Paul Cotterill
@bickerrecord.bsky.social
Nurse by training. Vagabond by nature. Imposter by syndrome.
A Habermas-influenced English pluralist, if that's a thing. An organiser of things, which are definitely things.
He/him/ally
A Habermas-influenced English pluralist, if that's a thing. An organiser of things, which are definitely things.
He/him/ally
Interesting convo with Benjamin here about tips on teaching adults who've missed out as kids how to ride a bike.
Tips welcome.
We're all going to have to do a bit more of this
Tips welcome.
We're all going to have to do a bit more of this
Good to see this on the local Facebook group. Youngish adults in deprived areas who've never learned to ride is quite a thing, but this lad gets what he's missed.
I've arranged to meet and get him through basics/give him a bike.
I've taught plenty of kids but tips on teaching adults welcome
I've arranged to meet and get him through basics/give him a bike.
I've taught plenty of kids but tips on teaching adults welcome
February 11, 2026 at 11:09 AM
Interesting convo with Benjamin here about tips on teaching adults who've missed out as kids how to ride a bike.
Tips welcome.
We're all going to have to do a bit more of this
Tips welcome.
We're all going to have to do a bit more of this
Good to see this on the local Facebook group. Youngish adults in deprived areas who've never learned to ride is quite a thing, but this lad gets what he's missed.
I've arranged to meet and get him through basics/give him a bike.
I've taught plenty of kids but tips on teaching adults welcome
I've arranged to meet and get him through basics/give him a bike.
I've taught plenty of kids but tips on teaching adults welcome
February 11, 2026 at 9:41 AM
Good to see this on the local Facebook group. Youngish adults in deprived areas who've never learned to ride is quite a thing, but this lad gets what he's missed.
I've arranged to meet and get him through basics/give him a bike.
I've taught plenty of kids but tips on teaching adults welcome
I've arranged to meet and get him through basics/give him a bike.
I've taught plenty of kids but tips on teaching adults welcome
You know that bit in 100 Years of Solitude when it just starts pissing down and doesn't stop for four years, and everybody in Macondo goes even madder than before?
Yeah, it's like that here.
Yeah, it's like that here.
February 11, 2026 at 8:05 AM
You know that bit in 100 Years of Solitude when it just starts pissing down and doesn't stop for four years, and everybody in Macondo goes even madder than before?
Yeah, it's like that here.
Yeah, it's like that here.
It's bizarre that there's simply no media coverage of either the successful onshore wind/solar auction of the Local Power Plan, both announced today.
This is real progress towards Net Zero, but the media seems to give Zero Shit.
This is real progress towards Net Zero, but the media seems to give Zero Shit.
February 10, 2026 at 9:08 PM
It's bizarre that there's simply no media coverage of either the successful onshore wind/solar auction of the Local Power Plan, both announced today.
This is real progress towards Net Zero, but the media seems to give Zero Shit.
This is real progress towards Net Zero, but the media seems to give Zero Shit.
You may have noticed that I've not commented much on the last couple of seismic upheaval days in domestic politics.
You may also have not.
You may also have not.
February 10, 2026 at 6:09 PM
You may have noticed that I've not commented much on the last couple of seismic upheaval days in domestic politics.
You may also have not.
You may also have not.
I'm intrigued, as a very lay observer, as to why the EHRC vs GLP judgment on lawfulness of the anti-trans Interim Guidance hasn't been delivered yet. It's been quite a while now.
February 10, 2026 at 9:22 AM
I'm intrigued, as a very lay observer, as to why the EHRC vs GLP judgment on lawfulness of the anti-trans Interim Guidance hasn't been delivered yet. It's been quite a while now.
I'm kind of guessing this is false information on Facebook, and that the Green candidate doesn't live in that house.
However, AFAICS the poster is real, does do podcasts & Tiktok with Farage, Zia etc, and has a large following who believe her.
So maybe Reform should be asked if they disavow this.
However, AFAICS the poster is real, does do podcasts & Tiktok with Farage, Zia etc, and has a large following who believe her.
So maybe Reform should be asked if they disavow this.
February 10, 2026 at 9:12 AM
I'm kind of guessing this is false information on Facebook, and that the Green candidate doesn't live in that house.
However, AFAICS the poster is real, does do podcasts & Tiktok with Farage, Zia etc, and has a large following who believe her.
So maybe Reform should be asked if they disavow this.
However, AFAICS the poster is real, does do podcasts & Tiktok with Farage, Zia etc, and has a large following who believe her.
So maybe Reform should be asked if they disavow this.
Hard to be sure nowadays but this looks AFAICS to be a genuine complaint post to a Reform F'book group to effect that this bloke's mother didn't actually "sign off" that now infamous unimprinted letter to Gorton & Denton residents, and that Reform have "left my mum to the dogs".
