Man sitting behind me on the train, having a phone call.
I've heard him say 'in all honesty' 3 times in the first 2 minutes.
I've never had less faith that someone is being honest.
New vlog👇2.6 million emergency food parcels provided last year by food banks in the @TrussellUK community. A welcome reduction from the peak in 2023, but still appallingly high. Another spike in the cost of essentials will push more families & food banks to the brink.
I haven’t had to use the District line from East Putney into town for quite a while. But I’m sure there used to be at least SOME trains going to Upminster!
Each parcel is intended to last for 3 days (although some people try to make them last longer).
In terms of how many times people come to food banks: 46% need to visit only once, 54% more than once. 28% used the food bank 2 - 3 times. 15% need to visit 4 - 9 times.
"Start thinking about how you might design a package of support that is not as bluntly targeted as the last one."
🎙️ @helenmiller.bsky.social and @benzaranko.bsky.social suggest how the government should approach designing an energy support package, if they go ahead with one, in our latest podcast:
- More steps towards an Essentials Guarantee in Universal Credit. We need an independent process to advise on rates, as we have in the Low Pay Commission for minimum wage.
- Cutting UC health elements will hit disabled people hard, increasing already high levels of hardship.
Government is taking steps to tackle this. Lifting the 2 child limit in April will protect 100s of 1000s of children from severe hardship.
But we need more action to bring hardship down to pre-pandemic levels & below:
- End LHA freeze & permanently link rents & support.
Overall numbers have started to come down since the peak of 2023, but are still 45% higher than in 2019.
And if the price of essentials like food and energy spikes up again the impact on food banks and families already at breaking point will be devastating.
New @trusselluk.bsky.social stats out today: 2.6 million emergency food parcels in 2025 - 1 every 12 seconds.
We're seeing really deep and prolonged hardship, especially for families. As well as for disabled people and fast growing numbers of pensioners.
www.trussell.org.uk/news-and-res...
Early bird alarm for tomorrow! Looking forward to joining on @goodmorningbritain.bsky.social to discuss @trusselluk.bsky.social new stats. And what geo-political turmoil could mean for food banks & families already at breaking point.
As I was rushing for a train this evening I made a last minute decision to swap my coat for my Big Coat. Standing in this drafty station I feel very at peace with my choices.
Sometimes when I'm on LinkedIn I wonder if we're now reaching the point of having a 1:1 ratio between coaches and coachees.
Didn’t she move in after Peggy died, Kirsty didn’t really want her to, but was then won over?
The happy hop of a little dog catching her ball…
Nope, both scenes have only the 2 of them, no third party or overhearing.
The only difference appears to be that it took about 8 hours for them to remember they both speak French.
Colonel Hastings is keeping a little book with 2 columns:
1. Things he doesn’t understand.
2. Explanations for them.
I can’t imagine how big that book would have to be if he was trying to understand today’s mad mad world.
Or how empty the 2nd column would be.
Later Poirot returns to visit the Belgian film star & they have a heart felt conversation in French, with subtitles.
So why the earlier conversation in English?
Did they only realise halfway through that:
A. It made no sense for them to speak English?
Or
B. Subtitles exist?
Presumably you could pick another code from the menu.
Weird thing about Travelodge comms:
‘They followed procedures correctly’ = WORST possible message.
Implies anyone staying in any Travelodge can expect staff to hand out room keys in the middle of the night to anyone who knows your name.
Somehow doubt that was the crisis comms goal.
Latest ‘but why?’:
- Ordering food on train app.
- Have to put mobile number.
- Incl country code (despite being UK only service.)
- Have to scroll down to ‘U’ to get the UK code
- Which is GB.
???
Either: make it GB at ‘G’.
Or UK at ‘U’.
Or, ideally pre fill UK code.
Given the capitals are already pretty annoyed about her getting so far into foreign policy, this feels like a potentially serious flashpoint.
'!f you want to create the conditions for a chaotic and unpredictable reordering of our party system, “the governing party is in office during a sharp price shock that the opposition loudly supported the causes of” feels like a pretty good way to do that.' 👏 @stephenkb.bsky.social
just a typo from me - story makes it clear she's Belgian! Really interesting points about maybe they come from different bits of Belgium & speak different languages. Makes me wonder - is it the case now that the common language across Belgium is English, when people from different bits meet?
Poirot visits a Belgium film star. It’s only the two of them in this scene. Why are they speaking English??
Literally had to mute #Crufts and read my phone until they stop showing some VT about a dog & a primary school and get back to actual Crufts!
Infuriating knowing there will be loads of dog action happening that they’re choosing not to show whiles this nonsense is on.
I love Claudia Winkleman but if you employ her at Crufts you have utterly misunderstood what it should be doing. #Crufts
Crufts has become too focused on the people. Chats, ‘human interest’, looong interviews about why they love the dog. All just guff. I want just to see dogs doing stuff - running, weaving, jumping, showing off their hocks. Just maximum dog & minimum human please. #Crufts
Trouble with being late to watching something is that you also experience the outrage of Netflix cancelling it far too late. (Why yes, we have just finished season 1 of The Abandons).
I'm watching it on my exercise bike, incentive to go on it!
So beautiful
