Patrick Hadfield

Walking through Edinburgh yesterday evening, I passed a young woman with amazing red hair.

Which of course brought to mind this brilliant tune by Richard Thompson. Which bizarrely I don't seem to own - I was sure I did! Oh well.

Richard Thompson - 1952 Vincent Black Lightning.

https://youtu.be/MOCZwKmjR6E?si=VysluCzMyeSsmGgW

Wordle 1,727 4/6*

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
🟨🟨⬜🟨⬜
⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

This is a travesty.

It would be a travesty even if architectural treasures weren't being destroyed, with huge damage and loss of lives for no real purpose, but this just makes it worse.

"Dismay as ancient heritage sites across Iran damaged in US-Israel bombing."

#war #US #Iran
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/12/dismay-as-ancient-heritage-sites-across-iran-damaged-in-us-israel-bombing?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

"British governments have made choices that mean poorer children get old sooner and die earlier than richer children. The fact our healthy lives are now getting shorter is also a political choice. Much of the choosing was done by George Osborne and David Cameron, by Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander, who imposed year after year of spending cuts." "This is a life and death story for the UK – so why is it being brushed under the carpet?" #UKpol #health #inequality https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/06/uk-death-healthy-life-expectancy-decline-state?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

"OpenAI helped launch a $125m lobbying initiative to make sure no state can regulate AI. It’s attacking any politician who tries to pass safety laws. It wants Trump, and only Trump, to write the rules for the most powerful technology on earth. Subscription money from users around the world flows to a company that is embedding itself in the repressive infrastructure of the Trump administration. That is not a conspiracy theory. It is a business strategy."

#QuitGPT #USpol
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/04/quit-chatgpt-subscription-boycott-silicon-valley?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

"There had been 23,347 votes out of a possible 40,000 verified members. This cut to Your Party’s tragedy. When the idea for a party had been first mooted there had been 800,000 expressions of interest. But people got bored of the inertia and the squabbling and started to look elsewhere, as the Greens under Zack Polanski became a viable force."

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/feb/26/the-your-party-committee-election-was-chaos-why-break-the-habit-of-a-lifetime?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

"The Your Party committee election was chaos. Why break the habit of a lifetime?"

#UKpol #YourParty
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/feb/26/the-your-party-committee-election-was-chaos-why-break-the-habit-of-a-lifetime?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

I heard about this on the radio and now I'm earwormed by Ultravox! "Entire Scottish village invited to Austrian capital by tourist board." #Dull #Vienna https://news.stv.tv/north/entire-scottish-village-of-dull-invited-to-austrian-capital-by-tourist-board

This just seems nasty. It brings to mind that the Nazis confiscated the property of Jews and others fleeing their regime. Where's the compassion gone? "Asylum seekers’ jewellery could be seized to pay for processing costs, says Home Office minister." https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/17/refugees-jewellery-asylum-home-office?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

"New Banksy mural appears at Royal Courts of Justice."

"It depicts a judge in a traditional wig and black robe hitting a protester lying on the ground, with blood splattering their placard.

"The artwork was quickly covered up by large sheets of plastic and two metal barriers, under the guard of two security officers."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgrq0r0y878o