Juggling With Eggs 🔒
Late Gen X. Adopted city Norwich, started out life in Dorset. Juggling twins, hearing aids, politics and climate concerns. Partial to dramatic landscapes, Wes Andersonesque architecture, unsung historical figures and Peanuts cartoons. Do we all get better at juggling or do we acknowledge some balls are just too precious to drop?
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Just when you think #Starmer has realised the need to take on the #FarRight rather than fawn to them…he includes the kind of caveat that he never seems to apply to #ProPalestine protests in that he:
“made clear he recognises that the majority expected to attend are law-abiding citizens, who want to protest peacefully, and urged everyone attending a protest to act with decency and respect”
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/may/15/far-right-activists-barred-uk-tommy-robinson-rally
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The current illegal war being waged by #Trump and #netanyahu against #Iran and the consequent shortages in terms of all goods, but particularly fertilisers and #jetfuel should lay bare to the public how much the rich elite consume and they will be allowed to continue rapaciously consuming at the expense of all of us, unless governments intervene.
Looks 👀 at #Labour shitshow and 🤷♀️
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/may/15/ban-private-jets-cut-speed-limits-uk-fuel-crisis
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I found last night out my former colleagues have all been made redundant this week…less than 12 months after the business they worked for was bought by a private equity company. At the time I left (being bought by vulture capitalists was the final straw) they couldn’t understand my reasoning.
Now I wake up to see how private equity plans to immediately shift the goal posts to slash and burn our high streets. Post offices will be collateral damage.
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From everything I’ve read and seenlately relating to #AI, I am just amazed there has not been some large scale catastrophic incident.
What’s been covered up?
Is the notion of rules and guardrails that are adhered to for the birds now?
Why are governments not more concerned and proactive about legislating in this space? Hold the techbros responsible.
Soon it will be too late.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/may/14/ai-agents-behaviour-arson-safety
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Self determination is about to get real in the UK:
‘#SinnFéin, the #SNP and #PlaidCymru have held a meeting at Westminster to discuss what they describe as “a new era of cooperation between Scotland, Wales and the north of Ireland”.
For the first time since devolution, the administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all led by nationalist politicians. This has been seen as a step towards making the break-up of the UK more possible’
Guardian Politics Live
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6) Attempting to do away with trial by jury
7) Proposing making #PIP unobtainable for most disabled people
8) Not realising removing #WinterFuelPayments for most pensioners would create a cliff edge
9) Dropping the #GreenPledge just weeks before being elected
10) Allowing child poverty to endure by retaining the two child benefit cap…also removing child benefits from people who went on holiday from one UK location and returned via another.Please feel free to add to this list
2/2
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What former #Labour now #Green voters want:
‘Ministers should bring forward a new clean air act that would ban wood burning, clear #diesel vehicles from the roads and force councils to cut #pollution, a group of more than 60 charities have urged before the king’s speech on Wednesday.
Labour held out the prospect of a clean air act while in opposition in 2023, but this was dropped from the final election manifesto, and the government has made no move to reinstate it’
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And I don’t think it was just Spitting Image that made me think this.
There were less career politicians certainly. There were a disproportionate number of males who were privately educated Oxbridge graduates. What’s changed?
I think politicians were expected to answer questions in a more nuanced way. Media training was less obvious and therefore the electorate was more inclined to listen.
When were you last entranced by the rhetoric of #Streeting, #Mahmood, #Reed or #Kendall ?
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As a parent of two kids sitting their SATs today under the most difficult of conditions having lost their beloved grandpa on Saturday, but also having spent a year of being force fed a diet of almost exclusively grammar and maths, I don’t feel much optimism for Britain’s kids.
The education system for teachers and kids crashed and burned under the #Tories #Gove. #Labour has changed nothing.
Schools and universities are failing everyone. A technocratic expensive failure is what I see.
