David Shepherd
@dms59.bsky.social
Alienated by the scent of Musk. Flaneur, haunter of Art Galleries, love watching paint dry in Arthouse films, countryside conservationist, Birkbeck History of Ideas MA, progressive, radical, European.
I’m afraid my first thought was Profumo too!
February 3, 2026 at 4:33 PM
I’m afraid my first thought was Profumo too!
Reposted by David Shepherd
I think the Epstein affair is turning into the defining political scandal of our time. It is bringing into plain sight how informal networks of powerful, entitled, abusive and often sexually violent men operate outside any form of institutional scrutiny or restraint.
I really can’t keep up with this. It’s like every vague suspicion of oligarch, finance and tech power come together - with Russian influence.
Yes, you’re not imagining. Only Mandelson, Lebedev, Milner and Epstein and L’Affaire Russe
Yes, you’re not imagining. Only Mandelson, Lebedev, Milner and Epstein and L’Affaire Russe
February 2, 2026 at 12:53 PM
I think the Epstein affair is turning into the defining political scandal of our time. It is bringing into plain sight how informal networks of powerful, entitled, abusive and often sexually violent men operate outside any form of institutional scrutiny or restraint.
Reposted by David Shepherd
Didn’t know about that one, although I lived nearby for years.
February 2, 2026 at 2:49 PM
Didn’t know about that one, although I lived nearby for years.
I think that’s right although it’s years since I’ve visited. I love the Arundel sky line viewed from the River Arun as it looks very French with town, castle, church and Catholic Cathedral all set on a hill.
February 2, 2026 at 2:48 PM
I think that’s right although it’s years since I’ve visited. I love the Arundel sky line viewed from the River Arun as it looks very French with town, castle, church and Catholic Cathedral all set on a hill.
Remember visiting Mapledurham in the late 70s. and seeing the one aisle being shut off with iron railings as the landowner’s private Catholic chapel. In Arundel parish church the chancel is sectioned off as the Catholic chapel for Arundel Castle, the Dukes of Norfolk being Catholic too.
February 2, 2026 at 2:19 PM
Remember visiting Mapledurham in the late 70s. and seeing the one aisle being shut off with iron railings as the landowner’s private Catholic chapel. In Arundel parish church the chancel is sectioned off as the Catholic chapel for Arundel Castle, the Dukes of Norfolk being Catholic too.
Reposted by David Shepherd
Thousands may lose out as Post Office closes main Horizon compensation scheme.
Scandalous.
Capture IT System scandal yet to be addressed.
No attention paid to DWP prosecution of postmasters.
No culprit charged for wrongful prosecutions of postmasters.
No contribution to compensation by Fujitsu.
Scandalous.
Capture IT System scandal yet to be addressed.
No attention paid to DWP prosecution of postmasters.
No culprit charged for wrongful prosecutions of postmasters.
No contribution to compensation by Fujitsu.
Thousands may lose out as Post Office closes main Horizon compensation scheme
Hundreds of claims still arriving each month, raising fears eligible operators will lose out on redress
www.theguardian.com
February 1, 2026 at 9:16 AM
Thousands may lose out as Post Office closes main Horizon compensation scheme.
Scandalous.
Capture IT System scandal yet to be addressed.
No attention paid to DWP prosecution of postmasters.
No culprit charged for wrongful prosecutions of postmasters.
No contribution to compensation by Fujitsu.
Scandalous.
Capture IT System scandal yet to be addressed.
No attention paid to DWP prosecution of postmasters.
No culprit charged for wrongful prosecutions of postmasters.
No contribution to compensation by Fujitsu.
Not to mention the waitresses from J Lyons’!
January 31, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Not to mention the waitresses from J Lyons’!
Reposted by David Shepherd
Steve is right - one thing that makes Gorton & Denton a fascinating race to follow, and one with real upset potential, is that while left voters (a) have a strong "stop Reform" motive and (b) likely outnumber Reform's natural constituency co-ordination is unusually difficult
Gorton is really going to test the idea that progressive voters will naturally come back to Labour to stop Reform, or else naturally figure out who is best placed to beat them.
Super messy information environment where even the most informed voter might not be able to figure it out.
Super messy information environment where even the most informed voter might not be able to figure it out.
The Green Party has claimed figures from a projection show “only the Greens can stop Reform” in Gorton and Denton.
This is misleading. The model cited suggests Reform and the Greens will increase vote share the most, but currently projects a Labour win.
This is misleading. The model cited suggests Reform and the Greens will increase vote share the most, but currently projects a Labour win.
