Jonathan Calder
@lordbonkers.bsky.social
Blogger at Liberal England. Expect Dickens, politics, Steve Winwood, canals, British films, Richard Jefferies, Shropshire, Englishness, chess, social history, Malcolm Saville, philosophy, Leicestershire and Rutland, comedy, railways... That sort of thing.
Pinned
Liberal England Gold...
The Who: Substitute
I was 16 when The Who re-released Substitute in 1976. I went out and bought it because it was so much better than anything else in the charts at the time.
The Who: Substitute
I was 16 when The Who re-released Substitute in 1976. I went out and bought it because it was so much better than anything else in the charts at the time.
The Who: Substitute
I was 16 when The Who re-released Substitute in 1976. I went out and bought it because it was so much better than anything else in the chart...
liberalengland.blogspot.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:53 AM
Liberal England Gold...
The Who: Substitute
I was 16 when The Who re-released Substitute in 1976. I went out and bought it because it was so much better than anything else in the charts at the time.
The Who: Substitute
I was 16 when The Who re-released Substitute in 1976. I went out and bought it because it was so much better than anything else in the charts at the time.
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
Built in the early 1830s as part of the Leicester & Swannington Railway, this incline control house once helped transport coal across Leicestershire using rope-worked, self-acting incline technology – long before modern locomotives took over.
Bagworth Incline and the remains of one of the world's oldest railway buildings
Steve from the What Once Was channel (like and subscribe, my pretties) writes on YouTube: Join me as I explore what’s left of the Bagworth I...
liberalengland.blogspot.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Built in the early 1830s as part of the Leicester & Swannington Railway, this incline control house once helped transport coal across Leicestershire using rope-worked, self-acting incline technology – long before modern locomotives took over.
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
In my survey, 39% of novelists reported that their income has already been negatively impacted by GenAI.
Half of UK authors fear AI could replace them – what my new research suggests about the future of the novel
In my survey, 39% of novelists reported that their income has already been negatively impacted by GenAI.
tcnv.link
November 26, 2025 at 7:12 AM
In my survey, 39% of novelists reported that their income has already been negatively impacted by GenAI.
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
"Between now and the next election, there will be more scrutiny on Farage than ever before."
"He seems to me a bit like the bully who might just have a glass jaw when he gets hit himself"
www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/fara...
"He seems to me a bit like the bully who might just have a glass jaw when he gets hit himself"
www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/fara...
Farage fails to address racism claims: ‘He’s thin-skinned, and it’s getting thinner all the time’ | The News Agents
Nigel Farage, who is facing resurfaced allegations of making racist comments at school, now says he “never directly racially abused” anyone – following a previous outright denial by Reform UK. What…
www.thenewsagents.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 7:00 AM
"Between now and the next election, there will be more scrutiny on Farage than ever before."
"He seems to me a bit like the bully who might just have a glass jaw when he gets hit himself"
www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/fara...
"He seems to me a bit like the bully who might just have a glass jaw when he gets hit himself"
www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/fara...
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
Anyone enjoying the current re-runs of vintage Call My Bluff on BBC Four might like to check out the show's cameo appearance ten minutes into this barking mad NF Simpson parody. I remember watching this in 1973 and being flabbergasted.
Elementary My Dear Watson (1973)
YouTube video by TV Gold
www.youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Anyone enjoying the current re-runs of vintage Call My Bluff on BBC Four might like to check out the show's cameo appearance ten minutes into this barking mad NF Simpson parody. I remember watching this in 1973 and being flabbergasted.
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
Lord Bonkers' Diary: One of Violent Bonham Carter’s boys liberalengland.blogspot.com/2025/11/lord...
November 25, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Lord Bonkers' Diary: One of Violent Bonham Carter’s boys liberalengland.blogspot.com/2025/11/lord...
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
Conservatives Lose Overall Majority on North Yorkshire Council (but still have a casting vote) - This is the Coast share.google/gtIXEs8CUj3R...
