4 posts tagged with "UK"

Way back in 2011 I invested a small but not insignificant amount in a scrappy, up-and-coming Scottish craft brewery called BrewDog.

Things went well for a time, and the brand grew. They opened some bars. A lot of bars, in fact. They made some good beers. And a few great beers. And latterly a lot of mediocre beers.

COVID and the subsequent cost of living crisis hit it hard, and in early 2026 it finally imploded under the weight of debts that the former CEO and all-round egomaniac James Watt saddled it with[^1] as part of his quest for expansion at all costs in search of FMCG unicorn valuations.

The brand got sold off to a US concern and James Watt promptly decided to set up a new brewery called "Second Best" and offer equity for free to former BrewDog shareholders.

So far, so par for his particular course...

It looks like the Labour party is once again preparing to shoot itself in the foot, seemingly because the current Prime Minister is boring.

It's true that Kier Starmer lacks the charisma of... well... cold rice pudding, but after the clown car politics of the previous 14 years of Tory governments, I'll take boring and beige over braying and backbiting.

It’s been a few days since the Brexit vote dropped a metric (damn you, EU bureaucrats, with your pesky decimal systems) shit-ton of depression and uncertainty on the UK, European, and global economies, and after a few more pressing matters were attended to I have now had time to think about it in a bit more detail.

What should we make of last nights Question Time appearance by Nick Griffin, head of the controversial BNP?

His appearance on that stage marked a watershed in modern british politics, with mainstream politicians sharing a platform with a man that many consider to be very dangerous indeed, representing as he does an organisation with historic overtones of overt racism, violence, and civil discord.