Graham Guest
@grahamguest.bsky.social
London, UK
Europhile, language nerd, occasional flâneur, part-time hermit.
"At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—
Almost, at times, the Fool."
Europhile, language nerd, occasional flâneur, part-time hermit.
"At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—
Almost, at times, the Fool."
Pinned
Graham Guest
@grahamguest.bsky.social
· Oct 9
"If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world, and that his heart is no island cut off from other lands, but a continent that joins to them." – Francis Bacon
A charming young linguist called Hilda
Had a date with a tall Spanish builder
She fell for his eyes
Both their colour and size
And one eyebrow shaped just like a ~
Had a date with a tall Spanish builder
She fell for his eyes
Both their colour and size
And one eyebrow shaped just like a ~
February 2, 2026 at 6:23 PM
A charming young linguist called Hilda
Had a date with a tall Spanish builder
She fell for his eyes
Both their colour and size
And one eyebrow shaped just like a ~
Had a date with a tall Spanish builder
She fell for his eyes
Both their colour and size
And one eyebrow shaped just like a ~
Now Schrödinger mislaid his cat
Last seen lying down on the mat
Said his wife with a stare
“You old fool he’s still there
Now work out a theory for that”
Last seen lying down on the mat
Said his wife with a stare
“You old fool he’s still there
Now work out a theory for that”
January 30, 2026 at 8:54 PM
Now Schrödinger mislaid his cat
Last seen lying down on the mat
Said his wife with a stare
“You old fool he’s still there
Now work out a theory for that”
Last seen lying down on the mat
Said his wife with a stare
“You old fool he’s still there
Now work out a theory for that”
Right on cue I arrive at this quote in @iandunt.bsky.social and @dorianlynskey.bsky.social's book "Centrism".
"Orwell and Camus both made the case that only a ‘United States of Europe’, preferably socialist, would have the political and economic power to stand up to Washington and Moscow."
"Orwell and Camus both made the case that only a ‘United States of Europe’, preferably socialist, would have the political and economic power to stand up to Washington and Moscow."
January 23, 2026 at 3:55 PM
Right on cue I arrive at this quote in @iandunt.bsky.social and @dorianlynskey.bsky.social's book "Centrism".
"Orwell and Camus both made the case that only a ‘United States of Europe’, preferably socialist, would have the political and economic power to stand up to Washington and Moscow."
"Orwell and Camus both made the case that only a ‘United States of Europe’, preferably socialist, would have the political and economic power to stand up to Washington and Moscow."
🤔
Almost a third of children who started reception last year were not able to use books correctly, sometimes even trying to swipe or tap them like a smartphone, a survey has found
news.sky.com/story/nearly...
news.sky.com/story/nearly...
Nearly a third of kids can't use books when starting school - and try to swipe them like phones
Staff also report around 28% of children started school unable to eat and drink independently, and 25% had difficulty with basic life skills.
news.sky.com
January 22, 2026 at 8:30 AM
🤔
Now young Franz he belonged to a clique
About which he was not keen to speak
There was old Mrs Trout
Who preferred to say nowt
Miss Miller and Andy Musik
About which he was not keen to speak
There was old Mrs Trout
Who preferred to say nowt
Miss Miller and Andy Musik
January 12, 2026 at 5:32 PM
Now young Franz he belonged to a clique
About which he was not keen to speak
There was old Mrs Trout
Who preferred to say nowt
Miss Miller and Andy Musik
About which he was not keen to speak
There was old Mrs Trout
Who preferred to say nowt
Miss Miller and Andy Musik
A New Year present to myself via Kobo.
@lilithepunk.bsky.social
@lilithepunk.bsky.social
January 5, 2026 at 9:22 AM
A New Year present to myself via Kobo.
@lilithepunk.bsky.social
@lilithepunk.bsky.social
Just checking the BBC 1 TV schedule and disappointed to learn that there is no Celebrity News at Ten.
December 30, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Just checking the BBC 1 TV schedule and disappointed to learn that there is no Celebrity News at Ten.
How I'm walking out of 2025.
Funky American Woodcock
YouTube video by Center for Biological Diversity
youtube.com
December 28, 2025 at 3:03 PM
How I'm walking out of 2025.
As good a reason as any to stay on Bluesky.
How do you tune (or modulate) an instrument in ancient Babylonia?
Fragmentary instructions have survived that tell you how to go from one mode to another on a 9-stringed musical instrument called a sammû
Fragmentary instructions have survived that tell you how to go from one mode to another on a 9-stringed musical instrument called a sammû
December 24, 2025 at 8:46 AM
As good a reason as any to stay on Bluesky.
Plus ça change. Sigh!
Streeting seems to have ended up, 10+ years later, at exactly the same misunderstanding as Cameron's pre-referendum 'renegotiation'. Tedious and depressing. (Extract is from my Blogpost of February 2017: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2017/02/even...)
December 22, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Plus ça change. Sigh!
I renamed my house "Guest House"; now I keep getting people knocking on the door and asking to stay.
December 22, 2025 at 7:55 AM
I renamed my house "Guest House"; now I keep getting people knocking on the door and asking to stay.
I can sort of understand people who indulge in flagellation. They look forward eagerly to the pleasure that pain brings and then immerse themselves in it. That's the feeling I have with @chrisgrey.bsky.social's Brexit blogs.
In case you missed it
Is the tide turning? New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog. Renewed talk of a customs union may well come to nothing, but rapidly changing geo-politics mean the UK needs urgently to face up to the failure of the entire Brexit ‘strategy’: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2025/12/is-t...
