Ben Plouviez's Avatar

Ben Plouviez

@benplouviez.bsky.social

Retired and now tender of donkeys (2) and minder of cats (2) as well as reader of books (lots) and thinker of great thoughts (none really). Also maker of irritating jokes, so sorry (not sorry) about that. Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

153 Followers  |  398 Following  |  152 Posts  |  Joined: 09.10.2023  |  1.9886

Latest posts by benplouviez.bsky.social on Bluesky

Preview
a man wearing a hat and a black shirt says you chose wisely Alt: a man wearing a hat and a black shirt says you chose wisely
21.11.2025 16:22 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Huh?? That makes no sense at all: β€œworkspace” isn’t a sector and education is mostly public sector and… and…

Forms design and testing is one of the many skills that got trashed in the global rollout of Microsoft Word, and goodness does it show.

21.11.2025 16:16 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Me too! I assume people only ask it things in order to confirm its shittiness, but really we don’t need to see any more proof.

21.11.2025 00:58 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

We all knew.

Which means they knew. And they let the bodies pile high. They should be in jail: Johnson, Hancock, Whitty, Harries.

They stood up there and lied to us, knowingly, every night. And 200,000 died.

#covidInquiry

20.11.2025 20:12 β€” πŸ‘ 108    πŸ” 34    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 2

Just to be clear, it’s not that *trans* people could be banned, but that anyone who others suspect are trans. Whether they are trans or not is another matter.

20.11.2025 12:52 β€” πŸ‘ 39    πŸ” 16    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 1
A donkey being held by a vet nurse, in a stable, with a small table holding an open laptop placed nearby. The donkey and the nurse appear to be looking at the laptop screen with some interest.

A donkey being held by a vet nurse, in a stable, with a small table holding an open laptop placed nearby. The donkey and the nurse appear to be looking at the laptop screen with some interest.

Harley now working from home. (OK, actually he’s being scanned and is fascinated by the sight of his innards).

19.11.2025 19:46 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Think I got lucky… Wordle 1,614 3/6

⬜⬜🟨🟩⬜
🟨⬜⬜🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

19.11.2025 12:11 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

See also β€œsausage roll”.

18.11.2025 12:42 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

The only part they planned was the racism

They didn't think to actually deal with the issues

18.11.2025 10:22 β€” πŸ‘ 19    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

Unbelievable that junior civil servants are still making this mistake. It shows how poor the corporate memory is after years of cuts, deskilling and managers not giving a toss. It’s the equivalent of a 1960s civil servants not knowing how to use a treasury tag.

18.11.2025 10:55 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Nick Timothy, Tory MP most responsible for the Windrush scandal, gives Mahmood his support

17.11.2025 18:41 β€” πŸ‘ 182    πŸ” 79    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 11

OK so I’m here to pitch β€œThe Repair Shop on ICE”, in which Home Office staff lurk outside the barn and seize valuables from anyone whose status doesn’t appear to be sufficiently settled, thereby helping with the huge cost of endlessly harassing refugees.

17.11.2025 08:52 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

It really isn't clear how progressive and blue "Labour" can continue to co-exist politically.

These aren't disagreements over tactics and strategy. They have fundamentally different answers to core questions of political economy, society, and citizenship.

The overlap is very slim.

17.11.2025 08:27 β€” πŸ‘ 115    πŸ” 21    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 0

Or, possibly, both?

16.11.2025 20:15 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Labour policy is being celebrated by Tommy Robinson.

That's it.

That's all you ever need to say to explain who Labour are.

16.11.2025 10:07 β€” πŸ‘ 1915    πŸ” 607    πŸ’¬ 29    πŸ“Œ 31

They aren’t called Ice Ages for nothing.

16.11.2025 18:08 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

This whole Streeting vs Starmer story is such a Westminster bubble inanity from a bored media class that has gotten addicted to toppling governments and abdicated any responsibility for what they're actually meant to be doing in a healthy society

12.11.2025 12:31 β€” πŸ‘ 138    πŸ” 31    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 4

I’m sorry, but those puns are sub-standard.

06.11.2025 19:53 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

And, even sadder, for me. Wordle 1,598 6/6

🟩⬜⬜⬜🟨
🟩⬜🟩⬜⬜
🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩
🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩
🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

03.11.2025 08:43 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Labour continues to disappoint. They had a mandate to clear out the rot of the Tories, not carry out a watered down version of their mistaken policies.

31.10.2025 20:02 β€” πŸ‘ 206    πŸ” 66    πŸ’¬ 6    πŸ“Œ 0

You guys down south just go waayyy over the top about Halloween.

31.10.2025 19:30 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

β€œWhat could possibly go wrong?”

31.10.2025 19:29 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

So useful to have several estates off to which one can shuffle one’s inconvenient relatives. We should all have the wherewithal to do this.

31.10.2025 19:17 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Don’t understand the versions of this post that leave out Assault… Sure it’s exploitative and arguably quite racist, but it’s just a brilliant movie.

27.10.2025 09:39 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I remember being told that you shouldn’t run Ethernet between buildings because of earth differentials. I never knew what this meant (apart from Bad Things), but I’ve believed it ever since. Presumably your electrician doesn’t?

24.10.2025 19:19 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

A Cuillin off period, then?

24.10.2025 18:56 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

So the BBC needs two celebs with experience of handling sex scandals now Claud and Tess have stepped down. And Andy and Fergie are looking for jobs. Need I say more?

23.10.2025 21:09 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

β€œThat’s how immigration works”, apparently. Didn’t you know? I must confess I didn’t.

19.10.2025 12:30 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

That’s because all the people who were there are dead, Jaf.

18.10.2025 14:14 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

PADdington 4192… we left that house when I was 8, quite a very large number of years ago.

13.10.2025 18:24 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0

@benplouviez is following 19 prominent accounts