Jon South

This is supposed to be an incentive to finish on time?

I'll pass the news on!

I left it a bit late ordering (yes, I should know better by now), have to wait for the package to find out if I was in time. Here's hoping!

I'm torn between encouraging more people to pick this up, and hoping nobody else solves it before I do! Why not give it a try? It's weird and imaginative and has a CROSSWORD.

A few days ago, I stood in the graveyard of an 1100 year old church, getting damper and damper in the drizzling rain.

A woman walked into the graveyard, waved, said hello, and, as we had previously arranged, handed me a paper bag full of human bones.

The life of a churchwarden is a strange one...

Sean Connery in Zardoz, wearing a distinctive red mankini-style outfit.

The customers being the wrong side of the bar is a nice touch.

I'm all done except the metapuzzle and had a lovely time. Thanks to all involved!

Oooh. Enjoy!

Nearly!

He might be a terrible lawyer in our world, but he's precisely the right lawyer for the world he's in. Ridiculous times call for ridiculous lawyers.

"The bad news is we've lost the Hovis contract."

We loved the Tiny Cat books - I never knew the origin story! That's brilliant!

Those eyes. He's seen things.

It is! One reservation though - is there a correspondingly iconic 90s detective setting? My first thoughts would be Cracker and Morse, which don't really suit.
Thief Takers or Prime Suspect, maybe?

I don't know Astrid Goldsmith (yet!) but the cover gives vibes of Hergé and Posy Simmonds, so I'm definitely interested!

Bless you for trying.
Have you heard Arturus Rex, by Sandra's Wedding? The album came out last year and I'd say The North Star was the most obvious influence.

At least two different red herring sets! Fun one.

Patience.

Lovely music from a classic Z Tapes/Start Track artist. Going free. 24 codes left at time of posting!

Bit moist out, is it?

One of the best things I’ve read in a while:

I taped a lot of records, especially when I went off to university. Occasionally the record would skip, and the tape would preserve that one-off accident for many listens. It's years since I upgraded to CD, but Darkness on the Edge of Town still doesn't sound quite right without the skip.

I'm not completely sure, but I think those outcomes may come under the 'love' heading rather than the 'results' (= conventional/financial 'success') one?

As a middle-aged dad I can barely remember the days when 4 hours was "one sitting". Closer to a month's worth now. But still more manageable than most, and it definitely sounds like my cup of tea!

Liam Ramos, 5 years old, being seized by a masked ICE agent who has left his humanity and decency at home (if he ever had any)

Liam Ramos, a 5 year old child, in a little blue hat with ears and pom poms, is being put in an ICE van. The people who seized him belong in prison.

REFORMUK AUG 2025 Operation Restoring Justice Our plan to deport all illegal migrants in the UK, and secure our borders. The Operational Plan We will create an enforcement unit called UK Deportation Command, including an Illegal Migrant Identification Centre - harnessing cutting edge data fusion A Reform government will create a cutting edge enforcement data centre to relentlessly identify and detain all illegal migrants in the UK. Using powers granted by the new legislation, it will automatically share data between the Home Office, NHS, HMRC, DVLA, banks and the police. It will pow-er bulk warrants, including mandatory biometric capture during any police encounter. Each power ad-dresses a failure mode observed over the past decade-for example, banks and GP surgeries unaware of a customer's status, or overstayers slipping through because a warrant covered only a single property. Secure Immigration Removal Centres (SIRC) will be built rapidly to detain up to 24,000 Detention capacity for up to 24,000 will be created within 18 months. The Home Office will build. Secure Immigration Removal Centres. This will be modular accommodation built in remote parts of the country. Conditions are basic but not punitive: prefabricated two-person rooms, canteen catering, on-site medical suites. Robust perimeters and internal movement controls prevent escapes. This enables detention-on-arrest: no more bail. This capacity would allow for up to 24,000 illegal migrants to be deported per month. Initial Voluntary Return Window A six-month Assisted Voluntary Return window precedes large-scale raids Illegal migrants will

Farage, who had previously said mass deportations were a "political impossibility", said his party had now come up with "a credible plan, so that we can deport hundreds of thousands of people over the five years of a Reform government". During the news conference, Farage asked Reform UK chair Zia Yusuf whether it was realistic to deport 500,000-600,000 people within the lifetime of the first Parliament under a Reform UK government, to which he replied "totally, yeah". Reform, which currently has just four MPs although it is leading in many opinion polls, has not specified what proportion of this number would come from future arrivals, or people already in the country.

If you live in the UK and you were shocked to see the US ICE seize a 5 year old boy, don't forget this is what Nigel Farage and the Reform Party UK want for our country.

Great stuff - thanks for sharing! You might want to tweak the 12th Doctor quote though, unless I've missed something?

I remember going there when I was at uni. They had special plastic 'rib bibs' for people who had the ribs.

post a great jorts song from your playlist:

50 ways to leave your Jorts