Thanks to the AIPS Sport Media Awards for shortlisting my @thefence.bsky.social feature In the Shadow of the Mountain.

Great workshop on Unmanned Systems in Mountain Warfare by the NATO MWCoE. "UAS fundamentally transform command, manoeuvre and protection - integration, dispersion, and counter-UAS measures are critical for survivability and effectiveness on the modern battlefield, especially in mountainous terrain."

Lviv, June 2025 and today following a Russian drone attack. I saw the news and immediately remembered the beautiful afternoon light on the monastery and surrounding historic UNESCO buildings.

The IWMF, who supported our Ukraine trip last June, has been designated as an "undesirable" organisation by Russian authorities for supporting journalists to report on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. www.iwmf.org/2026/03/iwmf...

A magical trip to Uganda with WildPlaces Africa. Still processing thoughts to put it all into words, so here are some images to do the talking.

Thanks to the AIPS Sport Media Awards for longlisting my @thefence.bsky.social feature In the Shadow of the Mountain.

Looking for scientists working on conservation projects on the front lines of endangered species research and recovery with strong human angles (overcoming obstacles, challenges etc.) for a potential film project. Based anywhere. Baby Bornean Orangutan photo for attention/timeline cleanse. Thanks!

A woman was researching her late husband's family but became stuck. She saw my post in a Lithuanian genealogy group, noting similar names/places. I realised that my gt-gt-grandmother and her husband's grandmother were sisters and shared birthplace/details. A good day on the internet!

Four years of war. During our reporting trip to Ukraine last summer, I asked people about their hopes for the future of the country. It felt futile to ask the same, unoriginal question, but each person had their own unique wishes and shared a nuanced interpretation. [1/7]

No context Epstein files: "Dud you see your pal Andrew on the News last night climbing down the London skyscraper? Crazy! They make the Royals work to hard over there."

Ski mountaineering makes its Winter Olympics debut today at Milano Cortina 2026. Last year, I wrote a short explainer for the British Mountaineering Council on the format and the ones to watch. www.thebmc.co.uk/en/what-is-s...

Edinburgh scenes from the last few months.

Vienna.

My story for @pravda.ua has just been published in Ukrainian. life.pravda.com.ua/society/koha...

@natalie-berry.com is gazing on our Wonderwall

"Unlike us, Lithuanians never took a holiday from history." Researching my ancestors' stories - from the closest who lived under and then fled the Russian Empire, to those who endured deportations and loss under the USSR - has been a very valuable history lesson. www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...

New work for Ukrainska Pravda. A story that reverses the situation faced by many military families in Ukraine: a father left behind, grieving the loss of his soldier-partner while raising the daughters she entrusted to him: "I love you, take care of the children." www.pravda.com.ua/eng/articles...

Alex Honnold's Instagram following has jumped up by 700,000 in the days since his free solo of Taipei 101. (23-27 January).

I'll be live on BBC Radio Scotland from 16:45 GMT talking about Alex Honnold's free solo of Taipei 101. Tune in!

When the word count is quite literally your Everest.

Lots of mixed opinions on Alex Honnold's solo of Taipei 101 today, which will be streamed live on Netflix (!). Many won't know about his non-profit, Honnold Foundation, to which he donates around 1/3 of his earnings. My interview with him for FT HTSI from 2023: www.ft.com/content/fdc1...

My feature for Ukrainska Pravda about love, loss and sacrifice in the Azov Regiment. Veteran Mykola Ivanchenko’s girlfriend Maryna Aleksiuk died while defending the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in May 2022. Now he's raising her two daughters. Thank you to the IWMF for supporting my reporting trip.

Best BBC interview background ever.

Looking forward to reading these.

Nice to see my Ukraine stories in print in their respective 5280 Magazine issues.

Ukrainian DuoLingo doesn't mince words.

First crochet project complete. Only took me a year and gave me crochet elbow! (It's a sloth btw).

When you're explaining quantum mechanics to the BBC at 3pm but you've got a climbing session on the Moon Board at 4pm...

Finally making progress on last year's Christmas present. It will eventually morph into an animal, with any luck....

2025 was a varied and interesting first year as a full-time freelance journalist, taking me to Ukraine and Borneo. More stories are due out in Jan/Feb, but here are some highlights! 1. On Lebanon's developing mountain tourism industry for @newlinesmag.bsky.social newlinesmag.com/spotlight/th...

Thinking and climbing on the Mushroom Rock, Gozo.

“I'm coming back, more and more after this,” he says, before asking: “When is this place open?” My story on the Edinburgh branch of the UK-wide Refugees Rock climbing and community project in @scotnational.bsky.social. www.thenational.scot/news/refugee...

Back in London for the first time in a year.

Chris "Swampy" Garrett was a respected British EOD in Ukraine. A friend had suggested interviewing him, but we would never meet. Garrett co-founded the non-profit Prevail with Courtney Pollock, his paramedic partner and mother to their two-year-old. This is their story. 5280.com/what-one-col...

While "peace" negotiations continue, remember that Russia could simply stop the war at any time.

When a cat disrupts the interview...

My Lithuanian-inspired vyshyvanka-esque shirt by Etnodim arrived from Kyiv. I ordered it after my trip, when I realised that they make Baltic designs too (I have Lithuanian ancestry). Their shop has been damaged multiple times by Russian attacks, but they keep going.

A line about parental absence and presence during war that stayed with me from the interview, and still hits just as hard each time I read it.

How am I supposed to work like this? (Answer: as normal but better).

My story on the demining work of @thehalotrust.bsky.social in Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine for The National has now been republished in full on the IWMF website. www.iwmf.org/reporting/in...

Sobering to see Google imagery from 2015 in Lviv's Field of Mars while researching for a story. The field held buried WW1 and Soviet soldiers, which were moved in 2022 following Russia's full invasion of Ukraine. A friend knew 3 men buried here and the cemetery is expanding. My photo: June 2025.

Durian fruit and dragons in Singapore.

New piece for Climbing.com on the mental side of climbing injuries. www.climbing.com/skills/how-t...

From our poultry correspondent:

Terrible news. Jonas and I were third cousins twice removed and he helped with family details that the Lithuanian archives are currently working on. I'm grateful that we met so fortuitously last year and devastated to read this. A kind and talented man. www.berkshireeagle.com/news/local/j...

Grateful to be a finalist for the Banff Mountain Book Festival article prize among excellent company for my @thefence.bsky.social story 'In the Shadow of the Mountain'. www.banffcentre.ca/articles/mou...

At the playpark (Roman Bath House) versus the walk home from the playpark...

Next on the list.

I interviewed Força Ukraine about educating frontline combat medics. 'As a small team with a small budget, sometimes it feels like we’re not making a difference. Then someone messages: “I used what you taught me, and I saved somebody.”' www.5280.com/how-colorado...

[🌍 Courrier Weekend ⏸] 🇱🇧"Ils pensent que c’est un pays désertique, mais il n’y a aucun désert, et 80 % des terres sont des paysages de montagne", lit-on dans New Lines Magazine.