mattypenny

The Chancellor just said he’d ban “vexatious legislation”, before correcting himself to “vexatious litigation”.

It’s a shame they are not banning vexatious legislation, particularly if the other lot get back in.

🎶 My Crucial Track for 07 September 2026 - Under Mi Sensi (feat. Mr Vegas) by Alozade & Hollow Point

What is a song that instantly energizes you?

I don’t smoke, but I do like the word ‘herbalists’

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At 10 miles I thought I could run forever

At 11 miles I wanted it to stop

At 12 miles I wanted to die

I loved the Big Half though - my favourite run. Huge thanks to all involved, particularly to whoever kept the Portaloos so clean. Marvellous work.

A mapped route is traced along the River Thames and surrounding areas including Shadwell, Poplar, Rotherhithe, Bermondsey, and the Isle of Dogs.

🎶 My Crucial Track for 05 September 2026 - Give It Up by KC and the Sunshine Band

_Did you sing along to anything today? Describe the moment.

I was in the 10th mile of a half marathon this morning, and someone had this on their headphones but was singing it aloud. A few of us joined in.

A great song, but singularly inappropriate in the circumstances

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🎶 My Crucial Track for 06 September 2026 - Eddie Cochran by Summertime Blues

What song do you wish you had written?

Because it’s a great song, and because this line tells you more about politics than any number of protest songs

I called my Congressman, and he said ‘No’ I’d like to help you, son, but you’re too young to vote

Younger people are still less likely to vote. In my humble opinion, that’s why there’s a ‘triple lock’ on pensions, but going to college costs an arm and a leg.

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Dirty old river, dirty old town

People are standing on a bridge near a colorful BRIT HALF banner with a river, city skyline, and partly cloudy sky in the background.A clear blue sky stretches over the River Thames, flanked by modern buildings including The Shard on the left and the Walkie Talkie building on the right in London.

🎶🎶 I’ll join the Legion, that’s what I’ll do 🎶🎶

A man wearing glasses and a white cap with neck protection is smiling on a crowded pedestrian walkway of Tower Bridge in London on a sunny day.

Big run for me today, and a big match for Chelsea, against the ‘orrible Arsenal

Both these things on their own always make me nervous….I possibly don’t need an caffeine this morning

Today I’m doing my first half marathon since I had skin cancer. All gone now, but the bits of me that aren’t covered in vaseline and now covered in Piz Buin. I’m Mr Slippery.

A nice thought for a Sunday morning

Tall modern buildings rise against a partly cloudy sky near a train station platform with tracks and a digital billboard.

I always read MVP as “Most Valuable Player”, rather than the viable product thing.

Is there a three-letter acronym for getting your three-letter acronyms muddled?

I am loving The Haunting of Hill House.

But having only just read the Stepford Wives, I think that, for the good of my nerves, I need to stick to Wodehouse, and the lightest of rom-com’s from now until Christmas

Currently reading: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson 📚

A dark, eerie Victorian-style house is set against an orange sky with leafless tree branches obscuring parts of the view, evoking a spooky atmosphere.

“In tech, the point that we understand everything is generally the point to move on to the next thing:”

From Benedict’s Newsletter — Benedict Evans

If you squint very hard and use a great deal of imagination, you might be able to see a couple of smudges in the middle of this photo which are actually a baby swift poking his or her head out of a swift nest

It’s not a Hamza Yassin quality pic, but I was pleased to see it

Two things that looks like wasp nests but are actually swift nests are attached to the underside of a roof structure near the corner of a brick building.

There are 34 Presidents here.

I did a degree in politics at the LSE, but I’m not sure I could name 34 Prime Ministers, let alone meaningfully rank them.

I don’t know if that reflects a difference in the way history is done here, or whether it’s just that Mr Trump is a keener student than I am.

A pyramid chart categorizes U.S. presidents into five levels of greatness, placing Donald Trump at the top as The Greatest.

I like the idea that the Indieweb is punk, and I’m particularly glad there’s a lot less spitting, and violence 😃

Very disappointed to see Chelsea drop points at home to AFC Richmond tonight

⚽ #ChelseaFC #cfc

A soccer match scene from the show Ted Lasso is displayed, showing players from Chelsea and Richmond with the subtitle indicating a 1-1 draw.

🎶 My Crucial Track for 23 August 2026 - Baby Love by The Supremes

Share a song that perfectly captures longing.

When the winds blowing in the right direction, I might be inclined to say that this is the best pop song ever recorded

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#TodayILearned

To launch a challenge against [Nigel Farage], 50 per cent of all [Reform] members would need to write a letter to the party chairman requesting a vote. That’s around 130,000 people – basically impossible. You can also trigger a leader challenge with 50 per cent of MPs, but only if there are over 100 Reform member

Ian Dunt - In suspending Tim Montgomerie, the party has lost one its best media operators

[Mourinho, the documentary ] " is also the portrait of a hero and a villain, one of the great leaders of men that the world has ever seen. As a civilisation, we’re lucky Mourinho didn’t go into politics!”

Interviewing José Mourinho: ego, charisma, talent and his ‘rucksack of pain’

⚽ #ChelseaFC #cfc

🎶 My Crucial Track for 18 August 2026 - North and South of the River by Christy Moore

What’s a song you associate with your favorite photograph?

The same photograph, the same song, but a different version to the last time this prompt came up.

The two men are Ian Paisley and Martin McGuiness. They were on opposite sides in ‘The Troubles’ in Ireland, but they established a cheerful, friendly relationship during the Peace Process.

I’ve got family connections on both sides, and I love this picture

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Ruddy Arsenal.

Hopefully they are peaking far too soon this season ⚽

🎶 My Crucial Track for 14 August 2026 - Magpie by The Unthanks

What song makes you feel connected to nature?

I enjoy being in nature, but I’ve never really been very much interested in it, in the sense of learning stuff. I don’t know why.

I do enjoy the folklore-y aspects, and this song is about that. I think it was possibly in an episode of the Detectorists.

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A bit sad. ⚽ #ChelseaFC #cfc

We briefly meet his family for the first time about 15 minutes before the end of the concluding episode. “I know that they enjoy life much more without me,” he confesses. Mourinho - The Guardian

I think I’ve always been worried intellectually about global warming. This is the year when the worry has moved from my head to my heart, to my gut, and to various other bits.

It’s gone from intellectual to visceral

News page about wild fires in the UK

“Unexpected crypto-mining breach”. Two more from them after the news.

[I’m trying to keep this old ‘joke’ alive]

A man with a beard and casual clothing stands next to the bold red text JOHN PEEL and smaller black text Mick Wall on a white background.