25.12.25 - does anyone else enjoy the patterns and lament that there weren't 52 days in November?

Enjoying your book, @rory-stewart.bsky.social Like many people, I'm baffled that you are a Conservative, but I don't suppose you'd have been in Govt in any other party.

I went back and found one of the i's had been crossed, so now I have to go back and do them all again.

The average temp 2023–2025 is on track to exceed 1.5 ℃ for the first time, but there is good news: globally renewables have overtaken coal, the new High Seas Treaty can come into force, and Green Sea Turtles are no longer endangered. Thanks #NatureJournal for the link. www.bbc.com/future/artic...

Local #RSPB group online meeting tonight. The guest speaker talked about flying to different places in Europe, how easy it is, and I suddenly couldn't take it. Why can't people see? There's a reason #nature is in decline.

The Daily Telegraph are running an advertising campaign on YouTube at the moment, with supposed experts on economics making neoliberal arguments. They are a fine illustration of why the problem with such arguments is the assumptions behind them.

Listening to Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw". 2 hours in and almost nothing has happened.

The reason we have any market regulation is that we used to have none. We saw what a disaster was unfolding and took steps to protect citizens. Human history is dominated by the ongoing struggle between the collective interest and attempts by a powerful minority to undermine it.

Disappointment is how you find out what your expectations were.

"Shocked but not surprised" seems to sum up a lot of things I've encountered in the past decade.

Your first bike doesn't have to be brand new. In fact it's better if it isn't. A secondhand bike has already stood some tests and can cope with your adventurous spirit. If it gets stolen it's no biggie, but it will be great fun and help you become more fully the person you have the potential to be.

Japan has a 7-5-3 festival, celebrating children at those ages. I suggest we a 7-11-16 festival. Age 7 is when children should get their first bike....1/3 www.hive.co.uk/Product/Jona...

A brilliant piece of work, with a few simple steps parents and schools can take too rescue childhood. www.hive.co.uk/Product/Jona...

Of course it goes without saying.

"Nothing brings us together like great TV" apparently. Except a meal together. Or a board game. Volunteering. Any others?

An example of how #capitalism colonises and corrupts ideas and language. How is a loyalty card in any way a gift?

Car ownership and use seems very difficult to overcome. For example, when I was in the Netherlands, one thing I noticed was that their urban spaces are very tidy, with almost no room for nature. Pleasant places, but cars are still occupying too much space. Cars take up a lot of room.

After reading @ethical-consumer.bsky.social magazine, I have closed my Spotify account and moved to Qobuz. Here's to a better deal for artists and human-curated content! #music #musicians #royalties

1,152 - the number of #children our team has taught #Bikeability to this calendar year.

We need to understand that the #climateemergency is now (as it has been for over a decade) a reality that is already affecting us. You should watch this video, understand what is happening and join the call to this nation's media to fulfill their responsibility. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sa7...

Climate Emergency Briefing on 27th November. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sa7...

A lovely day to be teaching #Bikeability in Cheltenham, England.

You won't save any money at all by buying stuff. #blackfriday is a myth, a sales technique. Have a nice, quiet weekend and enjoy what you have.

These days I find I'm often defending uncertainty. It's not easy, but I believe it is worth it. Even if you are very very sure of something, you can still make room for others who haven't made the same journey as you.

And another: when I decided I opposed something, I suddenly saw it everywhere.

Another of life's ironies: only those who loved me as I was enabled me to change.

Life is full of irony. If you publicly attack an idea, you will prompt a defence from some, agreement from others, but whom will you actually change?

Does anyone make a phone blocker? I was thinking of getting one installed in my house. That way we can have a normal life at home, whatever happens elsewhere.

What was the reasoning behind this? #screenaddiction

A huge number of nature lovers seem to have pet cats and/or dogs.

We are only just beginning to accept we are one species among many, not by any means the most important, while it simultaneously becomes apparent that our choices are absolutely make-or-break for the future of the entire global balance.

another @stephencollins.bsky.social classic

My manager told me to go to the toilet yesterday. I think I was six the last time anyone did that. It may even be the fiftieth anniversary.

Whenever I see a list I wonder who decided the order of importance and why.

Note to self #cycling

We use an old beach mat someone threw out. What do you use? #climateaction

Actually following through on the three promises already made relating to renewables, energy efficiency and methane, would keep global temperatures very close to the 1.5°C target. It needs commitment & a collective determination to resist the fossil fuel industry! www.theguardian.com/environment/...

We suffered a #breadmaker fail this morning. Any idea why this happened, #panasonic?

It is increasingly clear that a minority are endangering the future of our species. Shockingly many of them are those we chose to lead us. #DemocracyIsAJourney

Lepiota leucothites - is it still rare in Britain? It is listed as such in Roger Phillips 1981, but I recently found some just outside my house! Assuming, of course, that I have identified it correctly. #mycology #fungi #mushrooms

Robbie Williams turned up at the car boot sale earlier. He tried to sell me a sculpture of a DJ. I said, "I don't want a rock DJ."

Somewhat late in life, I'm finding more and more how essential it is to choose a compassionate approach to things.

AI isn't very I, is it?

A lot of government is dictated by process. To be effective you need to know the process. If you ignore the process they can legitimately ignore you. So... 1/

I just dug out this "degradeable" plastic bag from under 2-year-old compost. #plastic #plasticemergency #plasticcrisis

A good friend has the experience, a few years ago, of trying to make #ethical choices at his local supermarket and feeling overwhelmed. Since then he's largely given up on making ethical #consumer choices. I can see why. I haven't given up, but it's very hard. The standard is mostly dreadfully low.

Entrée du village de Voisins, 1872 via Wikimedia Commons. Camille Pissarro set up an art group in 1873, encouraging fellow members and learning from them.

Britain should be a #republic, not because of the misdemeanors of individuals but because #monarchy is an anachronism. It presides over a system of #inequlity, #patronage and #colonialism that has no place in modern #democracies #DemocracyIsAJourney #democracy

And #PlanningandInfrastructureBill will only worsen this nature deficit, which is doing such damage to #PublicHealth www.theguardian.com/environment/...