While I’m thinking of something to write about at greater length I’ve been writing down a few thoughts and observations. This is longer than usual but I’ve edited it for coherence.

18 November 2025

We had a power outage 11.30pm last night, which meant no Wi-Fi either. I knew there was plenty of credit on my meter and, even if there hadn’t been, it shouldn’t have cut off in the middle of the night. I was already in bed and the sensible thing would have been to go to sleep, but sleep was impossible when I was distracted. Fortunately it came back on after 15-20 minutes and I didn’t have to go out in the dark to reconnect the power supply.

The good news is that an engineer was out this morning to sort out my heating, turned out it was set to a timer instead of a thermostat. It’s sorted now but I still can’t get warm!

I’ve had a few internet problems now sorted. It seems one was due to my using a VPN which I disconnected. Another was due to a security service between myself and the site I wished to access which wasn’t functioning although there was no problem at either end. Unlike X which wasn’t functioning for an hour or so.

I’ve now made the three large donations that I had prioritised – Age UK, Trussel Trust and Crisis UK – but might make further donations later.

Just saw this disgusting post from the official Home Office X account 😠

The Home Office should know better than anyone that asylum seekers don’t choose not to work, they’re not allowed to work. If they do it will be under exploitative conditions about which they’re unable to complain for fear of deportation. The same applies to the accommodation provided by outsourcing companies like Serco, who make a profit from providing accommodation that’s not fit for human habitation. Of course that doesn’t matter as asylum seekers are not considered human by the capitalist class 😠

The pitiful amount of money asylum seekers receive as an example of our ‘generosity’ can only be supplemented by breaking the law, which is determined by the will of the Home Secretary 😠

19 November 2025

Heating working but still full of cold, we had some sleet earlier but it’s looking brighter now. Winter Fuel Allowance wouldn’t have made any difference to me, I hope Age UK can use it to help someone who really needs it but has just missed out.

Just rang Argos about an order that’s awaiting collection and got one of those automated responses. I made an error in not ordering it for home delivery and I’ve since found I don’t need it, but I was unable to cancel it. They will hold it for collection until 11.00pm tonight, I won’t be happy if they don’t automatically refund what I’ve paid. £40 would benefit someone more deserving! (Update, I got my refund).

2.00pm and the weather’s looking brighter. I hope it’s better for tomorrow’s appointment with the optician and I don’t have too much of a hangover.

I’m not suffering so much pain lately, perhaps because I’m using 100mg CBD patches on my hip (the best place as the problem is with my lower back and knees). They’re expensive, but I don’t need to replace them every day. I’ve been unable to get replacement pads for my Lloyds Pharmacy TENS unit for some time and now I find they’ve been discontinued!

20 November 2025

Latest news is that Clive Lewis has offered to give up his seat in Parliament in favour of Andy Burnham so that Andy can contest the Labour Party leadership. Clive can’t just hand over the seat, it would require a by-election and there’s no guarantee that Andy would win. There’s no doubt he would be a better choice than the abominable Wes Streeting, but I doubt that anything can halt Labour on its path of self-destruction. Labour have run off a cliff but, like Wyle E Coyote, they won’t fall until they look down.

I’ll need to miss another optician’s appointment, 0° outside and it’s started snowing.

I’m appalled by the news that the UN Security Council has authorized an international stabilization force in Gaza under the command of a so-called Board of Peace chaired by Donald Trump, who has subcontracted the job to mercenaries 😠 I wonder, not for the first time, what bloody use is the UN?

I just watched a documentary about possible CIA involvement in the dismissal of Gough Whitlam a Prime Minister of Australia. I was a recent immigrant at the time and there’s a lot in the documentary of which I was unaware.

21 November 2025

Lots of snow across North Yorkshire, very little here but still cold.

I read last week fire and rescue services in England and Wales have been stretched to the limit dealing with severe flooding in the wake of Storm Claudia. A friend who is a swift water rescue specialist with Tyne & Wear FRS confirmed to me that there is still no statutory duty for firefighters in England to undertake flood rescue as there is in the rest of the UK. It’s several years since I started a petition on the subject which had the support of the FBU. They do the work anyway, but funding has to come from other budgets.

23 November 25

I’ve just unfollowed someone on Bluesky who is quoting most of my posts with one of his own. Even if it’s relevant I only need to have it drawn to my attention once, if it’s not relevant I call it piggybacking and won’t tolerate it! Unless I’m addressing multiple groups of friends/comrades, as I do on #SocialistSunday, I rarely repeat a post in under a week.

