Easterly airflow, lively sea

21st April 2026 05.59

Nigel Farage Has Personally Accepted £675,000 from Foreign Sources Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has accepted more than half a million pounds from foreign companies, governments, and donors while serving as an MP, DeSmog can reveal. Since July 2024, when he was elect...

“Farage rarely turns up to do his actual job. Yet he finds time to jet off around the world on his donor’s private plane and trouser half a million quid while families struggle. Reform are not on your side. They’re just in it for themselves”

It’s so obvious, it hurts.
www.desmog.com/2026/04/18/n...

Why we all need a grandmother in our heads – no tener abuela No tener abuela is a light hearted comment made by Spanish speakers to someone who is self-congratulatory. It roughly translates to someone without a grandmother to provide the congratulatory prais…

Does congratulating yourself give you a shiver of revulsion?

Do you have someone who sees it as their life’s mission to shower you with praise?

Not everyone has either of those - and it’s more important than you might think.

peerreviewededucationblog.com/2026/04/20/w...

I got them by pure guess work!

Connections
Puzzle #1045
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Wordle 1,767 4/6

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A group of people holding St George’s flags stand together with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan in front of a large stone lion statue in Trafalgar Square on a sunny day.

Ahead of St George’s Day I was joined by interfaith leaders from across London. We came together to celebrate all that unites us and affirm the flag of St George as a symbol that belongs to us all 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Everytime there is a mass shooting, this image comes to mind. People in some of the highest positions of power in our country wearing gun pins. People who claim to be “pro life” and want to “protect the children.” People who claim to follow Jesus. This is idolatry of guns.

Everytime there is a mass shooting, this image comes to mind. People in some of the highest positions of power in our country wearing gun pins. People who claim to be “pro life” and want to “protect the children.” People who claim to follow Jesus.

This is idolatry of guns.

I am glad this is being said. Sitting silently in rows being fed ‘knowledge’ to regurgitate is not education. It would be ideal to prepare children for domestic service in Victorian times! Needing permission to take off a jumper, SLANT, silent corridors etc isn’t preparation for the real world.

The insider trading suspicions looming over Trump's presidency The BBC has found a pattern of spikes in trades ahead of public announcements by the US president.

Insider trading by Trump friends and family has been obvious for a while

Bigger question is whether Trump is deliberately causing volatility to enable this grift

All this gambling should be made illegal

No way you can argue it's efficient allocation of capital

share.google/8WcuexLTO5Zn...

A big fat cesspit of grift and corruption covered with a thin veneer of concern for 'the people'

The reality of the new fascism as represented by Reform and by Trump

🎯

Reform would review all asylum claims from the last five years The current Labour government has already announced major crackdowns on immigration, including disrupting gangs.

So not only are people who have come to the UK seeking safety placed in fear and limbo by the current government, but also with the potential of Reform winning the next election.
Not only is this proposed policy utterly racist and inhumane, it is also batshit crazy.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A woodland path bordered by vibrant bluebell flowers and tall trees leading to a rustic stone gate in spring.

Each morning we open a window to the Dales and share some of our favourite views. Like this of bluebells at Hardraw!

📸 Wendy McDonnell | #YorkshireDales #MondayMotivation

Perfect evening light on Sunday.
It would have been wonderful to be out on the hills.
The western face of the church opposite home, illuminated 👌
#GoldenHour
#HolmeValley

Collage of spring wildflowers against a soft green background: crab apple blossom on a branch; orange-tip butterflies on hedge garlic flowers; a single nodding bluebell; a vetch stem with a fuzzy gall; greater stitchwort; pale pink cuckoo flower; and a cluster of white honesty blooms.

Wildflowers found on a beautiful spring walk this afternoon: crab apple blossom, hedge garlic with two orange-tip butterflies, bluebell, vetch, greater stitchwort, cuckoo flower & white honesty. Hedge garlic, honesty & cuckoo flower are all in the #CabbageFamily. #WildflowerHour

#EduSky #AcademicSky this thread is an excellent discussion of the attrition of independent learning and abstraction skills. I retired from HE teaching just before Covid, and had observed this happening from around 2010 onwards. First iPhone: 2007. Coincidence? 🤔

Excellent as usual.

Coloured stripes

20th April 2026 06.03

Connections
Puzzle #1044
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Wordle 1,766 6/6

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Longtime Immigration Court Interpreter Arrested by ICE at South Texas Airport The state’s only licensed Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu legal interpreter is now languishing in a Raymondville detention center. She’s lived in America for 35 years.

LONGTIME IMMIGRATION COURT INTERPRETER ARRESTED BY ICE AT SOUTH TEXAS AIRPORT
The state’s only licensed Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu legal interpreter is now languishing in a Raymondville detention center. She’s lived in America for 35 years www.texasobserver.org/immigration-...

A walk through the bluebell wood this morning. A camera can never do them justice.

A photo of a field carpeted in yellow from cowslip flowers with trees, green fields and other yellow fields from oilseed rape visible in the background with clouds in the sky

View from Magdalen Hill Down today, also good to see my first Whitethroat of the year, Linnet, Swallow, Rook and Raven.

For those keeping track at home. The Iranians have now blockaded the Strait of Hormuz in response to the US blockading it because the Iranians had blockaded it, in response to the US attacking Iran to ensure that the Strait which was fully open at the time wasn't blockaded.

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans.

In the foreground a Mole emerging from a hole in a vegetable bed with lettuce and other vegetables blurred in the backgound

Discover how to tackle troublesome moles in your veggie patch 🐾 From natural deterrents to gentle removal, our blog has tips to help you protect your crops and keep your garden thriving 🌱 Read more here: vegplotter.com/blog/moles-f... #gardeningtips #moles #vegetablegarden

Scams have grown more sophisticated, but people are fighting back Scams have exploded over the last few years. Can countries and companies come together to turn the tables on the scammers?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Rising into the blue

19th April 2026 06.45

Guardians on duty. Nothing gets past them!
#pets