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hjohn3 · 7 months

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1992 And All That

Labour’s Thirty Year Old Trauma Still Haunts the Party: Could It Happen Again?

Sources: The Sun/ GettyImages

By Honest John

LIKE A psephological Banquo’s Ghost, the 1992 General Election haunts the Labour Party like no other. The contest - thirty one years ago now - is continually held up as a warning against complacency and proof positive of the baleful influence of the right wing media in the U.K. and the almost mystical ability of the Conservative Party to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by relentless attacks on Labour’s economic competence, its patriotism, and even its right to exist as the main party of opposition at all. After twelve electoral defeats out of twenty since the Second World War (and just two victories before that), Labour is perhaps justified in its belief that the British electorate fundamentally do not trust the Labour Party, viewing it alternately as spendthrift, economically reckless and threatening to a British way of life based on capitalist aspiration and social advancement. It suits the Tory Party and the right wing commentariat to present Labour as somehow alien to the value system of good British (or perhaps English) folk, and their rare election victories to be seen as at best aberrations and worse, dangerous. It may also suit certain factions within Labour itself to restrain radicalism and utopianism and to keep the party focused on a centrist agenda that does not really threaten the basis on which the capitalist economy is run.

That sense of excessive caution, even fear, has been at the heart of Labour’s political positioning almost from the moment Keir Starmer became leader. The promises on which he ran for the party leadership have been dropped one by one; commitments on nationalisation, tuition fees, and even the Green Prosperity Plan have been ditched, diluted or postponed. In an attempt to neutralise any hint of the fiscal incontinence on display in Corbyn Labour’s 2019 manifesto, Labour has adopted the “iron discipline” of Rachel Reeves’ fiscal rule and a policy-light offer designed to “bomb proof” Labour’s positioning from any conceivable Tory attack line. With its smooth competence, heavy hitters from the New Labour past and a relentless focus on reassuring the electorate that Labour is “safe” to vote for, the Party has seemed at times in danger of being unable to articulate any vision for the country at all. However, this caution and apparent lack of ambition has been rewarded by a 20 point opinion poll lead for over twelve months, serial council and by-election victories and the drift, turning to a scramble, of business interests and lobbyists, either cynically or hopefully, towards the opposition. Change appears to be in the air. At the Labour Party Conference, quiet confidence was the order of the day and if hope that Labour will at last form a government some time in 2024 was present, this was accompanied by palpable nervousness that the Tories might yet find a way to turn things around, and behind this doubting, is always the shadow of 1992.

It of course benefits the Tories to maintain the fallacy that they are hardwired into the brain of Middle England and can anticipate and stoke almost atavistic fears of a Labour government on the part of voters. It’s nonsense of course, but the Conservative ability to pose as something new after a long period in office does have a track record and John Major’s ability to secure a 21 seat Tory majority and an extraordinary 42% of the vote after the Conservatives had been in office 13 years holds an almost supernatural hold on the Labour imagination, in a way the similar Tory reinvention acts of Macmillan and Johnson do not. It is true that the Conservatives, who rid themselves of Margaret Thatcher due to her electoral toxicity in 1990 (a fact often forgotten by Tory mythologisers who have raised the Iron Lady to secular sainthood) , were able to rally behind John Major, a personally liberal and politically emollient character, and to present him as a new type of Tory leader, less divisive, hectoring and uncompromising than his predecessor. It was also true the Conservative attack machine lethally picked apart Labour’s policy frailties and ambiguities in 1992. This had its greatest impact in the Conservative claims, masterminded by then Party Chairman Chris Patten, that Labour had a “tax bombshell” they would drop on middle income families to fund social programmes and that a “Double Whammy” of tax increases and inflation (complete with posters of a boxer wearing outsize gloves with each “whammy” -more taxes and higher prices - painted on them) would be a result of Labour’s spending plans. Thirteen years of transformative government under Thatcher had completely changed public attitudes on the necessity of increased taxation to fund public services and the appeal of aspiration to the lower middle and upper working classes was key to Major’s self-effacing style.

Superficially, there are similarities today to the political situation in 1990/91. A flamboyant and divisive Prime Minister has been replaced by a modest and technocratic successor; Keir Starmer, like Neil Kinnock, struggles to connect with swathes of the electorate; Rishi Sunak presents himself as the “change” candidate, contrasting himself both to unpopular Tory predecessors and the time-served leader of the opposition, and he and Jeremy Hunt present themselves as fiscally responsible conservatives, in contrast to Labour’s reckless borrowing plans, particularly to fund the Green Prosperity Plan. But there the similarities with 1992 end.

The Thatcher governments in the 1980s had presided over a period of growth in the British economy bolstered by North Sea oil revenues and investment in the new technology industries, following the rapid withdrawal of the U.K. from its previous industrial dependence on coal, iron and steel. With the privatisation of state assets and the “Right to Buy” council houses the proceeds of that growth had been targeted at an aspirant demographic, sufficient to win General Elections under First Past The Post, even as social inequality grew and communities that had hosted Britain’s former heavy industries collapsed into economic wastelands. John Major inherited this voting coalition and retained its support in 1992. Sunak has no such legacy to boast of. Austerity, Brexit and Trussonomics are words that dare not be spoken: inflation, low growth and crumbling public services are the lived experience of families who researchers tell us have lost an average of £10,000 thanks to stagnating living standards, since 2010. There is no prosperous demographic outside the hyper rich of which Sunak himself is a self conscious member, that are seeing their incomes or lifestyles improve. With mortgages barely affordable, the housing ladder long since removed and well paid jobs and pensions increasingly out of reach, aspiration is simply not an option for most ordinary people.

