After 2012 which took a satirical look at the London Olympics and W1A which did the same for the BBC, John Morton’s new six part series 2026 on the US World Cup has launched on the BBC (six episodes on IPlayer).
There are some familiar characters not least Ian Fletcher (Hugh Bonneville) as Head of Integrity and his assistant Will Humphries (Hugh Skinner). As before David Tennant does the voice overs.
The question perhaps is whether Morton’s satirical approach which looks at management culture and meetings about meetings and in particular perhaps brand and reputation management can work when the real life event is taking place in Trump’s USA with an illegal war currently being pursued and ICE snatching people off the streets and hauling them off to concentration camps.
There is not much scope for humour there, 2026 is not on that page, but the backdrop is unavoidable.
So far I’ve watched just the first episode. There was some decent satire but very few laughs but when I rewatched W1A recently (all three series on the IPlayer 2014-17) there were still plenty of laughs.
Of course satire and comedy does not have to be funny haha. I think 2026 could have been in that territory but it would have needed to be more sharply political and that might have provoked another Trump lawsuit against the BBC. Hmmmm
The headline is from the Aberdeen Press & Journal.
It sounds rather like a stunt Brewdog might have pulled in the classic era before 2017.
In fact it relates to the news that James Watt resigned as a Director of Brewdog on 24th March and is listed as ‘resigned’ at the Companies House listing. It was a bit late, as the other Directors resigned on 6th March- Martin Dickie quit in August 2025.
My analysis of how Brewdog could have turned out very differently is here:
Bernie Grant d. 8th April 2000. Anti-racist, socialist, beard wearer.
I’m not in London today but if I was I’d be making the short way from my Tottenham residence to the old Tottenham Town Hall today to pay respects at the plaque marking the life of one of the great post-1945 political figures, Bernie Grant.
He died 26 years ago today after a period as leader of Haringey Council and then Labour MP for Tottenham from 1987, one of the first four black MPs to be elected in the modern era.
There is no question that Bernie made a significant impact on Haringey politics and well beyond which continues 26 years on. He was the first black leader of an authority anywhere in Europe and while the example has been far too slow to be followed it was a landmark.
His fight against racism and opposition to the Thatcher Government when he was Council leader again set a template
I was Chair of Haringey Trades Union Council throughout the period that Bernie was Council leader and MP.
I recall particularly Election meetings where in those days we would invite the Labour candidate only to speak. Bernie was an inspiring and indeed an idiosyncratic speaker. Throughout the period he was pursued by the tabloid press (fortunately it was well before social media) and particularly the S*n who labelled him ‘Barmy Bernie’. We were always on the look-out for ill-intentioned types at these kind of meetings keen to twist an off-cuff the remark.
My connections do go rather wider. His brother was a trade union colleague in telecoms (as was his partner) and like myself a cricket fan, neither of us for England…
We have to accept I think that political figures like Bernie Grant come along only rarely in each generation. Remembering him 26 years after his death is important not least for the motivation it should give to continue the fight now. And it certainly does need continuing
Some further detail on Bernie Grant’s background from FB posts
Monty as he was familiarly known to us was my first cousin. He like my father. Basil Barnett Blair, fought for the betterment of people. Monty (Bernie) was relentless, fearless and committed in standing up for people of all classes regardless of race, color or religion. In his private life he was the same person. Being an older cousin, Bernie was an example of kindness, humor, and loyalty. He mostly lit up the room with his smile and gapped teeth. He enjoyed family and family certainly enjoyed him. He is tremendously missed and his memory lives on not only in public life but greatly by his family and friends, whose lives he touched. To Sharon, Monty’s dear wife, my dear cousins and their families, other family members I send my love and continued blessings.
Mr. Keith Flett, thank you for honoring “one” of my favorite cousins. (hmm!) Bountiful Blessings to you, your family and the communities Monty served in.
Leyland and Bernie lived with Uncle Basil and his family when their parents were teaching “up country”. Until the nuns found then liming on the seawall and wrote their mother saying she needed to come back to Georgetown and keep them under control! Lovely memories xx
After he threatened to bomb Iran back to the Stone Age (an echo of a Vietnam War strategy which didn’t work either) Trump as agreed to a ceasefire brokered, it is reported by Pakistan. The country borders Iran has nuclear weapons so it has a clear interest.
Trump will no doubt claim it’s a victory but then he lies about everything and most media commentary suggests it’s a serious defeat for Trump and the US’s imperial role. A few comments suggest that Trump was only playing at being mad (after Nixon, who was not playing) but Trump’s erratic behaviour in general makes this a hard line to pursue.
At the end of December 2025 the Financial Times named its word or more properly anacronym of the year which was Taco. Not the tasty food but Trump Always Chickens Out.
Robert Armstrong who coined the word noted that its popularity signifies how thin skinned Trump is to criticisms of his policies, perhaps particularly in respect of his 2025 tariffs.
