🪴Plant lover going grey gracefully

[🪴Plant lover going grey gracefully @introvert_actor]

@bekahj Well, she is playing to sell out venues and making a shit tonne of money,

I’d say that’s a pretty good measure of how popular she is.

🎤 💥 💋

[🪴Plant lover going grey gracefully @introvert_actor]

@bekahj @pantangello You do realise that the UK is experiencing a heatwave, the likes of which are rare in this land.

The fact that she is still performing in this heat is phenomenal.

[🪴Plant lover going grey gracefully @introvert_actor]

@Akankshadesire4 @luxemiaa You were in hospital. The original poster was boiling the kettle. You can’t compare the two situations.

[🪴Plant lover going grey gracefully @introvert_actor]

@GamewithDave Arkanoid

[🪴Plant lover going grey gracefully @introvert_actor]

@otokyo 18

I never had a fax machine and dial up internet wasn’t a thing - it bypassed my house!

Otherwise I’d have a full score of 20.

[🪴Plant lover going grey gracefully @introvert_actor]

@_MissieBee https://t.co/75I9lqp0hI

These ⬆️

[🪴Plant lover going grey gracefully @introvert_actor]

@_MissieBee You can buy fake wasp nests that you hang up in your garden. They’re a lightweight solution that you stuff with plastic bags.

You have to put them up early enough in the year , before wasps are making their nests, so they believe it’s real and don’t nest or fly near it.

[The Fabulous @GetTheFabulous]

Gentle reminder that chronic procrastination and task paralysis are not normal.

If you’re struggling, try The Fabulous. It’s created by Duke neuroscientist and proven to work.

[Josh Hunt @iAmJoshHunt]

I want to talk about the scale of what’s coming for the UK over the next three months. Because I don’t think many people have joined the dots yet.

The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed for over five weeks. Before this war, 135 ships passed through it every day. Now it’s 5 to 7. Over 600 vessels are still stranded. Iran has mined the strait, is charging tolls, and controlling who passes. The CEO of Abu Dhabi’s national oil company said it this week: “The Strait of Hormuz is not open. Access is being restricted, conditioned and controlled. That is coercion.”

Two thirds of Gulf crude has no alternative route. 14 million barrels a day behind a 21-mile chokepoint.

Energy bills are forecast to jump 20% in July. From £1,641 to nearly £2,000. The second major energy shock in four years. Petrol up over 15%. Diesel up nearly 30%. Wholesale gas rose 75% in under four weeks.

Food inflation could hit 8% by June and 9% by December. Academics advising DEFRA say it could reach 12%. UK food prices are already 38% higher than before Covid. We’re only 62% self-sufficient in food. We import 60% of our nitrogen fertiliser. Red diesel for farming has surged 60%. Average arable farm income has fallen to £17,000, the lowest in over 20 years.

Yesterday, China announced it’s halting all sulphuric acid exports from May. Sulphuric acid is essential for phosphate fertilisers, copper mining, oil refining, and battery manufacturing. A third of the world’s sulphur was already blocked by the Hormuz closure. Now the world’s largest exporter has pulled the other lever at the same time. The fertiliser crisis just got significantly worse, heading straight into planting season.

Before the war, markets expected rate cuts. Now they’ve priced in two rate rises. Over 1,500 mortgage products have been pulled. Two year fixes have jumped from 4.8% to 5.5%. Nearly £1,000 a year extra on a £200k mortgage. Gone in weeks.

Flights are next. A quarter of UK jet fuel comes from Kuwait, behind the strait. In early April, major carriers said they had five to six weeks of reserves. That clock is running. Ryanair’s CEO has warned 5-10% of summer flights could be cancelled.

Iran’s strike on Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG complex, which handles 30% of the world’s helium, is estimated to take 3 to 5 years to repair. Helium is critical for semiconductors and MRI machines. That’s not a disruption. That’s structural damage.

Chemical and steel manufacturers are imposing surcharges of up to 30%. Analysts are warning of permanent deindustrialisation. European gas storage was at just 30% after a harsh winter. If the strait stays restricted through summer, Europe can’t refill for next winter.

In Ireland, fuel protests shut down Dublin for four days. The army was deployed. Over 100 fuel stations ran dry, with warnings of 500 by end of the week. Downing Street has held talks on the potential for mass protests here.

The OECD has downgraded the UK more than any other G7 nation. Growth slashed from 1.2% to 0.7%. Inflation forecast nearly doubled to 4%, with some saying it could breach 5%.

Starmer and Trump spoke this week about military options to reopen the strait. The UK is leading a 30+ nation coalition. But the ceasefire is already fracturing. Iran re-closed the strait over Israeli strikes on Lebanon. Reeves is boxed in by fiscal rules. Higher gilt yields are eating her headroom. And I haven’t heard a credible plan from anyone in Westminster.

Energy. Food. Fertiliser. Aviation fuel. Mortgages. Industrial chemicals. Semiconductors. Shipping. Government borrowing. Political stability. All under stress. All compounding.

This country imports 44% of its energy. Has almost no gas storage. Imports most of its food and fertiliser. Gets a quarter of its jet fuel from behind a mined strait.

Every structural weakness built up over 20 years is being stress tested at once.

The next three months aren’t going to be uncomfortable. They’re going to be defining

[🪴Plant lover going grey gracefully @introvert_actor]

@Her_Nonymous_D O my gosh - what a lovely supportive boss.

[🪴Plant lover going grey gracefully @introvert_actor]

@JulesMickerland @rolayfamous @MedicKnowledgeX @grok 🤣

[🪴Plant lover going grey gracefully @introvert_actor]

@THFCKels @LBC Yep - also went there in the 90s.

Wasn’t it split into 2 ‘clubs’ - the ‘Works’ & the ‘Bizz’?

Was a pretty grim experience.

[Mr P MBE @ICT_MrP]

“Can you just log that on CPOMs!”

[🪴Plant lover going grey gracefully @introvert_actor]

Current mood… 🤨

[🪴Plant lover going grey gracefully @introvert_actor]

@sarah_j_d_34 🤯🤯🤯🤯

So they’re expecting her to mask 🎭, even to the detriment of her mental health.

🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

[Steve B @75ThunderRoad]

Three years ago, when my daughter had become consumed by anxiety, her mobile phone was a lifeline for her at school.

She was in a mental health crisis.

In school, at breaktime and lunchtime (not during lessons), she would sometimes use her phone to message me or her mum.

1/

[🪴Plant lover going grey gracefully @introvert_actor]

@ABWM21 @fatiieenotfatty My dad always used to add vinegar to the HP sauce bottle to get the last drip out.

[🪴Plant lover going grey gracefully @introvert_actor]

@mrmikeMTL Yes. And it wasn’t even the same colour!

[🪴Plant lover going grey gracefully @introvert_actor]

@Savaoraidh_ I am willing for that day to happen in my house… 🤞🏻😬

[🪴Plant lover going grey gracefully @introvert_actor]

@ahmedhankir Thank you so much. My husband’s Christmas rota was covered by a Muslim colleague when our children were little, and it meant the absolute world to us all.