Then there are the opinion polls. In 1991, Labour’s poll lead, when it had one at all, averaged at best 5%; in 1992 it had dropped to 3%. Apparent false memory frequently relates that Labour were “expected” to win in 1992. They were not. The two parties entered the election campaign more or less neck and neck and the most frequently predicted result was that of a hung Parliament. The emphatic Tory win, at least in percentage vote terms, was a surprise but not because most commentators expected a Labour majority government. Contrast this to the fact Labour have enjoyed a lead of between 15 and 20 points for over twelve months, a lead consistent with actual by election and council election results over the same period. An opinion poll lead of this size and duration has never been overhauled by an incumbent government who went on to win a general election, in British political history. Also in 1992 the media was unremittingly hostile to Labour’s mild social democratic offer. Famously The Sun ran a front page that, if Labour won the general election, asked the last person leaving Britain to “please turn out the lights” with Kinnock’s head framed in a light bulb. After the result the same paper boasted that it was “The Sun Wot Won It”. Today, formerly reliably Tory newspapers and journals like The Times, the Financial Times, The Spectator and occasionally even the Daily Telegraph will run Labour-friendly articles, and seem unworried at the prospect of Keir Starmer being PM. Only the Daily Mail and Daily Express can be relied upon to churn out anti-Labour scare stories on a consistent basis.

The left would claim that this is because, compared to Kinnock, Starmer is in the pocket of vested interests and represents no threat to the rich and powerful. But the Labour programme confirmed at its conference is Wilsonian indeed, including tax reforms targeted at the rich, reform of the House of Lords, the biggest proposed improvement to workers’ rights since the 1970s, renationalisation of rail and a post Brexit commitment to an industrial strategy to propel a rebalancing of the economy towards green energy. To top it all, there is a promise to build 1.5 million affordable homes in New Towns - an unapologetic commitment to Keynesian economics. The Starmer programme is therefore far to the left of anything ever proposed by Blair, who prided himself on adherence to free market solutions to Britain’s problems. However, much of the right wing media this time seem relatively sanguine about this Labour programme of social and economic reform, Rachel Reeves’ fiscal rule notwithstanding.

Neil Kinnock’s Labour in 1992 did offer a programme of renewal and a reprioritisation of social values, but insufficient numbers of voters were prepared to give it a hearing. The difference in 2024 is that the majority of the electorate want change after 13 years of serial failure, social vandalism, open corruption, ideological folly and broken promises delivered by a series of chaotic and unserious Conservative governments. Keir Starmer will succeed where Neil Kinnock failed not just because the Tories have been rumbled, but because Labour possess a credibility it did not have 31 years ago and above all, because it offers a weary electorate that precious electoral commodity: it offers voters hope.

17th October

#british politics #keir starmer #conservative government #labour party #rishi sunak #next general election #Labour party conference

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tezla7 · 2 years

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https://youtu.be/Fy0XyzWYTbg

#labour #the labour party #uk politics #not the andrew marr show #ukraine #war #russia #uk #politics #labour party #labour party conference

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don-lichterman · 2 years

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Andy Burnham: Mini-budget a 'flagrant act of vandalism'

Andy Burnham: Mini-budget a ‘flagrant act of vandalism’

Andy Burnham: Mini-budget a ‘flagrant act of vandalism’ Source link

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nando161mando · 5 months

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Labour Party "leader" praises Margaret Thatcher for bringing ‘meaningful change’ to UK.

Wait.

Read it again.

Think about it.

Laugh.

Cry.

Do it all again.

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walsinghamisntdead · 7 months

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Just saw a post about politics that made me so mad. Just say you don’t understand or pay attention to UK politics and leave

#I was at Labour Party conference #we have good fucking policies #don’t compare them to sunaks evil fucking party

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ur-mag · 7 months

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Suzy Eddie Izzard chats to delegates at Labour Party conference amid bid to become MP | In Trend Today

Suzy Eddie Izzard chats to delegates at Labour Party conference amid bid to become MP Read Full Text or Full Article on MAG NEWS

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#Celebrities #Money #Motors #Politics #ShowBiz #Sport #Suzy Eddie Izzard chats to delegates at Labour Party conference amid bid to become MP #Tech #UK #US #World

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todayontumblr · 1 year

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Monday May 1.

May Day.

Today is a day that requires little introduction. It is #may day, otherwise known as #international workers day or Labour Day. Celebrated every year on May 1, or the first Monday of May, it marks a day of celebration and solidarity between laborers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labor movement. It is a national public holiday in many countries across the world and has a fascinating, inspiring history. The Marxist International Socialist Congress met in Paris in 1889, where they established the Second International as a successor to the International Workingmen's Association. It was here they established a resolution for a "great international demonstration" to support demands for an eight-hour working day from the working classes. Today's date, May 1, was selected by the American Federation of Labor to mark a general strike in the United States. This strike began on this date in 1886, and subsequently became an annual event. In 1904, the Sixth Conference of the Second International called for "all Social Democratic Party organizations and trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically on the First of May for the legal establishment of the eight-hour day, for the class demands of the proletariat, and for universal peace". But it is not just consigned to history, by any means, because #may day continues to this day.

There are strikes, marches, rallies, and protests across the world today marking May Day. The struggle continues, but today is also the celebration. Wherever you are across the world, and however you're spending International Worker's Day 2023, we wish you love, light, and solidarity in the fight for better.

#today on tumblr #may day #international workers day #marxism #socialism

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afeelgoodblog · 1 year

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The Best News of Last Year

1. Belgium approves four-day week and gives employees the right to ignore their bosses after work

Workers in Belgium will soon be able to choose a four-day week under a series of labour market reforms announced on Tuesday.

The reform package agreed by the country's multi-party coalition government will also give workers the right to turn off work devices and ignore work-related messages after hours without fear of reprisal.

"We have experienced two difficult years. With this agreement, we set a beacon for an economy that is more innovative, sustainable and digital. The aim is to be able to make people and businesses stronger," Belgian prime minister Alexander de Croo told a press conference announcing the reform package.

2. Spain makes it a crime for pro-lifers to harass people outside abortion clinics

Spain has criminalized the harassment or intimidation of women going for an abortion under new legislation approved on Wednesday by the Senate. The move, which involved changes to the penal code, means anti-abortion activists who try to convince women not to terminate their pregnancies could face up to a year behind bars.

