iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Turner @markturner.info · 26/07/2026

Wondered what was inside the fake books they have in Ikea, fair to say you can’t judge this one by its cover!

The spine of a book that reads “Girls can score too!”

The inside title of the actual book: “Social Militarisation and the Power of History”

Quite a read I’m sure!

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 15/07/2026

In other news, was there really nowhere nearer brown onions could be sourced from?

A label reading:

Brown Onions x3
ORIGIN
New Zealand

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 06/06/2026

There is also no evidence for the oft-repeated claim that Reform’s support is strongly linked to English immigration to Wales.

A graph showing that 29% of those born in Wales voted for Reform compared with 32% from the rest of the UK.

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 06/06/2026

This one stands out too, yet more evidence that Labour massively misjudged their decision to move right to placate Reform voters. To be fair Welsh Labour never really went along with that but UK Labour’s very visible failure doomed them all the same (among other factors, certainly).

A graphic showing the movement of voters from one election to the next. It shows, of those who left Labour, the vast majority went to other parties on the left, especially Plaid. The majority of Reform’s support came from those who already swung to the right (particularly the Conservatives).

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 06/06/2026

Lots of fascinating insights in this: yougov.com/en-gb/articl... One that particularly caught my eye, ten years on from the Brexit referendum, the leave/remain split is as clear as it ever was (if not more!)

A screenshot from the linked article. It reads:

How Wales voted at the 2026
Senedd election:
by 2016 EU referendum vote
If there were a Senedd (Welsh Parliament) election tomorrow, which party would you vote for? % of 2,391 Welsh adults aged 16+ who were likely to vote

Underneath is a graph showing a stark difference in Senedd election voting by leave/remain votes. For example, among remain voters 48% went for Plaid and 10% for reform, among leave voters 17% went for plaid and 53% to reform.

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 10/05/2026

Lots of chat about the results but my overriding impression is this is a pretty much total failure of a so-called proportional system. A fully proportional result would be: Plaid - 34 (-9) Reform - 28 (-5) Labour - 11 (+2) Conservative - 10 (+3) Green - 6 (+4) Lib Dem - 4 (+3) Others - 2 (+2)

2026 Senedd election results

Party
Votes
%
Seats
Plaid Cymru
444,665
35.41
43
Reform UK
367,985
29.30
34
Labour
139,203
11.08
9
Conservative
134,926
10.74
7
Green Party
84,608
6.74
2
Liberal Democrats
56,012
4.46
1

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 24/03/2026

Thought he’d been quiet since Sea Change

A bbc news headline reading:
“Beck named as Wales Six Nations attack coach”

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 31/01/2026

Don’t you know about second Brexit?

The hobbits, of the second breakfast meme.

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 05/12/2025

Is this the most downvoted post on the bbc sport website ever? 😆

17:30 GMT
Trump given Fifa Peace Prize
US President Donald Trump is awarded the first Fifa Peace Prize.

493 upvotes
11722 downvotes

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 04/12/2025

How are they going to fill all that air space?

An excerpt from a guardian article:

In response, Farage launched a tirade against the BBC and said he would no longer speak to the broadcaster, calling it "despicable" and "beyond belief".

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 30/11/2025

I’m not pre-ordering this but was curious… what’s the extra £1 for, Nintendo?

The eshop page for the Metroid Prime 4 pre-order, showing a price of £58.99

A section titled “software included in this product” shows the game itself for £49.99 and the Switch 2 upgrade pack for £7.99, which equals £57.98.

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 21/11/2025

Is this the most misleading headline and picture ever? England all out for 172 before tea is dreadful!

Under a photo of a delighted Jofra Archer

The Ashes: Australia trail
England by 157 at on manic opening day

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 25/10/2025

Seen a lot of chat that it was tactical voting that kept Reform out in Caerphilly, but looking at this it’s hard not to draw the conclusion the tactical vote was to keep Labour out. Will they learn anything?

A chart showing vote share % by party in elections in Caerphilly. Labour’s share drops precipitously in the recent by-election

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 18/09/2025

Omg duolingo I hate you so much. This “energy” shit where you essentially lose hearts just for doing the lessons (even if you get everything right!) is the absolute last straw.

A screenshot from Duolingo showing that you have to pay or watch an ad to even be able to do lessons on the app.

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 17/09/2025

Had a skim through the government petitions website this morning, apropos of nothing, and my goodness, there are some weird things in the most supported list.

