Spitfire

International Man of the year.

[the swamp amp ⚠️ @FloridaManPig]

I fuckin love science

[Johnny Ward @onestep4ward]

Karl Bushby. A fraud? Maybe. A father? Certainly not.

My take, for what it’s worth. It upsets me, so here we go.

Karl Bushby has returned to the UK after a ‘28 year walk around the world’. And is being heralded by global media. This is close to my heart.

Karl covered 36,000 miles (58,000km) in 28 years. And did 1 truly epic thing, a 14 day crossing of the Bering Strait, joining Alaska to Russia. Only 8 people have done it. Legendary. Serious legit!

He also crossed the Darien Gap, joining Panama to Colombia. Deep forest, drug runner territory (although manageable, over 500k crossed in 2023).

But holding him up as some modern Shackleton? That’s where I have a problem.

ABANDONED HIS SON:
As someone who grew up without a father, the fact Karl started this journey when his son was 8, and just f*cked off knowing he was leaving him behind, is horrific. Selfish. His son visited him just 4 times in 3 decades. First time as a young adult.

Karl also claimed on an American podcast that as a former British soldier he COULDN’T return to Belfast to see his son. I grew up in Northern Ireland, my entire childhood. That’s a bare-faced lie. And Karl knows the American audience WOULDN’T know that. A fake excuse for leaving his 8-year-old behind. Shameful.

His son Adam now has a child, and reportedly Karl hasn’t even met his grandchild. And we’re celebrating this man?

ABANDONED HIS MUM:
His mum is 78, in ill health. He’s seen her 3 times in almost 3 decades. What are we doing here?

HE LIVED IN MEXICO FFS!!!
The 28 year ‘journey’ is basically a lie. He spent YEARS living in Mexico. OVER A DECADE not walking, by his own admission. Still didn’t visit his family though.

LESS THAN 10,000 STEPS A DAY?!
MILLIONS of people walk 10k steps daily. Karl averaged under 3 miles a day across his ‘expedition’. I do that playing with my kid and walking around my house.

Actual expedition legends? Nicholas Bourne ran Africa in 318 days, Jesper Kenn Olsen in 434. Around 30km daily, unsupported. 10x Karl’s average, across a harder continent.

‘28 YEARS’
People see 28 years and assume it’s impressive. Take 2 minutes to consider how ridiculous that is.

Serge Girard walked Tokyo to Paris (similar to Karl’s second half) in 261 days.
55-year-old Holly Harrison WALKED Argentina to Alaska (Karl’s first half) in 530 days. Including the Darien Gap.

Combine them and you’re looking at 26 MONTHS. Not 28 years. Admittedly without the legendary Bering Strait crossing.

Done in 3/4/5 years? Truly impressive. Three decades? Ridiculous to herald.

TO THE MOON?
At Holly Harrison’s daily pace, Karl could have walked from Earth to the MOON, and 40,000 miles beyond, in 28 years. Ridiculous.

13 YEARS STATIONARY
Bushby admitted spending 13 years stationary. Yet still pushes the ‘28 years’ narrative.

So he wasn’t walking for 28 years. And even removing those 13 years, his average barely reaches 10,000 steps daily.

WHY NOT FLY HOME TO SEE YOUR SON? YOUR MUM?! GET A JOB TO FUND THE EXPEDITION?

11 YEARS TO CROSS RUSSIA?
After his legendary Bering Strait crossing and arrest, Bushby took 11 years to cover roughly 4,000 miles across Russia into Mongolia.

Thousands of ultra runners (me included, and I’m nothing special) can do 100km daily. One 90-day visa could cover that distance. Even at half that pace, two visas could do it within a year. Long before his Russian ban. The whole thing stinks.

Anyway, I know how tough life is without a father. No-one to teach you what it means to be a man. How to shave. How to date. How to kick a football.

And Karl was drinking tequila in Mexico while his son figured that out alone, then offering excuses, and now being heralded as a hero. In my opinion, it’s not cool at all.

There are plenty of true legends doing amazing things to follow. Some guy ghosting his family and pretending he’s an adventurer doesn’t cut it for me.

Thanks for listening to my ted talk.

[Dr. Maalouf ‏ @realMaalouf]

Muslims say they hate Halloween because it’s haram and against their religion, but they have no problem stealing Halloween candy from children who actually celebrate it.

The most contradictory religion ever.

[Spitfire @Spitfire_Wold]

@danwootton @HowardCCox Not listened since @Iromg got done over!

[Suffragent @Suffragent_]

'Welshman' is literally from Zimbabwe 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[Major Gowen @MajorGowen_]

How the fuck is Rolo the tiny dog more effective than British Border Force?!

[Richard Holden MP @RicHolden]

This is clearly insane.

A charity set up to maintain London’s bridges is sitting on £1.5 BILLION, funding political campaigns and giving £1.1m to a group with links to a charity now under investigation over alleged Hamas connections.

Meanwhile, Hammersmith Bridge is still closed and other Thames crossings are crumbling.

What on earth are @cityoflondon doing?

Via @Fhamiltontimes in @TheTimes

https://t.co/JARRobVrxv

[Concerned Citizen @BGatesIsaPyscho]

🚨🇬🇧 The 15 Year Old Boy who had UK Police arrest him at his home immediately after posting mock-up pic of UK MP Simon Bennett has just gone viral globally

The UK is a Worldwide Joke - People everywhere literally cannot believe it

[Polymarket @Polymarket]

JUST IN: UK police arrest 15 y/o boy, seize his devices, & collect his DNA after he posted photo of a local politician edited to look like a rabbit.

[Tom Harwood @tomhfh]

People’s Republic of China level insanity.

[The English Crusader @andrewc44104127]

French students frantically search Christian Dior for school uniforms after their school reportedly ran out of blazers ahead of parents evening

[The Football Lowdown @FBLowdown]

Bored of the generic “I’m a football manager, I’m not commenting on Manchester City” comments? Enter Ian Holloway…

#ManCity #stfc

[James Melville 🚜 @JamesMelville]

This is unbelievable. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has offered his solution to rising petrol and gas prices by giving advice to use Google maps to find the cheapest petrol stations. Cutting fuel duty might be a bit more helpful to millions of cash strapped motorists.

[Jonny Bell @Jonnywsbell]

Nothing about this is normal.

A government that escorts illegal arrivals like a state visit, and treats its own people as the problem, has forfeited the right to govern...

[Julia Hartley-Brewer @JuliaHB1]

If anyone in Hampshire was wondering why they couldn't get an ambulance when they rang 999 today, now they know the reason... our International Health Service has different priorities.

[David Atherton @daveatherton]

This deserves a second look 👌

[Patrick Christys @PatrickChristys]

We are through the looking glass now. Police have put an entire British town under a Section 34 dispersal order (meaning they can even order residents to leave and not return) just so they can import a boat full of illegal immigrants.

[RadioGenoa @RadioGenoa]

In Pakistan, women are confined to home by will of Allah, and at celebrations, men dance for other men.

[Spitfire @Spitfire_Wold]

@Benleo @WilliamClouston Love your work Ben 👍