Kmflett's Blog

Farage flew to Mar-a-Lago on March 6th implying that he was going to have dinner with Trump. However Trump was not there.

It may not be unconnected that on 10th March Farage U-Turned on his support for Trump’s war in Iran and said that Britain should not be involved.

Of course he took a swipe at those British forces who are actually involved, ever the patriot.

There may be trouble ahead for Farage however as a large scale YouGov poll on 9th March showed that nearly 60% of Reform supporters do back Trump’s war

Farage said on 28th February he was in favour of “regime change” in Iran and told a press conference in Westminster: “We should do all we can to support the operation.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/mar/10/nigel-farage-u-turn-uk-iran-war?CMP=share_btn_url

Beard Liberation Front

13th March

Contact Keith Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social

BEARD OF IRELAND 2025 VOTE: Shortlist of Four announced

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that competition for the Irish Beard of the Year 2026 is bristling with the shortlist of four contenders announced

The 2017 winner was politician Colum Eastwood who bearded broadcaster William Crawley for the annual Award.

In 2018 the DUP’s Lee Reynolds shaved writer Dominic O’Reilly for the honour with Colum Eastwood in a steady third place.

In 2019 Lee Reynolds retained the title

The 2020 winner was Maynooth academic Peter Coles

In 2021 Aodhan Connolly shaved opponents to win the coveted title and he retained it in 2022 2023 and 2024

In 2025 politician Gerry Carroll won the vote

The BLF says that while traditionally a land of predominantly clean-shaven cultures, Ireland has in recent times become something of a centre for stylish and trendy beards.

Contenders for the title in 2026 include a diverse range of the hirsute- an academic, political activist, a broadcaster, a TV pundit

The campaigners say the poll is specifically about the impact the beard of an individual has made in Irish public life and no other factor.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, competition for the 2026 Beard of Ireland Award is bristling with the winner announced on 17th March.

The vote on-line is pinned @keithbeard.bsky.social and is now open

Beard of Ireland 2026 Shortlist

William Crawley, broadcaster

Roy Keane, football pundit

Peter Coles, academic, Maynooth

Colum Eastwood, politician

At an event organised by hard right site Guido Fawkes last week Farage said he was off to dine at Mar-a-Lago on Friday 6th March as Trump had not fully grasped the issue on the Chagos Islands. The impression given- and reported by most media outlets(and not corrected by Farage) was that he was dining with Trump.

Farage was at Mar-a-Lago but he did not meet or dine with Trump. Only the Financial Times (9th March) reported the reality.

The New World Allister Heath random headline generator as as ever spot on. Heath is the Editor of the Sunday Telegraph

I won’t rehearse further points about YouGov as a polling organisation. Suffice to say this is a large sample and opposition to Trump’s imperial adventures has grown by 10% in the last week. Only Reform supporters are in favour. The margins are sufficiently large for the poll to be correct even if not absolutely correct (highly likely, it is only a poll)

Tony Blair’s comments that Starmer should have done what he did with Iraq in 2003 and just back Trump over Iran have not gone down well.

Of course Starmer is in effect backing Trump by letting the US use British bases, its his note of even the slightest dissent that irks Blair.

The MP quoted in the Mirror front page Jon Trickett is one of the small number of left Labour MPs but the significance of it appearing as the Mirror’s front page splash should not be ignored. There is a space for those opposed to Trump’s war to organise in.

Meanwhile the Times Editorial (9th March 2026) calls Blair’s views ‘sensible’. The Murdoch owned paper is of course Tory supporting

Last week Farage held a Chagos boat party in a small space on one of the vessels moored by the Thames Embankment in central London. It was stunt organised by the hard right site Guido Fawkes. A video on the site shows Farage holding a large gin and tonic and a small crowd of fans.

Farage claimed that he was flying to Mar-a-Lago on Friday 6th March to have dinner with Trump and discuss the Chagos Islands. He did travel (who paid will have to be disclosed in due course, it won’t have been Farage). However he did not either meet or have dinner with Trump, who the Financial Times reports (9th March) had changed his plans and was elsewhere. Farage it seems had simply been invited by a member to be a guest at Mar-a-Lago that day.

Farage has quite frequently claimed to be meeting Trump when the reality shows he was simply wandering around in the vague vicinity of the President. On Friday he didn’t even manage that.

This of course is not the real Allister Heath, Editor of the Sunday Telegraph but a random headline generator from the New World. The difference between the generator and Allister’s actual headlines is marginal

Country Joe McDonald (1.1.1942-7.3.2026) is famous for his anti-Vietnam War anthem I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die Rag, as relevant now with Trump’s imperial adventures in Iran as it was in the late 1960s

Country Joe McDonald who wrote one of the great anti-war songs, I Feel Like I’m Fixin to Die Rag, about the Vietnam War has died aged 84

Country Joe McDonald – Wikipedia

A determinedly political singer he also had in the late 1960s one of the great anti-imperialist moustaches

As yet more US soldiers die in Trump’s illegal war in Iran Country Joe’s anti-war message speaks across the generations

Country Joe McDonald who wrote one of the great anti-war songs, I Feel Like I’m Fixin to Die Rag, about the Vietnam War has died aged 84

Country Joe McDonald – Wikipedia

A determinedly political singer he also had in the late 1960s one of the great anti-imperialist moustaches

As yet more US soldiers die in Trump’s illegal war in Iran Country Joe’s anti-war message speaks across the generations

Blair: still not learning the lessons of Iraq 2003

The Guardian has reported remarks that Tony Blair made at a lunch on Friday to the effect that Britain should always support the US’s imperial ambitions come what may. That is exactly what he did with Iraq in 2003 (a war Keir Starmer opposed). He seems to have either forgotten or still prefers to ignore the outcome of the lengthy Chilcott Inquiry which reported in 2016. It found that there had been major issues with Blair’s position.

Given that US planes are in fact using UK bases both in England and the Middle East to prosecute Trump’s war with Iran it might queried what the issue is.

In reality Trump and Netanyahu (who has disappeared from view) has very few supporters for his Iran adventure and clearly thought strapping the UK to a warplane would help. There is a partial parallel with Harold Wilson’s position on the Vietnam War. He supported the US but declined efforts by President Johnson to get him to commit British troops. Like Starmer he did allow the US to use British military bases.

Blair is still not learning from the history of the Iraq War and clearly does not want to. Starmer appears mindful of it, or has been reminded of it. Protests will need to keep reminding him

Guardian 8^th March

At a private lunch event on Friday, the former Labour prime minister said Keir Starmer “should have backed America from the very beginning” and let the Trump administration use British airbases, adding: “If they are your ally and they are an indispensable cornerstone for your security … you had better show up when they want you to.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/mar/08/yvette-cooper-rejects-tony-blair-call-for-uk-to-have-backed-trump-strikes-on-iran?CMP=share_btn_url