Conservatives Lose Overall Majority on North Yorkshire Council
Opposition councillors say a “new political landscape” is emerging in North Yorkshire after the Conservative-led group on the unitary authority lost its majority.
share.google
November 26, 2025 at 6:49 AM
Conservatives Lose Overall Majority on North Yorkshire Council (but still have a casting vote) - This is the Coast share.google/gtIXEs8CUj3R...
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
As Garnett says:
"The 2016 referendum, and its consequences, accounted directly for Cameron and May; and while Johnson and Truss found means of self-sabotage, arguably neither would have earned the chance to showcase their ineptitude for leadership without Brexit."
My review from the new Liberator
"The 2016 referendum, and its consequences, accounted directly for Cameron and May; and while Johnson and Truss found means of self-sabotage, arguably neither would have earned the chance to showcase their ineptitude for leadership without Brexit."
My review from the new Liberator
Downing Street Downfalls: The Misadventures of Britain’s Prime Minister Since Thatcher by Mark Garnett
Downing Street Downfalls: The Misadventures of Britain’s Prime Minister Since Thatcher Mark Garnett Agenda, 2025, £20 hbk It’s not a novelty...
liberalengland.blogspot.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:41 AM
As Garnett says:
"The 2016 referendum, and its consequences, accounted directly for Cameron and May; and while Johnson and Truss found means of self-sabotage, arguably neither would have earned the chance to showcase their ineptitude for leadership without Brexit."
My review from the new Liberator
"The 2016 referendum, and its consequences, accounted directly for Cameron and May; and while Johnson and Truss found means of self-sabotage, arguably neither would have earned the chance to showcase their ineptitude for leadership without Brexit."
My review from the new Liberator
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
He was wonderfully natural and able to convey so much with so little. He is *extraordinary* as Renfield in the BBC Dracula with Louis Jourdan.
www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrit...
www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrit...
Wycliffe and The Golden Compass star dies after 'short illness'
Iconic Wycliffe actor and The Golden Compass star Jack Shepherd has died at the age of 85 following a short illness, a sad statement has revealed
www.mirror.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 7:07 AM
He was wonderfully natural and able to convey so much with so little. He is *extraordinary* as Renfield in the BBC Dracula with Louis Jourdan.
www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrit...
www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrit...
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
Why do all the inkblots look like sexy clowns
November 26, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Why do all the inkblots look like sexy clowns
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
Trump's Ukraine deal is worse than the Munich betrayal; the "patriots" who hate Britain; floods aren't news any more; the lost world of Greater Manchester's newspapers; Gillian Tindall remembered; a new biography of Mark Twain
The Joy of Six 1440
"The 'peace deal' that America is now attempting to force on Ukraine, is not like Neville Chamberlain’s betrayal of Czechoslovakia at Munich...
liberalengland.blogspot.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:43 AM
Trump's Ukraine deal is worse than the Munich betrayal; the "patriots" who hate Britain; floods aren't news any more; the lost world of Greater Manchester's newspapers; Gillian Tindall remembered; a new biography of Mark Twain
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
🚨BOOM!! The Petition calling for a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy has now rocketed past 50,000 signatures! Let’s get it to 100,000. If a petition is what it’s going to take let’s get this done!
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
November 25, 2025 at 9:39 PM
🚨BOOM!! The Petition calling for a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy has now rocketed past 50,000 signatures! Let’s get it to 100,000. If a petition is what it’s going to take let’s get this done!
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
"Sadly we also have no heating in the church so services in the colder months are limited. We have raised just over £9,200 - a long way off our target."
Search on for West Midlands buildings at risk of being lost - BBC News
People can nominate sites for the Victorian Society's endangered buildings list until 5 January.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 6:55 AM
"Sadly we also have no heating in the church so services in the colder months are limited. We have raised just over £9,200 - a long way off our target."
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
I’m almost Farage’s age, and my time at secondary school may be the period I have the most accurate memories of. It’s the recent stuff I have trouble with.
November 25, 2025 at 6:06 PM
I’m almost Farage’s age, and my time at secondary school may be the period I have the most accurate memories of. It’s the recent stuff I have trouble with.
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
Many of us fear that President Trump is gearing up to betray the rights of Ukrainians.
November 25, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Many of us fear that President Trump is gearing up to betray the rights of Ukrainians.