Armstrong argued that Taco underlines that Trump doesn’t really have any policies but is rather a ‘gifted reality TV star’.
I certainly don’t buy Armstrong’s point that Trump is not running an authoritarian Government.
However if we refocus Armstrong’s anacronym to in the context of the Situationists Society of the Spectacle (Guy Debord) we can see that Trump primarily promotes a brand-himself. Taco is an alternative reading of that brand and in this sense quite a subversive one.
In the last 24 hours the TACO brand has been badly damaged.
For the first time a YouGov poll has recognised the splintered nature of UK Party Politics.
It provides figures for Rupert Lowe’s fascist Restore Britain as well Your Party on the left.
It looks like Restore is taking support away from Reform as it outflanks Farage on the far right (difficult though this can sometimes be).
The Your Party figure is more complicated because in respect of the May 7th elections its not standing (as far as I can see) under its own name but backing a serious of community independent challenges around the UK. These will be recognised locally but will be difficult to capture in a national poll.
The support for Plaid and the SNP btw is obviously in the context that they only stand on Wales and Scotland. Plaid may be happy with 1% compared to the SNP’s 3% given that Scotland has roughly twice the population of Wales.
Opinion polls however are just that, reality may differ.
Allister Heath is the Editor of the (UK)right-wing Sunday Telegraph. This random headline generator is the work of the New World. It often mirrors reality surprisingly closely
The US cannabis and craft beer company Tilray bought Brewdog’s UK brewery, its brand and eleven bars on March 2nd 2026. 38 bars were closed and 484 workers sacked on the spot.
Subsequently Tilray acquired Brewdog assets in America and Australia while the German operation was closed pre-sale. A number of Brewdog franchise pub remain around the globe including several in the UK.
At the top level there was an argument on LinkedIn and the media between James Watt and Tilray CEO Dwight Simon. Watt claimed concern about the Equity for Punks ordinary shareholders and said he had spoken to Simon about this. Apparently he had at some point before the March 2026 sale- Simon said Tilray had previously looked at bids for Brewdog. Simon also underlined that he had not spoken to Watt post sale and that the Stigma of Watt was an issue for Brewdog.
Having examined the books further Tilray announced plans to acquire five more Brewdog pubs from the Administrators and press reports suggested they had attempted to re-hire workers. Unite the Union condemned this as fire and rehire (which will be illegal from January 2027) but it’s not clear where this is now going.
The Administrators appear to be better at offloading ex-Brewdog pubs than Brewdog was itself after previous closures and numbers of bars including Plymouth, Bristol and Basingstoke have reopened under new indy owners.
Meanwhile Tilray has announced plans to market Brewdog beers in areas of the US, including some New York location, where they were not previously available. Tilray also announced that it had the contract to brew Carlsberg beers in the US.
As a result of acquisitions Tilray is the fourth largest craft brewer in the US and Simon announced plans to sell Montauk Brewing beers in Brewdog bars in the UK and market them in Europe.
Brand wise Lords cricket ground pulled out of their contract with Brewdog and an announcement on a new provider is awaited although the MCC did reassure members that cask beer will still be available in the Pavillion.
By contrast St Helens rugby who play at the Brewdog stadium are keeping the link and announced a new image based on Tilray’s health and community work.
I haven’t provided links but I’m not trying to be the new Matthew Goodwin. All of the above should be easy to Google (which is where I found it). Reports of errors gratefully received and will be corrected.
Meanwhile my piece for Culture Matters on how Brewdog might have survived if it had been run rather differently. What is clear is that Brewdog is now a rather smaller brand than it was a few months ago and Tilray is on a voyage of discovery. It would help if it recognised Unite the Union
Turning the World Upside Down after Easter: Hocktide
British traditions are varied and confusing and those around Easter are no exception.
A strand of radicalism is a frequent thread. That is, the existing order of power relations is subverted in some way. The most common form of this is the Lord of Misrule, a character who is the precise reverse of the existing order of monarchs and other leaders. The figure is meant to be one of fun but as often disorder and riot are also present.
Easter has little association with Misrule but there is still a subverting tradition- that of Hocktide. In more recent times (and I’m not sure it existed widely beyond the early nineteenth century) it took place on Easter Monday or Tuesday. Earlier it was to be found at the end of a much longer Easter festival- two weeks or so after Easter Sunday.
Hocktide involved most commonly groups of women, married or single, kidnapping men and holding them to ransom for money. Originally the money raised went to local Church funds but it appears that later it was used to fund sporting activities.
In a male dominated society it was a rare expression of female power.
Hocktide, like many other religious associated customs was discouraged under the Long Parliament in the 1640s and even more so during the period of Cromwellian Government in the 1650s.
With the Restoration in 1660 it returned and it wouldn’t be surprising to find even today some echoes of the tradition taking place.
) Bountiful Blessings to you, your family and the communities Monty served in.
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