Sportswriter. New book published by Forward Press: AUX ARMES! - sport and the French. Also, No Snail, Foinavon, Thomi Keller
Bucks, UK
Joined April 2009
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David Owen retweeted
There is a reason that tax is done once a year. Over a year, you can provide for it. It's difficult, and sometimes you have to make hard decisions. But making freelancers pay tax monthly when they have zero income that month is insane!
David Owen retweeted
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has suffered a record $6.3bn heist in an industry increasingly beset by them.
Its scale dwarfs the biggest crypto thefts of recent years. Some of the other most notable are: ft.trib.al/3FEyHiH
David Owen retweeted
NEW: Our reporting found the recent Starlink outage in Ukraine could be part of an elaborate upsell.
When U.S. officials asked Musk's company about it, they were told the problem could be fixed by upgrading to a new contract.
@isaacstanbecker @TheAtlantic
theatlantic.com/national-sec…
David Owen retweeted
Iran is executing athletes. Several more are now on death row. Please, please retweet as the only thing that has shown any potential to deter the regime is international scrutiny and pressure theguardian.com/global-devel…
David Owen retweeted
We cannot be complacent with this. Not for a second
Ebola outbreak in Congo has reached 10,000 confirmed cases, government data showed Tuesday, as health authorities race to slow the spread of the disease in multiple African countries. apnews.com/article/ebola-dis…
David Owen retweeted
"We estimate that Mr Trump’s policies will cost the poorest tenth of American households, with average income after taxes and transfers of around $37,000, almost 3% of their income. The richest tenth, with average after-tax incomes of nearly $500,000, will gain nearly 3% (see chart 1). Households in the middle, with average income of roughly $100,000, lose more than $400"
David Owen retweeted
Note to the EU haters. You can hate it. Many do. But it is still the UK's neighbours being in a club that the UK has to deal with from a point of weakness. Geography denial has failed, obviously. So far the only serious idea I've seen is "muddle through". Is that it?
UK offering Freedom of Movement would be the game changer for conversations with the EU, one of the trio of people, pounds and positivity I identified earlier this year as crucial to any significant move to removing barriers.
thetimes.com/uk/politics/art…
David Owen retweeted
An oldie but a goodie. In 1968 a bunch of entitled hippy bastards sent a letter detailing their specious demands to the Warden and Fellows of Wadham College, Oxford. This was their letter of reply, which speaks to how far the academy has since fallen.
I did think this was going to read "This is not just a midterm election. It's an M&S midterm election."
This is not just a midterm election. If the Republicans lose it will be the last free Democratic election held on Earth. It will be the last time a Republican will be president of the USA. You must not only vote Republican, but every day you must try to defeat a Democrat crook and put them in jail. Life, liberty and freedom will die forever if we lose. You must challenge your family, friends and neighbors to understand this is the final test of good vs. Evil on earth. No stone can be left unturned. Amen.
David Owen retweeted
A horrific Russian strike in the Kharkiv region. A “shahed” struck people directly – in a park near an ordinary café. Pure atrocity. Six people were killed, including children. A little girl was killed in a stroller – her name was Angelina, she was just over a year old, born in August 2025… Her mother’s name was Inna. She died in the hospital… Another girl who was killed was 11 years old. My condolences to their families and loved ones. Another 14 people were injured, including six more children.
I am grateful to everyone who supports Ukraine under these circumstances and helps us shoot down “shaheds,” shoot down missiles, and stop Russian assaults. These are horrific photos, but behind them are shattered lives and the truth about this war. Lives must be protected. Ukraine needs air defense. You can't think about making money with Russia as long as it continues its asinine war. We ask that sanctions on Russia stay in place as long as the killings continue. We ask America to be strong, and we ask it to apply the Lindsey Graham law. We ask Europe to continue its support. We ask that everything possible be done to bring peace and guarantee security. Ukraine wants peace. It is Russia that has insisted on continuing the killing all this time. The world has enough strength to stop the war. That strength must finally be used – against the murderers.
David Owen retweeted
For anyone wanting to hear Diego Gomez’s goallllllllllllll as described back in Paraguay…it is here
instagram.com/reel/Deo1-B2D8…
David Owen retweeted
My uncle, Jimmy Mackay, was inducted into the Football Victoria Hall of Fame last week.
@footballvic admitted it was "a long-overdue recognition" for a player who, in 1973, scored the goal that earned the @Socceroos their first appearance at the @FIFAWorldCup.
Jimmy was born in Edinburgh in 1943 and played for Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic Juniors and Airdrieonians before arriving in Melbourne on a working holiday in 1965, aged 22. He never left.
He made his first appearance for Australia in 1970, eventually earning 52 caps and scoring five goals. This included scoring the only goal in the qualifying playoff match against South Korea in Hong Kong. Jimmy went on to play in all three of the Socceroos' matches at the 1974 World Cup in West Germany.
Jimmy played in some of the world's greatest stadiums, including the Estadio Azteca, and against some of the best players in the world, including Pelé.
Jimmy played for several clubs in Victoria, including Melbourne Croatia and South Melbourne Hellas, where he helped inspire young players like Ange Postecoglou.
Sadly, Jimmy died in 1998 at the age of only 54, so his son - my cousin - Malcolm collected the award on behalf of the family. There to offer support was Jimmy Rooney, another Scot and a great friend of Jimmy's, who also played for the Socceroos at the 1974 World Cup in West Germany.
If you are interested in learning more about Australia's incredible journey to qualify for their first World Cup, I wrote a book about it: 'They Came From A Land Down Under'. Copies are available at amzn.eu/d/00nfR4n6
David Owen retweeted
It's important to remember that legally HMRC *have* to provide non-digital ways of filing tax returns.
I stil file on paper and intend to keep doing so.
Almost half of all sole traders want HMRC's Making Tax Digital programme to be ditched, a Centre for Policy Studies survey has revealed.
44% want it scrapped entirely while 14% are prepared for it to go ahead with changes and a minuscule 10% are happy for it to proceed as planned. The Government and HMRC have totally failed to gain the confidence of the self-employed.
Forcing the self-employed to file five tax returns each year is an obvious idiocy and it is no wonder that they are upset.
1/2
David Owen retweeted
Full agree. Violent French chaos sets stage for Le Pen to pose as strongwoman who will sort it all out at home (and then pull support from Ukraine)
This act of extraordinary vandalism will help no one but the National Front (RN) and Vladimir Putin. I wonder if Europeans really do want to save themselves. euronews.com/2026/10/18/spir…
David Owen retweeted
London is a world capital of music, theatre and the arts.
Yet Brexit created new barriers for performers and crews working across Europe.
A London musician shouldn't need an obstacle course to take their work to Paris, Brussels or Rome.
Culture doesn't stop at Dover.
David Owen retweeted
Tory farming ministers barracking me in the chamber because they didn’t realise that their hard Brexit took us out of the bio food security alerts including those on foot and mouth.
It was called the animal disease information system.
They don’t even know what they negotiated let alone what they expect the British public to put up with. You just can’t trust the Tories with our future in Europe.
David Owen retweeted
Freezers should probably not be connected to the internet.
I'm afraid we'll soon conclude that nothing should be connected to the internet.
Cyberattack on French supermarkers. Someone remotely took over refrigeration controllers and made them to defrost. Target temperature set to 50°C. Staff opening freezers in the morning were hit by a wave of hot air. Millions of euros lost. France spent years debating food sovereignty to depend on a firmware update? bfmtv.com/economie/consommat…