February 9, 2026 at 5:41 PM
Hard to be sure nowadays but this looks AFAICS to be a genuine complaint post to a Reform F'book group to effect that this bloke's mother didn't actually "sign off" that now infamous unimprinted letter to Gorton & Denton residents, and that Reform have "left my mum to the dogs".
Léon Blum is a lot more instructive than previous UK PMs in these fascist circumstances.
Sort of extraordinary that there is only one obvious precedent for a prime minister winning a landslide election victory and then seeming like toast just two years later … and it’s the election *immediately* before this one.
February 8, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Léon Blum is a lot more instructive than previous UK PMs in these fascist circumstances.
I can confirm that Aldi's 'specialty' 1897 lager in blue cans is not distinguishable in taste from Kronebourg 1663 lager in blue cans, but that it is about two thirds the price.
No need to thank me. It's what I do.
Hic.
No need to thank me. It's what I do.
Hic.
February 8, 2026 at 3:14 PM
I can confirm that Aldi's 'specialty' 1897 lager in blue cans is not distinguishable in taste from Kronebourg 1663 lager in blue cans, but that it is about two thirds the price.
No need to thank me. It's what I do.
Hic.
No need to thank me. It's what I do.
Hic.
Some muppet here trying to claim the Muppets are puppets. I mean, we'd have spotted it by now if they were.
the magic of the Muppets is that there are two fourth walls. they constantly break the one that reminds the audience they are performers. they NEVER break the one that reminds the audience they are puppets. this dynamic is the key to their entire comedy style
MY KIDS: so why are there muppets in the AUDIENCE
ME: THE CONCEIT!! IS THAT THEY'RE PUTTING ON A VARIETY SHOW!!! IN A WORLD WHERE MUPPET AND HUMAN COEXIST!!! YOU ARE WATCHING A DOCUMENTARY!! FILMED!! IN REAL TIME!!!
ME: THE CONCEIT!! IS THAT THEY'RE PUTTING ON A VARIETY SHOW!!! IN A WORLD WHERE MUPPET AND HUMAN COEXIST!!! YOU ARE WATCHING A DOCUMENTARY!! FILMED!! IN REAL TIME!!!
February 8, 2026 at 7:35 AM
Some muppet here trying to claim the Muppets are puppets. I mean, we'd have spotted it by now if they were.
Great work by @manchestermill.bsky.social
As election at a dozen elections & hundreds of candidates, I would just note that is about the biggest no-no there could possibly be for an agent and for the party. The imprint is the first and last thing you check before allowing a leaflet to go out.
As election at a dozen elections & hundreds of candidates, I would just note that is about the biggest no-no there could possibly be for an agent and for the party. The imprint is the first and last thing you check before allowing a leaflet to go out.
Constituents received a letter from a concerned pensioner called Patricia Clegg, a lifelong Labour voter who is planning to switch to Reform.
What they didn't know was Clegg was writing it on the party's behalf, because they didn't label it properly.
What they didn't know was Clegg was writing it on the party's behalf, because they didn't label it properly.
February 6, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Great work by @manchestermill.bsky.social
As election at a dozen elections & hundreds of candidates, I would just note that is about the biggest no-no there could possibly be for an agent and for the party. The imprint is the first and last thing you check before allowing a leaflet to go out.
As election at a dozen elections & hundreds of candidates, I would just note that is about the biggest no-no there could possibly be for an agent and for the party. The imprint is the first and last thing you check before allowing a leaflet to go out.
Tomorrow is the 92nd anniversary of February 6th, which is France's own January 6th, when fascist groups converged on Place de La Concorde with a view to storming parliament.
What antifascists did next is actually a lot more instructive for us now than what they did (or didn't) do in the USA.
What antifascists did next is actually a lot more instructive for us now than what they did (or didn't) do in the USA.
February 5, 2026 at 11:26 AM
Tomorrow is the 92nd anniversary of February 6th, which is France's own January 6th, when fascist groups converged on Place de La Concorde with a view to storming parliament.
What antifascists did next is actually a lot more instructive for us now than what they did (or didn't) do in the USA.
What antifascists did next is actually a lot more instructive for us now than what they did (or didn't) do in the USA.
I'll just note that there seems very little cut-through on the Mandelson stuff amongst people in my neck of the wood who do not really follow news. It's not in the same league as, say, the 2009 expenses scandal, which I suspect was just more relatable to real lives.
Of course this may change.
Of course this may change.
February 5, 2026 at 11:01 AM
I'll just note that there seems very little cut-through on the Mandelson stuff amongst people in my neck of the wood who do not really follow news. It's not in the same league as, say, the 2009 expenses scandal, which I suspect was just more relatable to real lives.
Of course this may change.
Of course this may change.
Just re-read 100 Years of Solitude to get a feel for what living through the end times is like. A lot of ants.
February 4, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Just re-read 100 Years of Solitude to get a feel for what living through the end times is like. A lot of ants.
