📌 ICYMI — Nigel Farage Took £50,000 from Crypto Firms Then Said He Was ‘Not Aware’ of the Industry Funding His Party The self-proclaimed 'straight-talking' Reform UK leader has been far from straight about who is funding his attempted rise to power, reports Iain Overton

Watched an episode of BBC ‘The Secret Garden’ wildlife prog. Badgers like peanuts it claimed. Put some peanuts and a carrot out. Just after midnight could hear some munching sounds below (hot night, windows open). They like peanuts! Also forgot to set cam date/time. #cambridgeshire #badger #peanuts

Even the woodpigeons can’t cope with the heat / sun. Clearly welcomes the shade of the smokebush shrub. #heatwave #cambridgeshire #wildlife

Shopping for a #LOTR fan for Father’s Day? Next stop:

The Pint of Science event at The Isaac Newton went better than expected. Talks on circular economy / ewaste and PFAS chemicals/ forever chemicals Hadn’t known about the quiz. Even more surprised to win. Not really a “quizzed”. #pintofscience #science #pub #cambridge

It’s that time of year. The dragonflies emerging from the pond onto the irises. Then the emergent adults drying their wings etc. Today - four-spotted chasers. #cambridgeshire #dragonfly #pondlife

Please sign the petition to help get Glyphosate out of UK food. Often added to dry crops out. Banned from home use systemic weed killer owing to cancer risk. #uk #petition #pesticide #food #health act.soilassociation.org/cut-the-chem...

The other night went into garden to watch shooting stars. Heard something drinking from pond. Then realised it was a badger heading towards me. Stopped 1m away. Last night one appeared at patio window looking in. So put carrot and apple out. #badger #wildlife #cambridgeshire

@europeanspod.bsky.social there seems to be a random double bass in the background during the piece on citizen’s panels. Quite distracting.

@neo4j.com Without Neo4J and its UI we’d never have been able to describe our architecture framework, generate the HTML and RDF /XML / Turtle / RDFa ontology descriptions and SHACL to validate view content. Thanks! trakmetamodel.sourceforge.io/metamodel/no...

@europeanspod.bsky.social Katie - can you please not say “UK (or Britain) and Europe” - we are still in Europe if not the EU. It’s bad enough that the EU is pushing out infographics which exclude the UK but state some statistic in terms of ‘Europe’ when it should be the EU.

Thread from the @bylinetimespod.bsky.social - with @josiahmortimer.bsky.social @goldbergradio.bsky.social @peterjukes.bsky.social 1. How small crypto gifts dodge scrutiny

This seems to incentivise behaviours we don’t want and doesn’t seem to be primarily in the patient’s interests. Then you can’t see how it made the decision… www.eff.org/press/releas... #healthcare #transparency #ai

Can recommend watching h the Ginger Mason. Really interesting to learn about medieval masonary techniques from closing the use of hot lead to fix in place. youtu.be/51wjRZUFudo?... #history #cathedral #masonary #england

A reminder that eels are *the* most smuggled animal on earth, and that the global black market for eels is worth an estimated $4-5 billion. Interpol has called it “Europe’s ivory trade.”

Confirmed sightings of Asian / Yellow Legged Hornets at Monks Wood Cambridgeshire. Honeybees are prey. These ARE NOT our native European Hornets. Look for yellow legs and darker body. www.nationalbeeunit.com/diseases-and... If found report via the Asian Hornets app. #asianwasp #honeybee

Colin and I worked together for 2.5 years on TfL / London Underground projects. And then he retired and is a brilliant watercolour artist. Clearly a man of many parts! Check this out. colinwoodgallery.com/collections/... #art #watercolour #nature

Let's talk about eels & dams. 'Cause dams are a problem for eels now, but they haven't always been. Eels can live out of water for a while, & travel overland. Young eels climb up & around small waterfalls as they migrate. And so many medieval dams weren't a problem for them. 1/7 🗃️

Last year’s IRS staff cuts weakened the anti-money laundering watchdog’s office within the agency, which is tasked with overseeing protections against dirty money in crypto exchanges and other so-called money service businesses.

🔴Nigel Farage’s Long History of Crying ‘Fraud’ Whenever His Party Loses Elections The Reform UK leader has a long record of blaming his own party’s election defeats on “cheating” by ethnic minorities, yet no evidence of it can ever be found, reports @josiahmortimer.bsky.social

🧵Reform's Matt Goodwin has said he is “not part of the establishment”, and criticised the “elite class”. But we found that his definition of “the elite” excludes the bankers, asset managers and global real estate executives who pay him /1 bylinetimes.com/2026/02/25/r...