January 30, 2026 at 3:22 PM
Steve is right - one thing that makes Gorton & Denton a fascinating race to follow, and one with real upset potential, is that while left voters (a) have a strong "stop Reform" motive and (b) likely outnumber Reform's natural constituency co-ordination is unusually difficult
Still his intention has survived down the centuries which is a good thought!
January 30, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Still his intention has survived down the centuries which is a good thought!
PB&J - is that peanut butter and jelly? If so I’d be more grossed out by the filling than the method. Cleaning the knife using the bread is my usual practice.
January 30, 2026 at 2:58 PM
PB&J - is that peanut butter and jelly? If so I’d be more grossed out by the filling than the method. Cleaning the knife using the bread is my usual practice.
Was his wish granted and did they find the cause?
January 30, 2026 at 2:52 PM
Was his wish granted and did they find the cause?
Remember taking an experiential approach in a school assembly and being annoyed when the teacher tried to turn what I’d said into a morality lesson.
January 30, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Remember taking an experiential approach in a school assembly and being annoyed when the teacher tried to turn what I’d said into a morality lesson.
Likewise I never bother going from Leicester Sq to Piccadilly. Charing Cross to Embankment is another one. These days I often find walking across London is more fun. We walked back to Waterloo from Whitechapel via Tower Bridge, easier than changing at Tottenham Court Road.
January 30, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Likewise I never bother going from Leicester Sq to Piccadilly. Charing Cross to Embankment is another one. These days I often find walking across London is more fun. We walked back to Waterloo from Whitechapel via Tower Bridge, easier than changing at Tottenham Court Road.
The slippery slope!
January 30, 2026 at 12:12 PM
The slippery slope!
They mostly didn’t survive C19 Tractarian Medievalism, hence low backed bench style pews enabling focus on the altar once again in the East end of the chancel. Medieval naves rarely had pews for everyone. Only ‘going to the wall’ benches for the infirm.
January 29, 2026 at 3:23 PM
They mostly didn’t survive C19 Tractarian Medievalism, hence low backed bench style pews enabling focus on the altar once again in the East end of the chancel. Medieval naves rarely had pews for everyone. Only ‘going to the wall’ benches for the infirm.
They focussed congregants attention on the preacher in the didactic post Reformation church. They upheld the class system.The squire’s could be very comfortable, in some cases with a fireplace. Here the numbers might be linked to pew rents. You paid more to sit with the quality.
January 29, 2026 at 3:18 PM
They focussed congregants attention on the preacher in the didactic post Reformation church. They upheld the class system.The squire’s could be very comfortable, in some cases with a fireplace. Here the numbers might be linked to pew rents. You paid more to sit with the quality.
Reposted by David Shepherd
This is absolutely shocking. Something has to be done about this appalling situation in which so many now find themselves. The government needs to act
January 29, 2026 at 7:27 AM
This is absolutely shocking. Something has to be done about this appalling situation in which so many now find themselves. The government needs to act
A funeral for the Virgin before her Assumption, or more her Dormition, Eastern Orthodox style?
January 28, 2026 at 2:53 PM
A funeral for the Virgin before her Assumption, or more her Dormition, Eastern Orthodox style?
I used to rely on R4 - I remember obsessively tuning in each hour for any new developments when something really bad had happened.
January 28, 2026 at 2:48 PM
I used to rely on R4 - I remember obsessively tuning in each hour for any new developments when something really bad had happened.
Where have all the One Nation Tories gone? They can’t all be lurking in @libdems.org.uk.
January 28, 2026 at 12:55 PM
Where have all the One Nation Tories gone? They can’t all be lurking in @libdems.org.uk.
A sign? Seems to have resurrected now.
January 25, 2026 at 5:11 PM
A sign? Seems to have resurrected now.
If only they still had decent trains like that going to Exeter instead of the stinking noisy diesel units they have now!
January 25, 2026 at 5:05 PM
If only they still had decent trains like that going to Exeter instead of the stinking noisy diesel units they have now!
Reposted by David Shepherd
As someone who spent the last 15 years working with aging brains & dementia, I can't stop thinking about this. It is gerontocracy: leaders who are substantially older than most of the adult population. When did we accept this? The new generations can't show up because the old generations never left.
January 21, 2026 at 3:42 PM
As someone who spent the last 15 years working with aging brains & dementia, I can't stop thinking about this. It is gerontocracy: leaders who are substantially older than most of the adult population. When did we accept this? The new generations can't show up because the old generations never left.