Tim Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Tim Curry in Clue

Tim Curry in The Three Musketeers

Tim Curry in Muppet Treasure Island

Happy 80th birthday to Tim Curry who has always, *always* understood the assignment.

The main thing about the Mandelson scandal is not the pernickety detail of who was told what then - which the Govt is trying to use as a defence.
It’s that evidently common sense was not applied and conversations which should have taken place did not. It fails the basic sniff test.

Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the asylum system "must be totally overhauled" so only those facing real personal persecution are granted asylum. Liberal Democrat immigration and asylum spokesman Will Forster said the BBC's findings were "abhorrent", adding: "We need an asylum system that is fair, controlled and efficient. Not the shambles the Conservatives left us with." Reform UK said that if the party wins power it would make facilitating a false asylum claim a "strict liability" criminal offence, meaning there would be no requirement to prove intent in prosecutions, which would be punishable by up to two years in jail. (Highlighted bit) However, the Green Party said the BBC's reporting "gives an entirely false impression of a system which is, in reality, stacked against people seeking asylum" and heightened "the hostile environment" facing this group.

Rarely prouder to be a Green

The real scandal of the asylum system is the cruelty & incompetence which 1000s of people endure every day but which rarely gets spotlighted at the top of the BBC News site.

Dan here nails much of what makes me uncomfortable about the BBC’s “fake gay refugees” story but here’s a few more points 1/

Really love this idea

Said it before but the UK could do a lot worse than to market itself as "The World's University", throw ourselves open to international students and use some of the money to drive regeneration in towns by setting up English-language immersion summer schools there using eg disused mills.

@dannyrobins.bsky.social lol I feel so old that you had to explain to the listener what a carpet sweeper is in the first Cold Case episode!

Basic routine of researchers and their papers

#AcademicSky

Yes, we're heartened that Orbán is out. But it's too easy to think that therefore all far right leaders will go the same way, without us having to do much. In our stupid UK FPTP system, we are still in danger of getting a fascist leader that 70-75% of us don't want. It's going to take a LOT of work.

Very pleased to tell you that I will be appearing in human form as part of the Fiends In The Furrows folk horror film festival panel discussion, here in Edinburgh. I’ll be joined by the illustrious Drs Catherine Lester and Jonny Murray with host Morvern Cunningham. Full programme and tix linked 👇

Spurious Home Office decisions rejecting student visas are threatening universities' ability to enrol young people from abroad, it is claimed. New rules come into effect in June that will punish universities if more than 4 per cent of study visas are rejected by the Home Office. However, the changes coincide with a marked increase in the numbers of visas being refused by the Home Office on spurious and inaccurate grounds, according to research by universities that has been shared with The Times. Neither students nor universities are able to challenge the decisions, which are often taken months after a university has accepted the applicant and in some cases just days before they are due to start studying.

UKVI carries out discretionary "credibility interviews" to ascertain that a student's intentions to study here are genuine. In another interview, when asked why they had chosen to apply to their chosen institution, the applicant said they had considered several factors, including the university's ranking, employability support, student satisfaction while also noting that it was an ancient institution and cited the year it was founded. The UKVI rejected the application, explaining that they were not satisfied the applicant was genuine given they had quoted the wrong founding year. The university subsequently confirmed that the applicant had provided the correct year and the UKVI caseworker was incorrect, but the decision could not be reconsidered.

In another case a foreign student was rejected from obtaining a visa to study at the University of East Anglia due to a dispute over whether the university was in Norfolk. The applicant asserted correctly that it was, but the UKVI caseworker appeared to confuse Norfolk with Norwich, which is the capital of the county, and rejected the application - believing the applicant was wrong.

In another credibility interview the applicant was asked to describe some of the taught modules they would be studying as part of their degree. The applicant explained that they had been offered a place to study a PhD in biomedical engineering which was fully research-based so did not have any taught modules. Despite this, the UKVI refusal letter stated that they were not satisfied on the basis that their answers were "vague and generic" and had failed to explain the taught modules they would be studying.

It is almost, almost, impressive just how Labour have taken the massively dysfunctional and incompetent Home Office and managed by dint of policies and rhetoric to make it even more dysfunctional and incompetent. It is a true testament to how hostile they are to migrants.

archive.today/07Hdr

A screen shot from Spotify of Niki French's version of I'm Never Giving Up, originally by the UK's 1983 Eurovision Song Contest act, Sweet Dreams

I've discovered Nikki French's version of Sweet Dreams' I'm Never Giving Up, and it's made me so happy! On the third replay already.

A big thank you to @purserhallard.com and @cooraysmith.bsky.social for commissioning me, one of the very first things I ever got published. Very proud to be a little part of the Black Archive line! Also, my book is on The Awakening, so please buy if you like folk horror 😁😉

Hard to believe, but it’s ten years this month since the first Black Archives were released to what we hoped would be an interested Doctor Who world!

Started by an email by @purserhallard.com wondering if people would read a book analysing just one story, Phil and @stuartdouglas.com then spent

Hard to believe, but The Black Archive series is ten years old! I feel so grateful to have been able to contribute to this amazing series. If you haven't read any before, you can get a discount off any title with the code down the thread.

Wit, unker, git: the lost English pronouns
#language
www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...

I wonder if they would include The Paradise of Death and Ghosts of N Space?

Possibly some new docs about the NAs/MAs etc. I wonder if they'd seek the licence for things like Downtime/Shakedown etc?
I don't think Dimensions in Time can be released, but Curse of Fatal Death did get a VHS release previously so that might be included?

🤣🤣

Yep! And the young Brian Cant!

Oh my yes!

Does anyone out there have a copy of the Nigel Kneale Wuthering Heights that they could share?

Love that film!!

Just a deeply unpleasant man.

An example of Douglas Camfield's attention to detail, in 1965 writing quite a tall order for avant-garde composer Tristram Cary. It includes one of the earliest character sketches of Katarina. Also a nice early instance of the serial's overarching title. #DoctorWho

“The world overlooks Uruguay’s example at its own risk. In fact, renewables are ready, the playbook is in place, and the advantages are tangible. The only missing ingredient is the political will, which is often clouded by self-interest and money.”

Of course we shouldn’t drill for more oil in the North Sea – we cancelled further exploitation for a reason | Bill McGuire We are at a critical point in the climate emergency and already struggling to meet emissions reduction targets. The UK government must hold its nerve, says Bill McGuire, professor emeritus of geophysi...

This👇

BREAKING: Iran says regime change operation in US is well underway as a string of senior officials and military chiefs resign from their roles 👀