You can now recycle medical / pill blister packs at Boots chemists shops in the UK and they’ll give you 100 Advantage points Very good idea to cut down on household waste / pollution. www.boots-uk.com/newsroom/new... #recycling #chemist #waste #medical #household

Offered on Spotify. Must be an NRA-inspired remake. Not at all the same film I fear #humour #englishlanguage

Measles has one of the highest basic reproduction numbers (R₀) of any disease (12 to 18), meaning one infected person can spread it to 12 to 18 others in a fully susceptible population, making it extremely contagious. Need 95% vaccination status to achieve herd immunity. Get vaccinated!!

Donald Trump has threatened to sue Rupert Murdoch, and luckily Private Eye managed to tap the phone conversation between the 94 year old media mogul and the President of the United States...

Amid multiple national crises, Trump spent Thursday morning posting—not for the first time—about how his predecessor Barack Obama should be arrested, and how Georgia election workers should be prosecuted.

“…travellers to the U.S. will be forced to …, submit their social media … last five years and email addresses … last ten years, including .. family members. They’re also proposing the collection of DNA.” www.privacyinternational.org/news-analysi... So the US govt really wants to take the piss

Why doesn’t the Pirate of the Caribbean know that 250 years ago some boat loads of religious dissidents landed in North America and founded the US? If it’s good enough for the US it was good enough for Greenland 800 years earlier.

There are millions of abandoned oil wells across the United States. A group of unlikely activists in Texas is making sure no one forgets they need to be cleaned up.

@europeanspod.bsky.social Great Christmas episode. The segment on music hit me thinking. What are the country differences? Surely not everyone is paying Noddy Holder’s pension? Do the 70s & 80s dominate elsewhere?

Part of the mystery solved. A while back in May the drain cover kept being moved some feet away overnight. Put a brick in it and the cover got moved again. Only when I placed a much heavier roof tile did it stop. What is it doing though? #badger #wildlife #uk #mammal #unexpectedbehaviour

Pretty shocking. In the uk there is no testing / screening for lead poisoning (unlike US), no reqt to inform warn of affected land, properties. Flooding spreads it. And no appetite to quantify or change #podcast #polution #environment #uk #health #legislation www.ft.com/content/d25e...

You can’t beat this greeting for the new day. The semi-resident Greylag and Canada geese who visit around dawn and before dusk every day. Each day they choose a different part of the field to graze. And then one of them decides it’s time to move on… #geese #birds #cambridgeshire #uk #wildlife

For anyone not keen on providing the UK govt with the means to track every time you provide ID #government #privacy #identity petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...

Out hanging the washing out this morning when I heard some commotion behind me. A group of 7 or more long-tailed tits were rooting about in the scots pine tree. Weren’t at all bothered about me standing underneath them. #bird #longtailed-tit

Spotted this in Lyon. Is this a water fountain for dogs? Looks to be a bowl-like receptacle underneath tap. #france #lyon #question

Must be the hot weather. Grass snakes much like buses. Surprised us both when I went to get the watering can. #reptile #snake

Saw some disturbance on the pond surface. Then a head moving from side to side surveying the surface. Had to approach from behind and downwind since grass snakes are very shy. Apart from accidental surprises - the last in amongst the rhubarb - I’ve never managed to get so close. #uk #reptile #snake

In 2025 in the UK it isn’t legal to have an abortion - you’re just exempted if you meet certain conditions. Reform et al want to criminalise abortion. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... Add your name to the portion to protect the right to choose. you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/de... #uk #law

Opened the blind to find this little Pied Wagtail and sibling on roof and another two on the grass. Not at all fussed about me. #bird #wildlife

A few of the local visitors (and this excludes a grass snake in the rhubarb patch that surprised me) 2 hares (mating), green woodpecker and common toad. #mammal #hare #bird #amphibian #uk #cambridgeshire

Tiny Mint Moth. Unsurprisingly near some mint. Never knew of such things. I suspect that all too often we are completely unaware of what is in our vicinity. Insects never get much good PR or care because they’re not photogenic. #moth #wildlife #insect

@k8lister.bsky.social I feel that some verification is required 😉 pca.st/6i88egmh

From one extreme to the other in the garden. The heron perched at the top of a fir calculating its chances on getting to the pond. The tiny wren scratching around in the pots. #wildlife #garden #heron #wren #birds

It looks like the independence of future US statistics and funding very much under attack now. pca.st/episode/4b69... #government #doge #assurance #statistics

@timharford.ft.com just imagine if independent control of the ONS changed and the budget got axed. In the US it’s happening - pca.st/episode/4b69...

Neulich berichtete das polnische Investigativmedium @vsquare.bsky.social, dass die Heritage Foundation nicht nur Amerika umbauen möchte sondern offenbar auch die Europäische Union zurückbauen will: vsquare.org/heritage-fou...

Like many people I suspect, I didn’t realise that digital court transcripts are routinely deleted in the UK making it almost impossible to challenge an unfair conviction theconversation.com/convicting-t... #law #uk

The UK is supposedly working on a trade deal with the US. We know that the US believes that higher standards in the UK and EU are unfair. So what standards are the UK lowering to allow US goods? Food? This will ruin farmers, environment and welfare.