"Heatwaves are expected to exceed 40C in all parts of the UK by 2050... About nine in 10 UK homes are likely to overheat." www.theguardian.com/environment/...

5am sunrise 🌅

Sun up before 6 am, sun down after 8.30 pm. The next four months are the best of the year.

We've seen a lot of divisive language and misinformation about people seeking safety lately. This is the reality of claiming asylum and being a refugee in Scotland 👇

❓ What can #grantseekers do on #GrantAdvisorUK? • Leave anonymous reviews for any UK #funder • See other fundraisers' experience of funders - with information on length of application and amount requested • Read funders' responses to reviews • Check out 600+ independent reviews 👉 buff.ly/3esmUuk

I'm a fan of (and subscriber to) @glasgowbell.bsky.social. It's notable how much of their excellent journalism is basically a result of simply having sufficient curiosity to run a search on Companies House. If only more of our media would #FollowTheMoney!

Will humanity’s insatiable appetite for meat be met through technology or will it consume the planet? www.theguardian.com/environment/...

What a terrific book cover! #illustration

We are seeking community members to get involved with the leadership and decision making for our upcoming Advancing Racial Justice Fund. The closing date for applications is 9am, 12th January 2025⤵️ www.therobertsontrust.org.uk/news/communi...

Great to hear they'll be a brand new Screen Machine on the road from summer 2026. Pleased that Wm Grant Foundation was able to make a small contribution towards the cost. www.bbc.com/news/article...

More of this, please! www.barrheadnews.com/news/2563014...

Freedom is just another name for “a gap in the law”.

Given what we know about the emissions associated with beef production, we should be placing as much emphasis on transitioning to chicken burgers as we are to EVs!

"Despair’s cheerleaders offer the same message that institutions all around us do: that power resides in the few, at the top. Part of resistance must consist in refusing to believe them..." Another brilliantly motivating read from @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social www.newstatesman.com/environment/...

A courteous but very impressive rebuke to Nigel Farage from the Bishop of Oxford. "I heard no compassion in what you said...". "I disagree profoundly with your attempts to ... increase fear of the stranger in our communities". Do read. blogs.oxford.anglican.org/an-open-lett...

I feel this is a general principle that makes real change so hard to achieve. It's not so much getting the new stuff started, it's getting the old things stopped.

'It is being auctioned by Savills, which describes it as in need of modernisation..' > 'modernisation' is doing some heavy lifting there, as expected to cost up to £3m. Vital that someone with the experience & ability to raise that kind of cash is successful at auction. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

If you, too, reside 'beyond the Tartan Curtain' you might be spitting out your porridge when you read about the author's account of moving to his 'Highland fastness' close by the 'low-key township' of Pitlochry... www.countrylife.co.uk/travel/whate...

Fascinating bit of Southside Glasgow history. First woman to hold a helicopter licence? Commuting from Ayrshire to Cathcart by chopper... In the 1930s? It's all here ⬇️

Maybe we could find ways of illustrating deadly weather events that put huge strain on public services, affect education, reduce productivity and endanger workers without images of ice creams, deckchairs and kids frolicking in fountains? www.climatevisuals.org/how-do-you-p...

hottest day of the year

Latest edition of this annual report on UK grant-making. Loads of data to play with and some helpful analyses by contributors from different perspectives. Draws on data published on 360 Giving's platform AND additional research to create the most comprehensive & up to date picture we have.

Had the privilege of visiting Drake Music Scotland yesterday, meeting staff & some of the artists they work with. Supported by Wm Grant Foundation through our Scottish Culture & Heritage strand. This lovely piece for digital harp & cello = a great way to start your day: youtu.be/Y3MCMPxlusc?...

Had a couple of conversations this week about the distribution of renewable community benefit funds in Scotland. Here's a directory (with map). Info on each fund is variable but contains links to fund managers and reports where available: localenergy.scot/projects-ove...

Magic Spad Theory, the Axis of Anecdotes and the Pyramid of Indifference. Why has it taken me so long to discover this Policy 101 note from Giles Wilkes? www.civilservant.org.uk/library/Wilk...

Across the globe, a significant majority of people want their governments to take more action on climate change and for countries to work together to tackle it. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

In a humanitarian crisis, give money, not stuff. laist.com/news/what-ha...

Another one-take tour de force by the brilliant OK Go. youtu.be/gz9BRl7DVSM?...

“Er, my question is really in two parts…” From the new Private Eye, out now.

(1/3) ☀️We are hiring: Festival Manager Enthusiastic about events? Ready to make a mark on Glasgow's cultural heritage scene? Glasgow Doors Open Days wants YOU as our new Festival Manager!

I'd been worrying about our heritage trees being felled by increasingly severe winter storms. But our heritage stones?! www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/5194...

In our team, we've been talking a lot recently about how to withdraw from long-term funding relationships responsibly, in a way that preserves legacy and doesn't harm the funded partner. Meanwhile... www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Welcome new grants programme offering modest but very useful multi-yr revenue grants for community facilities in Scotland serving people affected by poverty or trauma.

"You can’t have an economy without a society, and a society needs somewhere to live." www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Some fine examples of frost flowers, aka feather frost, in my local woods this morning.

2024: 30 years in Scotland, 20 years a parent, 10 years at William Grant Foundation, and - because it's good for old dogs to learn new tricks - 1 year of rollerskating. Best wishes for 2025 when it arrives!

Image in my profile banner is from AG's mural at Greenbank Church, Clarkston.

From time to time, I post threads about monuments and other interesting sites I've visited. Going to be doing that on Bluesky in future. Do follow my other account @totheobelisk.bsky.social if that's of any interest. Got a bit of a backlog from 2024 that I hope to make a start on over the holidays!

Nice to see the new studios at Hospitalfield in Arbroath in this architectural top 5. Wm Grant Foundation is helping to fund the public engagement programme there under our Scottish Culture and Heritage theme. www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

Charities - whatever their cause - have a crucial role to play in ensuring that a response to the environmental crises builds a happier, healthier, and fairer society for all. How could your work contribute? Useful workshop coming up in Feb. #EveryonesEnvironment www.thinknpc.org/events-and-t...

A couple of Scotland's more enigmatically named civil society organisations gearing up for re-brands in early 2025. We already know Sniffer's new name & logo (www.sniffer.org.uk/Blog/sniffer...) and looking forward to the big reveal by Cattanach coming soon: www.cattanach.org.uk

Christmas is a time for giving, but heed the experience of @johnfinnemore.bsky.social's Good King Wenceslas lest yr gifts bring less cheer than you intend. Seasonal illustration of the risks of charity based on donor's assumptions & why giving £ is better than giving stuff! youtu.be/-ZjtdudO6dU?...

Talking philanthropy in Fife today, so took the opportunity for a quick visit to Balcarres Tower in the last of the winter light before heading home. #HilltopMonument #Folly