Dr Stylite
@columnist.bsky.social
‘The view from the column is ever distant’
The Road to St Vincent cont.
I am pretty sure that taking the advice of @sirjjkc.bsky.social is very highly recommended in many respects but not least with respect to cocktails. Accordingly, I am sitting in a rather chic hotel in Puligny Montrachet about to drink this here Boulevardier.
I am pretty sure that taking the advice of @sirjjkc.bsky.social is very highly recommended in many respects but not least with respect to cocktails. Accordingly, I am sitting in a rather chic hotel in Puligny Montrachet about to drink this here Boulevardier.
January 23, 2026 at 5:12 PM
The Road to St Vincent cont.
I am pretty sure that taking the advice of @sirjjkc.bsky.social is very highly recommended in many respects but not least with respect to cocktails. Accordingly, I am sitting in a rather chic hotel in Puligny Montrachet about to drink this here Boulevardier.
I am pretty sure that taking the advice of @sirjjkc.bsky.social is very highly recommended in many respects but not least with respect to cocktails. Accordingly, I am sitting in a rather chic hotel in Puligny Montrachet about to drink this here Boulevardier.
The Road to St Vincent…
After last night and Felix the Dog painting the town not red but some bowel oriented hue *and* at midnight the electricity going en panne (emergency electrician etc) I am delighted we are going to a wine festival in order to drink vast amounts of stress wine.
After last night and Felix the Dog painting the town not red but some bowel oriented hue *and* at midnight the electricity going en panne (emergency electrician etc) I am delighted we are going to a wine festival in order to drink vast amounts of stress wine.
January 23, 2026 at 12:29 PM
The Road to St Vincent…
After last night and Felix the Dog painting the town not red but some bowel oriented hue *and* at midnight the electricity going en panne (emergency electrician etc) I am delighted we are going to a wine festival in order to drink vast amounts of stress wine.
After last night and Felix the Dog painting the town not red but some bowel oriented hue *and* at midnight the electricity going en panne (emergency electrician etc) I am delighted we are going to a wine festival in order to drink vast amounts of stress wine.
Reposted by Dr Stylite
Off to Athens. Think I'm pretty sorted for restaurants/bars, but anything cultural, off-beat or quirky you might recommend? Thank you!
January 23, 2026 at 8:11 AM
Off to Athens. Think I'm pretty sorted for restaurants/bars, but anything cultural, off-beat or quirky you might recommend? Thank you!
Reposted by Dr Stylite
Carney’s new global order needs a huge shift in political will - excellent @alanbeattie.bsky.social take here www.ft.com/content/5dcb...
Carney’s new global order needs a huge shift in political will
Middle-power diplomacy of the sort the Canadian PM calls for requires governments to throw off domestic constraints
www.ft.com
January 22, 2026 at 6:58 AM
Carney’s new global order needs a huge shift in political will - excellent @alanbeattie.bsky.social take here www.ft.com/content/5dcb...
Ahahahahahahahaha
PUTIN: RUSSIA READY TO PROVIDE $1B FROM FROZEN ASSETS FOR PEACE BOARD
January 21, 2026 at 8:35 PM
Ahahahahahahahaha
So many terrible takes
January 21, 2026 at 8:18 PM
So many terrible takes
So much for the projecting strength / weakness binary
January 21, 2026 at 7:35 PM
So much for the projecting strength / weakness binary
Is everyone completely missing the point that the formal approval of the Mercosur deal will be delayed (bad) but it’s provisional implementation will still go ahead? AIUI.
January 21, 2026 at 12:33 PM
Is everyone completely missing the point that the formal approval of the Mercosur deal will be delayed (bad) but it’s provisional implementation will still go ahead? AIUI.
FYI
European Parliament defers EU - Mercosur agreement to the Court of Justice.
This is not good news, but it does not "freeze" the deal. Provisional application kicks in once one or more Mercosur states have notified the EU of their agreement to do so.
www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...
This is not good news, but it does not "freeze" the deal. Provisional application kicks in once one or more Mercosur states have notified the EU of their agreement to do so.
www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...
EU-Mercosur trade deal referred to Court of Justice
After clearing major political hurdles after more than two decades, the mammoth trade deal now faces further delay pending a judicial verdict. #EuropeNews
www.euronews.com
January 21, 2026 at 12:06 PM
FYI
Reposted by Dr Stylite
people often wonder why we have a cost of living crisis
some seem to have forgotten Nigel Farage admitting before Brexit that Britain becoming poorer was a reasonable price for leaving the EU
some seem to have forgotten Nigel Farage admitting before Brexit that Britain becoming poorer was a reasonable price for leaving the EU
January 21, 2026 at 12:02 PM
people often wonder why we have a cost of living crisis
some seem to have forgotten Nigel Farage admitting before Brexit that Britain becoming poorer was a reasonable price for leaving the EU
some seem to have forgotten Nigel Farage admitting before Brexit that Britain becoming poorer was a reasonable price for leaving the EU
Hmmmmmm
However, there’s a paradox here — the greater the expression of the certainty of that authority, the more belief in that authority becomes uncertain due to the enhanced attention paid to action and foundation
January 20, 2026 at 7:58 PM
Hmmmmmm
Reposted by Dr Stylite
suffice it to say I am now in the market for good plumber recommendations in the Tower Hamlets or Hackney area, DM at will
January 20, 2026 at 12:56 PM
suffice it to say I am now in the market for good plumber recommendations in the Tower Hamlets or Hackney area, DM at will
Reposted by Dr Stylite
I ask with no optimism whatsoever but - hope springs eternal, I guess - just in case: if someone needed to have a decent but not extortionate dinner in Paris either near Gare du Nord/Gare de l'Est or (lmao) between Pyramides and Bourse, where.......would one go?