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Decided to surprise the kids with a trip to The Cat House in #Norwich. It had the perfect zen vibe we were looking for before they have to sit their SATs next week…and the coffee and cakes were delicious too! We will be back
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Further good news of sorts…#Reform failed to take control of #Norfolk as projected. They came within 3 seats though.
But Rupert Lowe’s ultra far right outpost of Great Yarmouth, returned entirely councillors for his Great Yarmouth First Party, so in practice what was a #Tory council is now incredibly rightwing. Both the old parties collapsed.
While I’m encouraged by the #Green wins in #Norwich, Blofield, Brundall, Diss and Roydon, I am ashamed of Norfolk.
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Reported wins for #Greens in #Bowthorpe at both City and Council level.
This is huge for #Norwich !
This is what the area of the city has recently experienced:
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Further to my previous confusion over Bowthorpe (which is home to #Norwich’s asylum hotel) it’s just been reported that at both county and city level it’s gone to #Greens…
Proud of how my city has responded to Zia Yusuf’s vile asylum concentration camp plan. Honestly think his hideous policy backfired just as I predicted it would in divided areas with a strong Green presence.
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Bizarre game being played by academics and the media…
#Guardian was reporting yesterday that among #Labour MPs a loss of 1500 council seats would be the territory where #Starmer would have to resign.
Lo and behold academics like Professor Sir John Curtice are now saying Labour only forecast to loose 1200.
On what planet is that a mandate for belief in Starmer’s turgid government? It’s not. Members won’t buy it…but it’s what the likes of #LabourTogether want to present as ‘steadying the ship’
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When #Farage’s supposed day job - representing the people of #Clacton as an MP brings in about 5% of his income….you have to wonder what percentage of his time he actually devotes to that job?
Would like to see the investigations into the #Reform leader’s income continue…I’m sure he wouldn’t.
Watch out for lawfare in the coming days and weeks. Hope the #Guardian supports its journalists this time.
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More cooperation, less factionalism is what the Left needs to be working towards. And yes that means #Greens , #Labour and #LibDems along with other progressive parties finding ways to advance equality, diversity and genuine democracy.
I’ve attended a few #Compass events online and it’s genuinely a great thing to witness. More of this please!
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‘#Reform councils have cut or threatened to cut care homes and public health programmes, and have abandoned key pledges.
In #Lancashire, they have proposed reducing bin collection frequency from two to three weeks.
#Nottinghamshire cut the pothole budget while spending £75,000 putting up Union flags.
In #Lincolnshire, they have cut funding for English as a second language classes, despite Reform’s complaint about immigrants not speaking English.’
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Does anyone feel ‘relieved’ to have come out of the long shadow of 14 years of #Tory austerity and chaos to now be living under a #Labour government that has no purpose, plan or ability to do anything?
British people want to see the change they thought they had elected.
But there been a bait and switch.
It was carried out by #LabourTogether. People voted for a centre left government, but actually under the plotting of McSweeney, got a bland imitation of #Sunak led by a faceless #Starmer.
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I would desperately like to see UK government decouple the price of electricity from gas. We have just about the most expensive consumer energy prices in the world…but lazy journalism won’t get us there.
This piece is a recycled press release from a think tank…admittedly not a rightwing one, but it’s not based on the kind of research you might find in a journal.
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So I discovered #BartonBroad in #Norfolk this afternoon. I’d been a few times to the lovely pub, the White Horse Inn, in the nearby village of Neatishead before, but always in the dark.
I was blown away by how clear the water was. The reflection of the clouds on the broad was so crisp and clear.
I also found walking around the boardwalk on the edge of the broad was very reminiscent of the swamps I saw in Louisiana years ago…but thankfully there wasn’t the frisson of alligators and moonshine.
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The hangover from #Dieselgate with auto manufacturers like #Volkswagon deliberating cheating emissions tests to con consumers into thinking they were buying ‘greener’ vehicles has had a seriously long tail.
Yes, they got fined. But the vehicles are still on our roads, polluting our environment and killing people with respiratory diseases.
