Mel Swain
@melswain.bsky.social
Retired teacher & GCSE examiner. Born in Gillingham, UK, living in West Sussex. Author of 'The Medway And The Military' and 'Lake Geneva/Lac Leman: Global Connections'. Love Switzerland, Austria & Germany. Like cats & dogs. Pro-EU. Loathe Trump & Farage.
Pinned
Mel Swain
@melswain.bsky.social
· Dec 3
"I love the region around Lake Geneva. The landscape is beautiful, very peaceful, and such a nice place to relax and spend time outdoors. It's always a pleasure to come back home." (Stan Wawrinka)
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
View from a balcony of the Hotel Royal Plaza in Montreux:-
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
View from a balcony of the Hotel Royal Plaza in Montreux:-
Reposted by Mel Swain
Reform led Nottinghamshire Council has blacklisted a local paper for asking questions about what councillors were doing. Farage says he welcomes free speech, that should apply to freedom of the press too. Sign the petition to get them to reverse the decision: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/re...
Reform: Stop hiding from press scrutiny!
Nigel Farage says he welcomes freedom of speech, even if people find it offensive. Surely that should apply to freedom of the press too? So why have Reform's Nottinghamshire councillors - who control ...
you.38degrees.org.uk
September 7, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Reform led Nottinghamshire Council has blacklisted a local paper for asking questions about what councillors were doing. Farage says he welcomes free speech, that should apply to freedom of the press too. Sign the petition to get them to reverse the decision: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/re...
Reposted by Mel Swain
Watch out, Donald Trump. Your dictatorship is showing.
August 20, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Watch out, Donald Trump. Your dictatorship is showing.
Reposted by Mel Swain
Donald J. Trump, President of Tackystan
August 20, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Donald J. Trump, President of Tackystan
Reposted by Mel Swain
I work under the assumption that all women are smarter than men. There are some outliers though, Marjorie Taylor Greene, for example.
May 17, 2025 at 12:08 PM
I work under the assumption that all women are smarter than men. There are some outliers though, Marjorie Taylor Greene, for example.
Reposted by Mel Swain
Reposted by Mel Swain
The Château de la Tour-de-Peilz near Vevey has, since 1987, housed the only museum in Switzerland dedicated to the cultural history of games, and it now enjoys an international reputation." (page 112)
www.waterstones.com/book/lake-ge...
www.waterstones.com/book/lake-ge...
July 21, 2025 at 3:13 PM
The Château de la Tour-de-Peilz near Vevey has, since 1987, housed the only museum in Switzerland dedicated to the cultural history of games, and it now enjoys an international reputation." (page 112)
www.waterstones.com/book/lake-ge...
www.waterstones.com/book/lake-ge...
Reposted by Mel Swain
It's performative. If Steve Reed were really "furious" about water bills, he wouldn't have ruled out renationalisation, or forbidden the Independent Water Commission to recommend it. He enables the filthiest, most parasitic capital to defeat the public interest.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Environment secretary ‘furious’ about England and Wales water bills
Steve Reed says he is unable to rule out further above-inflation rises and any decision would be up to regulators
www.theguardian.com
July 21, 2025 at 5:49 AM
It's performative. If Steve Reed were really "furious" about water bills, he wouldn't have ruled out renationalisation, or forbidden the Independent Water Commission to recommend it. He enables the filthiest, most parasitic capital to defeat the public interest.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Reposted by Mel Swain
The vast majority of people support the nationalisation of our water yet Labour are defending the private profiteering water companies & driving people to Farage & Reform.
July 21, 2025 at 6:15 AM
The vast majority of people support the nationalisation of our water yet Labour are defending the private profiteering water companies & driving people to Farage & Reform.
The Alimentarium in Vevey, the first museum in the world entirely devoted to food and nutrition, which was opened in 1985.
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
July 13, 2025 at 1:26 PM
The Alimentarium in Vevey, the first museum in the world entirely devoted to food and nutrition, which was opened in 1985.
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
"Trump's goal isn’t to restore American greatness — it's much more sinister."
Opinion by Thom Hartmann:-
www.msn.com/en-gb/news/w...
Opinion by Thom Hartmann:-
www.msn.com/en-gb/news/w...
July 11, 2025 at 3:33 PM
"Trump's goal isn’t to restore American greatness — it's much more sinister."
Opinion by Thom Hartmann:-
www.msn.com/en-gb/news/w...
Opinion by Thom Hartmann:-
www.msn.com/en-gb/news/w...
The view towards Rochers-de-Naye from Les Avants, above Montreux, where only Englishmen would be out in the midday sun taking pics.
The English playwright and composer Noel Coward bought a 10-room chalet with 4 acres of land here, dividing his time between Switzerland and another home in Jamaica.
The English playwright and composer Noel Coward bought a 10-room chalet with 4 acres of land here, dividing his time between Switzerland and another home in Jamaica.
July 9, 2025 at 3:13 PM
The view towards Rochers-de-Naye from Les Avants, above Montreux, where only Englishmen would be out in the midday sun taking pics.
The English playwright and composer Noel Coward bought a 10-room chalet with 4 acres of land here, dividing his time between Switzerland and another home in Jamaica.
The English playwright and composer Noel Coward bought a 10-room chalet with 4 acres of land here, dividing his time between Switzerland and another home in Jamaica.
In December 1931. Mahatma Gandhi spent five days in Switzerland, staying at the home of his friend Romain Rolland in Villeneuve on Lake Geneva. Despite the brief nature of his visit, a statue of him was unveiled there by the Indian president Ram Nath Kovind in 2019.
