bob knowles

human, mostly

[David Yelland @davidyelland]

More Mark Rylance please. Every word is true.

[The potting shed @GardenerFliss]

A reminder that even the smallest creatures can hold an entire world together.

[bob knowles @rknowl01]

@bbcproms great to hear the incredibles being included; something unique and largely lost, exactly the sort of thing that the Proms should uncover

[bob knowles @rknowl01]

@IainDale Looking forward to seeing you at Buxton next Saturday, stay away from the fucking cellos

[bob knowles @rknowl01]

@bbcproms how joyous is Peaches en Regalia, I dunno if Frank would consider himself prog rock but it was great to see it included

[bob knowles @rknowl01]

@Baddiel I think your point about London Calling is important - it’s the moment where a great punk band moved beyond the limits of the 3 chord trick; there was a balance to be found between ambition and excess and we all got our Yes albums out of the closet #bbcproms prog

[bob knowles @rknowl01]

‘And you and I’ at the prog proms sounded gorgeous, one of ‘Yes’s greatest surely #bbc_proms

[Cherry @Cherryopenmind]

Gabriel, I am grateful for your work on this story. It is a vital piece of the puzzle that brings us closer to the truth.

However, many independent journalists who have been working on this for years are watching your sudden success with deep irony.

They are asking themselves what they did wrong. While they spent a decade uncovering these truths from the tireless work of @carolecadwalla and @peterjukes to the sharp investigations of @OneFinanceGuy, @nw_nicholas or @donmcgowan and many others, they were met with silence and isolation.

Now, it appears you and The Sunday Times are being hailed as the best journalists in the world for reporting what they have known, documented, and faced ridicule for so long.

As a citizen who has followed these independent voices for over a decade, I am compelled to ask a difficult question.

These journalists have been exposing the connections between @Nigel_Farage , the criminal underworld, US billionaires, the Epstein files, Trump, and Bannon for years.

They did not just face silence, they were actively gaslighted and portrayed as conspiracy theorists while holding onto hard, verifiable evidence.

The mainstream media did not just remain silent, they worked to conceal these facts and actively prevented the truth from reaching the public.

One must ask: if they were so deeply complicit in suppressing the truth for so long, are they not also part of the very circle they now report on?

Furthermore, Gabriel, I have a direct question for you: do you plan to investigate the role of Palantir and the situation in Cambridge?

These are key players who have surrounded Farage and were involved in recruiting for the Reform Party.

Why has this been kept in the dark?

Why is it that the mainstream media, which ignored and suppressed these findings for so long, has suddenly decided that this story is worth telling?

Was it the evidence itself, or did it simply take a green light from institutional authorities and media moguls like Murdoch for this narrative to become acceptable?

Let us be honest: a media mogul like Murdoch does not turn on a political asset like Farage unless there is a strategic shift.

If you try to tell me this is purely a matter of journalistic integrity and a commitment to the truth, please, do not make me laugh.

It is time to open the conversation about the true cost of Brexit. We see the results clearly now: the deliberate strategic goal to isolate the UK from the EU, particularly regarding our defence strategy.

It is time to hold accountable not only those who funded Farage and the Brexit campaign, but also those in the media and our institutions who not only remained silent but actively covered up these facts for ten years while the public was misled.

We must demand to know why it took so long for the truth to be treated with the seriousness it deserved, and who will answer for a decade of complicit silence.

Perhaps the @CountBinface could grace us with an answer, provided he can find his way out of the shadows to enlighten the British public.

#ReformUK #NigelFarage #Journalism #Accountability #Brexit #TheSundayTimes #TruthMatters #BylineTimes #TheNerve #PublicInterest #Transparency

[bob knowles @rknowl01]

@lancstic @DaleJohnsonBBC pleased to see someone getting a nine bob note in there

[bob knowles @rknowl01]

@TheCriticMag also.. maybe it's time the ROH asked producers if they actually like the opera before they hire them; in my recent experience the following were pants - Samson, Ariodante, Lohengrin, Aida, Jepthda, Boris, several workmanlike and only Jenufa, Turandot, Tosca, Festen & Lucia good

[bob knowles @rknowl01]

@TheCriticMag also - Serban's production from the 80s was miles better and there probably aren't that many of us around who saw it the first time. And..I Puritani's plot may be a bit pants but the toons are fabulous so stop being a bitch about it.

