is delighted to announce the return of its popular ‘Scarecastle’ event, a spooky Halloween canal adventure throu ...
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JWexTheSpa @jwsidders.bsky.social · 50m
All the papers which thought the Truss budget was brilliant think Badenoch is brilliant. Fancy that!
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Nicholas Pegg @nicholaspegg.bsky.social · 48m
Thinking Allowed, Open Country, You and Yours, Free Thinking, and The Artificial Human are all being axed. It would be interesting to know what percentage of the £500m cuts sought by the BBC will be saved by cherished and valuable little radio shows being cancelled by executives on huge salaries.
bbc.co.uk
BBC to cut raft of Radio 4 programmes including You and Yours
The corporation said it would be investing in a new consumer programme, while announcing more cuts.
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Jonathan Calder @lordbonkers.bsky.social · 48m
It was Tim Collins, then a Tory spin doctor, who briefed journalists that Back to Basics also encompassed personal morality and traditional family values.
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Another Cinna @anothercinna.bsky.social · 1h
I mean, what is the fucking point of it, as the kids say, "going forward"? #BBC
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 1h
When people say the Conservatives play politics on easy mode this is what it means
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Euan Healey @euanhealey.bsky.social · 1h
It is absolutely crackers to me how little appetite there is to celebrate fish and marine animals in this country. Baffling national psyche for an archipelagic nation, deeply ashamed of the sea for some reason.
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Jonathan Calder @lordbonkers.bsky.social · 1h
#AdoorableThursday Marston Trussell, Northamptonshire.
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sianushka.bsky.social @sianushka.bsky.social · 1h
I spoke to @lukeharding1968.bsky.social about his brilliant and shocking new book Betrayal, about being expelled from Moscow, Ukraine's resilience, the US's betrayal of its allies, and drinking Odessan wine in Kyiv. For @opendemocracy.net www.opendemocracy.net/podcasts/tru...
opendemocracy.net
Palantir and the art of Tax Avoidance
Luke Harding on Putin’s war, Biden’s hesitancy, Trump acting as a Russian asset, and Kremlin links to Brexit and Britain’s hard right.
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Kevin McKenna MP @kevinmckenna.co.uk · 1h
Not only a fringe view currently being aggressively promoted for desperate reasons, it’s not even an interesting talking point as most pub conversations settled this decades ago. Less than 16% support for the (nonsensical in the case of Englishness) race essentialist view. Boring as well as nasty
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Freydis @stoutwoman.bsky.social · 8h
@marcdavenant.bsky.social My nephew wanted to see the place in his dad's Davenant photo when they went to London together. My brother said he tried to capture your camera angle, but it was too subtle. The people inside showed Alex around and let him handle some guitars. He loved it!
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Barb Drummond @barbdrummond.bsky.social · 1h
#AdoorableThursday #StMary @Shrewsbury
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Resolution Foundation @resolutionfoundation.org · 1h
Starting now! We're discussing the impact of the UK's near continuous five cost of living crunch, in which thirteen years’ worth of inflation in the past five has left households £2,900 worse off. Watch along here and ask questions on Slido www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-l...
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Euan Healey @euanhealey.bsky.social · 1h
Finally some good news
theguardian.com
Bendy elm still standing against all odds crowned UK tree of the year
Hundred-and-fifty-year-old Wych elm in Newcastle, Co Down has grown sideways owing to strong winds
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Jonathan Calder @lordbonkers.bsky.social · 14h
Liberal England: Roman Leicester wasn't built in a day 2 It's only four years since I posted part 1.
liberalengland.blogspot.com
Roman Leicester wasn't built in a day 2
Four years ago I wrote : What with one thing and another, it's been two years since I posted something from this series. So let's carry on t...
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Fiona Chartres @chartresfi.bsky.social · 1h
St Peter's, Cambridge is a 14thC church rebuilt in 1781 with re-set earlier features such as this handsome 13thC doorway. Set in an almost garden like churchyard and now owned by the CCT it's a lovely spot. #Adoorableday #AdoorableThursday
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Talking Pictures TV @talkingpicturestv.bsky.social · 1h
The adventures of a devious door to door salesman! LIVE NOW PAY LATER (1962) 11:25am #IanHendry #JuneRitchie #JohnGregson #LizFraser drama #TPTVsubtitles
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Jonathan Calder @lordbonkers.bsky.social · 1h
Woman ‘posed as substitute teacher to insult students because she hates kids’ 🏆 #LiberalEnglandHeadlineOfTheDay
liberalengland.blogspot.com
Woman ‘posed as substitute teacher to insult students because she hates kids’
Metro wins Headline of the Day and may just have identified a phenomenon that explains some of my own school experiences.
