Lee Wellbrook

Jim Ratcliffe sorry his ‘choice of language offended some people’ after saying UK colonised by immigrants – politics live Manchester United owner responds to criticism by saying: ‘It is critical that we maintain an open debate on the challenges facing the UK’

Hmm - so this “the issue is that some people got upset about what I said”, when it should be “the issue is with what I said”.

Another non-apology masquerading as an apology….

(And a racist trying to masquerade as a non-racist).

www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

Thoroughly enjoyed watching “One Battle After Another” last night (way more than I’d expected), so I felt it was highly appropriate to give this a spin today.

(If you know, you know….)

We had planned to see The Session Man (a documentary on the life and work of Nicky Hopkins) but, due to some technical mix up, our tickets weren’t booked.

So, instead of that, I’m having a little vinyl tribute to Mr Hopkins this evening with a couple of albums that he contributed a huge amount to.

Kremlin says Putin has been invited to join Trump’s Gaza ‘board of peace’ Putin shows no signs of ending Ukraine war and claim adds weight to accusation Trump favours Russian president

That long tortured sigh you can hear is irony’s death rattle….

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Similar thing with any creative process (I’m a hobbyist songwriter). Wrestling the thing into some kind of shape is as/more important than the final output.

in the plus side, watching the president of the United States destroy the entire geopolitical order because he didn't get a shiny award has successfully cured all my hangups about subtle character motivation in writing

Tonight’s vinyl session seems to have a theme of women who have been known to enjoy a tipple or two….

Better Call Saul without any shadow of a doubt….

Methinks he doth redact too much….

And that’s a bad thing? Who knew….

Nigel Farage responds to racism claims saying he never ‘tried to hurt anybody’ Reform leader denies racist or antisemitic behaviour ‘with intent’ at school, but says he can’t remember everything from 49 years ago

So here’s a new one - unhurtful racism.

I’ll put that over there in the big box along with the unwet water, the unhot fire and the undark night…..

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Vinyl night - it’s slightly shambolic, loose-limbed, rambunctious rock’n’roll time….

Exactly - binned my membership card and submitted my resignation this morning. Just vile….

You can scrub the “Near” bit….

This might help (from a post about Farage):-

Remember to get the order of adjectives in English correct. It's Opinion, Size, Quality, Shape, Age, Colour, Origin, Material, Type, Purpose, Expletive.

As in disgusting little fat frog-faced old snot-coloured rancid treacherous fascist fucking shitbag

I can’t tell you how much the “legitimate concerns” thing gets my dander up. They may be concerns but they are utterly and undeniably racist concerns, ergo they are anything but “legitimate”…

I was also taken the insult “ten groat pettifoggers” (which may well be the name of a steampunk/psychobilly crossover band - we’ll have two more from them later!). I am now looking for opportunities to shoehorn it into every conversation.

These people who are telling you that you aren’t doing well - are they in the room with us now, Donny?

Says the man whose first language is racist…..

He may talk rubbish but Trump has an eye for beauty, and that is a breath of fresh air | Simon Jenkins The US president promotes classical architecture and loathes ‘ugly’ wind turbines. Keir Starmer would dismiss him as a nimby, but on this Trump has a point, says Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins

Nurse! Nurse!

Simon’s off his meds again….

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Can I be a very old git and say Misty In Roots and Squeeze at the much-missed Albany Empire in Deptford in the mid 70s (and I’m pretty sure Cafe Racer - later to be renamed as Dire Straits - appeared there a few times as well!).

It is true that, by definition, murder is “assisted dying”, but, by the same measure, not all assisted dying is murder…

This is one of those “a dog is an animal, so am I, therefore I am a dog” arguments.

Firmly believe that you shouldn’t go chasing music - it’ll find you when you’re good and ready to receive it (for me, two examples are Tom Waits who I didn’t get until I was 45 years old and ditto modern jazz which took until I was 67).

Having enjoyed Hamilton tremendously, I am so looking forward to when Lin-Manuel Miranda gets around to turning the Trump-Musk spat in to a musical….

That’s a tune…!

You can prom down a promenade (as many a music hall song will tell you), but I don’t think you can espl down an esplanade…

👍

Strong Welsh theme to tonight’s vinyl selections…

One hundred days in, Donald Trump faces a problem: he can rage, but he can’t govern | Jonathan Freedland Americans are beginning to worry about their future amid a shrinking economy, warnings of empty shelves – and the president’s failed promises, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland

“This is the nature of nationalist populism, whether it wears a red cap in Michigan or a turquoise rosette in Runcorn. It is expert at turning grievance, division and nostalgia into votes. But when it comes to governing, it will always fail.” Latest column www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Currently spinning chez Wellbrook - you never forget your first guitar hero….