3. House passes bill to federally decriminalize marijuana

The House has voted with a slim bipartisan majority to federally decriminalize marijuana. The vote was 220 to 204.

The bill, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, will prevent federal agencies from denying federal workers security clearances for cannabis use, and will allow the Veterans’ Administration to recommend medical marijuana to veterans living with posttraumatic stress disorder.

The bill also expunges the record of people convicted of non-violent cannabis offenses, which House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said, “can haunt people of color and impact the trajectory of their lives and career indefinitely.”

4. France makes birth control free for all women under 25

The scheme, which could benefit three million women, covers the pill, IUDs, contraceptive patches and other methods composed of steroid hormones.

Contraception for minors was already free in France. Several European countries, including Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway, make contraception free for teens.

5. The 1st fully hydrogen-powered passenger train service is now running in Germany. The only emissions are steam & condensed water.

Five of the trains started running in August. Another nine will be added in the coming months to replace 15 diesel trains on the regional route. Alstom says the Coradia iLint has a range of 1,000 kilometers, meaning that it can run all day on the line using a single tank of hydrogen. A hydrogen filling station has been set up on the route between Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervörde and Buxtehude.

6. Princeton will cover all tuition costs for most families making under $100,000 a year, after getting rid of student loans

In September, the New Jersey Ivy League school announced it would be expanding its financial aid program to offer free tuition, including room and board, for most families whose annual income is under $100,000 a year. Previously, the same benefit was offered to families making under $65,000 a year. This new income limit will take effect for all undergraduates starting in the fall of 2023.

Princeton was also the first school in the US to eliminate student loans from its financial aid packages.

7. Humpback whales no longer listed as endangered after major recovery

Humpback whales will be removed from Australia's threatened-species list, after the government's independent scientific panel on threatened species deemed the mammals had made a major recovery. Humpback whales will no longer be considered an endangered or vulnerable species.

Climate change and fishing still pose threats to their long-term health.

Some other uplifting news from last year:

A Cancer Trial’s Unexpected Result: Remission in Every Patient

California 100 percent powered by renewables for first time

Israel formally bans LGBTQ conversion therapy

Tokyo Passes Law to Recognize Same-Sex Partnerships

First 100,000 KG Removed From the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

As we ring in the New Year let’s remember to focus on the good news. May this be a year of even more kindness and generosity. Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2023!

Thank you for following and supporting this g this newsletter

Buy me a coffee ❤️

#best news of last week

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probablyasocialecologist · 7 months

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The Palestinian people have tried every method to achieve some form of meaningful self-determination. ‘Renounce violence’, they were told. They did, apart from the odd reprisal after an Israeli atrocity. Among Palestinians at home and in the diaspora, there was massive support for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions: a peaceful movement par excellence, which began to gain traction worldwide among artists, academics, trade unions and occasionally governments. The US and its NATO family responded by trying to criminalize BDS across Europe and North America – claiming, with the help of Zionist lobby groups, that boycotting Israel was ‘antisemitic’. This has proved largely effective. In Britain, Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has banned any mention of ‘Israeli apartheid’ at its upcoming national conference. The Labour left, scared of being expelled, has fallen silent on this issue. A sorry state of affairs. Meanwhile, most of the Arab states have joined Turkey and Egypt in capitulating to Washington. Saudi Arabia is currently in negotiations, mediated by the White House, to officially recognize Israel. The international isolation of the Palestinian people looks set to increase. Peaceful resistance has gone nowhere. All the while, the IDF has attacked and killed Palestinians at leisure, while successive Israeli governments have worked to sabotage any hope of statehood. Recently, a handful of former IDF generals and Mossad agents have admitted that what is being done in Palestine amounts to ‘war crimes’. But they only plucked up the courage to say this after they’d already retired. While still serving, they fully supported the fascist settlers in the occupied territories, standing by as they burned houses, destroyed olive plantations, poured cement in wells, attacked Palestinians and drove from their homes while chanting ‘Death to the Arabs’. So, too, did Western leaders – who let all this unfold without a murmur. The age of political reason had long departed, as Qabbani would say. Then, one day, the elected leadership in Gaza begins to fight back. They break out of their open-air prison and cross Israel’s southern border, striking at military targets and settler populations. Palestinians are suddenly top of the international headlines. Western journalists are shocked and horrified that they are actually resisting. But why shouldn’t they? They know better than anyone that the far-right government in Israel will retaliate viciously, backed by the US and the mealy-mouthed EU. But even so, they are unwilling to sit by as Netanyahu and the criminals in his cabinet gradually expel or kill most of their people. They know that the fascist elements of the Israeli state would have no compunction about sanctioning the mass murder of Arabs. And they know this must be resisted by any means necessary. Earlier this year, Palestinians watched the demonstrations in Tel Aviv and understood that those marching to ‘defend civil rights’ did not care about the rights of their occupied neighbours. They decided to take matters into their own hands. Do the Palestinians have a right to resist the non-stop aggression to which they are subjected? Absolutely. There is no moral, political or military equivalence as far as the two sides are concerned. Israel is a nuclear state, armed to the teeth by the US. Its existence is not under threat. It’s the Palestinians, their lands, their lives, that are. Western civilization seems willing to stand by while they are exterminated. They, on the other hand, are rising up against the colonizers.

#israel #palestine #zionism #gaza #emphasis added

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adorare · 3 months

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[Translation] Takarazuka harassment incident: comment by deceased's sister

TW: death, suicide, bullying, harassment.

Source

In relation to the death of a 25-year-old member of the Takarazuka Revue, the lawyer representing the bereaved family held a press conference in Tokyo on 27 January, where the sister, herself an active member of the Takarazuka Revue, made her comment.

She harshly criticised the Takarazuka Revue, saying that it is a world where people are routinely power-harassed on a daily basis, and that the actions her sister were subjected to by the upperclassmen were 'nothing less than power harassment'.

The full statement is as follows.

As a family member of the deceased, for the sake of my precious sister, I would like to express my thoughts as a current member of the Takarazuka Revue. No matter how much you try to use the word 'guidance' to describe those actions, they cannot be described as such. It is power harassment.

