Surprise!

Opposition to fascism now to be spearheaded by the Woodcraft Folk, the writers are once again phoning this in

Wonderful article in the NYT about the use of the word _faggot_ in current theater, which prints the word & other slurs in full & discusses them sensibly; quoting @jwdent.bsky.social & several academics. I usually am complaining about this, but props this time! www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/t...

Shabana Mahmood is wrong - Another cowardly attack on immigrants does not hide the incompetence of the Starmer government. Me, for the @newstatesman1913.bsky.social www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

I did not read the last word of this line as ‘example’

Not everyone is unhappy about the Government's descent into anti-refugee politics

There’s nothing left wing socialist or progressive about violent policies towards Black and brown people seeking asylum and the Labour Party will find out what this means for you at the May elections

Searching through the celebrity audience with the pope trying to spot Denis Norden, Roy Kinnear or Wincey Willis.

...an article by Crawford that is a tad out of keeping with those other contributions. Essentially Crawford was a little angry with Cambridge dons in general and A. C. Benson in particular. I've found no other mention by Crawford of Benson ever, and this piece never appeared anywhere else. Enjoy.

Carl Kolchak: An Appreciation New post from me on a great collision of actor and character, and the films, shows and post-cancellation afterlife of one of the greats arowofopengraves.co.uk/2025/10/29/c...

Marconi all "Don't worry, this isn't my first radio"

...too many people invented radio

See stoat, say stoat, stoated

A mainstream “journalist” calling for a British MP to be deported. Is it because I’m Muslim? Next time, just say it with your chest.

Bright colours on a dull day, with cormorant, heron and swan extras.

this is obviously appalling - and he should lose his job - but it's also really quite shocking; I first met Calgie when he was a baby reporter in his early twenties and sure, he was always a Tory, but he was....fine and normal? right-wing radicalisation is out of control in SW1

It's apparently perfectly fine for senior political journalists to call for the deportation of British Muslim politicians now, with zero consequences

The original and best white horse, leaping up a wintry Uffington Hill. This picture was taken before the first stage of its restoration.

Sibelius *could* have watched the Panorama spaghetti tree hoax.

This is appalling.

The exhibition at the Wiltshire Museum in Devizes consists of screenprints, paintings and relief prints, alongside books, lithographs, prints, paintings, drawings and maps drawn from the museum's own collection.

Labour MPs who voted against welfare cuts this summer have warned that plans to change disability benefit assessments could trigger another mass rebellion Others called for a vote to be delayed until a review into the assessments is complete By me, for Big Issue: www.bigissue.com/news/social-...

Terrible first date ideas: getting felsted in Herefordshire 😳

This amazing article from @vic-parsons.bsky.social via @wearequeeraf.com shows the absolute criminal state of trans healthcare in the UK. Scotland has a 224 year wait for a first appointment. Yes, you read that right. www.wearequeeraf.com/gender-clini...

From the Film Is Fabulous Facebook page:

Marsh Harrier RSPB Lytchett Fields Poole Dorset @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @dorsetraptors.bsky.social @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social @harbourbirds.bsky.social

a customer raises the topic of this exceptional film

NEW: Something remarkable happened recently and hardly anyone noticed – GB electricity demand was 100% covered by clean power We took a look at the data and this has happened for a record 87 hours in 2025 to date, twice as often as ever before 🧵 www.carbonbrief.org/... 1/7

This really needs to be vastly bigger news across they media, but it'll be ignored because "just Wales" of course.

Very good, old dog. You've noticed that I am going up and down stairs carrying things, and wanted to be involved by occupying the big step on the bend. No - it's all right, no need to move. I can just about get past without dropping everything or stepping on you.

The success of the far right is not only measured in votes and seats but in its impact on rhetoric, policy and ideology. The fact that a (nominally) social democratic head of government with a huge majority choses to say and do this is maybe the biggest success of the far right in Europe yet.

For T.S. Eliot’s birthday, a few things you can say at parties when his name comes up someflowerssoon.substack.com/p/practical-...

People getting the internet at home meant young men no longer got a basic grounding in arthouse cinema while looking for nudity on TV.

"…and Magda Goebbels made a great strudel.”

Sanfoin, Onobrychis viciifolia #favouriteplant #wildflowerhour

If only I could share the smell and sounds from this Welsh woodland with you. Pure bliss. #wildgarlic

Absolutely insane gold thrymsa from Norfolk in the latest @currentarchaeology.bsky.social. Never seen anything like this, wtf is going on

Nothing mega but at least I had birds! These are three of the four Yellow-broweds found today (our second wave of the autumn), plus Garden and Willow warblers, Blackcaps, several Robins, a couple of Sparrowhawks and 61 Pink-feet. A reasonable days #WestrayBirding in glorious sunshine. #UKbirding

Love these new Proust translations:

Very sad to hear we've lost Christopher H Bidmead. Always struck me as a very genial chap who took his work seriously but not himself. Hard to over-express my admiration for Frontios, and the ideas in Logopolis and Castrovalva, where mathematics is treated as where philosophy and poetry meet.

Meanwhile, we’ve been building this ‘system of control and surveillance’ for a decade. The Immigration Act 2014. The Investigatory Powers Act 2016. The Online Safety Act 2023. Building it brick by brick, and ignoring those of us who warned about what was going on.

Just removed the date label from an old book and discovered that someone has drawn a design for a teapot that can serve either tea or poison how's your day going?

Labour's cowardice in the face of extremism iandunt.substack.com/p/labours-co...

Hit 4000 birds ringed at Carey this autumn today with a monster of a 20.0g Sedge Warbler! However, the stand out highlight of the morning was this stunning HOBBY!! Not something I ever thought I would be lucky enough to catch!

Running away from trouble - when discretion is the better part of valour.

More pics of Ospreys beating up female WTE G466 @harbourbirds.bsky.social

Distant but amazing views of Ospreys getting their own back on female WTE G466 @harbourbirds.bsky.social

The attendance for Hereford vs Kings Lynn last week in the National League North, the 6th tier of English Football, was 2854