Peter Bently

@brianjford @DamianLow3 I stood for Labour in the locals. Beforehand I deleted precisely zero SM posts, let alone any accounts.

@DamianLow3 How many of you have a lifetime free of any embarrassing posts?

Within two hours of being named the Reform candidate for Makerfield, Robert Kenyon seems to have already deleted nearly all his social media. Sounds promising...

Did Nadine Dorries really just say “Conservatives are nothing if not loyal”? 🤣🤣🤣. #bbclaurak

@MichaelRosenYes @BBCRadio4 A very happy birthday, Michael!

On Word of Mouth at 3.30pm today I’m talking to Dara O’Briain about the passing of time. @BBCRadio4 In my case, 80 years of time today!

@NiecyOKeeffe Sorry to hear this Niecy. I hope you’re doing OK now.

*opens door and walks in, sheepishly* Hello, lads. Had a bit of a difficult time, personally. But I’m coming around now. And Niecy, who did NOT die. Is watching Masterchef and grateful for every single message that was sent to me. Just a bit of a hard personal time. Be grand.👍

Please help! I just left my favourite yellow cap on the train!! At Leamington Spa (going toward Manchester Piccadilly, most likely tucked into the tray table)! 😭 @CrossCountryUK Wah!! 😭😭😭🙏💛

@oliverhackett @garrethmcdaid Or Guinness?

@garrethmcdaid More successful than Stripe?

CEO of world's largest international airline, and arguably the most successful company in Irish history.

@J_A_Aloysiusz @histories_arch Beards were fashionable in the 2nd century - Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius and indeed Septimius Severus all had one. The cap is a Phrygian cap, of Near Eastern origin and associated with Parthia and Mithraism (among other things) in the Roman era.

@histories_arch It doesn't look roman at all... Wrong material, wrong helmet and beards were highly unfashionable in rome ...

In 1933, a small terracotta head depicting a bearded man with distinctly European features was discovered inside a sealed pre-Hispanic tomb near Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca, Mexico. The artifact was found beneath multiple intact floor layers within the burial, suggesting the site had not been disturbed since the object was placed there. German archaeologist Bernard Andreae examined the piece in the 1960s and concluded it was undeniably Roman, linking its hairstyle and beard to the Severan period of the Roman Empire, roughly 193 to 235 AD. Thermoluminescence dating of the ceramic further supported its ancient origins, placing its creation well before European contact with the Americas. The burial itself has been dated to the late 15th century, just years before Hernán Cortés arrived in Mexico, making the artifact's presence deeply puzzling. Many archaeologists remain skeptical, noting that no Roman ships, settlements, or supporting artifacts have ever been found in the Americas. Critics have also pointed to gaps in the original 1933 excavation records led by José García Payón, noting that Payón was not always present on site, leaving open the possibility the head was planted. Others suggest the object may have arrived during the early colonial period through trade or accidental transport rather than direct Roman contact. A competing theory proposes that ancient Mediterranean vessels may have been carried across the Atlantic by ocean currents such as the Canary Current, drifting ashore in the Americas entirely by accident. Under that scenario, the artifact could have been recovered by indigenous peoples, traded inland over generations, and eventually incorporated into burial practices. Supporters of authenticity counter that the sealed, undisturbed context of the burial makes a later introduction extremely difficult to explain. The debate echoes the long-dismissed idea that Europeans reached the Americas before Columbus, a claim that gained credibility when Norse settlements at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland were confirmed. To some researchers, the Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca Head represents a similar historical anomaly, one that may only be resolved through new discoveries or more advanced scientific analysis. If the artifact is genuinely Roman and genuinely pre-contact, it would fundamentally rewrite what we know about ancient transatlantic exploration. For now, it remains one of archaeology's most tantalizing and unresolved mysteries. The discovery of the Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca Head has forced archaeologists and historians to seriously reconsider the boundaries of pre-Columbian transatlantic contact, challenging the long-held assumption that the Americas remained entirely isolated from the Old World until the late 15th century. While the artifact alone is insufficient to overturn established history, it has energized ongoing research into accidental or deliberate ancient seafaring, contributed to broader academic debates about anomalous archaeological finds, and underscored how a single object — if authenticated — can destabilize centuries of accepted historical narrative in the same way the Norse settlements at L'Anse aux Meadows once did. #archaeohistories

@NiecyOKeeffe To be fair you could replace the name Martin with a fair few European leaders - our own included - and your perceptive comment would still apply. They (we) are all just getting through this presidency, hoping to stick to a shred of principle while dodging Trump’s vindictiveness.

