(1551) Hope you’re surviving the long, languid Sunday. [2032]

 

17. Did the birds get lost on the way?

16. Whitehall apparatchiks

15. Try this

“Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man.”

Who said it?

• Samuel Johnson
• Mark Twain
• Marie Curie
• Leon Trotsky
• Coco Chanel

14. Oops, became entangled with the Norwegian march

… and was soon inundated by Norwegian tweets:

Happy Syttende mai ('17th of May')
to all Norwegians 🇳🇴

When I lived in Norway it was a beautiful celebration to witness. The day the constitution declared Norway to be an independent kingdom.
pic.twitter.com/YNNnvd9TfJ

— 📸𝐓𝐚𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐚 📸 (@TaMaraPhoto3) May 17, 2026

Phew … thank goodness for the subtitles below, otherwise, I’d never have understood.

I dag feirer vi Norges grunnlov og dens tre viktigste prinsipper: Folkesuverenitet, maktfordeling og menneskerettigheter ⚖️

📜 De seneste årene har vist oss at vi ikke må ta grunnloven for gitt.

«Den som sover i et demokrati, våkner opp i et diktatur.»
– Otto Gritschneder

🎙️I… pic.twitter.com/ekseiO5Lsy

— Silje Schevig (@Silje_Schevig) May 17, 2026

13. Two from Sama Hoole

12. The Steve Report on the Pre-Rally

DAD (Sun 7) and the crowd size – yeah, it was big. Like I said last night it was bigger than last year.

So this year the start line for UTK was north of the river Thames and as required we formed up behind the stewards. I came up by train from Salisbury with a mate who’d served as a sniper in the Queen’s Regiment. We met with other ex-forces at Waterloo then boarded the underground to Euston where we joined the crowd that was already moving out.

Straight away I could tell it was massive and I’d forgotten just how noisy these things can be, however what struck me most – the same as it did last year – was the sea of flags. The moving off time came and went and we didn’t seem to go anywhere but really that was due to the sheer numbers attending. Finally we were off, the hands on my watch read 1:25. Everyone was happy.

Donning my beret yesterday for the first time since 1989 was both strange and familiar. At one point a man much younger than me approached, put his hand out saying simply “29”. He must’ve seen the green beret and cap badge through the crowd – we’d served in the same regiment (29 Commando RA) though obviously at different times.

Having served so recently (2010 to 2021) it was good to hear about the regiment in the 21st Century. We were then joined by a young woman and with that my memory for faces kicks in and I told her who she was. She smiles; she works for GB News as a researcher, was at the rally in a private capacity. Great conversation about a very sensitive subject and yes she’s the girlfriend of the chap who shook my hand.

More ex-forces than last year, much hand shaking and being slapped on the back by folk who appreciate our armed forces. Weaving through my mate and I got nearer to the front so we could get on to Parliament Square and the stage where it all happens. If you can spot the White Wrym in the first few minutes of this video, me and my mate are directly below it 🙂

Tommy Robinson’s Anti-Immigration Protest LIVE – Unite the Kingdom Rally in Central London | https://rumble.com/v79xq0u-tommy-robinsons-anti-immigration-protest-live-unite-the-kingdom-rally-in-ce.html

Thoughts on the rally later.

11. IYE gets crafty

https://youtu.be/epqgl4I5yhE?si=G_1F0HqJhwYGFvD4