Ben

Ben

@benbl.bsky.social

#Translator 🇩🇪👉🇬🇧 based in #Frankfurt. Banking, finance, marketing, climate, sustainability. Striving to stay one step ahead of #MTPE. Amateurish 🌱-grower, 🚂-taker and 🌳-hugger.

536 followers1.1K following1K posts

Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

Wow, an electric Citroen DS ❤️ Beauty just got even more beautiful

Felix Hamer • electricfelix@electricfelix.eurosky.social

"Must be one of the most beautiful electric cars I have ever seen." #alwaysbecharging @wouterstern.bsky.social www.threads.com/share/Bp65jn...

Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

And in this case, I'm rooting for 🇩🇪! Honestly, the state of that ...

Dreadnought Holiday@dreadships.bsky.social

I regret to announce that a state of war now exists between Britain and Germany

Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

Here's two for the price of one: Rafaella Carrà and Adriano Celentano

Katelyn Burns@katelynburns.com

name an italian more worthy of an american holiday than columbus

Ben reposted

Ned Richardson-Little
@historyned.bsky.social

Replying to @historyned.bsky.social

If you are concerned about democracy in Sachsen-Anhalt beyond just wanting to argue about it on the internet, you can donate to these fine people: polylux.network/de or www.fluechtlingsrat-lsa.de

polylux.networkPolylux e.V. – solidarisches Netzwerk für den anderen Osten | StartseitePolylux ist eine Initiative zur Förderung von zivilgesellschaftlichen Strukturen, die von rechts bedroht werden. #Ostdeutschland #Solidarität

Ben reposted

The Man in Seat 61
@seatsixtyone.bsky.social

INTERRAIL PASS SALE! From Thursday 24 September until Wednesday 30 September 2026, save 50% on long-validity Interrail Global Passes (one month continuous or longer) and 15% on shorter-duration Global Passes, and One Country Passes (all validities). www.interrail.com/en/interrail...

interrail.comInterrail Global Pass for EuropeThe Interrail Global Pass is the fun and cheap way to see more of Europe. Travel to up to 33 countries with one train Pass!

Ben reposted

Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz
@wannseekonferenz.bsky.social

Wir freuten uns über den Besuch am Rande der Ratstagung der Europäischen Zentralbank (EZB) in Berlin: EZB-Präsidentin Christine Lagarde und der Präsident der Deutschen Bundesbank Joachim Nagel wurden am Dienstag von unserem stellvertretenden Direktor Dr. Matthias Haß begrüßt.

Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

Recommend - the @maggiescentres.bsky.social I've visited (Clatterbridge) is a warm and welcoming place providing great moral and admin support for people receiving treatment and their families.

Richard Smyth@rsmythfreelance.bsky.social

Morning all. Why not start your day by throwing some money this way? Cancer is awful but also REALLY HARD WORK and @maggiescentres.bsky.social make such a difference. ajbellgreatnorthrun2026.enthuse.com/pf/richard-s...

Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

Feel the same about the last time I gave my kids a piggy back. The next time one of us will be carrying the other, it will probably be them putting me to bed in a care home 😞

fesshole 🧻@fesshole.bsky.social

In June, me and my wife cajoled our teenagers to go to the seaside on holiday, as we had for so many years. On the last day, in the sunshine, I stood on a sand dune with the picnic and looked down at them making sandcastles. I knew it was the last time and cried my eyes out.

Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

Some great vintage footage of #Frankfurt and the Römer here 👇

German Embassy London@uk.diplo.de

Sixty years ago, England beat West Germany 4-2 to win the 1966 World Cup. England's third goal was much-debated in Germany, going down in footballing folklore as 'das Wembley-Tor'. Enormous crowds welcomed West Germany's "honourable losers" (Times) home the following day.

Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

Counterpoint: Viewed through a brain-washed Fox News lens, it reads as "the undeserving are getting handouts (paid out of my taxes!)". For some people it's all about the punishment.

Tamoor Hussain@tamoorh.com

Incredible moment where Fox News puts up a graphic with all the reasons it opposes the DSA and why people should be afraid of them

Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

Love Conwy ❤️

National Trust@nationaltrust.org.uk

Conwy Suspension Bridge is 200 years old! Designed by Thomas Telford and built between 1822 and 1826, the bridge remains one of the oldest suspension bridges of its kind still standing today. It transformed travel in North Wales and helped establish Conwy as a gateway to Eryri (Snowdonia).

Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

A banger of a tune with a great guitar solo at the end (that normally gets cut off on the radio, grr)

archivetvmusings@archivetvmusings.bsky.social

Top of the Pops (23rd June 1983). Currently at number 19 in the hit parade is Moonlight Shadow by Mike Oldfield (featuring Maggie Reilly on vocals).

Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

Oh, I would *love* to get an Efteling-themed bike bag ❤️❤️

Hackney Cyclist@hackneycyclist.bsky.social

I cycled to Efteling, the largest theme park in the Netherlands, last week. Of course they have a huge bike parking area, fully staffed to check your bike in and out but only just seen that to encourage fewer car journeys if you cycle to the theme park 7 times in a year you get a free bike bag.

Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

Yes, immigration (like Brexit) is first and foremost a "feel" issue for many people, mainly because they lack the skills to interpret the numbers. And "feel" issues - do you feel better off/threatened/betrayed? - can always be exploited by bad faith media/politicians, no matter what the data say

Indy@indy.bsky.social

Remember also that the average voter, when polled, says "immigration is a top concern" but also cannot identify ups and downs of immigration figures (or numbers re: small boats). Hence, these policies have no effect on public opinion. So it's actually just catering to a delusion. (Harsh, but true.)

Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

Remarks like "sold down the river" and "betrayed" imply a lack of agency and victimhood - the idea that others, somehow, are to blame for how these people voted - voluntarily and without any duress - in the Brexit referendum.

laurentfranckx.bsky.social@laurentfranckx.bsky.social

Actually, Brexit was a bad idea from the start. You were not betrayed. You just didn't bother to think through the consequences of your choices.

Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

... and there's yet another dimension: Besides being "betrayed", this guy still thinks Brexit was a good idea and should have been enforced even more strongly than it already was. Why doesn't he just own his decision at the ballot box?

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Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

Add in a "won 'em all" luminary like Beckenbauer, the toxic Bild newspaper and various footballers' wives mouthing off, the team manager, poor old Berti Vogts, hardly stood a chance.

Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

But what a decent bloke Vogts was and still is. And, a full 32 years later, what gobshites the likes of Effenberg and Basler still are. No reflection, no compassion, no regrets.

Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

Given the sheer number of alpha males who were still in the team from 1990 - Matthäus, Klinsmann, Brehme - plus the no less arrogant newcomers like Effenberg and Basler, it's a miracle the team held together so well and made it to the quarter finals.

Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

If you run out of things to say about art and culture, the new thing is to attack art and culture itself.

The Guardian@theguardian.com

The hill I will die on: Let me tell you the one big problem with art galleries. There’s too much art | Isabel Brooks

theguardian.comThe hill I will die on: Let me tell you the one big problem with art galleries. There’s too much art | Isabel BrooksThey often boast thousands of great works – but who needs that? I can only really engage with one or two before feeling exhausted, says freelance writer Isabel Brooks
Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

Not sure what bothers me more, the bonkers opinions or the random capitalisation 🙄

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Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

This is a complete no-brainer: ➡️ Save €€€ ➡️ Tap into an infinite source of energy ➡️ Reduce your reliance on dubious foreign regimes that happen to be sitting on the oil ➡️ Reduce your carbon footprint

Tina Casey@tinamcasey.bsky.social

Balcony solar insists upon itself... cleantechnica.com/2026/04/03/b... #balconysolar #pluginsolar #plugandplaysolar #solarpower #solar #solarenergy #solarpanels #sustainability #electricity #utilitybills #energypolicy #energy #renewableenergy #renewables #cleanenergy #greenenergy

cleantechnica.comBalcony Solar Is Here, And It's Not Just For BalconiesBalcony solar kits can be placed anywhere sun is available, feeding clean electricity directly into household wiring.
Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

Lovely #Conwy ❤️ 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Historic Buildings & Places@hbap1924.bsky.social

Ever wondered what the UK’s tiniest house looks like? 🏠 The Smallest House in Great Britain sits on #Conwy’s quayside and is widely recognised as the smallest house in Great Britain, measuring just 72 inches (≈ 183 cm) wide. This Grade II listed building was lived in until 1900.

Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

Restyling a lawless, unprovoked and brutal attack and kidnapping as "peaceful and democratic transition" takes some doing, but bravo ...

Ursula von der Leyen@vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu

Following very closely the situation in Venezuela. We stand by the people of Venezuela and support a peaceful and democratic transition. Any solution must respect international law and the UN Charter.

Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

Remind us all who confirmed Rubio? You and the other Democrats have got blood on your hands.

Senator Andy Kim@kim.senate.gov

Secretaries Rubio and Hegseth looked every Senator in the eye a few weeks ago and said this wasn’t about regime change. I didn’t trust them then and we see now that they blatantly lied to Congress.

Ben
@benbl.bsky.social

That's bound to bring back those all- important farming votes for Labour ...

Andrew Sparrow@andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social

Inheritance tax for farmers to kick in at £2.5m, not £1m as planned, in government U-turn to help farming community - www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...