Kmflett's Blog

Campden Square, Ramsgate

It’s still very fine here, moderately hot summer temperatures
and a cool wind off the sea, on top of which the bottled beer is
excellent and salt water bathing ‘a proper treat’

Engels concluded

We are staying here until Monday fortnight and in London
shall, I trust, retire from the very idle life we’ve been a-Ieadin’ of.
The trip and the sea-bathing have done my wife a great deal of
good, so I have reason to hope that I shall also be able to get her
through the winter in passable health. Both she and I send our
kindest regards to you, your wife and the children, and in the
hope that Rheinau’s gnat population will shortly diminish I shall
close because of incipient table-laying.
Yours ever,

Engels 11 Campden Square, Ramsgate to Philipp Pauli, 11th August 1876

Both Marx and Engels were enthusiasts for the English seaside and Ramsgate was a particular favourite, although Engels also liked Eastbourne. Campden Square is centrally located in Ramsgate for shops and the Royal Harbour

Beard, Shorts & Sandals Season: No Guidelines in 2026

The Beard Liberation Front, one of whose founding principles is that people should be able to dress and appear as they want, is increasingly concerned about official diktats on how people should or should not appear.

For the first time the voluntary option of wearing shades or sunglasses has been added after consultation within the network.

However the BLF urges those participating in the 2026 Beard, Shorts and Sandals Season to take care out there:

1 UV levels. It’s not just sun that can lead to sunburnt legs

2 Pogonophobia. Participants should beware beard haters

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, the Beard, Shorts and Sandals season has been a major influence on summer fashions in recent times and the 2026 season is no different. While there is no hard evidence that Karl Marx wore shorts while on Ramsgate beach, its likely that he at the very least rolled up his trousers legs. Its time to revolt into style.

Beard Liberation Front

11th July

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has issued a statement on Saturday’s World Cup quarter final between England and Norway.

The campaigners acknowledge that Norway’s Erling Haaland and England’s Harry Kane are likely to have a significant impact and influence over the result and goals by either player could be decisive.

However Kane’s Beard Power which gives him greater control over the ball in the air, as movement of his follicles creates air currents that can waft the ball into the goal, should give him an advantage over the perpetually clean shaven Haaland. Simon Kuper* in the Financial Times has noted that the Norwegian player is almost without visible facial hair.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, Harry Kane’s Beard Power should give England an advantage but his round of golf with Trump was not beard friendly.

For a paper that is focused on capital the ‘bosses paper’ the Financial Times often has interesting insights on sport.

When it comes the World Cup FT journalist Simon Kuper is consistently on the ball as it were with stories that fall broadly into the anti-racist and anti-capitalist genre.

The FT’s US Political Correspondent Edward Luce (8th July 2026) makes an interesting point about Trump’s intervention to get the penalty for a Red Card for a US footballer Balogun suspended so he could play in the Round of 16 game against Belgium. The USA lost 4-1.

Luce notes that it was the first time since Italy hosted the World Cup in 1934 that a political leader had intervened in his team’s favour. In that case it was Mussolini and Italy went on to win the World Cup. Trump by contrast has the King Midas in Reverse touch. Not gold but shit.

The quote appeared in The Times in early 2024.

By July 2024 Farage had eventually answered the question. Yes, he did want to be an MP (although not actually doing the job of an MP). No, he did not want to spend Fridays in Clacton and in fact he has not. On Friday the Commons does not usually hear significant business and MPs return to their constituencies to hold surgeries for constituents who have issues they want taken up. Farage has never held a surgery for constituents in Clacton.

This is the front page of the Daily Telegraph on 8th July 2026.

Farage sometimes writes columns for the paper and it is often well disposed to his hard right politics.

To be called out as someone who has promoted a farce in that context is significant.

However it does not take away from the continuing need to expose and combat Farage’s racism.

Not Count Binface in Clacton but anti-racist campaigning

In June 2008 David Davis (who remains a Tory MP) was Shadow Home Secretary. He resigned his seat to fight a By-Election. His issue was that the then Labour Government was planning to increase the length of time terror suspects could be held without trial from 28 to 42 days. It was a stand on civil liberties, albeit not something Davis had previously particularly known for.

The issue seems quite contemporary almost 20 years on with another Labour Government chewing up civil liberties at pace.

In the resulting By-Election none of the main parties stood (the Greens did but they were not then a significant electoral force) and Davis won easily. The impact on the issue he had stood on was not unfortunately significant.

In July 2026 Farage has decided to resign and fight a By-Election. His principle is the less than glorious one of trying to deflect attention from his ever mounting doubtful financial issues. Just as in 2008 the main parties are not standing. Farage is likely to win but while David Davis continued his political career, Farage’s fate may be more consequential.

The bottom line here however is that its likely that none of the young interns who run Reform’s HQ have ever heard of the Haltem Price and Howden By-Election. If they had have done they might have suggested that Farage take a leave of absence from the Commons (not difficult, he is rarely there and the summer break looms anyway) and keep out of the way rather than pushing himself more into a media glare he has been trying to avoid for months

As it is Farage is still digging.

David Davis 2008 by-election campaign – Wikipedia

Beard Liberation Front

7th July

Media Release: contact BLF Organiser Keith Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that it will not stand a candidate in the forthcoming Clacton By-Election caused by the resignation of Nigel Farage as an MP on 7th July.

The campaigners say that while the BLF does occasionally stand in elections it generally looks to back the most beard friendly candidate.

In respect of Clacton the focus will be on the candidate, if any stand, who is best placed to defeat Farage. While be briefly wore a moustache around ten years ago he is no friend to the hirsute.

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, we stand for people being able to dress and appear as they want without  back to the 1950s Faragist thinking based on dress codes, suits and ties. Our supporters will be out on the ground in Clacton aiming to stop Farage, assuming any meaningful election process actually takes place.

Nigel Farage appeared in a bad mood after his USA team lost to Belgium in the World Cup last 16 game on 7th July.

An emergency statement was duly made on Reform’s YouTube channel (no media questions obviously)

Farage claimed he is under attack from left-wing media like The Times (owner Rupert Murdoch) and the Telegraph (owner Axel Springer).

Further his ability to hoover up dodgy donations from outside the UK is under threat from the ‘Communist’ Labour Government current leader well known Marxist-Leninist Keir Starmer.

Eventually he concluded that he will fight a By-Election in Clacton (once he finds out where it is) which will cost a substantial amount of public money.

Farage has a low opinion of those who support him but in general voters don’t like being taken for granted by someone whose aim is not to improve their lives but the politicians own life.