Why is there not more shame around driving diesel?
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jan/04/battery-electric-cars-diesels-great-britain-london-ulez -
‘#EmmaBarnett, who is herself Jewish, said: “Let me tell you if you are racially abused which you won’t have been Richard Tice, I suspect, you don’t tend to forget it, it gets etched in your memory.”
#Tice and #Farage may have think they’ve put the racism claims to bed with a Trumpian hissy fit…but this is why they haven’t.
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‘If delivered urgently and truthfully, with ambition matching the scale of the crisis, this will not only ensure that the public is properly informed but will also offer the protection that knowledge and preparedness bring.
Such a campaign will resonate with the public, opening up the political space for the action needed.
We are not safe. This is an emergency. Now is the time for courage and to put trust in the public.’
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‘George Clarke, best known for his series George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces, said he had made the decision not to use products from #Arconic, #Kingspan and #Celotex, three companies that were heavily criticised in the findings of the #Grenfell inquiry published last year and who have continued to deny wrongdoing.’
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That said #Reform’s #Tice seems to be fully intent on stirring up culture wars today…
Going full on #Trump with his attacks against #autistic and #neurodivergent children wearing ear defenders in class and claiming a middle class conspiracy over diagnosis.
Just vile. Picking on those least able to defend themselves.
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I am fascinated to see how Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Citizens Advice Bureau and Help the Aged have been talked into being the defenders of energy companies continuing to do the most shoddy half arsed work possible when it comes to #retrofitting and #insulating the homes of those on low incomes.
Did these charities read the recent National Audit Office report into ECO and GBIS 3 weeks ago that found that 98% of external wall insulation installs done by these two schemes need repairs???
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Houses of Multiple Occupation (#HMOs) are wrong on so many levels. The phrase shields the mind from what are slums. That acronym prevents us from seeing that the worst Victorian cruelty to the poor is still happening.
The notion of licensing and putting a roof over people’s heads makes local authorities complicit in the worst excesses of private landlord greed and squalor.
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New offering from former #Guardian / #Observer journalists, including Carole #Cadwalladr…launches tomorrow!
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A brief intro to why Keir #Starmer’s digital #IDcard is foundational legislation for the Silicon Valley hijacking of UK citizens’ data.
Carole #Cadwalladr’s take on why digital ID cards are being foisted upon us now…
https://broligarchy.substack.com/p/chatgpt-the-dark-enlightenment-and
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#Farage on #Kruger defection to #Reform :
“I don’t think Danny is going go change any politics whatsoever. He’ll vote the same way. He’ll think the same way. He just happens to see that we are the vehicle through which he can achieve the things that he wants to see for the country, not the current, failing Conservative party.”
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We determined the other day on here with the #Rayner resignation that the #Mone is the unit of measurement for financial impropriety in political life (cheers Michelle)…so what is the measurement we must now use to determine the gravity of crime for supporting the world’s richest and most famous pedophile and human trafficker?
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British journalist Carole #Cadwalladr who exposed #CambridgeAnalytica is on the #DailyShow with Jon Stewart explaining that what tech bros are doing right now with our data is theft and therefore illegal.
This is not news, but the fact our governments are not defending us and are actually working in collaboration with the tech bros should be making the alarm bells go off in all are heads.
We have to act now.
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Had some much needed one to one time with one my kids today…we headed into the city for the #Norfolk and #Norwich Festival…usually there is more going on in Chapelfield Gardens, but we were not disappointed by the time we reached outside the Forum.
Great inclusive dance displays, a hydro punk play area…but our favourite was the #PuppetTheatre make your own puppet tent.
Happy hour spent creating the Reggie the bat, the volunteers were fab…and then the creativity continued once we got home!
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‘Five different judges over two separate hearings have made it clear: these anti-protest laws were a flagrant abuse of power and quite simply should never have existed.
Ministers cannot step outside the law to do whatever they want to shut down causes they don’t agree with.’
