"If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it." - Roald Dahl

Why I live here.

The British electorate has voted in large numbers to boot out Labour, reasoning that “things can’t get any worse”, despite copious evidence from around the world that they absolutely can. From the new Private Eye, in shops now.

Always worth voting...

Vote Reform. Or we will house *dangerous migrant centres* in your village. And if you vote Green, it will be even worse for you. It's beyond disturbing. The chill wind of threat, thuggery and menace of a kind never before seen in Britain.

Farage thugs manhandle man with pacemaker after he objects to the Reform leader's chauffeur parking in disabled bay that he needs to use. Lovely People. www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

Let's just hope the unthinkable is averted 🙏 Carl Sagan's 'Pale Blue Dot' speech feels prescient, and especially relevant as we contrast the wonders of the Artemis II mission with the actions of a madman. May reason and humanity prevail!

Many people are humanists without knowing it. If you are non-religious and look to science, reason, empathy, and compassion in order to live an ethical and meaningful life, consider doing our quiz to see if you're a humanist too. humanists.uk/humanism/how...

A mind-breaking muddle of news this morning: Humans going further than ever before in space and a lunatic president openly threatening war crimes at home. The sublime and the degenerate. Hard to keep it all in your head at once.

Wes Streeting has vowed to withdraw promised extra specialty training places unless resident doctors call off their next strike His comments drew strong rebuke from doctors who said government should not be using much needed extra training places as a bargaining chip www.bmj.com/content/392/...

Has Wes Streeting really just threatened to withdraw training posts over the junior doctor strike? Absolute scenes www.bmj.com/content/392/...

Fed up with long documents? Here's a short, referenced briefing covering our key points on the government mobility aids consultation, with case studies highlighting important impacts. wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk/our-campaign... #MobilityJustice #DisabilityEquality

Sorry I know the world is in a terrible fix but I've been laughing at this for ten minutes now

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter is backing a proposed fan boycott of World Cup matches in the United States because of the conduct of President Trump and his administration at home and abroad. n.pr/4t3yQtH

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

Seymour Grove junction isn’t even completed and the lights have been knocked over 😒

More than 200,000 Danish citizens have signed a petition to buy California as a response to Trump’s attempt to take Greenland. They say they will provide Californians with “rule of law, universal health care, fact-based politics, and a lifetime supply of Danish pastries.”

He didn't shoot her in the head at point blank range because he felt like he was in danger. He shot her in the head at point blank range because he was furious that she wasn't afraid of him. He shot her in the head at point blank range because he felt emasculated.

America is such a fucked up rogue state.

You don't know what day it is. You're eating countless meals a day with lots of snacks in between. You're napping throughout they day. Either it's the time between Christmas and New Year or you're a cat.

Withington Workhouse, Manchester, 1856 (Manchester Libraries).

Here is a bit of my resignation speech from last night

I’ve now had multiple sources tell me the UK NHS is removing the CDC from its list of reliable sources. Welcome to irrelevance.

“Two-thirds of 2024 Labour voters would rather Sir Keir Starmer abandon his Brexit red lines and join a customs union with the European Union than raise taxes on working people, new polling has revealed.” #Brexit disaster. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

This will be remembered as the most pathetic moment in American history. What a needy fool.

Australia just recorded zero cervical cancer cases in women under 25 for the first time since records began in 1982. The amazing result of HPV vaccination.

Hey Stockport! How's about you do this with your bit of the A6?

Huge shortage of NHS consultants with highest vacancies in Greater London and South East. Paediatrics, psychiatry, surgery and radiology are areas suffering most from lack of consultants. Result of poor NHS workforce planning and overreliance on doctors from overseas bioengineer.org/new-report-w...

The UK must pay attention to those suggesting folks with learning disabilities or autism can access assisted dying with “special care”. There’s no amount of guardrails to make this safe. Look at Canada. Disabled people have MAiD “suggested” to them in lieu of treatment

🔥 Britain is about to launch a new GCSE in natural history – a vital step toward restoring our knowledge of and respect for the natural world.

It’s #NationalPoetryDay. To celebrate we’re sharing poet Jenny Lester’s poem about one of our favourite birds! Enjoy folks 🤎 Sexual Dimorphism in birds or Blackbirds are brown half of the time Dapple brown feather down Speckled white throat When they gave me my name I didn’t get a vote

A recording of the event will be available in the next couple of weeks, but if you would like to like a copy of the Guide, it is now available on our website. wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk/our-campaign...

This makes me very happy

Given importance of health to the voting public, it seems politically naive of Nigel Farage and Reform to have their health policy so closely tied to Dr Aseem Malhotra, whose speech today confirms his switch from once respected clinician to conspiracy theorist quack: www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Covid vaccines do not cause cancer. It seems extraordinary that we have to say that, but health misinformation is being given a huge platform by disgraced ex-doctors linked to extremist politicians. Please don't worry - there is no truth whatsoever to these ridiculous claims.

The employment rate of non-EU born migrants exceeded that of the UK-born for the first time on record. Confirms other evidence that recent migrants (even if they did not arrive on work visas) are very likely to be working/have high employment rates.

The Perseid meteor shower will reach peak activity late this week. Observers are encouraged to consult the meteor-shower calendar for optimal viewing windows and planning. Calendar: www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showe... 🔭☄️🧪 #Perseids #astronomy #meteors #stargazing

Great to see this getting coverage from Disability News Service.

This is so incredibly ridiculously exciting - Mobility aid laws are going to be reviewed and made fit for purpose! Woo! (& yes, I do think this is *that* exciting!) #disability #ActiveTravel #MyCycleMyMobilityAid

Darkly funny: signs appearing across central London, protesting Starmer’s use of anti-terror laws against peaceful pro-Palestine protesters.

Media coverage is fuelling a backlash against e-bikes. But often, the stories aren't even about e-bikes at all. Last week, the BBC reported that an "e-bike" was involved in a serious incident. But it was actually a high-powered electric motorbike. Here's how it got changed...🧵

The #TransPennineTrail might have “low value from a cultural heritage perspective” but it’s shocking that in 2025, a planning application can be made which could disrupt a long-distance walking & cycling route with no alternative provided #ActiveTravel @sustrans.bsky.social @cyclinguk.bsky.social

Evening Light, Blencathra, by Lake District artist Susan H. Glassford. #WomensArt #NorthernArt

Good to see a segment on barriers to women cycling on North West Tonight, spoiled slightly by the TfGM rep talking about the very thing that’s a barrier - routing through poorly lit parks. This not good enough and @cyclinguk.bsky.social should be having words #MyRideOurRight @walkridegm.org.uk

Please everybody. Don't listen to anti-vaxxers. They're murderers by proxy. Good, rigorous science has proved the efficacy of the measles jab over many years. For the sake of your children, and grandchildren, and generations to come, shout them down. Stand up for life! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

"Disabled Labour MP says welfare U-turn would create ‘unethical two-tier system’" Shame on ANY Labour who voted for Keir Starmer and Liz Kendal's two tier welfare system