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 1h
The chances of Reform taking aggressive legal action (rather than briefing a threat to do so to pitch for media gullibility) would seem to be v slim, given what would come out in the court
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SimonRead @simonread.bsky.social · 1h
#blackandwhitefilm of the day: How Green Was My Valley, 1941. John Ford's Oscar-winning drama is an heart-rending emotional journey about a Welsh mining family struggling at the start of the 20th century on @Film4 at 11am youtu.be/SWthT6_MTHk?si…
youtu.be
How Green Was My Valley (1941): Re-issue Trailer - Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara - Classic Dramas
YouTube video by Turner Classic Movies
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 1h
Molly Russell’s father to tell UK cinemagoers: ‘Instagram helped kill my daughter’
theguardian.com
Molly Russell’s father to tell UK cinemagoers: ‘Instagram helped kill my daughter’
In ad to be shown before The Social Reckoning, Ian Russell will say ‘too little has changed’ since death of Molly, 14 The father of Molly Russell will tell UK cinemagoers “Instagram helped kill my daughter” before screenings of a new film about Mark Zuckerberg’s social media empire. Speaking in an advert to be shown before The Social Reckoning, which is released on Friday, Ian Russell says “too little has changed” since the death of his 14 year-old daughter, who took her own life in 2017 after viewing harmful content on Instagram. Continue reading...
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Jonathan Calder @lordbonkers.bsky.social · 2h
the Tories don't yet see why they lost; Times Higher Education, Hungary and James Orr; David Goodhart's theory tested; MAGA's creepy family policy; Mercian Hymns and Penda's Fen; cricket's Sandpapergate liberalengland.blogspot.com/2026/10/the-...
liberalengland.blogspot.com
The Joy of Six 1588
"Tony Blair once observed that the first step from opposition to government is an honest analysis of why you are in opposition. Kemi Badenoc...
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Ancestral Enquiries - Tony Smith 🌳 @ancestralenq.bsky.social · 2h
A bus shelter in Hillesley, Gloucestershire designed in 1952 by Berthold Lubetkin to celebrate the Festival of Britain has been given Grade 2 listed status. 👇 BBC News - Post-war bus shelter in Gloucestershire gets Grade II-listed status - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Post-war bus shelter in Gloucestershire gets Grade II-listed status
The Gloucestershire bus shelter was built to mark a huge post-war celebration in the early 1950s.
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Jonathan Calder @lordbonkers.bsky.social · 3h
"Yes, in this area there may be a large number of people from an Asian background, but people from all over do travel here for all sorts of reasons, whether to shop or eat."
theguardian.com
‘I feel perfectly safe’: white Lutonians on the town’s supposed no-go zones
Little if any sign Bury Park is a place where any group might fear to tread, despite Tory MP’s comments to the contrary
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Jonathan Calder @lordbonkers.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962): James Bolam, Tom Courtenay, John Thaw and Derek Fowlds.
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Tube Mapper- Luke Agbaimoni @tubemapper.bsky.social · 19h
PRINT OF THE DAY Today’s print of Southgate Station is one of my favourite photographs. It perfectly captures why we call it the Tube, just look at how tight that space is! If you like this photo, or would like to see more from the collection, check out the attached post.
A train fitting snugly in a tunnel at Southgate London Underground station
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Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 7h
Was thinking earlier how amazing it was that in the 60s to maybe even now everyone knew the name Dr Christiaan Barnard, who carried out the first heart transplant, and wondering if there’s ever been another celebrity surgery (or other medical worker apart from Florence Nightingale).
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Jonathan Calder @lordbonkers.bsky.social · 12h
Of course, the Penge Bungalow Murders were Rumpole's finest hour.
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DanTechnik @dantechnik.bsky.social · 5h
Exactly. I remember the same titles with headlines like, ‘In Liz We Truss’
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Alan Elrod @aselrod.bsky.social · 12h
This is just a relentlessly horrific story. It’s hard to adequately contextualize the moral desolation of this unfolding in the midst of a midterms against a ruling party helmed by inveterate rapists and rape apologists. www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/congres...
phoenixnewtimes.com
Congressional candidate is raped while repairing her campaign signs
Embarrassed, she initially didn’t want to report attack. Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office's investigation is ongoing. A Phoenix New Times exclusive.
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Jonathan Calder @lordbonkers.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Liberal England: How John Prescott blocked the full redevelopment of Ellesmere canal basin liberalengland.blogspot.com/2026/10/how-...
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Unofficial BBCNews (UK) Bot @bbcnews-uk-rss.bsky.social · 10h
Bank of England reveals the four animals to feature on banknotes
bbc.co.uk
Bank of England reveals the four animals to feature on banknotes
The decision comes after nearly half a million people cast their votes from a shortlist of 18 creatures.
