Leaving Twitter, Forgetfulness, Pseuds Corner

 I decided to quit Twitter last month. I haven't been engaging properly with it for a while, only tweeting to point out a podcast or a show I was doing. But still, I'd had enough and tweeted to say as much (yes, I did a leaving tweet, which I admit is a little embarrassing).

The Devil Sowing Tares
Abraham Bloemaert (1566-1651) (attributed to)
Photo Credit: Somerville College, University of Oxford [CC BY-NC]

I was tired of the incessant comments about me getting work only because of diversity quotas and political correctness, from people who ignore the fact I couldn't care less whether it's talent or initiatives that get me the work: I'm still taking the money...

There's no room for nuance. I once tweeted something sarcastic about Doctor Who having a female star, attempting to lampoon the morons who have a problem with it, and it was taken at face value; I was then attacked for having a problem with the Doctor being female. Which I obviously do, but wouldn't state publicly. (That was a joke, don't @ me: it's pointless anyway now)...

Take my leaving tweet...I said it was my last post but that people could follow me on Instagram and Facebook (and TikTok - and, most likely, OnlyFans before long). Loads of replies were lovely and said they understood why I was going, would follow me elsewhere and hoped the trolls weren't getting me down. But a couple said they didn't give a crap; that I was scum for staying on Facebook and they hoped I died soon.

Something like that - I'm paraphrasing. Of course I focused only on those replies and came away utterly disgusted about humanity. This might say more about me than Twitter. It's felt pretty good since I left - a bit like decluttering my brain...

(Romesh Ranganathan, The Guardian, 2021)

(See Trolls, Dec 18, 2020 and Tokenism, Nov 24, 2020)

Forgetfulness

"I was sentenced to be minister for policing and criminal justice... I didn't enjoy it much and successfully secured my own release." (Nick Herbert, former Conservative minister, 20 Nov 2019)

"I am delighted to have been appointed to chair the College and very much look forward  to working with the police service again." (Nick Herbert, now Lord Herbert of South Downs, on his appointment as chair of the College of Policing, 14 January 2021)

(Private Eye, No 1540)

Pseuds Corner

Sleep is such an important component of self-care. As we start a new year we're seeing that people are really investing in rest and searching for inspiration to add extra comfort and calm to their bedrooms. It's clear that sleep sanctuaries are high on the agenda.

(Aya Kanal, The Times, in Private Eye No 1540)

It seems to me the world went wrong the moment Bowie died.

(Daphne Guinness, The Times, in Private Eye, No 1540)