# 17th — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 4 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover 17th. Page: Feed: --- ## [You don’t need a weatherman. No rain for weeks. England start a Test Match….](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/19/you-dont-need-a-weatherman-no-rain-for-weeks-england-start-a-test-match/) _2026-08-19 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Much of England and all of Wales is in drought conditions with little or no rainfall for many weeks. In this case a weatherman was not needed. Rather England started a Test Match against Pakistan in Leeds and in short order it rained. ## [Reform purges leading figure after Farage criticism](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/19/reform-purges-leading-figure-after-farage-criticism/) _2026-08-19 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Reform has purged Tim Montgomerie for reportedly breaking ‘party rules’ and making criticisms of Nigel Farage & Reform. Montgomerie founded Conservative Home and is a former ally of Iain Duncan Smith MP. He joined Reform 18 months ago claiming he supported it’s hardline policy on immigration. Montgomerie was critical of Farage’s failure to attend his \[…\] ## [Karl Marx August Holidays. 1870, Brighton ‘too hot’ 1871 Brighton ‘stormy & rainy’](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/19/karl-marx-august-holidays-1870-brighton-too-hot-1871-brighton-stormy-rainy/) _2026-08-19 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Marx on Brighton & Ramsgate 1870 & 1871. You do need a weatherman In August Marx was often to be found at the seaside, sometimes with his family, sometimes alone if had been banished there by his doctor for health reasons. In 1870 he stayed with his family in Ramsgate from the 9th to 31st August 1870. \[…\] ## [Beard Liberation Front pays tribute to ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/18/beard-liberation-front-pays-tribute-to-zz-top-drummer-frank-beard/) _2026-08-18 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Beard Liberation Front 19th August Contact: BLF Organiser Keith Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has paid tribute to ZZ Top’s drummer Frank Beard who has died aged 77. Beard was the only one of the ZZ Top trio not to have a full organic beard. Dusty Hill died \[…\] ## [How Capitalism works(Reform UK variant)](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/18/how-capitalism-worksreform-uk-variant/) _2026-08-18 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ ## [Tim Martin returns Spoons to George Orwell’s Moon Under Water days, ‘always quiet enough to talk’](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/18/tim-martin-returns-spoons-to-the-moon-under-water-days-always-quite-enough-to-talk/) _2026-08-18 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ In the Moon Under Water it is always quiet enough to talk. The house possesses neither a radio nor a piano, and even on Christmas Eve and such occasions the singing that happens is of a decorous kind. George Orwell, The Listener, 1943 Meanwhile Tim Martin has banned speaker phones and tablets playing music etc in all \[…\] ## [Final Reminder!](https://keplereducation.substack.com/p/final-reminder) _2026-08-18 · Scott Postma · Kepler Education_ Late registration closes in just a few hours. ## [After Grant Shapps is Penny Mordaunt next on Badenoch’s purge list?](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/18/after-grant-shapps-is-penny-mordaunt-next-on-badenochs-purge-list/) _2026-08-18 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Keni Badenoch is engaged in a Great Moving Right Show for the Tory Party. She is on record as saying that any Tory candidate including ex-MPs (there are lots) who wants to be on the Tory approved list must reject Net Zero and the ECHR. Both of course are already Reform ‘policies’. Former Minister Grant \[…\] ## [Standing Up To Racism. 30,000 at Trafalgar Sq Vigil for Prof Jason Arday](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/17/thousands-at-trafalgar-sq-vigil-for-prof-jason-arday/) _2026-08-17 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Picture JM on Facebook An estimated 30,000 people have attended a vigil for Prof. Jason Arday in Trafalgar Square on 17th August. The vigil was called by Stand Up To Racism BBC Report Thousands gathered on Monday for a vigil organised by Stand Up To Racism in Trafalgar Square, where Labour MP Diane Abbott said \[…\] ## [Reform’s Richard Tice on heat](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/17/reforms-richard-tice-on-heat/) _2026-08-17 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ ## [AI Summaries & Audio Briefings (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/j0uCtOr9yfcm) _2026-08-17 · **Sponsored**_ Read AI summaries and listen to concise audio briefings for the latest stories. ## [August 17th 1839. Day Six of the Grand National Holiday against the smooth faced men](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/17/august-17th-1839-day-six-of-the-grand-national-holiday-against-the-smooth-faced-men/) _2026-08-17 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ August 17th 1839: Day Six of the Grand National Holiday against the smooth faced men