The members of the Revue have signed a written oath made by the Takarazuka Revue to "not engage in any form of power harassment".

Nevertheless, the Takarazuka Revue is a world where it is normal for people to engage in power harassment on a daily basis.

From my perspective, having been a member of that world until now, the power harassment my sister was subjected to was vicious and extremely terrible behaviour far beyond anything on that level.

If you look at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's definition of power harassment, what my sister was subjected to was nothing but that.

Takarazuka is not exempt from the law. None of this is excusable just because it is Takarazuka.

It is unacceptable that, even now, the company only listens to those who have committed power harassment and ignores the testimony of third parties.

The company defends the perpetrators of power harassment, claiming to be protecting the students, but if that is the case, aren't the people who gave testimonies of the power harassment they witnessed, and my sister, students as well?

The term "student" (seito) creates ambiguity but the perpetrators of power harassment are full-fledged members of society, and Takarazuka Revue is a corporation.

As a company, they should look at the facts from an impartial perspective.

The company has announced that it is reforming its schedule and working on various reform measures, but I feel that they are downplaying my sister's death and obfuscating the issue.

Please do not cause further suffering to my sister and to us, the bereaved family.

My sister is not unwell, nor is she in hospital.

She will never come back.

I wonder how much they value my sister’s life.

The company repeatedly uses the words "in good faith" and "with sincerity" to appeal to the public, but in reality, I don't believe that they are being sincere with the bereaved family even now.

Please do not waste any more time drawing this out.

Please think about my precious sister's life and face up to it.

#takarazuka

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mauvecherie-writes · 2 years

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Maps. (Final)

Pairing: Lewis Hamilton x Wife!Black Reader

Warnings: NSFW 18+, minors dni, angst, talks of divorce, rollercoaster emotions, brat behaviour, brat taming, soft dom!lewis, sub!wife, gagging, spanking, bondage (wrist tying), rough handling, usage of the word daddy, multiple orgasms, dirty talk, unprotected sex. NOT EDITED.

Summary: You never truly wanted a divorce but stupid words led you to sitting in an attorney’s office and as you looked at your husband across the table, you wanted to take it all back.

Note: This thing was a murder to write. I feel like I started off really great but somewhere I lost the plot of what I intended to do. Alas I might come back later and write an alternative ending but for now please enjoy the fruits of my labour, leave a like, feedback and reblog 💕.

Word Count: 4.4K

Tension riddled your body as you shifted uncomfortably in your seat. No matter how many times you tried to clear your throat, it still felt like something was stuck there. The claustrophobic tightness of the room did not help the clamped up feeling in your air waves. Your body was heating up and you were struggling to breathe. Your eyes were skittish - never focusing on one thing, never focusing on one person in particular. The blood rushing in your ears made the scattered noise background to the pounding of your own heart.

You did not want to be here but you had to.

“Mrs Hamilton.” The call of your name snapped you out of your daze. You finally focused on what was going on around you. The large, mahogany table in front of you that seemed to stretch on for miles. You at one end and the other party on the opposite end. The large floor to ceiling windows allowed for as much light as possible into the conference room as the air conditioner allowed for a soft breeze to circulate.

You could feel his eyes on you. An intensity that had once electrified every fibre of your being (and still did) but now you wanted to cower away. You couldn’t deal with his scrutiny and you had been putting it off but you had started this. You took a breath and then sat up straight and tried to shake the nervous chill that had chosen to settle in your bones at this very moment.

His eyes were dark - his stare blank with an expressionless face beyond a ticked jaw. He wasn’t giving away any hints as to the emotions that he could have been feeling. Your heart ached terribly - you wanted to reach across the table and soothe the tightness in his jaw. Your fingers tingled, wanting to feel his skin once again.

“Are you ready to proceed?” The arbitrator asked. You sighed before briefly nodding your head.

“Mr Hamilton, are you ready to proceed?” Lewis nodded his head as well. Both of your lawyers shifted forward with their documents in front of them.

“Meeting starts at nine thirty-eight GMT. Location Warner and McArthur Solicitors office. Lawyers present are Natasha McArthur representing Mrs Hamilton and Marshall Whyte Jr representing Mr Hamilton. This session marks the beginning of the divorce proceedings between Mr Sir Lewis Hamilton and Mrs YN Hamilton as per the request of YN Hamilton with the reasoning of … “

The rest of the session went by a blur. You could barely focus on anything anyone was saying, all you truly cared about was how Lewis was feeling. The barrier that he had put up had blocked all access to him and you guess you deserved that.

Asking him for a divorce had not been easy and he still couldn’t really accept that this was happening, you were meant to be each other’s forever but you were ending it all. And he couldn’t truly understand why. It left him being cold towards you in order to control his feelings - he didn’t want to say something that he would regret, he still cared for you but he was hurting.

You knew that much.

Finally, the meeting was over and Lewis could not get out of there fast enough. It was typical for your lawyers to advise that the two of you not communicate outside of their presence but you wanted to hear his voice - something, anything at all.

“Lewis!” You called after him but he ignored you but you kept calling out his name and running after him as fast as your heeled feet could carry you. “Lewis, wait! Please!”

“What YN?!” He exclaimed as he came to a sudden halt and turned to face you. “What?!”

The two of you were standing there, not uttering a word as you stared each other down. The words were stuck in your throat as the tears began to burn at the back of your eyes. Every part of you was aching for his comfort but he was struggling with his anger. His eyes were beginning to colour red before you saw his tears well. He closed his eyes and then scoffed. He rubbed his nose before nodding his head.

“Whatever man.” He left you standing there to wallow in your thoughts.

Everything was so, so wrong and you were suffering. It wasn’t meant to go this far but it all felt beyond your control. You wanted to fix things but with the look of contempt that Lewis had on his face, a strong part of you was telling you that it might be too late to try and save your marriage.

By the time you arrived at your penthouse, you were exhausted and just wanted to take a bath and go to bed but as you entered your home, you heard your sister’s ‘getting ready’ playlist and sighed softly. Your younger sister had been staying with you for a week because she was tired of your overbearing parents questioning everything that she did during her summer break.

