Phil Hare's Ghost

Councillor criticises £7,000 duck road sign in Daws Heath A councillor says he has never seen a duck in the area so the sign was

Absolute s̶c̶e̶n̶e̶s̶ signs in Essex.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Libertarian candidate looks like the Communist candidate's victim, which makes sense.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Reform UK cabinet member in Kent quits over 'lapse of judgement' Matthew Fraser Moat says his words were a

Man resigns from Complete Arsehole Club for accidentally being honest in an interview.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Donald Trump seeks $1bn in damages from Harvard University Talks have been ongoing for months, with the president saying last September a deal was close, and that the university would pay $500m to settle. But now Mr Trump is seeking $1bn in damages.

Harvard should take a leaf out of FIFA's book: give him an Honorary Doctorate Of Being Extra Special with a solid gold certificate, and maybe a special hat, and he'll forget the whole thing.

news.sky.com/story/donald...

Edward Wadsworth was commissioned by the British chemical company ICI to produce public information posters during WW2, including this one 'Straight from the Tap,' (1944) warning the public to boil water before drinking it.

Communist League reveals Gorton and Denton by-election candidate Hugo Wils says he launched his campaign while standing on the Birmingham refuse workers' picket line.

A word of advice to political aspirants: do not introduce yourself to the public with an ultra close-up of your best dead-eyed serial-killer face.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Have you got what it takes to go to the Moon? When the Artemis mission lands on the Moon, its crew will have to grapple with a challenging environment and extreme isolation. What will it take to thrive in a lonely Moon base?

No, although that might change if I get grant funding for project Community Space Trebuchet.

www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...

Kingston pizza van near church secures 12-month licence to trade Opponents said its location was unsuitable but the owners said they only sold food and no alcohol.

Strangely "Pizza Van, by Church" is the name of my aftershave.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Devizes land expansion labelled a 'brazen land grab' Devizes Town Council votes to extend boundaries despite concerns from parish councillors.

Anyone for barricade practice, Wülferhampton?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Gorton and Denton by-election: Charlotte Cadden chosen as Tory candidate The retired detective says she wants

Just as soon as she's finished upgrading Thunderbird 4.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Somebody moved the boulder.

Rare leopard cub Zeya in first public appearance at Dartmoor Zoo The female cub is thought to be one of only 15 Amur leopards born in the world in 2025, the zoo says.

I'm almost tempted to drive the hour it would take to go and see this particular baby murder-floof, but it would involve interacting with miscellaneous unknown humans, and... no.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

An Agent Revolt: Moltbook Is Not A Good Idea OpenClaw is a breakthrough AI assistant. Moltbook, its new social network for agents, is a security catastrophe waiting to happen.

I can't decide if I'm more fascinated or worried by this article. The implications are myriad.

www.forbes.com/sites/amirhu...

Self-driving cars, drones hijacked by custom road signs : AI vision systems can be very literal readers

One cannot help but wonder how they would react to the ~75% of UK STOP 🛑 signs that have had "ʜᴀᴍᴍᴇʀᴛɪᴍᴇ" scrawled underneath them.

www.theregister.com/2026/01/30/r...

Ex-Reform members on Devon County Council join Advance UK party Two Devon County Council members who previously quit Reform UK join a new political party.

Contrarians no longer feel special in Total Arseholes Club; join Total Arseholes For Jesus Club.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Me: The Littlest Hobo, but with a cat.

NETFLIX: *ᴏᴘᴇɴs ʙɪᴅᴅɪɴɢ ᴡᴀʀ*

Stop denying my heritage, gods damnit.

'They saw them on their dishes when eating': The mushroom making people hallucinate dozens of tiny humans Only recently described by science, the mysterious mushrooms are found in different parts of the world, but they give people the same exact visions.

"Make sure you cook them thoroughly or you'll start seeing tiny people."

Me: 𝗡𝗼𝗱𝘀 𝗜𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 ᵗᵘʳⁿˢ ᵈᵒʷⁿ ʰᵒᵇ

www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...

Scientists Have Found the First Branch on the Tree of Life Something had to diverge from the trunk eventually.

TL;DR: we are all descendants of comb jellies.

Probably.

www.popularmechanics.com/science/anim...

A potentially habitable new planet has been discovered 146 light-years away – but it may be -70C The Earth-size planet HD 137010 b has a ‘50% chance of residing in the habitable zone’ of its sun-like star, scientists say

If they don't name it Hoth then I really don't know why we're doing any of it.

www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

Wordle 1,684 4/6*

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The Lord of the Rings: Sauron's Helmet 11373 | Lord of the Rings™ | Buy online at the Official LEGO® Shop GB Collectible LEGO® Icons Sauron™ Helmet model building kit

Can't imagine this appealing to anyone I know in Wülferhampton.

www.lego.com/en-gb/produc...

"We are going to create a database, a list, we're going to let their employers, in their neighborhoods know exactly who to send those pies and fruit baskets to. We are going to give these people bragging rights like you wouldn't believe.

These guys aren't gonna need to buy a drink for a week."

Snow leopard attacks skier in China’s Xinjiang region | CNN A tourist was attacked by a rare snow leopard in northwest China on Friday after trying to get closer for a photo, according to authorities and state media.

Murder floof assists tourist in FAFO lesson.

edition.cnn.com/2026/01/27/c...

Ex-Tory Home Secretary Suella Braverman defects to Reform UK The MP was unveiled as Reform's latest recruit by leader Nigel Farage at a rally, bringing the number of the party's sitting MPs to eight.

I genuinely thought she already had.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Not as much as I was; just ended up randomly trying things.

Connections
Puzzle #960
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Blah.

Wordle 1,682 5/6*

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'British FBI' will free up forces to tackle everyday crime, home secretary says - BBC News The home secretary says policing is stuck "in a different century" and the new body will be part of wider reforms.

Last time I checked the National Crime Agency was a thing.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

Currently being subjected to Ski Sunday. I have memories of it consisting of people skiing. I don't remember it consisting of young people literally shouting badly written scripts at the camera.

Might check Songs of Praise isn't being presented by John Lydon or something.