Politics (mainly UK and a bit of US), comedy and popular culture more generally. Hear me on a radio near you blathering about Burnham or Farage. Probably. Political Sandbox here: https://substack.com/@politicalsandboxmarkhttps://bsky.app/profile/markreckons.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/markreckons.bsky.social/post/3muslcin67k2bI see today's wordle is good for fans of A Bit Of Fry And Laurie* *Slight spoilers but there are only 2 minutes left on it now05 Sep 2026 22:57 +0000at://did:plc:ialdio22phiehrabh2qsoect/app.bsky.feed.post/3muslcin67k2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/markreckons.bsky.social/post/3musgvm4sfc2bWhat's telling about this clip is how eager a bunch of effectively random Reform activists are to get stuck into assaulting a young woman because they disagree with her. The violence is clearly always just below the surface. They've been radicalised by right wing hate. They need to be prosecuted. [contains quote post or other embedded content]05 Sep 2026 21:39 +0000at://did:plc:ialdio22phiehrabh2qsoect/app.bsky.feed.post/3musgvm4sfc2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/markreckons.bsky.social/post/3mus3io3wlk2bNo arrests made. I'm not surprised. After all... Some of those that work forces are the same that burn crosses.05 Sep 2026 18:15 +0000at://did:plc:ialdio22phiehrabh2qsoect/app.bsky.feed.post/3mus3io3wlk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/markreckons.bsky.social/post/3murw73ssxk2bThat's exactly what the country needs. A Prime Minister who can't be bothered to listen to what people are saying to him when it involves a potential crime. Has he heard himself?05 Sep 2026 16:40 +0000at://did:plc:ialdio22phiehrabh2qsoect/app.bsky.feed.post/3murw73ssxk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/markreckons.bsky.social/post/3mur6445zgk2bLiterally just learned this now at Bristol's MShed museum. This must be what the nursery rhyme Pop Goes the Weasel is about.05 Sep 2026 09:29 +0000at://did:plc:ialdio22phiehrabh2qsoect/app.bsky.feed.post/3mur6445zgk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/markreckons.bsky.social/post/3muqxtiktkq2oNew from me on Political Sandbox: I Wouldn't Have Fifty Minutes Either Weekend World happened because ITV was regulated. 18 Doughty Street happened because nothing was. Both gave me what television won't anymore. https://politicalsandbox.substack.com/p/i-wouldnt-have-fifty-minutes-either05 Sep 2026 07:36 +0000at://did:plc:ialdio22phiehrabh2qsoect/app.bsky.feed.post/3muqxtiktkq2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/markreckons.bsky.social/post/3mup3blhz622mFarage has just claimed that what Jukes and Orr said in the film was "Jack-the-laddery". He's using the exact same playbook Trump used when the Access Hollywood "Grab-em-by-the-pussy" tape dropped and he claimed it was just "locker room talk". The question is will a UK audience be gulled by this?04 Sep 2026 13:33 +0000at://did:plc:ialdio22phiehrabh2qsoect/app.bsky.feed.post/3mup3blhz622mhttps://bsky.app/profile/markreckons.bsky.social/post/3muoxih4oh22lEvery single politician that Matt Chorley tried to buttonhole at Reform conference last night on Newsnight was a former Tory. Andrea Jenkyns, Jake Berry. I've just seen some other coverage and seen Nadim Zahawi. Very hard for Reform to claim to be "change" when most of them are Tory retreads.04 Sep 2026 12:25 +0000at://did:plc:ialdio22phiehrabh2qsoect/app.bsky.feed.post/3muoxih4oh22lhttps://bsky.app/profile/markreckons.bsky.social/post/3muowvtgwuc2lSeeing how easily Farage dismisses people who have been close aides for over a decade as "just contractors" makes me wonder if parties need to formally declare who their senior aides are in advance. So if there is a scandal the party can't just pretend they were "nobodies".04 Sep 2026 12:14 +0000at://did:plc:ialdio22phiehrabh2qsoect/app.bsky.feed.post/3muowvtgwuc2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/markreckons.bsky.social/post/3muowk64zdc2lEvery time from now on when an interviewer thanks Farage for an interview they should say "Thank you. Thank you both of you."04 Sep 2026 12:08 +0000at://did:plc:ialdio22phiehrabh2qsoect/app.bsky.feed.post/3muowk64zdc2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/markreckons.bsky.social/post/3muowgcg5qc2lMy point is it's well established in law that if you attempt to do something, that in itself can be a crime. Otherwise there would be no such crime as attempted murder. Just because the murder might end up not happening doesn't mean no crime was committed. [contains quote post or other embedded content]04 Sep 2026 12:06 +0000at://did:plc:ialdio22phiehrabh2qsoect/app.bsky.feed.post/3muowgcg5qc2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/markreckons.bsky.social/post/3muowdpzgqc2lFarage keeps saying Reform didn't take any money so no rules have been broken. But someone who lived opposite me when I was a kid got prosecuted for trying to groom who he thought was an underage girl. It turned out to be a police officer pretending to be a young girl. He still went down for it.04 Sep 2026 12:04 +0000at://did:plc:ialdio22phiehrabh2qsoect/app.bsky.feed.post/3muowdpzgqc2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/markreckons.bsky.social/post/3muovhyhy2k26If you want to hear me discussing The Giftie a few years ago with @outonbluesix.bsky.social in @looksunfamiliar.bsky.social you can find it here https://timworthington.org/2020/08/23/looks-unfamiliar-67-mark-thompson-it-ended-up-underneath-the-leg-of-a-chair/ [contains quote post or other embedded content]04 Sep 2026 11:49 +0000at://did:plc:ialdio22phiehrabh2qsoect/app.bsky.feed.post/3muovhyhy2k26https://bsky.app/profile/markreckons.bsky.social/post/3muous3ojsc26RIP Richard O'Sullivan. King of the sitcom throughout the 70s and 80s. Man About the House, Robin's Nest, Me and My Girl. And in 1988 on New Year's Day his perfect turn on the astonishing The Giftie which starts out like a standard suburban sitcom and becomes much, much darker very quickly.04 Sep 2026 11:37 +0000at://did:plc:ialdio22phiehrabh2qsoect/app.bsky.feed.post/3muous3ojsc26https://bsky.app/profile/markreckons.bsky.social/post/3muoi3oyuqc2xExactly as I predicted Jukes and Orr have been thrown under the bus. The problem Farage has is that everyone who watches the film that caused Reform to abandon them will also see Farage himself clearly accepting foreign money. If Jukes and Orr have to go why can Farage stay? That makes no sense.04 Sep 2026 07:49 +0000at://did:plc:ialdio22phiehrabh2qsoect/app.bsky.feed.post/3muoi3oyuqc2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/markreckons.bsky.social/post/3munemos5a22x😂😂😂 [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 Sep 2026 21:15 +0000at://did:plc:ialdio22phiehrabh2qsoect/app.bsky.feed.post/3munemos5a22x