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
Agatha Christie's play The Mousetrap opened at the Ambassadors Theatre, London, on 25 November 1952.
Read about the real-life case that led her to write it. #AgathaChristie #TheMousetrap
Read about the real-life case that led her to write it. #AgathaChristie #TheMousetrap
The forgotten Shropshire tragedy that inspired The Mousetrap
The death of 12-year-old Dennis O’Neill in 1945 shocked Britain and led Agatha Christie to write her famous play The Mousetrap
centralbylines.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Agatha Christie's play The Mousetrap opened at the Ambassadors Theatre, London, on 25 November 1952.
Read about the real-life case that led her to write it. #AgathaChristie #TheMousetrap
Read about the real-life case that led her to write it. #AgathaChristie #TheMousetrap
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
Nigel Farage's racism denials are dishonest, says ex-classmate - BBC News share.google/HShZtjQJu7q8...
Nigel Farage's racism denials are dishonest, says ex-classmate - BBC News
Peter Ettedgui tells the BBC Nigel Farage targeted antisemitic abuse at him when they were teenagers.
share.google
November 25, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Nigel Farage's racism denials are dishonest, says ex-classmate - BBC News share.google/HShZtjQJu7q8...
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
🚨It's time there was investigation into Russian interference in our politics.
And the first person they should question is Nigel Farage.
And the first person they should question is Nigel Farage.
November 25, 2025 at 7:00 PM
🚨It's time there was investigation into Russian interference in our politics.
And the first person they should question is Nigel Farage.
And the first person they should question is Nigel Farage.
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
The UK could end its reliance on exporting plastic waste by 2030 to support the creation of 5,400 new jobs and take responsibility for the environmental impact of its waste, according to research.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
UK can create 5,400 jobs if it stops plastic waste exports, report finds
Campaigners say closure of loophole making it cheaper to export rather than recycle will boost circular economy
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:30 PM
The UK could end its reliance on exporting plastic waste by 2030 to support the creation of 5,400 new jobs and take responsibility for the environmental impact of its waste, according to research.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
White Ribbon Day matters. Violence against women and girls will only end when men take responsibility for changing the culture that allows it. I’m proud to speak out on #WhiteRibbonDay and every day to help build a safer world for our children.
November 25, 2025 at 8:07 PM
White Ribbon Day matters. Violence against women and girls will only end when men take responsibility for changing the culture that allows it. I’m proud to speak out on #WhiteRibbonDay and every day to help build a safer world for our children.
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
Some people have a natural talent for finding the worst possible solution to a problem.
Justice secretary wants most jury trials scrapped
Only cases of alleged murder, rape or manslaughter will be decided by a jury under new proposals to cut court backlogs.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Some people have a natural talent for finding the worst possible solution to a problem.
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
In essence: juries are important for what decisions they prevent others from making.
Juries are not perfect.
Many of the worst miscarriages of justice have followed jury trials.
But the merit of juries is not so much the power they have, but the power they prevent others from having.
They mean a judge cannot just nod-along with prosecution evidence and give a guilty verdict.
Many of the worst miscarriages of justice have followed jury trials.
But the merit of juries is not so much the power they have, but the power they prevent others from having.
They mean a judge cannot just nod-along with prosecution evidence and give a guilty verdict.
November 25, 2025 at 9:52 PM
In essence: juries are important for what decisions they prevent others from making.
Reposted by Jonathan Calder
This seems not good...
Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham Councils are among London local borough governments which have reportedly been hit a "cybersecurity incident"
www.mylondon.news/news/east-lo...
Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham Councils are among London local borough governments which have reportedly been hit a "cybersecurity incident"
www.mylondon.news/news/east-lo...
'Multiple' London councils hit by cyber attack - live updates
MyLondon has seen internal memos from three local authorities confirming an incident
www.mylondon.news
November 25, 2025 at 6:10 PM
This seems not good...
Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham Councils are among London local borough governments which have reportedly been hit a "cybersecurity incident"
www.mylondon.news/news/east-lo...
Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham Councils are among London local borough governments which have reportedly been hit a "cybersecurity incident"
www.mylondon.news/news/east-lo...