It is mad that we have, somehow, allowed net zero - a policy common to all major parties under 5 years ago and supported by a majority of the public - to become a synoym for mad radicalism. It is doubly mad that we've allowed this to happen during the hottest summer on record.

When you get to my age, all your cultural references generate blank looks from colleagues. Including the ones that weren't at all niche in the 1980s. "Coca Cola! Symbol of free West!"

The BBC capture the important moment of tonight's semi-final.

Nice one Spain, the BBC's already cancelled the planned Agincourt recreation intro for Sunday night, the archers are crying, hope you're happy.

What a time to be alive www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

Wow! - What an AMAZING morning @Bempton_Cliffs I was delivering a 'Birds in Flight Photography Workshop' this morning when I spotted this very rare Brown Booby flying past the view point. Here is a fairly cropped record shot - what a bird... Steve YCN

One of the recent housing developments in Swindon has a Thursday Street, named for Jasper Fforde's wonderful heroine. And there's an Eyre close, named after Fforde's version of her rather than the original.

A joy of re-reading the Jasper Fforde books (about the police force *inside* fiction) after such a long time are the jokes that are new to me because I’ve read more books since then.

One of the internet’s load-bearing tweets, the entire pathology of the modern right perfectly encapsulated

Church friend is currently in a care home and has phoned me to (among other things) complain that they keep putting on world war 2 music for the residents, the oldest of whom were small children during the war.

Those who don’t learn from the pasta are doomed to reheat it I am not even sorry you read this

She's an expert nuclear safety engineer so I think it's fair to say it would go very badly for me and everyone else.

The satire works not cos Binface is a daft idea, but because Farage is.

Well.

Protection racket from a gangster president.

💚 Thanks to everyone who visited us at #GlobalBirdfair! It was great to meet so many of you and celebrate dragonflies. Special thanks to our Patron, Megan McCubbin, and President, Mike Dilger, for stopping by. Our members make events like this possible. Join our community: buff.ly/xC5dtrP

‘It’s amazing how extreme things have become on Twitter!’ Yes, things became more extreme when the site announced ‘we will pay you for how much of a reaction you get for your extremism.’

One day news organisations will switch from beach scenes to, for example, parched and burning railway embankments in Walthamstow to illustrate their climate change induced heatwave horror stories. But not today.

for those who wanted it: my best boi, back home and back to waking me up for hugs at stupid o'clock in the morning again.

"Verify your age" Green Shield Stamps

Vaccines are so effective they created an entire generation of people who think the diseases they prevented weren’t a big deal.

in a world of Lindsey Grahams, be a Sam Neill

Under Over Over Despite its name, the London Underground isn't always underground. This was taken at West Hampstead, where Underground trains pass above the London Overground. I've made it a mission to find every spot in London where this topsy-turvy railway quirk happens.

I think my favorite Sam Neill fact was that he had goats named after all his favorite costars

Great to see so many wildflowers (on land + #AquaticPlants) for tonight's #WildFlowerHour. Huge thanks to everyone who shared your lovely pix! Forecast is for hot dry weather continuing across much of Britain & Ireland next week. How will this affect our plants? Let's catch up next week & find out!

Good evening, and here are this week's submissions for #WildflowerHour. It's been a quiet week, what with Le Tour and everything: Our glorious Tansy plants growing from bare soil round a telegraph pole at the end of our drive.

Looking for #aquaticplants along Scriveslby Beck with the Lincolnshire Flora Group yesterday. Little water remaining, but we found flowering Blue Water-speedwell and Peppermint, as well as Creeping Yellow-cress in the park...1st record in VC54 since 2017. @bsbibotany.bsky.social #wildflowerhour

#Wildflowerhour A few of the many wonderful Dark Red Helleborines (Epipactis atrorubens) seen on the limestone pavements of South Cumbria this week.

Not sure if Lesser Skullcap is technically one of the #AquaticPlants but I think this one from yesterday in the New Forest was the fist of this species which has allowed me a photo without kneeling in a bog to get near it. Very kind of it. #WildflowerHour

This one from the New Forest confused me yesterday. I think it's Betony. #WildflowerHour

The oddly-shaped flowers of Lousewort, growing among the grass in the New Forest yesterday. #WildflowerHour

I was already planning to spend Saturday looking for Round-leaved Sundew in the New Forest. So of course, given the challenge was #AquaticPlants, it wasn't in flower. This set of buds was as close as I got. But I did see Marsh St John;s Wort, Bog Pimpernel and Lesser Spearwort. #WildflowerHour

Bird's-foot Trefoil for #WildflowerHour. Plus a Silver-studded Blue which is both one of its #PollinatorPals and also one of its predators, as its the main food-plant for the caterpillars.

In 2022 we reintroduced Creeping Marshwort (Helosciadium repens). Endangered on the GB #RedList, there are only a handful of sites where it now grows. This week, we sheared round and over it to simulate the grazing it needs. @bsbibotany.bsky.social @freshwaterhabitats.bsky.social #WildflowerHour

No Bog Asphodel in flower yesterday - already over and most of the boggy bits were dry. But this one was at Thursley on Monday, still just about with us at the time. #WildflowerHour #AquaticPlants

Water Plantain in the New Forest yesterday, seen while hunting up and down the stream for dragonflies (very successfully). #WildflowerHour #AquaticPlants

The Common Fleabane in my front yard is still flowering, so it's still compulsory for me to share a photo for #WildflowerHour. It's absolutely at its peak at the moment.

"Oh, I know from personal experience this man was capable of great compassion, wisdom and empathy even though he never chose to demonstrate any of these qualities when doing his very important job that impacts millions of people." That's worse, right? You get how that's worse?

Evolution with Chris Packham premieres tomorrow on BBC Two and iPlayer! We have been working on this programme for nearly two years, and I am so excited for people to watch it. I am so proud of this project and of our team – here’s a short thread ahead of release! (1/14)

historians can you confirm whether or not this is the original "t shirt raising a lot of questions answered by the t shirt"

All good things come to an end. The journey home to the UK from the Tarn begins with a train from Lavaur to Toulouse. The views in the early morning sunshine are gorgeous.🌻🌻🌻🌻 #TrainsNotPlanes

A pair of Roseate Terns for your Sunday summer scroll! What moments in nature have made you stop and smile recently? Share your sightings below. 👇

John was very proud of his logo, so this is what I do if I sign Unbound copies now.

Despite a paper trail proving otherwise, Unbound’s administrators claimed they still owned the rights to Effin’ Birds and threatened to sue Penguin Random House if PRH paid me any royalties for my ongoing book sales. Wasn’t resolved until two months ago. They tried to bankrupt me out of spite.

👇👇

🐉 That's a wrap on #DragonflyWeek! Thanks to everyone who shared photos, joined events and recorded dragonflies with us. The season is only just getting started, so keep exploring wetlands, recording your sightings on iRecord and sharing your adventures. Here's to a summer full of dragonflies! 💚

And Alex Hartley is making this point on TMS, too. E(W)CB press office a shambles? E(W)CB failing to give women's cricket as anything other than a bit part?

I'm sure this won't be news to many of my followers, but just in case: these are really, really good.

Silver-studded Blue #butterfly seen on Monday during a dragonfly-hunting trip to Thursley NNR on Monday. Also saw my first Southern Hawker of the year, but that wouldn't sit still for a photo. #UKWildlife #invertebrates