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simonvirr.bsky.social

@simonvirr.bsky.social
114 followers 280 following 366 posts
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jhdale @jhdale.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The world still exists. It just happens that the forces that think "we could monetize people having this problem" are winning vs the forces that think "we could help people having this problem." And the forces that thought "we could prevent this problem in the first place" are long dead.
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Hassinator @hassinator.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
a great letter in the times today. perhaps worth sharing in these troubled times. #RNLI #heroes
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Robert Shrimsley @robertshrimsley.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
It's hard to think of anything less British than the morons doing this to the heroic RNLI
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Elle Cordova @ellecordova.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I am the very model of a modern day typographer A font take on the tune “Modern Major General” by Gilbert & Sullivan #typography #fonts #graphicdesign
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Stephen Collins @stephencollins.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
theguardian.com
UK pubs take a tip from America: the Stephen Collins cartoon
They’ll never stop drinking, come what may …
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simonvirr.bsky.social @simonvirr.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Maxxingmaxxing simply needs to stop.
Headline: "why 'sleepmaxxing' could be making your sleep worse"
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Count Binface @countbinface.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
There now follows a party election broadcast by the Count Binface Party, And if I do say so myself, it's a banger. #VoteBinface #Clacton
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simonvirr.bsky.social @simonvirr.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
It's quite easy for businesses to get this wrong... To be certain of getting it right you either need an increase in admin costs for each business or ID cards. And if this policy doesn't prompt a media investigation of illegal working in every Reform candidate-owned business I don't know what will.
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simonvirr.bsky.social @simonvirr.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Really interesting post about the difficulty of vocational education at 14. But it's strangely familiar... schools for academic students teaching (e.g.) grammar and vocational modern secondary schools for the rest.
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simonvirr.bsky.social @simonvirr.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Enragingly disingenuous offer to "find common ground" from Badenoch - she claims to want a solution to social care where the costs fall neither on the old nor the young. And seems to think that cutting spending will affect neither. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Kemi Badenoch tells PM not to raise taxes to fund social care
In a letter to the PM, the Conservative leader offers to work with him on adult social care reform.
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Count Binface @countbinface.bsky.social · 19/07/2023
Under a Binface government, anyone who doesn’t accept human-made climate change as fact will be sent back to school, from Year 1 right the way to A Levels, to see if anything goes in the second time round. #VoteBinface
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Dr. Jeroen W.P. Wijnendaele @drdragases.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
I am once again begging Hollywood to stop using the Greek alphabet for an Ancient World movie, if they can't afford to even throw a couple of quid at anyone with an inkling of the language. Unless they really think audiences are dying to see THS THDPSSSSPS
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Stephen Collins @stephencollins.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Scene is a LONGBOAT sailing on the sea. It is all drawn in the style of the Bayeaux Tapestry.  A voice is coming from the boat:

Owwww

Uuuuuuurgh

Ooooooooh

[Scene changes to on the deck of the boat - still drawn like the Bayeaux Tapestry. A SOLDIER is talking to HAROLD, who is lying on the deck of the boat, with the arrow in his eye.]

SOLDIER:
For God's sake stop it Harold!

HAROLD:
Oh I'm sorry. It's not like I've got an ARROW IN MY EYE or anything

SOLDIER:
Look, we discussed this. The arrow is your thing. People want to see the arrow.

HAROLD:
It's been in there for 950 years. I should really see a doctor

SOLDIER:
No! We are travelling to England to be displayed in the British Museum.
What do you think people would say if you didn't have your arrow in?

HAROLD:
I don't care. I want it taken out. It hurts.

SOLDIER:
No.

HAROLD:
But I could get it seen to in England! The NHS has some of the best tapestry eye surgeons in the world!

SOLDIER:
Oh right, I get it, so this is health tourism...

HAROLD:
Duh, no, cos I'm Anglo Saxon?

SOLDIER:
Ohmigod you sound so Brexit

[Silent pause,, they cotuinue to sail]

