Darren Masters 💙

Morning after my 54th blood donation and feeling ready for a gentle start to the weekend. Spoke to a colleague yesterday about restarting his blood donations. If you can #GiveBlood please do. #GiveBloodSaveLives

As Apps go, @VodafoneUK is probably one of the worst I have come across. The chat bot function can’t even understand what to do to respond to one of its own pre selected responses. Connect to an agent instead- tumbleweeds

@StuDMiller They have had to fudge a raft of measures to avoid an overt rise in tax rates which was seen as politically damaging. I’m not sure she thought that through! People will notice. Another fudge before having to come back cap in hand next year

@pensionsdaz It does seem crazy Darren - have they thought it through? I'm not sure!

#Budget2025 "Changing salary sacrifice arrangements would lead to a reduction in take-home pay for millions of employees who are saving into a workplace pension, with the greatest impact for those earning less than £50,284 a year." pensions-expert.com/law-and-regula…

@StuDMiller It’s just a further example of the lack of consistency in Government policy (assuming of course it does form part of the budget). On one hand DWP pushes pensions to invest in UK productive finance to grow pension pots and on the other it disincentivizes pension saving. Madness

Basic-rate tax payers would be disproportionately affected by this type of change, right? Seems at odds with a left leaning Gvt.

The crux of the entire diplomatic situation is that it was Russia, and only Russia, that started this war, and it is Russia, and only Russia, that has been refusing to end it throughout the full-scale invasion. From the very first minutes of February 24, Putin has been waging this war with complete disregard for how many of his own people he loses and how many of ours he kills. Russian commanders are not merely inclined to act brutally – they receive explicit orders allowing them to kill however they please. That is why Russia’s war is so bloody, taking lives both on the front lines and in peaceful Ukrainian cities. That is why Russia not only kills adults but also abducts children and tries to re-educate them so that they will take part in the war once they grow up. Russian commanders are now sending into assaults against Ukrainian positions those who were still in elementary school in 2014, when Crimea was occupied and Russia’s hybrid aggression against Ukraine began. This is a long war, and the main thing Russia is trying to do is to preserve its ability to wage it even longer, and not only against Ukraine. That is why we appreciate so deeply that so many forces and leaders are working for peace right now. Ukraine is grateful to the United States, to every American heart, and personally to President Trump for the assistance that – starting with the Javelins – has been saving Ukrainian lives. We thank everyone in Europe, in the G7, and in the G20 who is helping us defend life. It is important to preserve the support. It is important not to forget the main goal – to stop Russia’s war and prevent it from ever igniting again. And to achieve that, peace must be dignified. In just this one year alone, Putin has already sent hundreds of thousands of his own people to their deaths in order to occupy one percent or several percent of Ukrainian territory. And this is what Russia is doing – a country that already has more internationally recognized territory than any other state in the world. This nature of the war, and Russia’s attempts to prolong it, show that for them this is not about territory or about how one neighbor or another behaves toward Russia, but about Russia’s “right to wage war,” its “right to subjugate” others, and a fundamental absence of security. That is why we work so carefully on every point, on every step toward peace. Everything must work out the right way – so that this war is truly ended and so that it does not happen again. Thank you to everyone who is helping! Thank you, America! Thank you, Europe! I am proud of our people. Glory to Ukraine!

@piersmorgan This tweet isn’t aging well 😬

We’re going to win.

The daily movement of the Pink Footed Geese from their overnight roosts on The Wash to find a freshly harvested field of sugar beet is a wonder to behold. The noise is amazing!

@FHawksworth The mob thinks it has the right (driven by the far right) - Huntingdon will just be the latest rallying ground for the knuckle draggers (and let’s just ignore the fact that the attacker boarded somewhere between Doncaster and Peterborough)

What is the point of protesting in Huntingdon? What are they protesting about? Do they do this when white people go on stabbing sprees with knives? Some people are very ignorant rabble rousers.

@factpostnews You can’t reason with stupidity- these two fools haven’t a brain cell between them

RFK Jr: Children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism, and it's highly likely because they're given Tylenol. Trump: There's a tremendous amount of of proof or evidence. I would say as a non-doctor, but I've studied this a long time

@davidw_books @bbc5live Better than nothing but still not good enough

@pensionsdaz @bbc5live It’s been on Sports Xtra, which is accessible alongside 5Live’s main station on radio, DAB and Freeview/TV Radio…they changed over for the second half as well?

Shame on you @bbc5live for choosing to highlight a pointless football game ahead of the Women’s Rugby World Cup. Need to focus on inclusive sport and not chase the money #redroses

@Tess_invests Stunning!

Sun should burn through that heavy cloud as the day goes on.

@Tess_invests Scarbados rocking tonight!

Scott Mills checking into the hotel where I go to the gym!! All the celebs here for Will Smith tonight

@LogicLitLatte @realDonaldTrump Trump as the winner of the Nobel peace prize is farcical - he hasn’t secured one lasting peace

@MysteryNorville @daraobriain I said to my wife that he was channelling his inner Grayson Perry 🤡

@daraobriain Ah, got there first with that one 😂 It’s Grayson Perry on catnip.

Nemo Philips, more like.

@GNRailUK Will S I think your job is to assist passengers with their queries not to be an utter dickhead - why didn’t you just say - stuff your feedback up your arse

@pensionsdaz Thanks for the feedback Darren, I'll bear that in mind. ^Will S

⚠️ Due to a fault with the signalling system between Cambridge and King's Lynn trains are currently unable to run in either direction between those stations. 📢 If you are travelling now, you will need to use an alternative service to complete your journey. ℹ️ More information to follow...

@GNRailUK Requested? This delay has been more than long enough for you to deploy contingency plans - we’re looking a being home more than three hours late. Delay repay just doesn’t cut it when your service fails catastrophically. We’ve already had one idiot jump off the train

@pensionsdaz Hi there, road transport has been requested between Cambridge and Ely, and a shuttle service is being planned to run between Ely and Kings Lynn. ^Will S

@GNRailUK So we’re heading back to Cambridge where alternative- what alternative arrangements have you made to get passengers to Kings Lynn - we’re already delayed more than 90 minutes

🚫 Services are currently unable to run between Cambridge and King's Lynn, affecting the following stations: 👉 Cambridge North 👉 Waterbeach 👉 Ely 👉 Littleport 👉 Downham Market 👉 Watlington 👉 King's Lynn You can keep up to date via our dynamic route map here: livemap.greatnorthernrail.com/#/GN/mapview

@HowlingmadBros @GNRailUK Taxis no use if you are trapped on a train

@GNRailUK There isn’t an alternative route home. Will you be providing taxis for people?

@GNRailUK We’ve sat for an hour now outside Cambridge North - it can’t be that difficult to at least get trains to a platform so that we can Get off and explore alternative options. #gnfailuk

📢 If your train has come to a stand in between stations, please remain on board and do not attempt to leave the train unless directed to by a member of staff. We know where you are and we are working to get you on the move again shortly.

@OpinionFest1 @JuliaHB1 So Trump’s approach to starting the peace process is to threaten to throw an ally under the bus unless they sign a minerals deal that is economically suicidal and comes without security protections that are essential to driving a suitable peace deal from a Ukrainian perspective.

@JuliaHB1 We all want the war to stop, because they can't win it by force Julia. There needs to be a deal. At least Trump keeps talking about peace, unlike other politicians. What a ridiculous take.

To all the X folk backing Trump on Ukraine: If you don't care about Ukraine or their people being murdered, raped, tortured by their Russian invaders, then be honest about it. But don't pretend that you "only want the killing to stop". You're just embarrassing yourselves.