You took your shoes off and placed your house slippers on and then walked into the guest room where Eva was rushing around, tying to wear her earrings and zip up her thigh high boots.

“Hi sweetheart.” You greeted her.

“Hey!” She smiled at you. “How was the meeting?”

“It was something.” You mumbled with a shrug. Eva stopped what she was doing and looked at you.

“Oh babe.” Hearing those words caused the dam of the waterworks to break. You walked towards her and she hugged you before she sat down and you laid your head on her lap as you cried.

“I’m so stupid.” You cried as you grabbed the tissue that she had provided for you. You wiped your mascara stained tears so that they would not land on your sister’s pink skirt. “I didn’t want any of this. I never wanted this.”

“Then call it off. It’s not too late.”

“You didn’t see the way that he looked at me. He may not hate me but with the way I’ve gone about things, he might as well hate me too.”

“Please, that man loves you too much to hate you. Sure, filing for divorce after one heated argument was not the way but your pride is getting in the way. The both of you are very stubborn but you’ve let this go on for too long because neither one of you wants to apologise.”

“I bet he’s doing it to punish me.” You sniffed.

“How much of a punishment is it when he’s hurting too?” Eva questioned which left you silent. You shrugged your shoulders and wiped your tears and picked at the linen of your skirt.

“You’ve always been a brat.” She giggled before she moved to stand up. You lifted your head so that she could move away but you stayed lying on her bed.

“I’m not a brat!” You pouted.

“Oh yeah? What else do you call a person who throws a tantrum about not getting attention, goes all dramatic and files for divorce even though she doesn’t want one and is now crying that her husband is mad at them but won’t apologise. Oh yeah, a brat!”

You gasped softly and threw a small pillow towards her direction. “Get out of my house!” Eva giggled as she grabbed her purse and jacket before pressing a kiss on your forehead.

“Don’t wait up for me. I’m going out with Angel and Justine. Will probably crash at one of their places if we drink too much.”

“Call me if you need anything.”

“I will. Love you.” Eva said as she began to rush out of the penthouse.

“Love you too!” You called out after her before hearing the door close and the lock clutch in place. The silence that Eva left in her wake was deafening and you hated it. Your friends along with your little sister had been trying to lift your spirits but you just missed your husband. Your lover, best friend and missed the safety of his arms.

But you were too petty. In some funny way, this was your punishment for Lewis. He hadn’t been paying attention to you. He had barely touched you in months and when he was there at home with you, he was busy doing something else. Whether it was planning a meeting for his commission, a magazine cover or planning his fashion house - it was always something.

Never you.

And you were tired of it.

The disconnect that had been growing within you had reached a fever’s pitch when on a date he promised, he lost track of time with a prior engagement and left you waiting for him for three fucking hours. You had never been so pissed. You yelled at him, he yelled at you and the both of you said things that you did not mean.

However when he uttered “My career is important to me, you knew that when you married me.” That made you snapped and you said something that set this whole thing in motion.

“Since your career is so important to you, losing me won’t be a problem would it? I want a divorce.”

As the memory of that night four months ago projected in your mind, you sank deeper into your bathtub. The ache in your heart was becoming too much to bear and you were so close to reaching for your phone and just calling him to sort everything out. But fuck - something was still holding you back. Mostly, you just wanted to sort your emotions out before trying to even contact Lewis.

You were in the wrong for filing the divorce but you weren’t ready to admit that.

After a long soak in the tub and two glasses of wine, you were feeling relaxed. Soft jazz music was playing in the background as you moisturised your skin. The night had turned into a miniature self-care time and it made you feel a little better. Your hair was protected by your bonnet after putting it in twists to keep the coils contained for the next day. Your satin gown was secured tightly around your short teddy and your quiet night in was well underway.

That was until you looked at your phone and the first thing you noticed were three missed calls and voicemail from Lewis.

Fuck. You sucked in a breath as you tried to wreck your brain at what he wanted. He hasn’t called you in a very long time - it was usually a short text message or a redirection to contact his lawyer. So the three calls and voicemail were a surprise.

You placed your wine glass down and sat on your kitchen counter and pressed play on the voice recording. The first thing that you could hear was the closing of a door and some shuffling. Lewis groans before sniffing.

“I don’t even know why I keep trying to call you. Everything is so fucked and I’m such a mess. It’s not even 7pm and I’m drunk all because of you. I can’t stop thinking about you even when I shouldn’t. I’m so mad at you but it doesn’t even stop the love that I feel for you baby.” From the drawl in his voice, you could tell that he had been drinking but you still listened anyway. This was the most that he had said to you in a while.

“But fuck, you’re the one YN. You always have been and always will be … and I hate you for it. I hate that I’m so in love with you that being physically away from you causes me so much pain. I hate that I see you in everything, everywhere. I hate that I can’t get your scent out of our house but I know if I do, I’m losing a small part of you that remains. But I hate myself even more for pushing you away. I hate the fact that I broke your heart when you trusted me with it.” His drunken ramblings brought tears to your eyes. The words he spoke etched into your being like ink to skin. He sounded in pain and him being drunk opened the vault that locked his emotions in. It was hurting you as much as it was hurting him.

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t be the man that you needed me to be and deserved. I’m so, so sorry.”

He laughed again before taking a deep breath and groaning. “But I can’t lose you YN. You’re my wife. I don’t care what that paper will say. I don’t want to finalise the divorce but if that’s what you truly want fine but you’re mine and you always will be. Remember that.” Like a switch, the tone shifted from anguish to anger. The possession was aggressive as his words. The voicemail recording ended abruptly but you knew that this was far from over.

You wanted to cry again. Hearing him pour his heart out to you over the phone was too much for you to bear. He was a mess and you were a mess. The little good feeling that you had had now vanished and all that was left was pure anguish but the most lingering emotion of all was shame.

Then banging came to your door.

It was 9pm and you were not expecting anyone and the longer you took, the louder the banging became.