HAROLD:
Uuuurgh

SOLDIER:
SHUT UP

[Ends]
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Catherine Stuart @catty8.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
There's a bar chart, courtesy of: www.facebook.com/share/14hP4M...
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simonvirr.bsky.social @simonvirr.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
So he resigns and the remaining Reform MPs just refuse to move the writ so one of them gets to be leader 😂
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Ed Morrish @edmorrish.com · 07/06/2026
take a moment to think about d-day today. seventy five years since the unelected winston churchill and his internationalist collective began their attempt to overturn the democratic will of forty-four million germans.
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Tan Dhesi MP @tandhesi.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
I was born and raised here. Countless brave Sikh soldiers died for Britain, proudly wearing their turban and kirpan. Thankfully, Rupert and Restore don't get to decide what is British. Beware … today they’re coming for me, but tomorrow it could be you!
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James East @jameseast.online · 24/05/2026
I was responsible for this (it was literally my idea while I was Product Manager for Media Playout at the BBC) and it is still my proudest achievement ever
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Garvan Walshe @garvanwalshe.org · 18/05/2026
Retrospectively changing conditions under which people have come to a country is illiberal and wrong. It should have no place in any part of the classical liberal or libertarian tradition. The fascist tradition is a better place for such views.
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Diane Duane @diane.dianeduane.com · 14/05/2026
Spotted on Tumblr…
Screenshotted tweet:”If people are fighting for an orb you are reading fantasy. If people are fighting fir a cube you are reading sci-fi. If it gas more sides than that. I dont know. I dont know man.”
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simonvirr.bsky.social @simonvirr.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
I wish people would get this right!
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
This is what election coverage should be like. This is what we tune in for.
Angus Robertson, one of the major players of Scottish politics, waits to hear his electoral fate while standing next to another candidate dressed as a giant bird.
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simonvirr.bsky.social @simonvirr.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Such an interesting video.
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👻 Jack Djinn Wail 🧞 @jacktindale.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
Happy London Marathon Day and congratulations to all those competing. I’m not doing it myself this year but as a sub-three hour Marathoner, here are some top tips to make your day go gangbusters. 1. Treat yourself to a brand new pair of running shoes as a treat for your feet.
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Peter Walker @peterwalker99.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Greater Manchester Police statement: "We’ve concluded our investigation into alleged ‘family voting’ at last month’s Gorton and Denton by-election, finding no evidence of any intent to influence or refrain any person from voting."
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simonvirr.bsky.social @simonvirr.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Discovering that setting something in the 90s makes it "a period piece" is a very unpleasant realisation.
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Ken Jennings @kenjennings.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
They’re telling me a great empire will be destroyed if I attack Persia. Even the oracles who don’t like me very much, very nasty, they all said to me, “Sir, it’s one of the great empires, and it’ll be destroyed. And all because you attacked Persia.” That’s what they’re telling me.
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Mark Carney @mark-carney.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Landed in London. The United Kingdom is one of Canada’s oldest, and most-trusted, partners. In a more uncertain world, we’re working closely together to create greater certainty, security, and prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic.
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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
there's a nugget here which helps to explain Brown's character and why he was so incensed by the allegations against Mandelson from their time in office
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Ed Davey @eddavey.libdems.org.uk · 18/02/2026
Trump’s endless flip-flopping on the Chagos Islands shows why Starmer’s approach is doomed to fail. Britain can’t rely on the US while Trump is in the White House. It’s time to strengthen our ties with allies we can depend on, starting with our neighbours in Europe.
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Mike Ginn @shutupmikeginn.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
its amazing how chatgpt knows everything about subjects I know nothing about, but is wrong like 40% of the time in things im an expert on. not going to think about this any further
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Naomi Alderman @naomialderman.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
and you won't be able to see that that's what's happening. the park should not be full of broken glass. you can't just ban children from the play area and call the problem solved. 1) they now have no play area 2) everyone else is still getting cut to ribbons
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Listo Entertainment @listo.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
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Stephen Collins @stephencollins.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
Forgot to post this one
[Scene is KEIR STARMER as FATHER CHRISTMAS in his factory, with RACHEL REEVES as an awkward-looking Head Elf]

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FATHER KEIR:
Well, well, well!

[Elf Reeves is holding an enormous sack of letters]

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FATHER KEIR:
Look at all these letters of membership cancellation!

ELF REEVES:
More than ever this year 

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[Father Keir reads one out:] 

“Dear Father Keir

I am writing to cancel my Labour Party membership…”

Awww how sweet

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“I have truly believed for 40 years, but now I’ve had enough.”

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“Please please please this year can you deliver some policies that aren’t craven right wing bullshit?”

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FATHER KEIR:
Well, I think we know what to give this good boy don’t we?

Elf Mahmood!

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[Show SHABANA MAHMOOD as an elf poking her head round a doorway to afactory full of busy elves, above the door is a wooden sign reading CRAVEN RIGHTWING BULLSHIT FACTORY]

ELF MAHMOOD:

What.

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FATHER KEIR:
Do we have any performatively cruel immigration stuff left?

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ELF MAHMOOD:
We've got ‘stealing their belongings and a 20-year wait for settled status’…?

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FATHER KEIR:
In the sack, please!

[Elves Mahmood and Reeves push the big sack into the sleigh as father Keir climbs in the driver’s seat]

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And off we goooo!