A petition on the UK Government and Parliament Petitions website. It reads:

Grant the vote for London Mayor to all UK Residents

Only people who live in Greater London are allowed to vote for candidates in the Mayoral elections. We think London carries so much influence across the globe and the majority of UK residents have no say as to who 'heads up' and manages our great city, and we should. London belongs to us all.

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 04/09/2025

Welp, guess I’m not playing it tonight

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 18/08/2025

Just got back from @greenmanfest.bsky.social, a fantastic (and sunny) week which has only confirmed in my mind that it’s the best place in the world. Hats off to the organisers and all the performers! If you haven’t been, add it to your bucket list!

The green man himself, bathed in light (as it is dusk), with the “Far Out” stage in the background and revellers arranged throughout.

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 09/08/2025

Football’s back! Nice to get the Hollywood ending against Wrexham 😅 #saintsfc

Scoreline of Southampton 2 - 1 Wrexham, showing the two Saints goals scored on the 90 and 90+6 minute marks

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 07/07/2025

Picked a load of stinging nettles out of my bag of spinach this evening! With hindsight I probably should have left them in…

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 05/07/2025

Yeah, tbf London is the outlier, I guess it’s to do with economies of scale or something but regional pricing is definitely already with us in some ways!

A map of Great Britain showing the regional standing charges for electricity

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 16/06/2025

Seems like even he isn’t that daft, but who knows? A high position on a regional list might tempt him!

A recent Facebook post by Neil McEvoy stating:

Reform UK needs to come clean about what it would do with the Welsh NHS. Labour has run it into the ground for 30 years; we know that. A US style insurance based system would be disastrous though. Propel is consulting on health policy right now: prevention is better than cure.
Let us know what you think.

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 14/06/2025

This is such a pointless, insipid statement, it genuinely reads like a condemnation of industrial action, rather than, y’know, war.

A tweet from Keir Starmer:

The reports of these strikes are concerning and we urge all parties to step back and reduce tensions urgently. Escalation serves no one in the region.

Stability in the Middle East must be the priority and we are engaging partners to de-escalate. Now is the time for restraint, calm and a return to diplomacy.

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 31/05/2025

Their fans are one of few redeeming qualities.

PSG fans displaying a banner that reads “STOP GENOCIDE A GAZA”

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 28/05/2025

Found this on my broccoli, which has triggered a bit of debate about what this would turn into; any entomologists out there?

A green caterpillar on a piece of broccoli

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 25/05/2025

If anyone cares… I did! Tidy 50p profit

A graph from the Octopus app showing my electricity usage for the day by cost per kWh, and a total of £-1.14

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 25/05/2025

There’s a mayfly enjoying some tunes in my kitchen this morning. Given its short lifespan this seems like an unwise choice, yet somehow relatable.

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 24/05/2025

Tomorrow is one of those days when being on an agile electricity tariff really pays off ⚡️ Wonder if I can make back the standing charge…

A graph showing electricity prices over the next day and a bit on the Octopus Agile tariff. For most of tomorrow prices are negative, so I’ll be paid to use electricity!

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 13/05/2025

How to ensure no-one ever sits on this bench. I assume there are people waiting in ambush to engage you in small talk as soon as you sit down.

A park bench painted an incongruous shade of lilac, emblazoned with the text, in comic sans no less:

“Eisteddwch yma os ydych yn hapus i rywun stopio i dweud helo

Sit here if you don’t mind someone stopping to say hello

Y Fainc Hapus i Siarad - The Happy to Chat Bench”

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 03/05/2025

Look at this total bollocks. What production team? It wasn’t a BBC production! This is breaking the guidelines but Justin Webb writing about how great Trump is is A-OK. Andrew Neil editing the Spectator was fine. Anyway by this logic they should cancel Top Gear for not featuring enough unicycles…

A response from the BBC Complaints team regarding the pressure put on Evan Davies to cancel his heat pump podcast. It reads:

Thank you for contacting us about the Happy Heat Pump Podcast.

The BBC editorial guidelines are clear that anyone working for the BBC who does an external public speaking or writing engagement should not compromise the impartiality or integrity of the BBC or its content, or suggest that any part of the BBC endorses a third-party organisation, product, service or campaign.

The responses to climate change are a matter of public policy, and in this case exploring only one response to the challenges of climate change could be seen to be compromising impartiality.

We'd like to thank you for sharing your feedback, which we have passed on to the production team.