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Andrew Teale @andrewteale.me.uk · 3h
It's by-election Thursday! - The Parliamentary Special in Holborn and St Pancras - 4 local by-elections, defences C/Lab/RUK/SNP Andrew's Previews brings you chorographical descriptions of all of today's elections. Don't know what that means? Find out at andrewspreviews.substack.com/p/previewing...
andrewspreviews.substack.com
Previewing the Holborn and St Pancras by-election and the four local by-elections of 8th October 2026
“All the right votes, but not necessarily in the right order”
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KS_1968 @karenroberts.bsky.social · 3h
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Suffolk councillor quits Greens for Tories over Zionism vote
He says the vote about Zionism "has left many in the party feeling politically homeless".
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The News Agents @thenewsagents.co.uk · 4h
"One of the reasons I did so badly at school was that I didn't get to mark my own homework... We all saw the Channel Four report." Reform has cleared itself of all wrongdoing over its donations, but is the real trouble for Farage just around the corner? www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/refo...
thenewsagents.co.uk
Reform investigation into Reform finds Reform did nothing wrong. Is it any surprise? | The News Agents
Reform UK has investigated itself, and found it broke no rules and no laws when it accepted overseas donations in a Channel 4 sting. Was there going to be any other outcome?
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Jonathan Calder @lordbonkers.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Liberal England Gold... Cleaners From Venus: Illya Kuryakin Looked at Me
liberalengland.blogspot.com
Cleaners From Venus: Illya Kuryakin Looked at Me
A wonderful homage to the Sixties as they were or should have been. Rita Tushingham. Harold Wilson. David Hemmings. David Bailey. The Avenge...
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Save Redland Library @saveredlandlibr.bsky.social · 3h
Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel is said to be on the verge of being evacuated after water levels dropped to the lowest levels ever. Drastic measures have been taken to preserve supply, including the removal of plugs to stop tourists from taking baths.
independent.co.uk
Famous UK wildlife island on verge of being evacuated due to water shortages
The island’s managing director said closure would be ‘devastating’ for residents
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Malcolm Stoneman @malcolmstoneman.bsky.social · 4h
Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff, Wales 12th century external Norman south door. According to the cathedral guidebook -“Bishop William Saltmarsh either extended or rebuilt the church, using masons from St Augustine’s Abbey, Bristol” #Architecture #Romanesque #AdoorableThursday #IronworkThursday
Five orders of round arches with zig-zag, diamond & rectangle designs. Wooden doorway with metal cross hatching attached.
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 21h
Archive of @britishacademy.bsky.social Fellow Stuart Hall is now live. Includes looking at his impact on the history of communication theory, culminating in the architecture of contemporary AI models www.theguardian.com/society/2026... Archive link: stuarthalldigital.bham.ac.uk/archival_mat...
theguardian.com
Thatcherism via the Walkman: Stuart Hall’s British cultural studies preserved online
Project lead says it celebrates ‘incredible contributions’ Jamaica-born sociologist made to Britain’s culture
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LeicRailAle.bsky.social @leicrailale.bsky.social · 4h
#ThrowbackThursday 101694 discharges passengers at Sheffield having crossed the Hope Valley from Manchester Piccadilly. c2000.
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Simon Knott @simonknott.bsky.social · 4h
The entrance to Saint Andrew's Chambers in Albert Square, Manchester for #ADoorableThursday, by GT Redmayne, 1874 for Scottish Widows Life Assurance.
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 11h
Tommy Robinson will go on trial on October 19th on charges of harassment of journalists, through X posts, Direct Messages and a phone call. (He is telling X followers he expects to get 10 years; a fundraising drive is doubtless imminent) news.sky.com/story/tommy-...
news.sky.com
Tommy Robinson appears in court over alleged harassment of two journalists
Robinson is charged with two counts of harassment causing fear of violence to two MailOnline reporters through his X account between 5 and 7 August 2024.
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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 14h
How sheepish is Europe? This map shows the distribution of sheep across Europe. Source: buff.ly/dSfHDOe
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Matt Fallaize @mattfallaize.bsky.social · 11h
I am now dreading the idea of a Netflix Casualty, in which the bloke who has failed to properly secure his ladder, the distracted mum on her phone on the school run and the lovable nanna with dementia who's gone to the shops all get four episode character arcs.
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Penny Duggan @pennyduggan.bsky.social · 13h
Fabulous online book launch for The Buildings Archaeologist by James Wright @jpwarchaeology.bsky.social tonight, looking at why understanding old buildings is important. Bexley’s William Morris gets a mention, and I spotted a pic of North Cray medieval hall house. Can’t wait to read the book.
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Shannon Minter @shannonminter5.bsky.social · 20h
True love
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Ben Finlay @benfinlay74.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
My new article and playlist!
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