[He wooshes off into the snowy polar night]

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[Cut to a person’s LIVING ROOM - a man and a woman are looking in their stockings - the man looks disappointed]

WOMAN:
Is it not what you wanted 

MAN:
Not really, no

[Ends]
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Glen O'Hara @gsoh31.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Most MPs are honest, hard-working and clean as anything. Dragging Parliament through the dirt hurts everyone, especially the weakest in our society. Next time you wonder why governing has got harder, this type of a debacle is one reason.
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Glen O'Hara @gsoh31.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
The Labour Party has one mission: to stop the calamity of Reform UK, which in normal times would never get near power, entering govt. We've seen how that goes in the US, and the working class voters Labour seeks to represent would be hurt the most. If they can't even manage that they're a disgrace.
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Sarah Owen MP @sarahowen.org.uk · 26/01/2026
Arguably more significant than defections, internal party politics and the Beckhams… In 2024 there were around 3,600 suspected cases of measles. We need to challenge the nonsense spread by anti vaxxers and ensure children are protected. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... news.sky.com/story/uk-los...
news.sky.com
UK loses measles elimination status, warns WHO
Vaccination rates in 2024-25 among five-year-olds who had received both MMR jabs hit the lowest level in 15 years.
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James O'Malley @jamesomalley.co.uk · 18/01/2026
Rumours circulating around Westminster that the next Reform defections could be Davros, Skeletor, Saruman the White, and Mark Francois.
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Jordan Carlson @jordantcarlson.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
Has no one in the PQ spent a single second talking to people in the UK about Brexit? There are people there who can speak French.
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Krassensteins @krassenstein.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
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Cold War Steve @coldwarsteve.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
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John Peters @johnthejack.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Danish PM in Chequers today
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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 21/01/2026
Beavers are back in London 🦫 Here's how (and why) we did it ⬇️
Four-panel image-led graphic. Left panels show David Attenborough wearing a beige jacket, seated outdoors beside reeds and water, smiling and gesturing behind him. Right panels show close-up photos of a beaver swimming and standing upright among tall reeds. Bold yellow caption text across the panels reads: “If someone had told me when I first moved here that one day I would be watching wild beavers in London, I would have thought they were mad. But there they are, right behind me. Happily going about their own business.”
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Stephen Collins @stephencollins.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Stressifily
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[A spoof advert for a life management app. It opens with a glossy, sorted-looking person smugly addressing us]
 
Hey there.

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Feeling the January panic already? 

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[Title panel]
Then sign up for Stressifyly today. 

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[Show the app on a phone]

Stressifyly
(We couldn't decide between ‘Stressly' and ‘Stressify')

5
Stressifyly is the cute stress-management app that has given up pretending it's all ok.

[the rest of the advert depicts on-screen app tools a la Headspace / Liven / Grammarly etc]

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Complete your daily freak-out rings 

'You've nearly been anxious all day!'

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Get daily reminders to your devices

[A woman jogging, her watch saying to her:  "Hey! You should’ve met the right guy by now."]

8
Use innovative visualisation tools 

[Show a visualisation of a mountain of work: ‘your work mountain / you’ next to a tiny person]

9
Delve into our ambient sound library

[Listening to a recording called ‘The background hum of global decline’ illustrated with an image of trump, putin, a robot, flames etc]

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Chat to our AI Berater Buddy to start manifesting failure

[AI person on phone]:
You’re gonna cock this up

[Person holding phone, eyes closed]
I’m gonna cock this up

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Do some journaling thing as if that will somehow help 

[person typing a journal entry on phone: "Today I had too many difficult things to do"

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And generally pay us to tell you that adult life will go away if you just fiddle around with your phone some more

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[Advert ending image]:

Stressifyly:
Stay underwater.

[Ends]
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simonvirr.bsky.social @simonvirr.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Perhaps the King could swap some of his prime ministers around every so often so everyone has an equal chance of getting the good one?
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simonvirr.bsky.social @simonvirr.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Someone reminds me of this.
media.tenor.com
a cartoon of a lion wearing a crown and a robe
Alt: King John from Robin Hood sulkily sucking his thumb.
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sophiacollins.bsky.social @sophiacollins.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Please don’t fuck it up. Please don’t fuck it up. Please don’t fuck it up. Please don’t fuck it up. Please don’t fuck it up. Please don’t fuck it up. Please don’t fuck it up. Please don’t fuck it up. www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/bl...
radiotimes.com
Beloved '70s BBC sci-fi series from Daleks creator confirmed for reboot with Doctor Who director
This is not a drill!
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simonvirr.bsky.social @simonvirr.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
"You decide". Honestly: what a bunch of self-important arses GB News are.
GB "News" headline: "POLL: Should the King make time for Prince Harry during his UK visit? YOU DECIDE"
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