#Protest
#RightToProtest
#AntiProtestLaws
#Labour
#Liberty
#ClimateProtest -
The structure of this #BBC article on #JSO and #ClimateProtesters is entirely to serve the interests of those who want to portray climate activism as a ‘public nuisance’.
It’s one thing to briefly quote #Liberty, but they don’t acknowledge the UN’s view that UK sentencing of climate protestors was “beyond comprehension” and expressed alarm at “increasingly severe” crackdowns on the right to protest in the UK.
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As a parent who was told their child may have ‘high functioning aspergers’ on their final day of preschool…to finally getting a clinical face to face diagnosis for #autism in Yr 5, I can say categorically #Farage has no comprehension of how longwinded the system is in the UK in terms of diagnosing #neurodivergent conditions.
And that’s just 1st stage…then you have to fight for #EHCP.
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‘What’s the difference between me reading your work?” Sam #Altman (ChatGPT) asked.
‘It’s all free to read. What’s the difference? You’re outputting to potentially millions of people for commercial gain for no recompense, said [#Cadwalladr].
‘It’s fair use, he countered. It’s really not, I said. You’ve ingested the entire body of my work. It’s so easy to establish that.
And he was gone. Back to the controls of the tank that is soon to roll over all of us.’
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#Monbiot is a good speaker as well as writer. Always succinct and and makes his points clearly, explaining terminology along the way…doesn’t baffle or assume prior knowledge.
This is a good recorded event I found of him explaining the premise of the book:
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“As I grew older and became more politically aware, I developed a severe aversion to Norris, after finding out that he ran a nasty rightwing thinktank. I couldn’t understand how the BBC would employ someone with such extreme views. Then again, vetting children’s TV presenters wasn’t exactly the BBC’s forte back then.”
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When you think there must be a better word to describe #Trump’s ruling style but can’t quite put your finger on it…#Patrimonialism.
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It’s all the more odd considering #RIBA has been vocal in recent years in its commitment to addressing #ClimateChange and promoting low-carbon, sustainable design.
The RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge explicitly acknowledges the urgent need for reducing carbon emissions and improving air quality through sustainable building practices.
Furthermore, RIBA’s Climate Change Action Plan calls on #architects to prioritise clean energy sources that do not contribute to harmful #AirPollution.
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It’s sad to see that #RIBA have decided to give a project multiple awards despite the fact it includes not one, but two polluting wood burning stoves.
Confusingly they boast:
‘A single air-source heat pump also provides all the house requires for heating and washing, with bills a fraction of typical running costs.’
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#RFK Jr drops out of the race to back #Trump in return for job in his potential future administration.
The guy started out challenging Biden for the #Democratic nomination…his dad is RFK, brother of JFK.
Is there an explanation of any of this that makes sense beyond a psychopathic desire for power of any kind, nepotism and the devine right of #Kennedys to hold power?
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A massive whiff of misogyny about the reasons given for #Birmingham City Council going bust.
#Gove was quite happy for it to be blamed on a huge equal pay claim and for the city to flog its assets at fire sale prices to cover a figure that’s wildly inflated. The blame could then be laid at door of #unions.
But it seems it was actually a botched IT system upgrade.
So whose heads will roll?
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/20/birmingham-bust-wrong-truth-damning
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I would love for #Norwich City Council to follow the precedent now set by #Paris of tripling the hourly cost of parking for #SUVs.
I fear for my children’s safety and lungs with these tanks lumbering around my city.
But because the city’s transport policy is determined by a single #Tory county councillor without public debate, it’s highly unlikely any time soon.
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This article about a #Devon river being polluted by paint company owned by #AkzoNobel raises so many Q’s:
1. When a chemical is banned - who is responsible for ensuring remaining supplies are safely dealt with?
2. How many rusty old containers of banned chemicals are close to rivers/ports?
3. What official measures are taken to protect food chain after spill?