Barry Collins
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bazzacollins.bsky.social
Barry Collins
@bazzacollins.bsky.social
Journalist, editor, little ray of sunshine for Forbes, PC Pro and others.
Meanwhile, Vision Express has just sent me an email, telling me to expect to collect my new glasses on Christmas Day. Is there any company out there with functioning systems?
December 11, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Just received two copies of the same letter from Santander, as I often do, even though I've opted out of postal communication.

I'm sure they will soon write to me explaining why increased costs have forced them to put up their fees again.
December 11, 2025 at 10:03 AM
NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts are almost always good. This one from Air is great, not least because you very rarely hear them this stripped back:

youtu.be/jjuorGiEUS4?...
Air: Tiny Desk Concert
YouTube video by NPR Music
youtu.be
December 10, 2025 at 5:34 PM
My favourite local haulage firm for very obvious reasons
December 9, 2025 at 1:32 PM
The days of kids having unfettered access to social media might be coming to an end. My piece for Forbes:

www.forbes.com/sites/barryc...
Australia Bans Teens From Social Media – Will Other Countries Follow?
Under-16s in Australia will no longer be able to access X, TikTok and other social networks. Will other countries now seek to impose similar bans?
www.forbes.com
December 9, 2025 at 11:17 AM
My phone just crashed mid-phone call. Say what you like about those 70s rotary dial phones, but they never did that.
December 8, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Reposted by Barry Collins
I was once in a small Soho members club where Richard Littlejohn brought his staff for their weekly drinks, he also forced them all to listen and laugh as he read his latest column to them in its entirety, one of the most humiliating spectacles I have ever witnessed
Hello, I need the worst Christmas special you have. No that's too bad
December 8, 2025 at 1:21 PM
You know they're up to no good when they start pulling stunts like this:

www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Brighton ban Guardian from stadium over reporting on Tony Bloom
Reporters and photographers have been banned by the Premier League club, as a Guardian spokesperson said the reporting was in the public interest
www.theguardian.com
December 8, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Watch out for the new Netflix series: Donald Trump - Blessed Are The Peacemakers
December 8, 2025 at 7:09 AM
Very sad news about Martin Parr. One of the great British photographers.
December 7, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Reposted by Barry Collins
The exact people now saying "Nigel Farage was young and foolish at school" (to excuse his racism, bullying and harassment of fellow pupils at Dulwich College) are the same people who said "Shamima Begum was old enough to know what she was doing".
December 7, 2025 at 12:05 PM
This is the easiest problem in the world to solve. Just rate limit the driving instructors to, say, booking one test per day. How hard can it be?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Driving test touts offer instructors £250 monthly kickbacks
Touts use instructor login details to bulk-book tests and sell them at a huge mark-up, the BBC finds.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 6, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Reposted by Barry Collins
I miss cocaine.
The CEO of Palantir.
December 5, 2025 at 1:24 PM
After 12 years of working from home, I now talk to myself so often I'm beginning to wonder if I'm mentally unstable...
December 5, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Reposted by Barry Collins
Immigration is down! Yay!

What's that? We don't have enough nurses and midwifes because everyone's racist now? Oh.
December 5, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Am sure The Daily Mail and Telegraph will be unleashing indignant fury about this. Any minute now.
December 4, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Can anyone recommend a decent AA battery recharger? The one I've got is dismal.
December 3, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Spare a thought for the IT teams, who've got a lot of work to do before the Baileys comes out...

www.techfinitive.com/the-it-manag...
The IT manager's Christmas checklist
As the world rushes into holiday season, we've put together a checklist of items that IT managers need to work through
www.techfinitive.com
December 3, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Who's the duty editor on BBC News today? Jared Kushner? It's not "territorial concessions for Ukraine" that's the sticking point, it's an invader trying to lay claim to territory they've annexed illegally, FFS.
December 3, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Sussex is still under a hosepipe ban, yet Lewes had a game abandoned tonight for a waterlogged pitch. And the bell ends leading the polls don't think we've got a climate crisis.
December 2, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Reposted by Barry Collins
I don’t want to be one of those mad “BBC bias” people, but I’d be surprised if BBC News would pick entirely negative reader comments to highlight after a Farage speech.
December 1, 2025 at 2:06 PM
The other half is cutting up some chicken in the kitchen and it's torture for the dog, who is nil to mouth until breakfast
November 30, 2025 at 9:28 PM
This Channel 5 NFL show should be thrown into a pit of lava. It makes The One Show look like Chaucer.
November 30, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Ah, bugger. Not Billy Bonds. The absolute epitome of a club man and a tremendous human being. The kind of character West Ham sorely lacks these days. RIP.
November 30, 2025 at 12:16 PM
If you're looking for family party games to play this Christmas, there's a new online selection on Netflix and Amazon. And they're pretty good...

www.forbes.com/sites/barryc...
The Battle Of The Party Games Is Between Netflix And Amazon
If you're looking for party games to play over the holiday season, you may need to look no further than Netflix or Amazon's websites.
www.forbes.com
November 30, 2025 at 11:16 AM