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James Leakyboots Batty

@jamesbatty.bsky.social

2.2K followers 3.5K following 1.8K posts

I run a charity with my wife (One And All Aid), which funds education for Yezidis, following the 2014 genocide. In my spare time I fish and write. Two fishing books have been published, and my new book is a comedy adventure novel, Criminal Bycatch.

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James Leakyboots Batty @jamesbatty.bsky.social · 7h

The bank we use for our charity has routine checks to make sure we're not laundering money.

I imagine Reform would like to see these checks abolished so the flow of Russian bribes can carry on without hindrance.

James Leakyboots Batty @jamesbatty.bsky.social · 7h

The reports I can find are rather vague; but if they're true, it's a new low, even for Boris Johnson. We expect him to be lazy, dishonest, & insatiably rapacious. This goes way beyond his normal level of depravity.

James Leakyboots Batty @jamesbatty.bsky.social · 8h

I visit a Syrian refugee family. They're delightful, the food is delicious, but sometimes I dread the questions. Some no kidding examples: "What is the difference between a gerundive & an infinitive?" "Why is it bad to end a sentence with a preposition?" I have 3 degrees, and I scratch my head.

James Leakyboots Batty @jamesbatty.bsky.social · 8h

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James Leakyboots Batty @jamesbatty.bsky.social · 8h

Right, Mein Kampf was the sequel to Duck Soup.

James Leakyboots Batty @jamesbatty.bsky.social · 9h

Even a few basic facts would be helpful. People in our charity shop sometimes rant about the "millions of asylum seekers in small boats" when the actual annual number is more like 40,000.

James Leakyboots Batty @jamesbatty.bsky.social · 19h

I can't find her A levels; but she failed the eleven plus (which, I should say, was a rubbish exam, even though I passed it).

James Leakyboots Batty @jamesbatty.bsky.social · 20h

People talk about Michael Gove being devious and a brainbox. I'm not so sure, I reckon he might just be devious

James Leakyboots Batty @jamesbatty.bsky.social · 20h

The LP was my political home for decades.

Now I despair of it, especially because it's death by a thousand shaving cuts.

I wish Starmer would just jump to the endgame: appoint Stephen Yaxley-Lennon to be Home Secretary and then sink without trace into the moral swamp.

James Leakyboots Batty @jamesbatty.bsky.social · 20h

And there's no chance those Normans could have passed an English A-Level.

James Leakyboots Batty @jamesbatty.bsky.social · 21h

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James Leakyboots Batty @jamesbatty.bsky.social · 21h

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James Leakyboots Batty @jamesbatty.bsky.social · 21h

I wonder if the UK will have enough people qualified to administer a test at this level; or will it be like the NHS, where it's necessary to hire experts from overseas?

And on a more serious note, f*ck this performative bigotry.

James Leakyboots Batty @jamesbatty.bsky.social · 22h

I try to avoid commenting on a person's appearance. But when someone clearly makes an effort to look weird, it would either be very British or rather rude to pretend not to notice.

Reposted by James Leakyboots Batty

Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 1d

BREAKING: Shabana Mahmood announces that immigrants will have to recite Beowulf in its entirety in Old English, without notes, before being allowed entry to the U.K.