“YN open the door! Eva told me you’re home so open the door!”

You gasped softly as you became alert to the sound of Lewis behind your door.

“Lewis, what are you doing here?” You spoke through the door as you tried to calm down your beating heart.

“Open the door before I wake this whole building up.”

And you knew that he was going to do it too. You wiped your shedded tears away and tightened the belt around your body before opening the door and pulling him inside.

“What the fuck are you doing?” You hissed as you tried to not his cologne and presence overwhelm you. His eyes were low beneath his cap but you could clearly see through him. The faint whiff of the brandy that he had been drinking tickled your nose but it was not overbearing. In fact, it just wanted you to draw him closer and taste the alcohol that lingered.

“We’re gonna talk and sort this shit out now.”

“You couldn’t wait until the morning?”

“No. I needed to talk to you before I lost my nerve.”

“You’re drunk.”

“My mind is clear.”

His dark eyes watched you as you walked around your living room, keeping your hands busy so as to not look at him. But he made himself comfortable on your couch. Red and grey baggy pants with a red sweater with his chains hanging down the front of his top. His legs were spread and you had to lick your lips to stop yourself from crawling in between his legs, no matter how much you wanted to.

“So are you gonna tell me the real reason you wanted the divorce?”

“You heard what my lawyer said.” You straightened your back and looked at him. His eyes trailed up your legs, drinking in the richness of your melanated skin. He licked his lips and shifted in his seat.

“I heard what she said but I need to hear it from you.”

“Irreconcilable differences.”

“What are those?”

You sighed. “Lewis, if you're going to make me say it, I would like for you to engage with me properly. Don’t give me that passive aggressive bullshit.”

“Oh you deserve this passive aggressive bullshit! After the shit you’ve put us through for months over a fucking tantrum!”

“It wasn’t a tantrum! You weren’t listening to me! You were being an asshole as you are now!” Eva, you talk too much! You thought to yourself. “Fuck! You still aren’t and you left me some love sick voicemail.”

His eyes closed as he took a deep breath and rubbed a hand over his face before looking at you. “I meant what I said. I was a shit husband. You just wanted me and I wasn’t giving that to you. I should have handled my time better to prioritise you. My career is never more important than you and I should have made that clear.” He stood up and approached. Your back was leaning against one of your couches and you held onto it as he crowded your senses.

“But you need to own up to your own shit too.” He whispered as he cradled your face in his hands. Butterflies erupted in your belly as your hands reached out to hold onto his arms. “My little brat just wanted some attention and you decided to be dramatic to get my attention. Well now you got it.”

His hands trailed down your jawline and then wrapped around your throat and softly squeezed. “Well you got it now.” His hissed. “But Daddy’s gotta punish you baby. You’ve been a real bad girl.”

Being in his arms sent all of your walls crumbling down. Your submissive nature was forced to the forefront as you tugged on his sweater and tried to pull him closer.

“I’m so sorry.” You whimpered as his hold on your neck tightened.

“You will be.” He softly said as one hand let go of your neck and trailed down your chest and pulled open at your belt. You took heavy breaths as his fingers pushed your gown away from your chest and down your shoulders until it pooled around your waist, your teddy swiftly following along. With immediate contact with the chill air in the penthouse, your nipples became taut and he noticed. He took his cap off before throwing it onto the couch behind you before taking your nipple into his mouth.

“Fuck.” You moaned as he sucked on the nipple in his mouth and tweaked the other as he fondled your breast. You lifted your leg to his waist but he held your thigh and moved his face towards yours and let his lips overpower yours. His grip on your body tightened and shivers shot down your spine. Four months of no physical contact had taken its toll and you were more than ready for him to take it out on you.

His punishment began when he stripped you bare and tied your hands behind your back and laid you in a position that had our ass up but your mouth was gagged. You were completely at his mercy. Your ass sore from the spankings, your pussy left quivering from the edging and tears in your eyes from the pure frustration of your overstimulation.

He had spanked you ten times on each ass cheek and after every fifth swat, he’d finger you until your thighs were trembling and then stop to spank you again. The shift between pain and pleasure was delicious and your body craved for more. You needed him to you cum he was doing to drive you insane first.

He manoeuvred to the side of you and leaned over your body as he placed kisses onto your skin with soft bites here and there.

“Are you sorry sweetheart?” He asked you as he watched drool trail down the corners of your mouth as your lips get stretched beautifully by the ball gag.

“Yesmpf.” Your answer came out muffled and it made him chuckle.

“I don’t think you are.” He whispered in your ear before marking your shoulder with his teeth. His sweater and pants had long been discarded but he still adorned his boxers which did nothing to hide just how hard his dick was.

He got behind you and palmed your ass, soothing your sore cheeks before you felt him shift and then the tip of his cock touched your entrance. You jiggled your ass in anticipation - waiting for him to put you out of your misery. You really wanted to beg him, plead with him to use you - to take what he needs but this ball gag was ruining everything.

“I usually love hearing you moan but brats like you don’t deserve to make a sound. You deserve to be used and fucked until I’ve had my fill of you. Until I feel like four months of pent up anger and frustration is out of my body.”

He pushed himself against your entrance but your wetness was too much for him and he slipped right in. The two of you moaned in unison as he continued inching deeper into you.

“So fucking wet.” He groaned as he held your cheeks apart to watch his dick move in and out of you. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head as his thickness stretched your cunt. - your moans could not be stopped by the gag, they rang loud and you were trying to stop yourself but as his heaviness fell on top of you, you were in heaven.

He rotated his hips before giving you a firm thrust which caused you to gasp and clench around him. “Fuck.” He swore before pulling out of you and then sinking right back in. The rumblings from the back of his throat along with your wetness was all that you could here. The sexiness of it all made your heart and pussy flutter.

Due to how sensitive you were already, your orgasm had quickly drawn near. The muscles in your stomach were tense as you tried to hold yourself but your tightness caused his thrusts to falter. So he gripped your hips and then pulled you up so that your back and bound hands were to his torso. He unfastened the gag and grabbed at your jawline and forced your head to turn. Your body was bent to his needs and the wetness that trailed down the inner part of your thighs was all the better for it.

