Ooh ooh I can do this! A day off with plans of bike ride, beers and a live musical!

Patrick Maguire is not a serious person.

Careful now, Andy. The Car Rights Activists will interpret that as mandatory walking.

Happy friday! It's time for the weekly good news thread. What's YOUR good news from the week? What's made you smile? What's brought some joy into the last 7 days? Breaking my usual TV gif rules to show my good news: BABY FOXES LIVING BEHIND MY FENCE.

Today's challenge, if you accept it, is to post about LOCAL stuff, preferably of a non-political nature. Challenge closed to residents of Makerfield. Sorry.

An alarming footnote from this excellent piece on Makerfield. Transport planners and campaigners need to challenge this idea both with Labour councillors/MPs and with their neighbours, because otherwise we're going to see a resurgence in Labour councils making stupid short-term transport decisions.

During the lockdown madness, I had a song fragment stuck in my head for months. It's from my mum's era and she recognised the bit I described, but couldn't place it. Several years later I got a phone call while deep in the Peak District. She'd remembered it! Anyway, enjoy.

I've still never had a good answer as to what happened to the underground car park by Longridge House - the ramps were buried under Shambles West when that was developed. Presumably after 1996 the whole thing was swept away by New Cathedral Street? Go on, help us out internet!

New Swingometer! The Makerfield by-election: High risk, high return. I take a look at the seat on which this Parliament turns open.substack.com/pub/swingome...

I took a ride. The northern end of the High Peak has for years ended in the middle of nowhere. But within the last few years it has been extended to Sterndale Moor running along the edges of fields. It enables walkers and cyclists to avoid the A515 with its fast traffic and a high number of HGVs.

Tempting as it would be to slide into his DMs with a 'What are you thinking, Andy?', I doubt he runs this account.

So that's twice in a week I've been left looking like the local angry nutter because someone thinks it's OK to drive at a pedestrian crossing a road. The quiet residential road where I live, no less.

Tony Vaughan here, failing to understand that road safety is about addressing the source of the danger.

A reminder that if you use silly nicknames for people rather than their name, it makes it much harder for people's mutelists to work. If you're going to talk about, say, Trump or Farage, use their names so we don't see your posts.

This bung is going to only save £60 a year for drivers but will cost tax-payers £2.4bn (yes BILLION). That's 16 times larger than the entire UK-government annual spend on cycling AND walking. Imagine the positive impact that you could make with £2.4bn spent on improving cycling and walking.

Motornormativity is everyone in the comments explaining why it's simply not possible to imagine people going to hospital by any means other than a car, while a fifth of the population does not have access to a car.

Party politics really brings out the worst in people.

We have seen a post by Councillor Dylan Williams today, following his taking over the Highways Portfolio at Rochdale Borough Council. This has raised some significant concerns @walkridegm.org.uk @triciaayr.bsky.social

Mooched quite a few walking miles in Manchester, Salford and Trafford (for about 10 minutes). Really just looking at stuff that's now finished compared with recent visits.

A letter to the leader of Manchester City Council Bev Craig sent after May's remarkable local election results. The full letter can be read here: www.walkridegm.org.uk/2026/05/20/l...

We were back in Leeds last week and the Headingley cycleway is finished. Works really well, and another step in building a network for cycling in north Leeds. There's good separation (even if it's narrow) and no motor vehicle stopping should reduce parking on the cycleway 1/8

Has anyone asked Andy Burnham about HS2? It's not like he's been shy on the subject.

Metanormativity: the assumption that everyone has a Facebook/Instagram/Threads account and therefore unable to see why posting content on those platforms excludes people.

A couple of reading challenges that I am setting myself publicly for additional motivation. First: get my to-read pile down to double digits (currently 111). Second: read the two oldest books in my to-read pile. One of them has been waiting for nearly 30 years.

This is the way.

I'm absolutely delighted that Cabinet has agreed to pilot a locally-led filtered Quiet Lanes policy to improve rural active travel. It's innovative and I'm so proud of my role in it alongside others. Do share, AT policy enthusiasts (short thread) mycouncil.oxfordshire.gov.uk/%28S%2803u25...

Dangerous driving around schools is a national problem. Why are we treating it like a local one? And why are politicians so scared of doing what's necessary to make travel to school safe? www.reddit.com/r/CasualUK/c...

Here's the situation. You're in a rush to catch a train at Oxford Road. You're already late and only have a minute or so to lock up. You push the bike into the stand and the lock fails - you can't seem to get the front lock into place. You miss the train. Seems familiar?

Recommend some classic novellas to me, Bluesky! Something I can read in a couple of sittings, ideally by women and/or in translation.

@slowbikeiain.bsky.social I see the Discovery feed has found you 😬

The National Conversation launched today. This a UK wide listening exercise focused on people’s experiences of community life You can take part via an online survey or organise a discussion group - follow the link for more Findings will inform the Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion

Frank’s Mancs… now available as 1000 piece jigsaw, organic Fairtrade cotton tea towel and high resolution charity download (The Embassy Homeless Charity Manchester) 👇👇👇 www.coldwarsteve.com/2026/03/20/o...

@meandmybigmouth.bsky.social Is it safe to assume that Borges' and Bioy's Book of Fantasy is trapped in the same circle of hell as the di Giovanni translations?

I'm a park bench plaque connoisseur and this is the first one I've ever seen in code. If there's an Alan Turing out there who can decrypt it, let me know.

Don't let the Food Discourse time thieves steal your precious Bluesky time.

@infuzeleeds.bsky.social Hello!

I like to think I'm well informed when it comes to cycling in Greater Manchester. And then crap like this gets installed without seemingly any warning from those responsible. www.reddit.com/r/manchester...

So much about this has me screaming into my motonormativity cushion. Why further subsidise all the wealthy people who drive? Why NOT subsidise the poorer people who don't drive?

Apparently road safety is subject to consultation, and can be worsened if enough people don't like driving at a safer speed.

NYRB Books: love the typesetting and paper stock, mixed feelings about the covers.

Triple-barrelled surnames, for when double-barrelled is too gauche.

New all-time record set on the Leith Walk cycle lane - 2,568 cyclists on 30th April, 2026. There has been another surge in cycling this spring after slow growth in 2025, and last year's record has already been broken 10 times.

There is a lot of chat about the danger posed by the introduction of cycle lanes and floating bus stops on Leith Walk from 2021 onward. Pedestrian casualties, Leith Walk, by year: 2015: 15 2016: 13 2017: 9 2018: 10 2019: 12 (including two fatalities) 2020: 3 2021: 0 2022: 2 2023: 0 2024: 2

That this isn’t in the Top 10 is a scandal.

@markmiodownik.bsky.social Hi Mark - can you offer any advice about safely buying third-party laptop batteries? We have an otherwise-functional laptop that needs a replacement, but I'm wary of faceless online sellers touting batteries, and the manufacturer no longer supports this device.

If you care so much about a typo in your posts, proof the damn things first. Otherwise, just accept that typos happen, or delete and repost with corrections.

Asking kindly for @bsky.app to give us a way to stop an individual's reposts in our timelines. It's such a useful way to separate someone's actual thoughts from what can otherwise be a drone of loud-mouths getting reposted.

I… think I might just unfollow people if it's going to be like this till the by-election.

One for "things that only transport nerds take photos of" list. Double red lines outside of London!

I think also, which speaks to points @robfordmancs.bsky.social has made, don’t mistake volumes of Reform votes for depth of feeling or loyalty. A lot of people feel Reform as the current fuck you vehicle, but aren’t in love with it. The allegiance is shallow