It the little things in life and the unexpected that I love. I always appreciate the small acts of kindness.

What fresh hell is this?

Bagpuss to the theme from Minder.

We are a community of kindness and connectivity or we are less. If we can’t manifest this in our behaviours we fail ourselves as well as those around us.

Samuel Pepys' diary entry for this day in 1665 recalls a stay at Mrs Clerke's house, where he left a surprise (or two) in the chimney...

Every Boxing Day, Ludlow Hunt lets dozens of hounds run loose through Ludlow town centre — something any ordinary dog owner would be fined for. But Shropshire Council turns a blind eye, giving hunts privileges denied to everyone else. 👉 Sign the petition: protectthewild.org.uk/ludlow-hunt/

The government wants to strip away your right to challenge destructive projects like Heathrow’s third runway. They’re even considering pulling the UK out of the Aarhus Convention — an international treaty that guarantees ordinary people the power to hold corporations and politicians to account.

"This world that we've tumbled into is a world of fiction!" "Doctor Who: The Mind Robber" episode 3 (1968). #DoctorWho

This is utterly horrific. Literally blocking the ability of people to object to nature being trashed and destroyed. What a lovely govt we have!! www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Velocipede [vuh-LAH-suh-peed] (n.) - An early form of the bicycle, usually having two or three wheels, that is propelled by the rider. A ‘bone-shaker’. Used in a sentence: “The velocipede was discovered days later, leaning gently against a locked door, its handlebars inexplicably damp.”

Brains, only 25¢. 🧠

The tree you climbed as a child. Gone. The Swifts over your town. Gone. The air you breathe. Polluted. The river. Unsafe. This is the reality of deregulation. Cutting protections would mean disaster for nature & our economy. Our CEO sets out why: rspb.org.uk/whats-happen... 👈

BREAKING: Nature Scot have told Protect the Wild that 485 gannet chicks were massacred in the 2025 'Guga Hunt' but they say they do not know how the birds were killed despite telling us "Birds taken must be killed immediately and in a humane manner" Needless slaughter.

Animals aren’t ‘pests’. They’re living beings trying to survive in the scraps of nature we’ve left them. Yet the first response from so many people and companies is always the same: kill them. Fox in the garden? Kill them. Birds near an airport? Kill them. It’s madness.

Madness. This is what the brilliant people at Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) are facing simply for trying to stop the illegal trapping and killing of birds in Cyprus. Countless migrating songbirds are killed every year so they can be eaten as part of the traditional ‘ambelopoulia’ dish.

"Someone's in trouble..." "Doctor Who: Planet of Evil" part 1 (1975). #DoctorWho #DrWho

Free running snares are still LEGAL in England, it's a joke. Add your name to our 80,000+ strong petition today: protectthewild.org.uk/ban-snares/

I'm pretty sure more of RTD's intended (but not the actual) target audience of kids would watch in the evenings as opposed to spring days when they're out enjoying the sun and, you know, being kids. And the schedule gets moved around so much in spring, and the programming doesn't compliment it.

One of the weirdest hills RTD dies on is that he insists on spring starts even though this last season would've played better as prime time autumn TV with hot chocolate and dark evenings. He's unmovable on this, no other showrunner except him is as strict on when the show starts.

Paludamentum [puh-loo-duh-MEN-tum] (n.) - A royal cloak modeled after ones that were worn by Roman generals and chief officers. Used in a sentence: “Just a tad overdressed for the debutante ball, Lester wore a rich scarlet paludamentum that was fastened by an ornate clasp over his left shoulder.”

It's worth noting Hinchcliffe is probably aware that 25 minute instalments is not actually how TV is made now, but the broad point of "why not just do hour long two-part serials" will mean, in the current format, potentially four classic serials ala Season 7 or 25/26. RTD just needs to change.

I hope Hinchcliffe also points out that writing a multi-part story means writing a story in parts, not two totally different episodes, one which is nothing but build-up, and combining them with the same characters, which is RTD (and a lot of the revival's) default handle on multi-part stories.

So on top of former writers and Doctors, now we have former producers rightfully pointing out issues with RTD's current approach to Doctor Who. Given RTD cribbed one of Hinchcliffe's most acclaimed stories, maybe NOW he'll listen? Two parts. 60 minutes each. Easy peasy.

#DoctorWho Totally agree with Philip Hinchcliffe here. The pacing in the Classic Era was much better due to the longer stories. Though I'd do 2 50min episodes per story rather than 4 25min eps. I think that'd work better for TV nowadays. www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/do...

#MobyDick Well, Captain Ahab might be able to help.

Always nice to stop and listen to the birds.

In 1879, ‘Punch’ predicted video calls: In this cartoon, parents ‘set up an electric camera obscura over their bedroom mantel-piece, and gladden their eyes with the sight of their Children at the Antipodes, and converse gaily with them through the wire’.

The bird shooting industry has had a free pass for too long, watch this space.. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Putting aside how the UK government usually responds to these petitions by simply saying 'no', seeing this hit a million signatures in like a day kinda shows how much people REALLY do not want this. So yeah, keep signing it. Let's see how high this can go! petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...

#DoctorWho Not as old as 'Eustace', but still... As long as there's not a pentagram on the top, we should be fine. #ImageOfTheFendahl

Woebegone [WOH-buh-gon] (adj.) - Sad or miserable; afflicted by misfortune or grief. Used in a sentence: “Wendy, the woebegone widow, wandered wistfully through the withered winter woods and wondered whether warmth was but a whimsical wish.”

I love these. Death at the door, the uninvited guest... so sharply dressed, so ominous, who is he here to see, who will he drag to the afterl... NOT TODAY DEATH. With a barrage of bottles he's kicked out and quickly escapes out the window. Not today. Adolph Menzel, 1844.

Real good news/bad news thing for Starmer. Good news: he got people to sign up for signing at a similar pace to Your Party's mailing list. Bad news: It's opposition to his ID cards idea. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...

For centuries the British countryside has been a playground for bloodsport enthusiasts, killing any animal in sight. We're sick of it, join the growing movement to protect British wildlife.

"You call the machines "Chumblies"...?" "Doctor Who: Galaxy 4 - Air Lock" (1965). #DoctorWho

Learning in school is not enough. You must continue to teach yourself throughout your life. Study history, read myths, memorize poems, get acquainted with the greatest philosophers & writers. In an age when tech is cooking many brains, we need an army of autodidacts.

Don't ruin Ikea for everyone, Steve...

North Dorset Hunt Sabs: "Killed and thrown upside down in the back like a bag of rubbish. Quantock Staghounds had themselves a sick canned hunt today, keeping a poor stag running back and forth between roads for 3 hours with scores of scummers posted at every corner to radio through his every move."

Cirogrille [SUR-uh-gril] (n.) - Middle English word for hedgehog.

Your daily reminder that Nigel Farage is a hunt supporting, shoot supporting bloodsport enthusiast.