Douglas Jackson

One hundredth five-star rating on Amazon for Blood Roses at the same time as it breaks into the Top 5 in the Historical Mysteries chart. Book 2, Blood Sacrifice out in November and I reckon it's even better! #SalesRank" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CL925VPZ#…

Your father retired at sixty. He bought a caravan. He saw his grandkids on Tuesdays. He had time. You are sixty four. Your knees are gone. Your back is ruined. And they have moved the line again. Sixty seven. Then sixty eight. Then sixty nine. They sold three years of your retirement to balance their books. They sold five years of your wife's pension to balance their books. They will sell your children's whole retirement before they are done. Healthy life expectancy in this country is sixty three. You will retire sick. If you retire at all. The printer at Threadneedle Street never stops. The spending at the Treasury never stops. The excuses at Downing Street never stop. Three machines grinding through your life. You were not given more years to enjoy. You were given more years to serve.

This is what £102B could fund. Instead it’s going to let some Brummies get to the outskirts of London 15 minutes earlier on the train than in 1970.

Meet our shortlistee for the #WalterScottPrize, Alice Jolly author of THE MATCHBOX GIRL. Read this exclusive interview via the link: walterscottprize.co.uk/shortlist-spot… @JollyAlice @BloomsburyBooks #HistoricalFiction #Books #BookRecommendations #BookClub #AliceJolly #TheMatchboxGirl

Marina Purkiss: “What about the people of Gibraltar or the people of Scotland, are we saying that their sovereignty doesn’t matter, or is sovereignty something that is decided in Westminster … democracy is a moving thing” #ScottishIndependence🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

The UK public has been lied to by the Tories and Labour over their collusion into the nationwide rollout of deregulated Freeports, SEZ’s, and AI Growth Zones right after Brexit. I’ve been writing about free zones for over 8 years, and what’s happening to the UK regarding zonification has gone largely unnoticed by the MSM. AI Growth Zones are the digital version of Freeports and SEZ’s, they are perhaps the most dangerous of all, creating very extreme impacts on citizens privacy, physical and mental health, and also their monthly bills. No one voted for this. x.com/europeanpowell…

@brianmoore666 A wonderful tribute to a wonderful guy from an opponent who never gave an inch.

Scott Hastings, a man of integrity, honesty and empathy. A player who never gave below his maximum. There is nothing more you can ask as a legacy. RIP

I talked to best-selling author Stuart MacBride about his new book "Blood, Rust and Steel", his thoughts on how Aberdeen is changing and his views on AI. He was scathing about the latter. "AI will never 'understand' humour or anything else." pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/entertainme…

Guted by this. Scott was a fantastic player, a brilliant interview and a great colleague when he joined The Times as our columnist. An all-round wonderful guy who took life's but always came up smiling. A shining light has gone out today. bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-un…

Ach. A privilege to “ ghost” his autobiography. Scott was a worldclass player, irreverent, bubbling with good humour and one of the most optimistic blokes I’ve ever encountered. That optimism allowed him to weather later health issues and the tragic loss of Jenny. Lovely couple.

@Scotlandteam Awful news. Scott was a fantastic player and a lovely guy. Condolences to the family.

Scottish Rugby is immensely saddened to learn of the death earlier today of former Scotland and British & Irish Lions centre, Scott Hastings. He was 61.

I devoured The Art of Occupation in about three days. Brilliant characterisation, superb storytelling and a fantastic, multi-layered plot centred on the Nazis' theft of France's cultural heritage. The best yet of a brilliant series! amazon.co.uk/Art-Occupation…

Final day of our Keir Hill of Dasher and a massive 6m wide 2m deep rock cut ditch!

Day 3 of our Keir Hill of Dasher dig and we hit black gold…charcoal!

Office today…. A 2000 year old fort in Kippen!

Reading for just 6 minutes can help reduce your stress levels. Pop into the library to bring a book and take a book from our book swap bookcase. A book swap is also a great way to save money, recycle old books and read new ones. #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek

@orionbooks Many thanks for the copy of The Art of Occupation. Already engrossed!

Lovely bit of book post from Orion this morning and I can’t wait to get stuck in. Chris Lloyd’s Eddie Giral detective series is a fantastic, multi-layered portrayal of life in Occupied Paris. If you like a bit of World War Two crime it’s truly not to be missed.

Roman fans loved sports merch too! This 2,000-year-old Roman glass cup from Colchester is a chariot racing souvenir. A Latin inscription hails ‘Cresces’ the winner! 🏆 It also bids farewell to his three losing opponents, Hierax, Olympus, and Antiocus! 👋 👋 👋 British Museum britishmuseum.org/collection/obj… 📷 by me #EpigraphyTuesday #Archaeology

Labour was formed to represent the working class, not working people. The working class includes those too young, ill, or disabled to work, it also includes the elderly.