Andy Wheatley

Hard to understate this. Trump's Presidency is a massive stain on the United States. Pun intended. I don't think enough Republicans understand (or care) about the damage he and they have done to their nation's standing in the world. All empires come to an end.

The most common text message I get is “You're using your arranged overdraft and will be charged each day. You can reduce further charges by paying in cleared funds by midnight.” It’s so inspirational.

There are times when I think Justin Webb has his morning constitutional and then just writes up whatever is on the toilet tissue when he's finished.

This is great news. I can remember how blowing your nose after a day in London would be a grim affair......

I saw this, ironically on my phone, but it’s spot on…. lnkd.in/p/eJiftR2R

Dear Sir, Imagine my surprise…….

Dear Sir, Imagine my surprise….. www.espn.co.uk/football/sto...

He’s turning water into red red wine.

There are times when my dog sits next to me on the sofa as I watch TV and sighs so loudly that I wonder just how disappointed he is in the trajectory of his life.

That was some cricket match. Did you watch it @kevmarmol.bsky.social?

Just been for a lovely lunchtime walk in the autumn sun. If you look carefully, you can see the Field Marshal’s rear end as he sweeps the area for bastard infidel cats.

Bank Job. By the woman who did a wank job.

Oh.

@stemwinder.bsky.social, you were the first person to alert me to the word 'vranyo'..... bsky.app/profile/andy...

That said, it's now been 2 hours since I joined the queue and it's only gone down by 1000. This might take a while.

"The fact that Ali G is outdated and problematic is the very reason I resurrected him." Irrespective of the rights and wrongs, it will be interesting to see how this pans out. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The latest batch of tickets to see the Bayeux Tapestry went on sale at 10am. I was there and ready to go but was already number 158938 in the queue. Not complaining at all. I think it's fabulous that so many people want to go to see it. History is cool.

The Vivek Ramaswamy ad is very on brand for Trump's Republican Party which appears to have adopted the role of protector and enabler of sex offenders and paedophiles. The fish rots from the head.

Grift, innit.

On a far more positive note, I got an email from one of the nurses who looked after our son before he died in 2013. She's now in Australia & contacted me just to say that she was thinking of him & us. I can't express how much this kind of thing helps a bereaved parent. It's made me smile all day.

There's something dark about mostly white middle aged & middle class men fantasising about social unrest & civil war. If it happens they'll shrug & say "Who, me?" But we also shouldn't take stability for granted. See The Precariat by Professor Guy Standing: www.goodreads.com/en/book/show...

I have always, instinctively and intensely, disliked the music of Mumford & Sons. I don’t know why, but this helps.

Clearly, your view of the US will depend on what country you’re from but, as a Brit, I never thought I’d say that right now, under Trump, the US is an enemy of peace and a threat to the world. Trump waives several Russia sanctions as row with Zelensky intensifies www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

“We should be treasuring and cherishing our young people.” @georgemonbiot.bsky.social absolutely on the money on Question Time. #BBCQT

My mum finally left us last night. Born in 1931, she was 1 of 10 children and the last one standing. She was just 5 foot 1, with size 2 feet, but formidable, and gave me and my sister every ounce of our proud Singaporean heritage. She was crazy, unpredictable and tiny but in the most beautiful way.

The lovely people at my mother’s hospice have given me a bed, which doubles up as my office during the day. Laptop, notebook & client brief. My clients have also been extremely kind so this is just performative nonsense as I’m mostly reading Private Eye & annoying my mum.

Is it because it’s shit?

Dear Sir, IMAGINE MY SURPRISE…. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

2 good goals by Man City but it’s a shame that a game as important as this for football in general has been ruined by a very poor refereeing decision. It had been a very good contest until then.

Day 3 at the hospice with my mum. At 4am, I met 4 women from the same family in the cafe, the daughters & grand daughter of the family matriarch. Clearly from very different backgrounds but we had such a lovely chat. It's little things like this that remind us how similar we all really are.

There's always humour. Yesterday I arranged for a priest to give my mum the last rites as she's a devout Catholic. The priest was lovely & gentle. As he prayed he knocked over her precious statue of Jesus. It hit the floor & Jesus' head fell off. The priest was mortified. I couldn't stop laughing.

This is medieval.

I’ve also just noticed that my mum, who is a dark skinned South East Asian from Singapore with brown eyes now has, err, blue grey eyes. I have no idea if this is a thing but it has definitely happened.

This is so grim. You’d like to think with all the crap that these brands and organisations spew out about ESG, responsibility and their supply chains that this kind of practice no longer happened. Shameful. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

I’ve just sent a text message to a client. Auto correct changed my sign off from “l’ll see you later” to “I’ll do you later”. She hasn’t replied yet. How’s your day going?

I'm now working from a hospice as my mum reaches her final days. It has reminded me how wonderful hospices & the people who work there are. Some years ago I did some brand strategy work for one. I was worried about it but it ended up being the most uplifting & positive project I've ever worked on.

“No, not me, you.”

As my mother continues her terminal journey it needs to be said again and again how thankful my family is to the almost 100% immigrant team of health professionals looking after her. Our NHS would be screwed without them, their care, compassion and hard work. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Just as they look to be picking up some momentum they punch themselves in the face.

It's been rather pleasant not having those bombers fly overhead this morning. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Sunday.

Another brilliant one on Meta’s glasses……

This is one of the best I've seen @kevmarmol.bsky.social

Jaisus Christ.

This is a pretty poor reflection on the British press. The lack of solidarity and calling out Badenoch is cowardice.

I’ll be referencing this when I put my next expenses bill in.

Superb.

The Man City case is astounding. It's almost a £1bn fraud. That their next match is against Liverpool at Anfield is delicious. I just hope Liverpool have the ability to inflict the kind of defeat that Man City deserve. www.theguardian.com/football/202...