[bob knowles @rknowl01]

I didn’t think the production was quite as bad as some critics suggested but Cowboys v blokes from the Spanish Armada? Also another miserable grey set. This opera appears so rarely surely you should only muck about with it if you’ve really got a great transformative idea?

[bob knowles @rknowl01]

I Puritani next Friday - this should be musically magnificent but please God Richard Jones hasn't made the Puritans into Hamas freedom fighters against a grey rubble set. I know the plot is bonkers but I just want Cavaliers and Roundheads

[Marina Hyde @MarinaHyde]

My column on the royal family getting their handouts doubled

https://t.co/NBOPV9yueh

[bob knowles @rknowl01]

@darioperkins The UK & France have become more capital city centric while Germany, Spain & Italy have retained more regional centres of significant output. Do you know if one approach has yielded more economic growth than the other since, say, 1980?

[bob knowles @rknowl01]

@MarkValencia @GarsingtonOpera I hope it's fab; at this point in time are Strauss' operas getting as much exposure as they deserve?

[bob knowles @rknowl01]

@musicandroots But is it fair to call it snobbery? He just didn’t like Tchaikovsky, he generally liked challenging stuff including his own, personally I like a lot of Tchaikovsky but Boulez was perfectly entitled to a different opinion don’t you think ?

[Gretel Le Maître @GretelleMaitre]

The same experience I had when I took my mother a few years ago and unless things change I’ll never go again. So frustrating that the image presented by visiting dignitaries is of a gentle stroll, enjoying the beauty of all things flora. In truth one only gets to see human fauna..

[Cherry @Cherryopenmind]

Unfortunately, my school teacher is no longer with us to grade this piece through her golden rule of journalism: Who, What, Where, When, and Why.

So, let us walk through Laura Kuenssberg's article together and scan it the way she taught me to.

WHO
The article relies heavily on an army of anonymous faces. 'An ally tells me', 'one cabinet minister', 'another minister', 'one source'. This is not verified reporting. It is Westminster gossip and unnamed sources. If sources have no names, they have no skin in the game and no accountability.

WHAT
We are told the race to replace the Prime Minister is officially on. But what has actually happened? One MP resigned from government and another wants to re-enter parliament. Everything else, the timelines, the coronation plots, is speculative drama, gossip, and unnamed sources designed for clicks.

WHERE
The setting is entirely inside the Westminster bubble. An article about such a momentous topic that will affect the lives of millions of citizens contains absolutely no mention of them. There is no word on how the stock market is already reacting or how this uncertainty will impact the entire country and every single citizen.

WHEN
The piece talks about a leadership contest over the summer, yet the author admits this timetable is miles away from being confirmed. A real journalist would know the rules, laws, and procedures, and would offer at least two alternative timelines, including the very real possibility that none of this happens at all.

WHY
We are told Starmer is being pushed because he is a 'slow decision-maker'. This reduces national governance to a personality contest. Why is there no mention of the GDP growth, the many advancements the government announced just last week, or the clear progress made on their manifesto? A proper journalist would look at these undeniable results and search for the deeper, hidden motives of the people challenging the PM.

The Verdict
My teacher would have given this a 2/10. It is a theatre review masquerading as news.

The author lists major issues on the PM's desk, help with energy bills, defense spending, social media safety for children, and so much more. Yet, these crucial issues are treated as mere background decoration for party infighting.

The fact that this comes from the BBC is what should worry us the most.

A broadcaster that built its global reputation on honest, investigative journalism now relies on writers who treat politics like a soap opera.

Between these narratives, figures like Robbie Gibb with questionable political motives, and an Ofcom regulator that does everything except its job, civic trust is being destroyed.

Laura Kuenssberg can go hand in hand with Chris Mason.

We are left to wonder why the two of them are doing this and what their motives are, especially regarding the BBC, which we pay for.

We deserve real facts, not orchestrated drama.

#BBCNews #LauraKuenssberg #ChrisMason #Ofcom #UKPolitics #Journalism #VotersFirst #Decency