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BenInChamonix

@beninchamonix.bsky.social

1.2K followers 890 following 1K posts

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BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 2d

How kind & compassionate the teenagers sound & what a contrast with the bigoted racism of their grandparents. No wonder they want to leave the country.

BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 3d

Back on the Chamonix trails today on a perfect, crisp autumn day.

Plenty of snow has fallen since we left for 🇪🇸 a week ago - excitement for the ski season to come but more than a bit of sadness for me as the trails at 2,000m+ will be inaccessible now until May or June ‘26 😞

BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 3d

I just finished ‘You Are Here’ by David Nicholls. He’s a master of his genre of modern fiction & a lovely chap to boot.

Added bonus of this novel is that it largely tells the story of Wainwright’s coast to coast walk from the Lake District to Robin Hood’s Bay. Highly recommended!

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Reposted by BenInChamonix

Proton @proton.me · 4d

Last chance to turn it off.

On Monday, November 3rd, Microsoft will start using your LinkedIn data for AI training. And remember, you're opted in by default.

To toggle it off 👉 Account - Settings & Privacy > Data privacy > Data for Generative AI Improvement.

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BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 4d

Yes I remember in Lancashire in the late 70s / early 80s Hallowe’en was definitely a big thing, apple bobbing etc. We lived near Pendle Hill & a Hallowe’en parade also used to go up the hill at midnight on the 31st 👻

Pendle Hill has a long association with witches / the occult 🎃

BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 4d

This person is what the Block function was made for!

BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 4d

Happy birthday Arthur. Hope you have some climbing on the horizon? I shall be pre-ordering!

BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 5d

BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 6d

What a stupid comment. I’m encouraging the government to lift the ban on working whilst they await their asylum decision. That would be a genuine win-win, not this ridiculous idea to put them in barracks.

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BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 6d

Thanks Andy!

BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 6d

A win all round except for the asylum seekers themselves who are shunted into inadequate housing for an indefinite period of time without being able to work & earn money.

And taxpayers who have to pay for it. And it will not appease the racists.

Trying to hide the problem won’t fix it.

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BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 6d

1 year, no beer 🍺; a full year today without alcohol.

Celebrated with a rainy run in Malaga, and a 🍷 this evening.

Decided from here on, having broken the habit, I’ll have the occasional drink if & when I fancy it.

The year off has been great & totally reframed my relationship with alcohol

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BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 8d

Much needed win for the Rams; was dreading this one as a colleague in the uk is a big QPR fan & got much the better of me last season. Hoping it’s the sign of better to come for us and just a bump in the road for you!

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BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 9d

Thanks for the explanation. Do you view any of the current parties (Reform & Green especially) as being populist? And are Tories via Katie Lam & Jenrick trying their hand at populism (and doing it predictably badly)?

BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 9d

Last minute ☀️ break in Marbella - was meant to be in Annecy but the weather crap in the Alps.

This means an opportunity for flat running, and managed my quickest 10km time on the Esplanade out & back to Puerto Banus. Didn’t push too much, hamstrings a bit tight in the last km!

BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 9d

I do get what you’re saying & agree about all the negative consequences - I’m also not falling into a populist rabbit hole 😂

I do think it’s ok / normal though for left-leaning parties to represent the people, not the elites.

Anyway, Derby are playing so another time!

BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 10d

I can’t think of a single major political party in the UK that doesn’t claim they represent “the people” though? Isn’t populism embedded in all political discourse?

BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 10d

I agree with you - left of centre politics is fundamentally about the people before the elites. But that being the case, why is everyone allergic to the word “populist”?

Has it just been corrupted over time to mean “bad” but not necessarily populist movements?

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BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 10d

Yes, I totally agree that there are no simple solutions to complex problems. I can see how “simplism” and populism can easily become intertwined but surely it isn’t a given.

Genuine question; Do populists always exploit the people they’re supposed to champion?

BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 10d

It’s a loaded word, but per the dictionary definition populism itself isn’t good or bad. Being “for the people”

I’m no leftist (naïve maybe!) but a party that advocates for the people when Lab / Con / Ref seem intent on screwing them over (Brexit, immigration, welfare..) may have a place?

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BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 10d

Care to share? Already dreading 6 months of snow & freezing temps!

BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 10d

These are your biases regarding the word populist. It doesn’t have to mean scapegoating, fascism etc. The term has been corrupted by misuse over time.

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BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 10d

Populism definition:

“ a political philosophy or movement that represents or is claimed to represent the interests of ordinary people especially against the Establishment”

You can debate whether or not this is a good thing, but populism by definition does not HAVE to be a bad thing.

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BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 12d

I think someone needs to test ZP on NATO. My suspicion is that he has evolved his position since those rather silly comments before he was elected leader. Green Party manifesto states they willwork within NATO.

Most of the rest of what he says makes a lot of sense.

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BenInChamonix @beninchamonix.bsky.social · 12d

Sky doing Reform Party comms again