“You really thought you were gonna get rid of me?” His fingernails dug into your skin and built back his steady rhythm.

“No.” You cried.

“You were just being a brat weren’t you? Needed Daddy to be all about you and only you huh?”

With each stroke, you got more and more responsive.

“Yesssss! I’m sorry for making you mad.” You cried as he fucked you harder and the more you reacted, the rougher he became. He hit a spot deep inside of you which caused pleasure to ripple through you. Your orgasm showed up unexpectedly and you screamed out loud as you creamed around his cock.

Lewis threw you back onto the bed - back into your doggy position but he hovered above you with one hand beneath you strumming your clit. Once the floodgates opened, they could not be stopped. With each thrust harder than the last, the more brutal the bruising.

But it was too good to stop now.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” You chanted repeatedly till your voice became hoarse.

“Yeah? You promise never to do it again?” He asked as one leg came up and the other pressed onto the back of your neck.

“Yes, yes yes, I promise! Daddy please! I’m sorry!” It felt like every inch of you was on fire. You were too stimulated and your mind was going numb. Your body locked up and held him inside with nowhere for him to go. Your wetness invited him deeper but your climax snuck up on you yet again, more intense than the last.

His head fell onto the back of yours as his hips staggered. Lewis tugged your head so that he could at least catch the corner of your mouth with his.

“You’re mine forever. You promised me that.”

“I’m yours. I—.” Your words melted on your tongue as you felt his orgasm hit him with the moan of your name escaping him with curses. His climax was as intense as your and it filled you to the brim. Both of your hearts were pounding in your chest - the blood rushing through your veins was soaring loud in your ears and the longer you laid there, the more the ache began to settle in your bones.

The bonds around your wrists were loosened and Lewis pressed soothing kisses onto the reddened skin. Once free, he pulled you into his body and you collapsed on his chest.

“Am I forgiven Daddy?”

He fixed your slanted bonnet and caressed your cheek as he bent down and pecked your lips.

“Depends.” He mumbled as his fingers traced down your skin.

“On what?“ You smiled as you traced the compass tattoo in the middle of his chest.

“You drop the divorce …”

“Done.”

“You drop Natasha as your lawyer. You can change lawyers within the firm. I don't care as long as it’s not Natasha.”

“Why? I thought you liked her?”

“I did until she started sneaking fees into your lawyer bill. She gave me a dry cleaning bill for suits she wore during your consultations. Who the fuck does that?”

“Oh my god! Done, that’s scammy as hell.” You frowned.

“And last thing, you finally let me fuck your ass.”

He said as his hand travelled down to your ass and a finger slipped through causing you to jump up and gasp.

“Of course you’d sneak that in!” You smacked his chest playfully before he pulled you back down and captured your lips in a sweet, passionate kiss. The way your lips moulded into each other as you melted into him. He laid back down and you rolled on top of him, your lips never parting.

“After everything, you kinda owe me.” He whispered through the taken breaths in between each kiss.

“And you owe me for being a horrible Daddy.” You pouted.

“Of course, Daddy’s sorry babygirl and I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you … but you gotta let me fuck your ass first.”

“Grr!” You smack his head a pillow but then squealed when he tackled you and pinned you down. Once you had stopped laughing, you met his brown eyes dazzling down at yours.

“We compromise.”

You nodded your head in agreement. “Compromise.”

fin.

—————————————

@queenshikongo3 @lewisinlace @lostinlewis @fineanddandy @olyvoyl @melodicheauxxo @melinda-january @royallyprincesslilly @chaneajoyyy @felicity-x0 @dhlfastestlap @piscesgyalinit @sadthotsonlylove @lewisthot @xsweetdellzx @playgurlxoxo @icysdiary @loveandlewis @federical97 @dreamer-grl @9daykrisr @write-fromthe-start @est1887 @zaeydi @kindan3rdy951 @valkryienymph @bekindbecoolbeyou @windrush-child @babyflowa07 @abcdestinyyyy @lewiscrown

#mauvecherie writes #maps fic #lewis hamilton x black reader #lewis hamilton fanfiction #lewis hamilton fic #lewis hamilton smut #lewis hamilton #black reader #lh #lewis hamilton x you #f1 fanfic #f1 fic #black reader insert

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useless-englandfacts · 7 months

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a protestor storms the stage and throws glitter over labour party leader, sir keir starmer during the leader's speech at the labour party conference in liverpool [📷: ian forsyth]

#keir starmer #the labour party #politics #admin dominique

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don-lichterman · 2 years

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Miliband against reversing income tax cut

Miliband against reversing income tax cut Source link

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silverfoxstole · 4 months

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A couple of random convention photos and one from the Labour party conference in 2016 (thank you, @know-it-all-freak!) from Alamy that I cleaned up.

#clearing out the drafts folder again #paul mcgann #mcgann monday

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thatgordongirl · 1 year

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Ghosts Season 1 References to the ghosts’ lives

Finally got through the first season on all the references and inferences to the ghosts’ lives, hope everyone likes the results?

Episode 1 - Who Do You Think You Are?

