The Almighty Gob. The Satirical Social Philosopher.

Dismantled in advance, using the council's own papers. By John Langley (The Almighty Gob) Baltic Wharf: the council's own company breaks ground on land the council sold for £1.6m. ["In partnership" — the two most expensive words on the Bristol harbourside.] Well. I guess The Defence Rests Before the Vote, when the Bristol Harbour Committee meets on Tuesday 23 June.

Neither left nor right: a Bristol sergeant's fractured spine, jailed Palestine Action activists, a boy dead in police handcuffs. Outside court before the Filton Four sentencing, 12 June. "Terrorists" is the banner's word, not the jury's. [Neither left nor right: a Bristol sergeant's fractured spine, jailed Palestine Action activists, a boy dead in police handcuffs.] Okay folks. Let’s start with a name, because almost nobody else has. Sergeant Kate Evans. Avon and Somerset.

A hundred names defended the Filton 4. Not one named the officer they injured. The Filton 4 — sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court for the 2024 raid on the Elbit Systems UK factory in Filton, Bristol. [A hundred names defended the Filton 4. Not one named the officer they injured.] You’ll have caught this one. We all did. It was everywhere — papers and news. Four Palestine Action activists, sentenced as terrorists. A grave miscarriage of justice. Civil liberties in peril. A hundred famous names up in arms.

Forty patients a day, no bed — England's worst for corridor care. Hey. Did you see this? https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/find-out-how-many-people-11009153 Hey. Did you see this? https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/find-out-how-many-people-11009153 Well. Like you, probably, I’ve watched enough films and television dramas to know what to do if I get shot, while buying a scratch card in Sainsbury’s. I’d know exactly which resources to pull off the shelves to treat myself.

One story's about values. The other's about the takings. You might have seen it in today’s Guardian, and you’ve probably already picked a side? Well. Let’s start from the very beginning, as, I’m told, that’s a very good place to start. Don’t quote me, though. Anyway. Brunel’s SS Great Britain — the ship, the museums, Bristol’s number-one attraction — is dropping both “Brunel” and “Great Britain” from its name.

The city centre is being knocked down and renamed in the same breath. A walk down the streets where you can watch it happen. Damaged Society, Broadmead: the diagnosis up on the fascia while the city centre changes behind the glass. www.thealmightygob.com [A "Damaged Society" shopfront in a Bristol city centre being demolished and renamed in the same breath — www.thealmightygob.com] Okay. Let me take you for a walk you’ve likely already taken. There’s a shop on Penn Street called Damaged Society.

The Oxford Union, the NHS, the police — the same reflex: feeling first, facts later. How emotion got promoted to the fallacy of evidence. By John Langley (The Almighty Gob). They built it. Forgot to teach the subject. Then wondered why nobody noticed when it closed. [The course was never written. Probably for the best — too many would have failed it to keep the lights on.] Go on then. Open the dictionary, and find sensibility. I’ll wait. You’ll see it there. Where it’s always been.

The Curious Case of the Law-Man and Brownbread Toast. Written ryely, by John Langley | The Almighty Gob. "Appropriate/Legal Use Of This Product Is The Sole Responsibility Of The User." Kenneth Law, apparently, agreed. | The Almighty Gob, 2026. [The Law-Man. The apron. The E number. The disclaimer. | The Almighty Gob, 2026.] Just imagine. Any day morning. Bacon sarnie. Brown sauce if you’re civilised, red if you’re not. Tea going cold on the side. Maybe the radio on low.

I Can't Breathe… Either. This image poses the question on purpose. The piece is where it’s complicated What a depressing start to the day. Right? You’ve seen it by now. Of course you have, it’s been everywhere. It arrived with yesterday’s breakfast. It’s the tragic story of Henry Nowak. Eighteen. Away from home. His first year in university. Walking back to his halls in Southampton after a night out watching football, filming himself on his phone the way they all do. Nothing happening.

Not quite Brothers Grimm, though grim none the less. By, not all accounts. Tower Hamlets London Borough Council, May 2026. The photograph The Telegraph called "a grim vision of future Britain." [A photograph. A headline. And the question nobody thought to ask.] Did you know there is an old Turkish proverb that the forest was shrinking, but the trees kept voting for the axe, because the axe was clever, and had convinced the trees that because his handle was made of wood, he was one of them? Me neither.