On 12th August 1839 the Chartists called a Grand National Holiday, a month long general strike to bring down capitalism. It had a good deal of popular support, it did actually happen but ultimately could not be sustained. A key populariser \[…\] ## [The Times led the pile-on but Times letter writers have a different view on Jason Arday](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/17/the-times-led-the-pile-on-but-times-letter-writers-have-a-different-view-on-jason-arday/) _2026-08-17 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ ## [The Door Closes at Midnight!](https://keplereducation.substack.com/p/the-door-closes-at-midnight) _2026-08-17 · Scott Postma · Kepler Education_ Classes begin today for Kepler's 2026–27 academic year. Late registration ends tonight at midnight. ## [Vigil for Jason Arday. 17th August 6pm Trafalgar Sq.](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/17/vigil-for-jason-arday-17th-august-6pm-trafalgar-sq/) _2026-08-17 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Supported by the London Socialist Historians Group We stand with the University & College Union (UCU) in supporting this vigil. There can be no space for racism or racist pile-ons in academia or in wider society. ## [Marxist historian Christopher Hill & Geoffrey Boycott had one shared ambition..](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/17/marxist-historian-christopher-hill-geoffrey-boycott-had-one-shared-ambition/) _2026-08-17 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Christopher Hill. His highest ambition was to be a Yorkshire cricketer but be became one of the most well-known British Marxist Historians A biography of the British Marxist Historian Christopher Hill(1912-2003) has long been awaited and Michael Braddick has now written one (Verso 2025). There is a wealth of interesting information and some fascinating incidental \[…\] ## [So. Farewell then The Hundred 2026. Crowds were \*not\* flat](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/16/so-farewell-then-the-hundred-2026-crowds-were-not-flat/) _2026-08-16 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Sunday Times 16th August 2026 The Hundred has finished for another year. The first year it had been franchised. Crowds were down at all venues except Cardiff were ticket prices were not increased. In the last few days any amount of official bluster has been deployed to explain a) smaller crowds were all part of \[…\] ## [Jason Arday. Sunday Times enters ‘not guilty’ plea](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/16/jason-arday-sunday-times-enters-not-guilty-plea/) _2026-08-16 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ The Sunday Times (Editorial 16th August) has entered a ‘not guilty’ plea in relation to the media pile on that appears at the very least to have played a part in the tragic death of Jason Arday. To an extent that is fair enough. The paper only published three pieces on Arday. However it appears \[…\] ## [Ambridge Socialist: Missing Climate Change, wildfires, drought…](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/16/ambridge-socialist-missing-climate-change-wildfires-drought/) _2026-08-16 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ The Ambridge Socialist 16th August What BBC reports from Ambridge are missing The Archers is recorded weeks in advance but there has been a heatwave since June. So far little or no mention of: Climate Change Drought Poor crop yields Wildfires Veg Boxes David decides Sgt Burns has put Monty in the frame for the \[ \] ## [Jason Arday. The media pile on was from the top of the market, not the tabloids](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/15/jason-arday-the-media-pile-on-was-from-the-top-of-the-market-not-the-tabloids/) _2026-08-15 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Peter Jukes has analysed the media pile on that took place before and indeed on the day of the tragic death of Jason Arday. A key conclusion is below One honest finding up front: this was not a red-top phenomenon. The Mirror ran two pieces and the Daily Star one; the BBC and Sky covered \[ \] ## [The Hundred 2026. The Whack It Index (Men and Women)](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/15/the-hundred-2026-the-whack-it-index-men-and-women/) _2026-08-15 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ The tournament director of The Hundred which concludes at Lords on 16th August Vikram Banerjee is on record as saying that the newly franchised business is now second only to the Indian Premier League in terms of short form leagues. Anyone who has watched the IPL will know that the bottom line KPI are the \[ \] ## [Meet Claude, an AI assistant (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/2cEZ8q6qo3Dy) _2026-08-15 · **Sponsored**_ Chat with Claude at claude.ai — a conversational AI assistant. ## [The Old Maps Are Failing!](https://keplereducation.substack.com/p/the-old-maps-are-failing) _2026-08-15 · Scott Postma · Kepler Education_ You have until Monday (August 17th) to do something about it. [Listen](https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/211307474/0a9916d94448d03dbe89b6f80b73b798.mp3) ## [More detail on Farage Fest: the chance for a sleepover with Farage…(free bar, Farage spoke