For what it’s worth, I think Martin, who I don’t like, was in a pretty bad position and he did the diplomatic best he could, while also saying stupid things because he was afraid. This isn’t an easy either/or. And I possess nuance. I know what happened here today. So do you.

@NiecyOKeeffe 🤣

Walking into Irish twitter with Irish tweeters going “C’MON ENGLAND!” and you’re not sure why.

@MLAsAndTheLike @NiecyOKeeffe Fair comment.

@NiecyOKeeffe @PeterBently Need a toe up their hole, the lot of them

I’m gonna watch the Louis Theroux Manosphere thing tonight. About how much Morphine am I gonna need? I’m guessing a lot. Gas and air, the whole 9 yards. With any luck I won’t throw a cup at the Telly. Best we can hope for.

@NiecyOKeeffe @MLAsAndTheLike Nor mine.

@PeterBently @MLAsAndTheLike Pretty much what I thought. Wouldn’t get away with it in my family.

@NiecyOKeeffe @MLAsAndTheLike Wanting money but not prepared to work for it because proper work is uh the matrix. Surround themselves with an echo chamber other immature boys. No older adults to tell them to get a f grip. Terrified of their mums finding them out. Massively toxic but also pathetic and sad.

@MLAsAndTheLike Yeah, the clips I’ve seen they just come across as used car salesmen grifters.

Stop in at 4PM for Saturday’s Read-Aloud: The Great Balloon Hullabaloo. When Squirrel goes to the store, he winds up on an incredible ride to places we'll only imagine. Stop in & see! See you Saturday: facebook.com/BeachGirlPress #balloon #planets #homeschool #parents #elemschool

@QTours2 @NiecyOKeeffe Ironic that still only one man has been arrested for sexual crimes in association with Epstein. And he’s dead. But with Andrew, watch this space. Several other lines of investigation are underway.

@NiecyOKeeffe Sadly he wasn't arrested for rape, paedophilia, abduction, or potentially murder, but for 'misconduct in public office', but hopefully those crimes will be apportioned...

Genuinely shocked they’ve actually arrested him. He’ll never do any time but this will have consequences, far reaching ones, besides that fact. It’s the first domino.

@NiecyOKeeffe I mean, if you’d said twenty years ago that Camilla might save the monarchy…! Whatever, it’s going to change fast after this. Tolerance of all the entitlement is gone. The threads are being unpicked.

@NiecyOKeeffe Tbh I wouldn’t bet on him not doing time. Camilla is genuinely hard as nails on VAWG, Charlie furious at the damage to the institution. They’ll sacrifice him. (And I quite like the idea of HM brother being detained at HM Pleasure). Fingers crossed.

@NiecyOKeeffe Congratulations!

Anyway, my news. I’ve been hired by Meanwhile In Ireland and Ireland Before You Die as a regular contributor! I’m over the moon. 🌙 Hope you’ll all enjoy my silly wee musings on this beautiful country of ours. Bitta craic, wha? 😃😃☘️

@NiecyOKeeffe Happy Birthday Niecy!

Tomorrow is my birthday and I’m celebrating early, so sorry if I miss messages! Treated myself to a new iPhone and a nice lunch. Having a belter. Happy Bank Holiday, lads! 💃🏼🥂

@NiecyOKeeffe Someone called them Trump’s Black and Tans. Despicable cowardly thugs.

I cannot wait for the live trials of all these dirty, cowardly, weak little sniveling cvunts to be broadcast on the big screens of every major city on this earth.

New year, new resolution? Don’t forget to register your book titles with the Public Lending Right. Your library loans could be earning you money—make sure you’re not missing out. 📚