Yellow alerts for weather? Turmoil alerts for the BBC. An appeal for kindness from Kurt Vonnegut.

The weathermen are forecasting heavy rain and strong winds in central and north Portugal, with yellow alerts and advice not to go for walks along the coast, presumably for fear of being pulled out to sea by the waves. I could imagine that happening on the walk out to the lighthouse here in Figueira da Foz as there are some quite spectacular breakers. So far, though, apart from the breakers and some breezy weather, we’ve not got a weather problem this morning. The sun was shining nicely on Buarcos when I ran along the promenade this morning. 

Back in the UK, the BBC is in some turmoil, with some suggestions that they should apologise to Trump over documentary as he threatens $1bn lawsuit.

“Yesterday the BBC in crisis story, that had primarily been about the resignations of its director general and its head of news, veered into international diplomacy when Donald Trump threatened to sue the BBC for $1bn over the way it edited a clip of the speech he gave before his supporters attacked the US Capitol and people working there on 6 January 2021.”

Oh dear! 

And then there are accusations of bias one way or another. Here are some quotations about the BBC:

Alastair Campbell November 10th 2025.

“The real weakness of the BBC, as exemplified by recent events, is its failure to stand up to ludicrous claims from the right that it is somehow hugely biased to the left. Listening to Telegraph journalists bleat about a biased BBC, or Reform MPs enjoying more platforming than any minority party in history, underlines that. This is the work of right wing journalists and owners working hand in glove with right wing forces withing the BBC to undermine it. The Labour government needs to help the BBC stand up for itself and clear out those forces that want the BBC to fail. “

And George Monbiot:

We should never underestimate the extent to which the BBC changed this country by giving endless airtime to Nigel Farage, other far right extremists and the Tufton Street junktanks, while shutting out progressive voice.”

I had to google Tufton Street. So here, for other ignoramuses like me, is some Wiki information:

55 Tufton Street s a four-storey Georgian-era townhouse on historic Tufton Street, in Westminster, London, owned by businessman Richard Smith. Since the 2010s, the building has hosted a network of libertarian lobby groups and think tanks related to pro-Brexit, climate science denial and other fossil-fuel lobby groups. Some of the organisations it houses have close connections with those at 57 Tufton Street next door, including the Centre for Policy Studies and CapX.

There you go. I expect some people knew that already.

Meanwhile NewsThump has a suggestion for solving the BBC’s current crisis: they should appoint Sam Allardyce to shore things up until the end of the season.  

While the world (and the BBC) is in turmoil, here is a quote from Kurt Vonnegut, writer, humanist, philosopher and one of my heroes:

“Hello babies. Welcome to earth.

It’s got in summer and cold in winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you’ve got one hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies - God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.”

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!