Plenty of likes and reposts of today’s article, first published in Critical Mass in 2021, but hardly any comments. This means that I’ve no way of knowing if people actually read it or just liked the list of comrades to follow and the accompanying gif, perhaps a still image would’ve been better 🤔 For anyone who hasn’t read it, here’s a second chance 😀

Indigenous Lives Matter https://criticalmassmag.org/indigenous-lives-matter/

Ps. I did get a few comments after I wrote this 😀

I’ve come across a petition on the Government petition site that I will not be promoting. Seems strange that Reform UK are promoting a petition for an enquiry into Russian influence on UK politics immediately following the conviction of one of their former leaders for facilitating such influence. Starmer telling Farage to investigate suggests both parties have something to hide. No mention of Labour MPs accepting donations from Israeli sources of course.

I wonder why I bother with X now, I’m seeing so many a posts that are downright ridiculous. Like asking you to think of one word starting with M and ending in N, there are a probably a million. But I have a lot of friends who haven’t fully transitioned to Bluesky and others who have, and I’ve made a few new friends too. Both platforms have their weaknesses but I’m stuck with both for better or worse. I’ld rather not see posts from people I don’t follow but that’s not an option.

24 November 2025

My mobility scooter arrived today but we had some trouble setting up the shelter for it, we still have some work to do in securing it against high winds – they were pretty high today but can be a lot worse! I also need to work with my neighbours to see how we can locate our wheely bins for easy access. I look forward to seeing some some good weather so I can get out and about.

The Home Office has just announced a national day of remembrance for victims of terrorism.

The far right have immediately started objecting with xenophobic nonsense about stopping immigration, as if everyone fleeing war is a potential terrorist! The real issue is the hypocrisy of the Home Office policy of jailing non-violent protestors, many of them pensioners, while funding the terrorist regime in Israel. Furthermore, the Metropolitan Police Service is increasingly behaving like a terrorist organisation. The Home Office needs to get its own house in order 😠

Just reported a couple of racist accounts on X for trolling a comrade who was already feeling suicidal. He’s locked his account (I wonder why 🤔) but he’ll still be able to see my posts as we follow each other. I got a response to one of my complaints, they hadn’t broken X’s guidelines 🙄 I’m getting increasingly disgusted with what I see on X but can’t quit as I still have 19.5k followers that I follow back even if I rarely hear from most of them. I lost a thousand followers in the last year – some blocked me when my account was hacked, some have had their accounts suspended, and some have fully migrated to Bluesky. Like it or not, I’m committed to working on both platforms although each have their faults. I try to avoid arguments with far right idiots but sometimes I can’t help myself, there are some statements of a xenophobic, racist or misogynistic nature up with which I will not put 😠

25 November 2025

I’ve just had an email from my MP (Keir Mathers) assuring me that the Government are still committed to ending the use of snares. Both the Welsh and Scottish Governments have banned snares – which means that England is the only country in Britain to allow the use of these terrible and cruel contraptions. To give him his due, he does take the trouble to update me on issues that concern me and actually read my blog on Homelessness and Housing. In an email last month he informed me of extra funding to Leeds and North Yorkshire councils to tackle the issue. Here he is campaigning for election in the 2023 Selby by-election (I voted Green).

I’ve been in bed for most of the afternoon, extremely tired and aching all over although the weather has been better today. Took a couple of painkillers, no alcohol for at least an hour before and after.

27 November 2025

Latest news, via Matt Kennard on X:

The Judge in the Palestine Action legal challenge has been removed, and replaced by 3 others. Two of them appear to have conflicts of interests, including Judge Victoria Sharp who has family connections to pro-Israel lobbyist Trevor Chinn

If you think this is a stitch up, one of the judges has apparently decided the case prior to any argument as to its merits.

Meanwhile many more pensioners are being arrested outside the court, demonstrating just how ludicrous the proscription is! I’ve no doubt there’s a lot more I could say on this topic in due course.

At this time of year my inbox is full of requests for donations from various causes, I expect yours are too. I’m making a list of all those to which I’ve already donated for my own reference, it will need a lot of editing if I ever decide to publish it. I don’t want to be throwing money around all over the place even if I can afford it, that would be silly. It might perhaps be better to stop making further donations until the new year when it’s a bit quieter.

I’m building up a good collection of T-shirts, just received one from Amnesty International today and I’m awaiting delivery of three more. It’s a good way of showing solidarity as well as financial support for a chosen cause. I already have a good collection of pin badges although a couple were given to me.

I’m reading that Nigel Farage’s GB News is begging Trump’s help to “make Britain great again.” I’ve no idea how he plans to do that unless it’s to reclaim parts of our coast that have been eroded by the North Sea. Or perhaps he could drain the Menai Strait to join Anglesey to the Welsh mainland. The point I’m making, if it isn’t already evident, is that Great Britain is neither more nor less than the largest island in an archipelago off the northern coast of the European continent. It’s quite different from the political organisation, to give it its full name, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.