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
July 8, 2025 at 10:28 PM
In December 1931. Mahatma Gandhi spent five days in Switzerland, staying at the home of his friend Romain Rolland in Villeneuve on Lake Geneva. Despite the brief nature of his visit, a statue of him was unveiled there by the Indian president Ram Nath Kovind in 2019.
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1805416251
Reposted by Mel Swain
And there it is. The Minnesota assassin who shot Democratic lawmakers “voted for Donald Trump and was a strong Trump supporter,” according to his best friend.
June 14, 2025 at 10:53 PM
And there it is. The Minnesota assassin who shot Democratic lawmakers “voted for Donald Trump and was a strong Trump supporter,” according to his best friend.
Geologists have proved that a tsunami shook Lake Geneva in the year 563, causing extensive damage with waves of up to 13 metres high. It occurred after a whole face of a mountain collapsed and was followed by an earth tremor.
June 14, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Geologists have proved that a tsunami shook Lake Geneva in the year 563, causing extensive damage with waves of up to 13 metres high. It occurred after a whole face of a mountain collapsed and was followed by an earth tremor.
Reposted by Mel Swain
The US Dollar has lost 10% of its value since Trump's inauguration day. Plan on travelling abroad? Your trip will be more expensive due to Trump and Republican's economic incompetence.
April 15, 2025 at 10:48 PM
The US Dollar has lost 10% of its value since Trump's inauguration day. Plan on travelling abroad? Your trip will be more expensive due to Trump and Republican's economic incompetence.
Reposted by Mel Swain
Dan Caldwell is fired from the Pentagon for leaking inconvenient information that threatened to embarrass Donald Trump.
Pete Hegseth is *not* fired from the Pentagon for leaking top secret military information that threatened the lives of our pilots overseas. #TrumpPriorities
Pete Hegseth is *not* fired from the Pentagon for leaking top secret military information that threatened the lives of our pilots overseas. #TrumpPriorities
April 15, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Dan Caldwell is fired from the Pentagon for leaking inconvenient information that threatened to embarrass Donald Trump.
Pete Hegseth is *not* fired from the Pentagon for leaking top secret military information that threatened the lives of our pilots overseas. #TrumpPriorities
Pete Hegseth is *not* fired from the Pentagon for leaking top secret military information that threatened the lives of our pilots overseas. #TrumpPriorities
Reposted by Mel Swain
Goldman Sachs reports the U.S. economy could lose $90 billion this year in lost tourism and boycotts of American products. Canadian flight reservations to the US are down 70%.
April 15, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Goldman Sachs reports the U.S. economy could lose $90 billion this year in lost tourism and boycotts of American products. Canadian flight reservations to the US are down 70%.
Reposted by Mel Swain
Trump is trying to play divide and rule between the UK and the EU. Will we be daft enough to fall into the trap? www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/04...
Will the UK fall into Trump’s trap?
This is the first of a series of tables put out by the US government yesterday to supposedly justify what it calls reciprocal tariffs:
Others in the series are available here.
The problem with the...
www.taxresearch.org.uk
April 3, 2025 at 7:12 AM
Trump is trying to play divide and rule between the UK and the EU. Will we be daft enough to fall into the trap? www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/04...
Reposted by Mel Swain
Trump is seeking world domination. That is what his tariffs are all about. We have to accede to his worldview, or be punished. When will our politicians wake up and smell the coffee? www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/04...
The world needs to realise that we are at war with a fascist tyrant in the USA
As Heather Cox Richardson has noted in her Letter from an American this morning:
The plan, as Vice President J.D. Vance explained in a 2021 interview, is to destroy the current government, business, e...
www.taxresearch.org.uk
April 4, 2025 at 7:17 AM
Trump is seeking world domination. That is what his tariffs are all about. We have to accede to his worldview, or be punished. When will our politicians wake up and smell the coffee? www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/04...
"Eviscerating the federal government & subjugating Congress; defying court orders & delegitimising judges; deporting immigrants & arresting protesters without due process; chilling free speech at universities & cultural institutions; cowing news outlets" #Fascism www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
The Trump administration is descending into authoritarianism
From media to culture and the arts to the refusal to abide by court orders, we’re nearing ‘Defcon 1 for our democracy’, experts say
www.theguardian.com
March 22, 2025 at 3:36 PM
"Eviscerating the federal government & subjugating Congress; defying court orders & delegitimising judges; deporting immigrants & arresting protesters without due process; chilling free speech at universities & cultural institutions; cowing news outlets" #Fascism www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
Reposted by Mel Swain
The next four years will be shit.
The only slight relief will be the vast, ugly fight between Musk and Trump, which will begin almost immediately; and the increasingly desperate efforts of the GOP to hide Trump's dementia, insanity, fascism, and inevitable stroke.
The only slight relief will be the vast, ugly fight between Musk and Trump, which will begin almost immediately; and the increasingly desperate efforts of the GOP to hide Trump's dementia, insanity, fascism, and inevitable stroke.
January 20, 2025 at 5:35 PM
The next four years will be shit.
The only slight relief will be the vast, ugly fight between Musk and Trump, which will begin almost immediately; and the increasingly desperate efforts of the GOP to hide Trump's dementia, insanity, fascism, and inevitable stroke.
The only slight relief will be the vast, ugly fight between Musk and Trump, which will begin almost immediately; and the increasingly desperate efforts of the GOP to hide Trump's dementia, insanity, fascism, and inevitable stroke.