Rob MacKay
@rjm.bsky.social
329 followers 146 following 149 posts
Words and pictures // Head of Creative at Fierce Beer // Design & branding at Tipple // Europe’s Greatest Master Cicerone® // Rebel. Maverick. Legend.
Words and pictures // Head of Creative at Fierce Beer // Design & branding at Tipple // Europe’s Greatest Master Cicerone® // Rebel. Maverick. Legend.
![Pride still triggers homophobic pub goers
When Hazel Southwell took over the Royal Oak pub in Erith, south-east London, last December she feared the locals would shun a gay woman with Georgian heritage as she thought it was a Reform heartland.
The regulars surprised her, confrontations were rare and she secured a 400K in funds
for a renovation to change the decor and
60-year-old carpet. But when Hazel had to bar one drinker for posting online hate about a Pride party at the Oak, the bigot organised a boycott of the London pub.
Hazel then feared she would lose her job because of the drop in takings.
"It was difficult to secure the huge amount of funding to be spent on the pub," Hazel says. "It's a shame people have to spoil it by willing me to fail. Before this it was heartwarming that there was such good integration with LGTBQ+ [people], with everyone playing darts."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:grjd3hcat2bq3azu77jkfjw4/bafkreieyspguxtawxo6ul7u3mjkg5hx2q4ffdrs2gchdim2nvdr6gz5hzq)
!["If you go to Delhi, [British influence is] everywhere. It's [shown in] the buildings-there are many similarities from Connaught Place in Delhi to Regent Street in London, especially the part up near Piccadilly Circus. Being a Londoner, you do double-take when you see this, and you can't really put it aside. But I just hope that something like this never happens again."
Steve Sailopal](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:grjd3hcat2bq3azu77jkfjw4/bafkreibxptgtd2b65zgeuljun2dimgeolnfghktgjhmesnrsxuvsq74ome)
![The Telegraph
Rayner tax scandal - £40k tax dodge - Statement
Angela Rayner dodges £40,000 stamp duty
Deputy Prime Minister reduces tax bill for Hove flat by declaring it as her main residence
[Photo: Angela Rayner pictured at the weekend in Hove, where she has just bought a flat Credit: Dan Charity/The Sun on Sunday]
Robert Mendick Chief Reporter. Amy Gibbons Political Correspondent
29 August 2025 8:57am BST](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2kf2qj56o2vq7jfaq4x4ogp6/bafkreihe5mm7nwmwvzhtgadmsafyvsaxhrufuai2d2j2rju5zt6g2lytea)
![The Telegraph
Money > Property > Second homes
How to avoid tax on your second home
From stamp duty to council tax, shield your wealth from Labour's tightening net
[Photo of houses around a bay - Areas such as Cornwall have added a premium to council tax bills for second homes Credit: iStockphoto]
Fran Ivens Senior Money Writer
29 August 2025 1:21pm BST](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2kf2qj56o2vq7jfaq4x4ogp6/bafkreieuwgc2vsmyfcctmf4cnpcqckij2pqdk2gmzajpnihrsqyqmzyr5e)