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 02/05/2025

The teeth flies were worth it, these guys were so good. Personal Trainer, check ‘em out!

Dutch indie band Personal Trainer performing at Cardiff’s Clwb Ifor Bach

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 01/05/2025

British politics, ladies and gentlemen.

A tweet from Prime Minister, Keir Starmer:

This is a message to the fly-tippers blighting our towns and villages:

For too long, your actions have gone unpunished. That ends now.

We'll use drones and new tech to identify your vehicle. Then we'll crush it.

A reply from Rupert Lowe, far-right MP and failed former chairman of Southampton FC:

Will you commit to deporting foreign nationals found fly-tipping? Because they should be.

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 26/04/2025

Not sure what this leaflet is for as there are no elections in Wales until next year… Not a single person from the party is pictured on the leaflet. I honestly don’t understand why anyone in Wales would vote for an English nationalist party tbh. More notes on these policies on the alt text!

A political leaflet that says:

REFORM UK

WE WILL
- Revoke 20mph Limit
- Protect Our Farmers
- Lower Immigration
- Fix The NHS
- Cut Your Taxes

20mph is a well-trodden reactionary issue of course but I’m not sure how protected farmers feel by their policy to import cheap American meat, or how they will lower immigration to Wales (more of an emigration problem here) or “fix the NHS” by abolishing it…

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 25/04/2025

One day of this is enough to know it provides me no value and I can do without the visual clutter. Thanks for allowing us to turn them off I guess!

A screenshot from the Bluesky app’s settings, showing that “hide verification badges” is turned on.

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 29/03/2025

The results of my rudimentary pinhole camera. Probably would have been better had I been able to find a pin, but you can roughly see the eclipse so I’m counting it as a success.

A poorly defined image of the partial solar eclipse through a quickly bodged pinhole camera

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 20/03/2025

Early start this morning 🥱

The sun rising over the tracks at Cardiff Central railway station. A veritable study in perspective with lots of converging lines (converging, almost, on the sun).

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 16/03/2025

Well, at least they’re honest?

The label of a Chinese-style “pineapple bun”, showing the ingredients. It lists “Pineapple (0%)” as an ingredient.

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 13/03/2025

Odds on any of these liquids actually being different? What do you reckon?

Three refillable bottles of soap, in a hotel shower. One is marked “hand and body cleanser”, one is marked “hair wash”, one is marked “conditioner”.

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 06/03/2025

It’s my daughter’s 5th birthday today and thanks to her choice of presents I have learned that Squirtle is known in German as “Schiggy”

Schiggy, wearing appropriate eyewear (pointy sunglasses)

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 01/03/2025

I’m struck by a curious unwillingness by UK media to report frankly on the Trump/Zelenskyy chat. This from the bastion of impartiality the BBC seems to imply that Zelenskyy participated equally in or even instigated the “furious exchange” but I’ve watched it and he never appears furious.

A BBC news headline that reads “Europe rallies behind Zelensky after furious exchange with Trump in White House”

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 26/02/2025

How many? Because this looks like where they have always been strong to me (I don’t have the data to hand for previous elections admittedly). I don’t doubt they did well in a few areas due to local issues or whatever but I’m unconvinced their big rise in seats was a great strategic victory.

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 23/02/2025

I’m not an expert on German politics but the exit poll suggests the AfD won’t be involved in any governing coalition🤞

An exit poll from the German election showing CDU/CSU as the biggest party. AfD are second but on less than 20%, other parties can keep them out of power

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 22/02/2025

What hello fresh hell is this?

A recipe card from hello fresh showing a recipe for “Middle Eastern Inspired Cheesy Harissa Naanizza”

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 19/02/2025

In a development I did not see coming, my nearly five year-old daughter has acquired a book about this man.

A portrait photograph of Orig Williams, a hairy, tired looking Welsh man with dark hair and a beard, wearing what appears to be red spandex wrestling attire, his right nipple proudly on show.

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 16/02/2025

Well that didn’t take long. So many big rings in mushroom hill zone 🙂

Screen from Sonic 3 AIR showing all the super emeralds and the text “Now Sonic can be Hyper Sonic”

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Mark Turner @markturner.info · 16/02/2025

Just completed Sonic 3 again (AIR edition this time sonic3air.org), one of my enduring comfort games! Still holds up so well, though that last boss with no rings is a real pita. Widescreen and some other tweaks are a nice bonus. Still need to get those last super emeralds…

The level select screen showing “clear” with super sonic giving the thumbs up.

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