at 3am)](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/15/more-detail-on-farage-fest-the-chance-for-a-sleepover-with-farage/) _2026-08-15 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ The Spectator edited by Michael Gove is Reform friendly but not 100% so. Below is an extract from a report by Madeline Grant (14th August) with a rare account of what was going on at Farage Fest, a festival at an airfield near Harwich in Essex. Its 25 minutes drive away from Clacton. Farage was \[ \] ## [Tony Benn on politics in mid-August 50 years ago](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/15/tony-benn-on-politics-in-mid-august-50-years-ago/) _2026-08-15 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Tuesday 16th August 1977 ‘Little bit of sunshine. Went shopping. The rabbit died’ Tony Benn Diaries ## [Engels, Lords Cricket Ground & W G Grace](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/15/engels-lords-cricket-ground-w-g-grace/) _2026-08-15 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Engels was not a cricket fan, but as the letter below underlines he was aware of Lords (he lived quite nearby in Regents Park Rd) and of cricket. He mentions both in a matter of fact way. Sam Moore was the US translator of Marx s Capital into English. The scorecard from that day s cricket featured \[ \] ## [15th August 1848, Chartists meet in a South London pub to finalise plans for an insurrection](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/15/15th-august-1848-chartists-meet-in-a-south-london-pub-to-finalise-plans-for-an-insurrection/) _2026-08-15 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ August 1848: Chartists meet daily to plan an armed rising in central London It’s a largely forgotten part of London’s radical history. Frustrated by peaceful attempts to secure the vote, sections of London Chartism decided to try an armed rising instead. There had been a gradual move towards militant action after the failure of the \[ \] ## [Wild Fire Alert: Farage Election Night Party featured firepits](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/14/wild-fire-alert-farage-election-night-party-featured-firepits/) _2026-08-14 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Farage addresses Farage Fest in a field near Clacton in the early hours of Friday morning Everyone in England and Wales received a mobile phone alert about wild fires on Friday evening. Some Councils had already issue warnings including Tendring in Essex, which covers Clacton Farage did not attend the Count for the By-Election he \[ \] ## [Farage, Clacton & the £5m](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/14/farage-clacton-the-5m/) _2026-08-14 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ ## [Clacton By-Election. The winner vanishes](https://kmflett.blog/2026/08/14/clacton-by-election-the-winner-vanishes/) _2026-08-14 · kmflett · Kmflett's Blog_ Nigel Farage won the Clacton By-Election on Friday morning. The result was announced at 6.30am. He was not there. As often with Farage there were several explanations. He claimed he didn t want to share the stage with nobodies . But then he also claimed there was a, not detailed, security issue. The police did not agree. \[ \] ## [Welcome to Kepler's 26-27 Academic Year](https://keplereducation.substack.com/p/welcome-to-keplers-26-27-academic) _2026-08-11 · Scott Postma · Kepler Education_ Late Registration Closes Monday August 17th! ## [Grab Your Seat Before It's Too Late!](https://keplereducation.substack.com/p/grab-your-seat-before-its-too-late) _2026-08-03 · Scott Postma · Kepler Education_ Courses begin in two weeks. Late registration closes at midnight on August 17th. Many courses are already full. Secure your child's seat today! [Listen](https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/209654762/fc03430310d6852b2592d2e6ec05daf4.mp3) ## [A Friend Gave You $30 (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/i5a3haAuypl4) _2026-08-03 · **Sponsored**_ Sign up, deposit $5 within 30 days, and start investing with expert guidance. ## [Plundering the Egyptians](https://keplereducation.substack.com/p/plundering-the-egyptians) _2026-07-27 · Scott Postma · Kepler Education_ Why Epic Poetry and Greek Drama Still Belong in a Christian Curriculum — Introducing the Summer 2026 issue of The Consortium: A Journal of Classical Christian Education ## [The Trivium and Language Mastery](https://keplereducation.substack.com/p/the-trivium-and-language-mastery) _2026-07-20 · Scott Postma · Kepler Education_ The benefits of learning the classical 'method of learning' ## [Latin Fundamentals for Parents](https://keplereducation.substack.com/p/latin-fundamentals-for-parents) _2026-07-17 · Scott Postma · Kepler Education_ For adults who say "I wish I had had this kind of education." ## [Sources of Joy in Classical Christian Education](https://keplereducation.substack.com/p/sources-of-joy-in-classical-christian) _2026-07-16 · Scott Postma · Kepler Education_ A regional conference embodying a spirit of hospitality and conviviality ## [The Education of the Wise and the Free](https://keplereducation.substack.com/p/the-education-of-the-wise-and-the) _2026-07-14 · Scott Postma · Kepler Education_ Plus—Late Registration is Now Open For a Limited Time