January 20, 2026 at 4:01 PM
I ask with no optimism whatsoever but - hope springs eternal, I guess - just in case: if someone needed to have a decent but not extortionate dinner in Paris either near Gare du Nord/Gare de l'Est or (lmao) between Pyramides and Bourse, where.......would one go?
Reposted by Dr Stylite
Thanks to @columnist.bsky.social for drawing me attention to this place in Somerset House. Never had boiled peanuts before which are rather good if messy. And anywhere which has good sparkling water gets my vote...
January 20, 2026 at 1:05 PM
Thanks to @columnist.bsky.social for drawing me attention to this place in Somerset House. Never had boiled peanuts before which are rather good if messy. And anywhere which has good sparkling water gets my vote...
Would be interesting if there was someone in this place who does FX hedging for corporates who could tell us what activity is like given current events
January 20, 2026 at 11:30 AM
Would be interesting if there was someone in this place who does FX hedging for corporates who could tell us what activity is like given current events
Authoritarianism is a form of radical certainty — in three respects.
1. The certainty of command
2. The certainty of obedience
And, crucially…
3. The belief in the certainty of that authority
1. The certainty of command
2. The certainty of obedience
And, crucially…
3. The belief in the certainty of that authority
January 20, 2026 at 9:13 AM
Authoritarianism is a form of radical certainty — in three respects.
1. The certainty of command
2. The certainty of obedience
And, crucially…
3. The belief in the certainty of that authority
1. The certainty of command
2. The certainty of obedience
And, crucially…
3. The belief in the certainty of that authority
I guess you can’t have an emergency press conference ever day?
January 20, 2026 at 7:28 AM
I guess you can’t have an emergency press conference ever day?
It’s a very mini holiday but we’re off with some friends this weekend to the fête de Saint Vincent in Burgundy, an annual celebration of wine (fertility etc) which involves vast amounts of wine drinking and thousands of drunk French people.
I need a break in the bad news. Where are you going on holiday's this year?
I've so far got Bilbao, Rhodes (which I haven't been to since I was a kid) and Naples for a wedding later this year.
I've so far got Bilbao, Rhodes (which I haven't been to since I was a kid) and Naples for a wedding later this year.
January 19, 2026 at 7:39 PM
It’s a very mini holiday but we’re off with some friends this weekend to the fête de Saint Vincent in Burgundy, an annual celebration of wine (fertility etc) which involves vast amounts of wine drinking and thousands of drunk French people.
This pops up a little more than occasionally!
yup. Basically, the "EU" is a tool. Does what its political masters say. If the far-right is dominant, it is wielded in a far-right way
A category error that there is less of in UK debate now but still pops up occasionally as relic of 2010s Brexit debate is the claim that European integration is by default a liberal project
In reality EU resilience rests on how aspects of it have an appeal to every part of the ideological spectrum
In reality EU resilience rests on how aspects of it have an appeal to every part of the ideological spectrum
January 19, 2026 at 7:30 PM
This pops up a little more than occasionally!
Did I mention that I went to the foot consultant who said I either had a small stress fracture or some kinda tendinitis?
MRI to follow this week.
Anyway he said, Have you tried running on it, And I was like, What kind of an idiot do you think I am?
Anyway I’ve now run on it and it’s OK!!
MRI to follow this week.
Anyway he said, Have you tried running on it, And I was like, What kind of an idiot do you think I am?
Anyway I’ve now run on it and it’s OK!!
January 19, 2026 at 7:12 PM
Did I mention that I went to the foot consultant who said I either had a small stress fracture or some kinda tendinitis?
MRI to follow this week.
Anyway he said, Have you tried running on it, And I was like, What kind of an idiot do you think I am?
Anyway I’ve now run on it and it’s OK!!
MRI to follow this week.
Anyway he said, Have you tried running on it, And I was like, What kind of an idiot do you think I am?
Anyway I’ve now run on it and it’s OK!!
Dry January? In this global security situation?
January 19, 2026 at 11:25 AM
Dry January? In this global security situation?
This seems quite a big move
UK (Scotland), Survation poll:
Independence referendum
Yes: 50% (+1)
No: 50% (-1)
+/- vs. 2-5 May 2025
Fieldwork: 08-12 January 2026
Sample size: 1,003
➤ europeelects.eu/uk
Independence referendum
Yes: 50% (+1)
No: 50% (-1)
+/- vs. 2-5 May 2025
Fieldwork: 08-12 January 2026
Sample size: 1,003
➤ europeelects.eu/uk
January 19, 2026 at 11:18 AM
This seems quite a big move
When the going gets tough…the tough make conceptual art work (of which this will be an input).
January 19, 2026 at 10:59 AM
When the going gets tough…the tough make conceptual art work (of which this will be an input).
Merovingian, Carolingian or Aetheling, choose your medieval dynasty
January 19, 2026 at 8:14 AM
Merovingian, Carolingian or Aetheling, choose your medieval dynasty