Andrew

Saving the world, one crisis at time

[Will Solfiac @willsolfiac]

I genuinely think that putting signs in all train carriages saying "do not play sound from your phone's speaker" would be beneficial. This is not because offenders will obey it on its own, but because it gives people telling them to stop something to point to.

When people first started doing this a few years ago, I always felt confident in telling them to stop because they were clearly violating a social norm. I still do tell people to stop today, but it's no longer so clear that they are violating a widely held social norm, as it's now so common. So having signs makes it clearer what the social norm is, giving backing to people who tell offenders to stop.

[Andrew @itsacentristdad]

New #SecretLab chair assembled 💪👍

[Hiroshi Suzuki @AmbJapanUK]

Perfect day for cricket at Lord’s!!☀️🏏😄

[S P A R K S @sparksofficial]

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London 6/20/2026

Thank you London and @gorillaz!!!!

#sparkstour2026

[Andrew @itsacentristdad]

RT @DamCou: Just putting this out there: MUPPET DOCTOR WHO—in which everyone is a Muppet, except for Doctor Who, who's Peter Hitchens.

[Andrew @itsacentristdad]

@CarlBovisNature On my walk this morning

[Angela Rayner @AngelaRayner]

Boris Johnson will happily hang the last civil servant out to dry before he takes responsibility or does the right thing.

Fresh from throwing junior staff under the bus, he’s plotting to sacrifice his henchman to save his own skin.

Rotten to the core.

https://t.co/SSMHbsPNpT

[Damian Counsell @DamCou]

THREAD: Thank you to an American friend for accidentally introducing me to Blue Brixx, a toymaking company simultaneously shameless in both its, er, admiration both for LEGO and for toy-inspiring giants of pop culture—if not for official paid-for licences. Let the games begin!

[Sonny Bunch @SonnyBunch]

THE BRIDE is a complete mess, just spectacularly misconceived. Doesn’t really work on any level. Frequently quite annoying, at least when it isn’t incomprehensible. But I was never bored! https://t.co/y3rbd0TD7n

[MrHobbes @VintageMrHobbes]

@campbellclaret I'm sorry but Alastair Campbell, /the/ Alastair Campbell, ALASTAIR FUCKING CAMPBELL is accusing someone of lying about weapons of mass destruction in order to justify a war in the middle east? I have literally now seen it all.

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

🔥Quite the reaction to our Esther Rantzen interview

Lord Mark Harper - former Tory chief whip - told my colleague @LucyJMcDaid : “Esther Rantzen is a wealthy, articulate, powerful person who is never going to be a victim. If we get this bill wrong, we've got to pass a piece of legislation that properly protects vulnerable people, people who don't have a lot of money or resources or anybody to speak for them. And we've got to make sure the bill is fit for them, as well as people like Esther Rantzen. And that's the job that we're doing, and that's what we're expected to do. And I think we're acquitting that responsibility in the appropriate way.”

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, on accusations that peers are ignoring will of the Commons, told @LucyJMcDaid

“So, this gets really interesting when when MPs talk about, you know, the will of the elected house... in this case, as a private member's bill, the Salisbury Convention doesn't apply, you know, so we we don't have to, pass a private member's bill... So it's interesting, the people who are frustrated, it does feel slightly unfair, that they're just not maybe getting their own way.”

[Hello, This is Ivan @hellothisisivan]

Deeply disappointing they haven’t gone with Bayeux Tickets Here

[Andrew @itsacentristdad]

@forwardnotback So sorry to hear this - the News Penguin was a weekly treat, and Tim's walks were always a joy to read about

[Martin Lewis @MartinSLewis]

Feel free to share with anyone on Plan 2. As for what to do if you're on it and agree. The most effective thing is to write/email your MP, but not with a template letter (that looks like orchestrated campaign group) use your own words. If they get lots of those they sit up and take note.

[Matt Black @matthewjablack]

Just encountered one of the most convincing Google account takeover scams I’ve seen.

Perfect American accent. Calm. Professional.

They start the call by saying someone tried to hack your Google account using a fake death certificate, then ask if you recognize a recovery email or phone number.

They ask if you’ve received any recent Google emails about an account you don’t recognize trying to recover access.

And sure enough, there’s a legit Google security email.

Here’s the trick.

The attacker isn’t trying to hack your account.

They create a throwaway Google account, set your email as the recovery email, then try to recover that account. Google sends you a real security email.

The scammer calls you live, references the email, and even tells you to verify the headers since it comes directly from Google.

The headers are real. That’s the point.

Then they tell you they’re locking down your account and that you’ll get a recovery prompt on your phone. You just need to approve it to stay safe.

The giveaway was the device and location in the prompt didn’t match me. When I pushed back, they claimed it was from their servers, which obviously makes no sense.

At that point I hung up. I have a personal rule to never approve anything I didn’t initiate, especially while on the phone.

Extremely well executed social engineering. I’m sure this works on a lot of people.

And if someone calls you about account security, assume it’s a scam

[Tim (totally unremarkable and officially stubborn) @forwardnotback]

All 25 questions in the #NewsPenguin #TwitterQuiz for #ChristmasDay 2025 are now LIVE!
Hope you are all having the best #Christmas possible
Answers will be posted at 730pm

Join in the Christmas Day Quiz 'FUN'

[Tim (totally unremarkable and officially stubborn) @forwardnotback]

For your #ChristmasDay entertainment there will be a #NewsPenguin #TwitterQuiz at 3pm on Christmas Day
If you are able to make a donation to support the work of @Shelter my fundraising link is here
https://t.co/OioAwoIO63
Thank you
£14,166.18
+ £2,395.75 Gift Aid raised so far

[Tim (totally unremarkable and officially stubborn) @forwardnotback]

Here we go the #London #SnoopyTrail
All 12 ‘found’
A lot of people out doing it and all were of a certain age - a couple had grandchildren with them
First Snoopy
Snoopy’s Winter Chorus by Laura-Kate Draws at St Paul’s

[Boxfort 💖🔣 @ 🐀 @the_boxfort]

I should post this on main too since I know a bunch of people don't really use tumblr

But for those who use Google Drive, make sure to turn Gemini off