It's a bit of a side issue for now but one thing the Greens are going to have to contend with is that they can't so easily paint themselves specifically as a post-sleaze alternative to Labour, given their leader's previous choice of career. They will have to replace Labour despite that, via policy.
February 4, 2026 at 5:49 PM
It's a bit of a side issue for now but one thing the Greens are going to have to contend with is that they can't so easily paint themselves specifically as a post-sleaze alternative to Labour, given their leader's previous choice of career. They will have to replace Labour despite that, via policy.
Reposted by Paul Cotterill
4 February 1925 | A French Jewish woman, Ginette Kolinka (née Cherkasky), was born in Paris.
She was deported to #Auschwitz from Drancy in April 1944. She was transferred to Bergen-Belsen and then to #Theresienstadt. She survived.
Today she turns 101.
She was deported to #Auschwitz from Drancy in April 1944. She was transferred to Bergen-Belsen and then to #Theresienstadt. She survived.
Today she turns 101.
February 4, 2026 at 11:00 AM
4 February 1925 | A French Jewish woman, Ginette Kolinka (née Cherkasky), was born in Paris.
She was deported to #Auschwitz from Drancy in April 1944. She was transferred to Bergen-Belsen and then to #Theresienstadt. She survived.
Today she turns 101.
She was deported to #Auschwitz from Drancy in April 1944. She was transferred to Bergen-Belsen and then to #Theresienstadt. She survived.
Today she turns 101.
Peter Kilfoyle's "I can only speculate" phrasing as to why John Smith would have nothing to do with Peter Mandelson in 1992 is interesting in retrospect (Left Behind, 2000, p.290).
February 4, 2026 at 8:32 AM
Peter Kilfoyle's "I can only speculate" phrasing as to why John Smith would have nothing to do with Peter Mandelson in 1992 is interesting in retrospect (Left Behind, 2000, p.290).
That should of course be "by 1992". I was abroad for that decade so those dates don't come naturally.
February 3, 2026 at 8:30 PM
That should of course be "by 1992". I was abroad for that decade so those dates don't come naturally.
Went for a blood test at my GP practice, to see if I'm still alive.
The practice nurse, who may be almost as old as me, called me "sweetie pie".
I love the NHS.
The practice nurse, who may be almost as old as me, called me "sweetie pie".
I love the NHS.
February 3, 2026 at 12:59 PM
Went for a blood test at my GP practice, to see if I'm still alive.
The practice nurse, who may be almost as old as me, called me "sweetie pie".
I love the NHS.
The practice nurse, who may be almost as old as me, called me "sweetie pie".
I love the NHS.
What's the most explicitly upper middle class album in history?
I'm here to nominate Al Stewart's heroic 1972 effort 'Orange'.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JEi...
I'm here to nominate Al Stewart's heroic 1972 effort 'Orange'.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JEi...
You Don't Even Know Me
YouTube video by Al Stewart - Topic
www.youtube.com
February 3, 2026 at 11:43 AM
What's the most explicitly upper middle class album in history?
I'm here to nominate Al Stewart's heroic 1972 effort 'Orange'.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JEi...
I'm here to nominate Al Stewart's heroic 1972 effort 'Orange'.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JEi...
On this day 38 years ago, before I became a centrist dad, I was a top strike leader, on the telly and everything.
The power stance didn't exist back then. Or haircuts.
#nursesstrike1988
The power stance didn't exist back then. Or haircuts.
#nursesstrike1988
February 3, 2026 at 7:25 AM
On this day 38 years ago, before I became a centrist dad, I was a top strike leader, on the telly and everything.
The power stance didn't exist back then. Or haircuts.
#nursesstrike1988
The power stance didn't exist back then. Or haircuts.
#nursesstrike1988
My own view is that the men's world cup should now be relocated from USA to the capital of Burkina Faso, where the mothers of wives & girlfriends of the England team should go to a branch of the chain restaurant selling Japaneish food and adopt the practices of a Haitian -African diasporic religion.
February 2, 2026 at 8:33 AM
My own view is that the men's world cup should now be relocated from USA to the capital of Burkina Faso, where the mothers of wives & girlfriends of the England team should go to a branch of the chain restaurant selling Japaneish food and adopt the practices of a Haitian -African diasporic religion.
An early chapter of my new book on associational democracy's challenge to the new fascism, in which I trace the line from the assault on the welfare state by managerial privatization through to the end of all social norms other than a hysteric death drive.
will be called From Atos to Thanatos.
will be called From Atos to Thanatos.
February 1, 2026 at 7:29 AM
An early chapter of my new book on associational democracy's challenge to the new fascism, in which I trace the line from the assault on the welfare state by managerial privatization through to the end of all social norms other than a hysteric death drive.
will be called From Atos to Thanatos.
will be called From Atos to Thanatos.