Mike B #FBPE

Yup, she "opposed the extension of abortion rights in Northern Ireland, citing her belief in the sanctity of life and concerns over the 24-week limit."

Maskell is my local MP and I'm suspicious about this: she recently got herself a bad reputation for her anti-abortion views, and for her opposition to assisted dying rights. Can't help but think some of this is performative on her part, obscuring the taste of her unpleasant social conservatism.

Apologies for getting Turville's county wrong. It's in fact in Buckinghamshire (although not far from Oxfordshire).

For those who know that bit of #Oxfordshire, it was filmed in the village of #Turville, which still looks remarkably untouched, down to the pub in the opening shot.

Equally depressing that The Times today ran a story written by the far right liar/fantasist Toby Young. His presence on its front page might even have been a push too far for The Telegraph.

Looked her up on Wiki and came across the chilling words, 'She is an admirer of Ayn Rand...'
That's the same Ayn Rand who railed against social security payments... until she claimed them herself.

When you say 'available to residents of the island', out of interest how long does it take to be regarded as a resident there?

Every intervention by Peter H makes me long all the more for Christopher, and preferably instead of.

We left the EU. The Brexit vote mandate - interpreted to mean something no-one voted on, ie leaving the Single Market - is spent and thus irrelevant.

Got to say, the last para is not of the real world:
'The trial judge, Mr Justice Bennathan, previously told jurors that it would be "fundamentally wrong" to think that Clifford must be guilty of "anything else" because he had admitted murder.'

But the US seems likely to withdraw all its support, and certainly won't act as guarantor for Ukraine.
What does Europe do? Troops on the ground = huge risk of escalation. Even air cover = risk of escalation.
Realistically, what's the next stage?

If Hamas would release its innocent hostages, who've suffered for so long, the blockade would be over tomorrow.

Aid problems would be over tomorrow if Hamas released its hostages.

(on a personal note it's quite striking how quickly I've gone from "generally a bit of a pinko on defence issues" to "and could I just do a monthly direct debit to BAE Systems, would that help")

"The Prime Minister will have our support in taking the difficult decisions..."
So if he now cancels the Triple Lock, saves the UK £10 billion and puts it towards rearmament, she'd back that against her aged voters? Hmm.

Always made happier by someone dissing the awful John Gray. He's not only miserable and Tory-adjacent but also comprehensively debunked: whyevolutionistrue.com/2014/07/21/p...

You can still tell where it happened...

So Boris Johnson is going to be in Edinburgh in September? Lying and charging £££ for it. Time for #Edinburgh to do its thing, as it did with Farage.

That's such a strange article. More like a supermarket sweep of vibes than anything resembling sense. @thetimes.com

A defendant can't put on a poor defence - as she did - and then go on to appeal, saying, 'I had a poor defence'.

Nothing surprises me on social media but I'm still surprised by the gullibility of people saying she is innocent.
Remember, the families heard the full evidence... Letby's testimony... its context.
This whole Lucy Letby is innocent farrago is clickbait. She will never be free. Rightly. #LucyLetby

Same issue on immigration. Still recall a BBC Brexit vox pop when everyone was decisively against immigration as such, but when asked about what categories of immigrants should be stopped, demurred at all of them.

Puzzle: why on earth was she 'pushed rightwards by people who didn't value African voices'? I'd have thought it was exactly the right of the political spectrum who wouldn't. (Thinking of all those Tories who've been rude and racist about Africa over the years, like Alan Clarke) #KemiBadenoch

'We're going to build the wall'... 'Immediately bring down prices'... 'Peace between Russia and Russia and Ukraine in 24 hours'... etc

It's a curiously dated outlook. Especially since Joan Smith's descriptions of the route from domestic violence to jihadism and other political labels, ascribing aberrant behaviour purely to a claimed ideology seems a limited explanation.

You're very welcome.

Yes, before posting it I got in touch with Felicity Dean, who was happy to see it online. Of course, alas, others are long gone, inc the writer and the director. But as it literally has not been seen since the 1980s, I felt people now should have the chance to view it.

YouTube video by Mike B Witches' sabbath in 'Tam O'Shanter' by Robert Burns; 1 min; English subtitles

Never read a word of Robert Burns' poetry? Here's one minute WITH SUBTITLES of the grisly witches' Sabbath from his famous poem Tam O'Shanter, filmed where it was set, in the ruin of Alloway church. #RobertBurns #BurnsNight #haggis #Scotland #Ayrshire youtu.be/cRydI51vt5U