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My predictions of a World Warry 2026 seem to be taking shape nice and early. You're welcome.
And I didn't think I was the kind of wise man who would look to the skies for predictions of the future, but the moon has been doing some spectacular stuff this year. It's been hanging around in the day time like it doesn't understand it's fucking job, full and looking crystal clear. And tonight as I walked the dog the moon was rising above the horizon, had grown to twice its usual size (there is no other explanation) like and shining bright. As bright as day. Boys and girls were coming out to play. Stewart Lee was walking around with a big stick, licking his lips.
My son didn't go out to play. He was freaked out and asked what the big light in the sky is.
Surely the only reason the moon can be acting so out of character is that God or the people running this simulation or Paddington or whoever is in charge of the after life these days is trying to tell us that 2026 is going to be a fucked up year. Be nice if they could give more specifics and perhaps a plan of how to get out of the jam we're in. But I suppose it's better to do something slightly weird that can be interpreted in any way the observer chooses to do so, with the get out clause that if things don't turn out as predicted I can just say that the weird moon was actually a sign that nothing would go wrong. Thanks Paddington.
John Shepherd added this comment to yesterday's Substack
"It was very probably on the site of the current number 47 --
The Old Bakery that you saw. (Yes, that gravestone just influenced _my_
life too!).
...the current building at number 47 is: The Old Bakery
(The google maps view suggests a suitably villa-ish plot of land to me ... perhaps the villa was the building you get to by going through the Old Bakery, which is clearly some kind of rebuilt gatehouse)I'd like to believe I was clever enough to figure this all out for myself. But I might've had help from an AI research assistant."
That had been my guess too, based on sizes of property and which houses are still there and which aren't. I'd found the first Daintree document on my search but not the second.
Simon C also commented regarding Ally's claim to be the oldest, still working dummy in the world
"Oldest ventriloquist dummy still in use (based on available evidence)
The strongest documented candidate: “George” — approx. 128 years old
A ventriloquist dummy named George, made in the 1890s, is one of the oldest known dummies still being actively used and maintained today. He appeared on The Repair Shop in 2023, where his owner described performing with him since childhood.
Age: ~128 years old
Origin: London music halls, 1890s
Status: Still owned, maintained, and used by his performer
Evidence: Featured on BBC’s The Repair Shop after restoration
This is the oldest clearly documented dummy still in active use that appears in current media."
Ally is, at least based on the newspapers stuffed into his legs, 134 years old this month. Of course you could argue that all the newspapers mean is that he was built AFTER January 1892 - my great-grandad could have had those papers lying around for years. I think you'd have to conclude that it's likely he was using current newspapers from just days before the build. I guess there's no way to prove it (though George's age is also approximate and I bet he doesn't have evidence that is as strongly suggestive as the newspaper dates). So I reckon Ally is still the winner. And I bet he's a lot funnier than George. Almost certainly ruder. Plus his lifting hair-piece is a 134 year old joke that (possibly) still gets laughs.