Fanny is Heather’s Great-Grandmother

Mary could make baskets and died in a witch trial

Kitty ate and dislikes eggs

Julian mentions his by-election victory speech from 1991- very inspiring, very long, and a few smutty jokes. This particular by-election occurred after the death of a conservative member on 20th September 1991 in which a labour member took their place. Whether it is altering that by-election to insert Julian or if it is completely unrelated all together is unknown (Take with a grain of salt, I am an Aussie who doesn’t know the intricacies of British politics)

Robin lived on the land first, but Fanny owned the house

Both Alison and Captain love gardens/garden views

When Thomas was alive, he heard a rumour that a plague girl could be heard singing in the pantry

Julian is wearing two rings: his wedding ring and presumably his Cambridge ring

Fanny was pushed out of the window by her husband George

George was having an affair with two other men

Mary could milk a cow

Episode 2 - Gorilla War

I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Major-General was written in 1879, so Captain most likely heard it when he was alive

Kitty sings The Lark in the Morning, dating back to 1778

Julian is a first from Cambridge

Once, a bear was able to see Robin

Julian references compact discs, but also seems to have some knowledge of technology

Robin references a cousin

Julian claims to have, as a lead envoy, solved the Arabian crisis in 1991 by starting a war

The plague ghosts know how to fix the old boiler, they were most likely there when it was fixed previously

Not a living thing, but Pat calls Thomas Tom in this episode and it’s adorable write that down

Julian refers to the Watney MP having sexual relations with horses (That’s right, plural)

Julian references a liberal in a sailor sauna (And he was not there to learn about boats)

Thomas most likely read Romeo and Juliet when alive

Episode 3 - Happy Death Day

Pat was killed when teaching his scouts archery, in which Keith accidentally shot him. He died calling out for someone to call his wife and driving the bus into a tree. (Self-explanatory, still horrified me)

Captain references a speech made by Winston Churchill

Robin talks about fighting with rocks and sticks and bears (recurring theme apparently)

Kitty thinks her father is dead, which may imply he didn’t die on the grounds

Kitty’s sister Eleanor told her that people made babies by pressing their ears together

Captain references The Blitz, a German bombing campaign that occurred during WW2, and the Luftwaffe, the German airforce

The east wing’s drainage was put into the house in 1894

Pat’s death day was October 27th 1984

Julian mentions extending the Bramptons in 1986, he ran it through the MP expenses

Robin has a flea in his ear and worms

Julian shot fish in a barrel once at a Party Conference in Bournemouth

Pat’s family come every year on his death day to the tree that he crashed into, which came down after the storm of 1987

Pat has a son, Daley, and a wife, Carol

His best friend Morris had his own set of keys to their house

Pat came home one Sunday from camp and found all Morris’ clothes on the floor, he and Carol had an affair

Captain mentions the Western Desert campaign and Bernard Montgomery

Thomas had probably eaten figs and drank wine

Julian has taken part in a ‘Norwegian picnic’ and ‘Himalayan Campsite’

Mary says that when you saw a swan in her town it was the devil at play

Julian is wearing a watch on his left wrist

Daley had (what I think to be) beige pants, he’s an accountant, he’s happy

Carol is busy with the bowls club, Morris is sweet but very small

Pat’s grandson is named after him, and has Pat’s legs

Episode 4 - Free Pass

Julian remarks that he was never fond of cornflakes

Thomas liked eating an egg atop a cutlet, a thin slice of meat from the leg or ribs of mutton, veal, pork or chicken

Button House is from the 15th century, 1469 to be precise

The facade is mid-16th century

Captain assumes the actors will be dressed in loincloths, oiled up, and kissing each other. I don’t know if that’s a Tim period thing or if Captain’s just seen freaky stuff

Henry VIII dined in the banqueting hall, he had swan, hog, dumplings and figs and stank out the privy (I’m dying rn)

Mary is from the Stuart era, Humphrey from Tudor, and Thomas from the Regency

Pat dislikes veggie sausages

Julian likes to bet on horses

Julian’s free pass was Samantha Fox

Both Julian and Margot had lists, Margot’s included Wolf, Cobra and John Fashanu from the 1992 show Gladiators

Thomas’ rivalry with Lord Byron is mentioned

Pat references video cassettes

Thomas believes that Lord Byron stole one of his verses

Robin asks why Toby is doing a rain dance

Julian remarks that the free pass wasn’t a joke in his marriage

Episode 5 - Moonah Ston

Fanny falls from the east wing window, and is notably dressed in grey

She’s Edwardian. This era is placed between 1901-1910, but some say it ended with the beginning of WWI in 1914. As Fanny mentioned having a ticket for the titanic, this would place her between 1910-1914

Julian met Barclay at a party fundraiser at Button House

Julian heard a funny story on a golf course involving Bruce Forsyth-Johnson, a British entertainer

Pat loves dogs so much he’s willing to get sick, bless him

Julian references The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Fanny possibly ate turtle soup, oyster rissoles and pheasant

Captain is unsurprisingly able to shoot a gun

“Gleaming bundook op from the civvy” and “boshing jerry” is Captain just saying that the civilian is good at shooting and he’ll be out fighting Germans in no time

Mary knows how to properly prepare a pheasant

Robin had his own site on the grounds that Stonehenge apparently copied, and he remembers the ritual reading

Fanny is disgruntled by the cutlery and says they should be on the outside, which was how she was taught

Fanny also seems to have knowledge on Barclay’s family

Kitty says she’s wearing what she died in, pretty self-explanatory there

Thomas is well aware of techniques for public speaking such as dramatic pauses, but clearly wasn’t good at using them

Thomas references Saint Cuthbert

Pat references Betemax

Julian is aware of Barclay’s poker ability and his bank account in Fiji

Robin’s connection with the moon is rooted in it being the only thing that’s been around as long as he has

Captain mentions light pollution, which only began getting addressed in the 1950s, though he could’ve learnt about it earlier or later

Episode 6 - Getting Out

Robin liked eating cooked meat

Julian likes fondue

The house was worth a thousand pounds in Fanny’s era

Julian has committed fraud to get money

The plague ghosts have had falling outs before, but they’ve never lasted longer than 20-25 years

Pat describes having music on the go, unaware that it already exists

Fanny hid an Arabic jewel in a box under a floorboard, it was given to her husband by Queen Empress Alexandra. He pawned it.

Captain has ear hair

Captain’s limbs creak, it is a joke of course, but canonical so my hands are tied

Kitty likes to talk about balls and eligible men

Robin has seen many people come and go from the house

The plague ghost skeletal remains are under the house

Captain was aware of the bodies in the basement

#bbc ghosts #the captain #pat butcher #fanny button #julian fawcett #robin bbc ghosts #kitty bbc ghosts #mary bbc ghosts #thomas thorne #bbc ghosts humphrey #alison cooper #mike cooper #barclay

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