December 13, 2025 at 4:13 PM
I can sort of understand people who indulge in flagellation. They look forward eagerly to the pleasure that pain brings and then immerse themselves in it. That's the feeling I have with @chrisgrey.bsky.social's Brexit blogs.
Looking forward to next week's read at the Malaprop Book Club. I'm told it has a medical theme: From Ear to Maternity.
December 5, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Looking forward to next week's read at the Malaprop Book Club. I'm told it has a medical theme: From Ear to Maternity.
I've just received information from the Malaprop Medical Society about their London walk. We're to catch the Eustachian tube and meet at nearby St Pancreas.
December 3, 2025 at 2:02 PM
I've just received information from the Malaprop Medical Society about their London walk. We're to catch the Eustachian tube and meet at nearby St Pancreas.
A reminder of his reminder of his new blog post on Brexit reminders.
A reminder of my new blog post on Brexit reminders
Brexit reminders. New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog. Brexit may not be in the headlines, but many current news stories carry reminders of it, including the Hallett Inquiry report, the Gill scandal, the Budget & the latest net migration figures: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2025/11/brex...
November 29, 2025 at 10:23 AM
A reminder of his reminder of his new blog post on Brexit reminders.
God tried hard to make feet that would suit
And for waterfowl ones that looked cute
But his large stock of webbing
Very soon began ebbing
And ran out when he got to the coot
And for waterfowl ones that looked cute
But his large stock of webbing
Very soon began ebbing
And ran out when he got to the coot
November 23, 2025 at 5:27 PM
God tried hard to make feet that would suit
And for waterfowl ones that looked cute
But his large stock of webbing
Very soon began ebbing
And ran out when he got to the coot
And for waterfowl ones that looked cute
But his large stock of webbing
Very soon began ebbing
And ran out when he got to the coot
A child said What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands;
How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more than he.
I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green stuff woven.
– Walt Whitman
How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more than he.
I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green stuff woven.
– Walt Whitman
November 20, 2025 at 7:45 PM
A child said What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands;
How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more than he.
I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green stuff woven.
– Walt Whitman
How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more than he.
I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green stuff woven.
– Walt Whitman
"... th' whole worl's... in a terr...ible state o'... chassis!"
– Sean O'Casey, Juno and the Paycock
– Sean O'Casey, Juno and the Paycock
Stasis, sanctimony and the liberal paradox. New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog with such Brexit news as there is, but mainly analysis of what 'responsible Farage' tells us about the tensions in Reform and what the BBC row tells us about Brexitism: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2025/11/stas...
November 16, 2025 at 11:52 AM
"... th' whole worl's... in a terr...ible state o'... chassis!"
– Sean O'Casey, Juno and the Paycock
– Sean O'Casey, Juno and the Paycock
Reposted by Graham Guest
Due to an admin error, we have lost our @oxfordforeurope.bsky.social account. (As you can see that account hasn’t posted for a while). So - after many attempts with the Bluesky team to regain the account - this is the new account.
If you see this, please could you repost and follow back? 🙏
If you see this, please could you repost and follow back? 🙏
November 10, 2025 at 7:09 AM
Due to an admin error, we have lost our @oxfordforeurope.bsky.social account. (As you can see that account hasn’t posted for a while). So - after many attempts with the Bluesky team to regain the account - this is the new account.
If you see this, please could you repost and follow back? 🙏
If you see this, please could you repost and follow back? 🙏
3 corporations in a trench coat...
😂
😂
November 8, 2025 at 8:35 AM
3 corporations in a trench coat...
😂
😂
A management guru called Cox
Spoke in jargon designed just to fox
Till his staff in a state
Stuffed him into a crate
So he'd start to think inside the box
Spoke in jargon designed just to fox
Till his staff in a state
Stuffed him into a crate
So he'd start to think inside the box
October 26, 2025 at 10:42 AM
A management guru called Cox
Spoke in jargon designed just to fox
Till his staff in a state
Stuffed him into a crate
So he'd start to think inside the box
Spoke in jargon designed just to fox
Till his staff in a state
Stuffed him into a crate
So he'd start to think inside the box
subversive, n.
One who writes poetry under water.
One who writes poetry under water.
October 25, 2025 at 12:30 PM
subversive, n.
One who writes poetry under water.
One who writes poetry under water.
I just want to write
a haiku but can't be
a haiku but can't be
October 25, 2025 at 9:37 AM
I just want to write
a haiku but can't be
a haiku but can't be
If you've ever wondered why women need pockets.
Dangerous Coats by Sharon Owens
Someone clever once said
Women were not allowed pockets In case they carried leaflets
To spread sedition
Which means unrest
To you & me
A grandiose word For commonsense
Fairness
Kindness
Equality
So ladies, start sewing
Dangerous coats
Made of pockets & sedition
Someone clever once said
Women were not allowed pockets In case they carried leaflets
To spread sedition
Which means unrest
To you & me
A grandiose word For commonsense
Fairness
Kindness
Equality
So ladies, start sewing
Dangerous coats
Made of pockets & sedition
October 25, 2025 at 8:13 AM
If you've ever wondered why women need pockets.
An old friend of Samuel Pepys
Said "I don't like the diary he kepys
When he reads it aloud
To a very large crowd
He's so noisy that nobody slepys"
Said "I don't like the diary he kepys
When he reads it aloud
To a very large crowd
He's so noisy that nobody slepys"
October 20, 2025 at 7:22 PM
An old friend of Samuel Pepys
Said "I don't like the diary he kepys
When he reads it aloud
To a very large crowd
He's so noisy that nobody slepys"
Said "I don't like the diary he kepys
When he reads it aloud
To a very large crowd
He's so noisy that nobody slepys"