James Midmer

Fantastic day with my pal @Goodwood_Races ❤️

Saw @jimmy9’s 704th and final test wicket today, 21 years after I snuck out of school to see his very first against Zimbabwe! What an unbelievable sportsman, in every sense of the word. Thanks for all the memories up and down the country! #thegoat

@AlexanderEhmann @BCA4Barnes @limebike @CllrMillum @RichmondStreets @RichmondCycling Agree, there is just no issue here. Here’s another of the Barnes stands this evening, near the Olympic. Three Lime bikes and about 20 normal bikes, seems perfectly harmonious. Not everyone wants to buy a bike, many prefer to rent them (I am biased here though, because of my job!)

@BCA4Barnes @Jamesmidmer @limebike @CllrMillum @RichmondStreets @RichmondCycling Free cycle parking is still available, because it is possible to move them & I dare say they were prob used promptly too. I accept total monopolisation of these stands is undesirable, but its not the ‘end of days’ you’ve made it out to be either. More stands is the way forward.

These bike racks were installed to serve residents coming to support local businesses on the High Street. They should not be used as a @limebike storage area. @AlexanderEhmann Can we get these bikes off our pavements? @CllrMillum @RichmondStreets @RichmondCycling

@BCA4Barnes @limebike @AlexanderEhmann @CllrMillum @RichmondStreets @RichmondCycling There are also absolutely tons of car parking spaces down both the high street and church road, if even one of these was given to the bikes it could house at least 10 and remove the issue. The only dedicated spot I have seen is on Nassau Road, which isn’t a useful spot

@BCA4Barnes @limebike @AlexanderEhmann @CllrMillum @RichmondStreets @RichmondCycling I walk past this area every day and there are rarely more than two bikes there (I know because I need them to commute), so the idea that this is regular redistribution area for Lime is not true. This is the same spot tonight for example.

@BCA4Barnes @limebike @AlexanderEhmann @CllrMillum @RichmondStreets @RichmondCycling The bikes (as a whole) in Barnes are considerately parked and bring a huge amount of trade to local pubs (which I want to stay there), help people reach the sports pitches, support commuting and take cars away from the school run. There are doubtless ways to improve them though!

Spot on. From an outside perspective, the amount of time that’s wasted dreaming up new ways to sell the sport, when they miss very basic elements of the current experience, is very frustrating.

@cricketdistrict @Frogboxlive Sadly this is the inevitable consequence of Alex Carey running out Jonny Bairstow at Lords. At the time a lot of sensible commentators said that was fair game, but this was always the contagion risk!

Ball thrown to second slip, run out, given ☝️ What do you think of this? 😳 via @Frogboxlive

This makes you proud to be British 🇬🇧

@sabahmeddings @JackSidders Was just in its Brussels branch and it’s down to brass tacks, no reception staff, milk or working pens…

Exclusive: WeWork’s property fund has lost its last London office after Deutsche Bank breach. WeWork at 51 Cheapside has been placed into receivership. Story with ⁦@JackSidders⁩ bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

@DavidMenuisier @Goodwood @Doncaster @yorkracecourse Happy retirement Migration, what a horse and what a run style!

Migration is now retired, we have to think about the great times we’ve had with him especially Glorious @goodwood, @doncaster and @yorkracecourse . He came back to the crime scene of last year’s exploit today for his final “lap of honour”. Thank you Migration for the amazing years we’ve had in your company. Enjoy a well deserved quiet time.

@BHAHorseracing The top end is not the problem, if you increase that then horses will still come over from Ireland to take the prizes. You need to increase the lower ends to have a really healthy ecosystem from which the top talents can emerge over time.

"We must do more, more quickly, and in a more coordinated and decisive manner if we are going to restore British Jump racing to the standing at which it belongs." Statement from BHA Chief Executive Julie Harrington regarding Jump racing in Britain: ➡️ britishhorseracing.com/press_releases…

@itvracing @RishiPersad1 Too expensive and many factors making it not an easy / enjoyable experience meaning many fans (like me) watching a few races in the pub instead of going. Relatively easy fix if they want to make it #CheltenhamFestival2024

"The numbers don't lie...It's a reflection of everything we've seen over the last 5-10 years" 💬 @RishiPersad1 The attendances are down at Cheltenham this week. Has the festival lost a little bit of its aura? #TheOpeningShow | #CheltenhamFestival

@implausibleblog He’s like a football manager who is 3-0 up at halftime but then tries to sit on the lead rather than keep on playing. People want to vote for them but they’re not telling us what they would actually do

Sophy Ridge, "Are you going to become the austerity Prime Minister if you win the election? Keir Starmer, "It is an awful inheritance. They've damaged the economy, they've damaged our public services. We have to ensure have an economy that's thriving" Sophy Ridge, "There's a five and half year wait from a rape being committed and that person seeing justice. What are you going to do?" Keir Starmer, "Where we can put money in the public services we will" Sophy Ridge, "This is your chance, tell people" Keir Starmer, "We need to make sure the economy is growing.. I think we can turn our economy around very very quickly"

@Peston Agree with the points about democracy but also don’t think it’s unreasonable for the nation’s leader to step in at this point. The situation has been deteriorating for a while, albeit not helped by global events

The prime minister very explicitly said he chose today to make his rallying call for British kindness, tolerance and decency - and was calling out Islamist extremists and far right groups - in part because of George Galloway’s victory in Rochdale. But there are risks in doing that. Sunak is implying, for example, that the 12,335 people who voted for Galloway are in some way a threat to democracy, rather than citizens exercising their democratic right to protest against the government’s and Labour’s position on Israel’s military action in Gaza. Sunak may find Galloway’s views offensive. He may believe Galloway himself is no lover of the pluralism and liberal values feted by Sunak. But the point about democracy is it periodically throws up uncomfortable results. The point of democracy is to try and understand why voters would choose a candidate characterised by many as holding extreme views, not to dismiss, ignore or denigrate those voters. That said in a world becoming much more polarised, especially around issues of identity, many will be relieved that even in an election year the PM and Tory leader is urging mutual understanding and generosity of spirit, and is eschewing the populist tactic of whipping up division and hate for narrow political advantage.

Joy to cycle over Hammersmith Bridge this morning, please, please 🙏 keep this trial going @TfL

@MartinSLewis @Gingerbread So true, it’s a tax on children and is structured very unfairly, in addition to the deliberately confusing way it is processed.

Unfair Higher Income Child Benefit Charge. The charity @Gingerbread are writing to MPs about the unfairness, as I've been campaigning on it they asked me to support. I have. Here's my added quote "Even the Chancellor had to agree with me, when I put it to him, that the High Income Child Benefit Charge is an unfairness in the tax system." "It penalises single parent and single income families unfairly. It was by far the biggest single topic the public wanted me to put to politicians." "The problem is exacerbated by the frozen £50,000 threshold which fiscally-drags more single parent families into this situation each year. It staggers me no party has latched onto the popularity they’ll get from pledging to ends this structurally unfair anomaly.”

Imagine Bairstow taking this…

Can’t help but agree with @gelliott_racing, the sport should be focused on increasing competitiveness from the ground up, rather than restrictive top down measures like this. Essentially an admission of failure from those in charge.