In amongst the autumnal leaves A male kingfisher on the River Lea at Hackney Marshes at the weekend. #LondonBirds #nature #wildlife #kingfisher #kingfishers #birdphotography #ukbirds #birds #hackney

In today's Guardian (not online yet) I drew a section cover and column illos for a great piece by @heritage.bsky.social about parents' WhatsApp groups. It was one of those jobs where I got *way* too into details/narrative design, trying to make single illustrations read across page like a comic.

Ready for some perfect Sunday night telly? 😍 The first episode of Hamza's Hidden Wild Isles airs tonight on BBC One at 6.15pm! Booming bitterns at Minsmere, badgers in the bluebells, Nightingales in song... We can’t wait! Who'll be tuning in?

I had totally forgotten about this number 🤣. What a bizarre record!

@ramsgatebirds.bsky.social hi Keith, I have a quick question for you. Can I DM you please?

Now free to watch on YouTube - a fantastic documentary (You know it is, it really is)

Oh no. Sometimes the obituaries just seem to come in like waves. Generations pass, I suppose. The water gets closer.

COASTAL RAILTRAIL 2025 - NE ENGLAND • Quick pics of Steve Melia's recent Coastal Railwalking adventures in the NE region. • Pictures this week from Scarborough to Bridlington. -------------------- #railwalks #railwalking #railwalker #stationtostation #sustainabletourism #coastalrailtrail2025

Marvellous part of world 👍🏻

Dealing with a difficult thing today. Could you give us a boost? Donate ko-fi.com/radiolento Rate bit.ly/LentoAp Or share a photo of something you spotted this week which made you smile.

Breaking: SJ to discontinue successful Stockholm-Hamburg/Berlin sleeper train after 31 August 2026, a month after Swedish government subsidy ends.

Ivor (3) was watching me charge something up using a USB C cable, and he asked if he could plug it in, and I said sure, and he asked which way up it goes, and I was able to proudly say “IVOR IT DOES NOT MATTER WHICH WAY UP IT GOES AND THAT IS AN EXAMPLE OF HUMAN PROGRESS”

Every time I give my lecture on The Liberation Line people love the story...so time for a documentary someone?

It remains a huge shame that this series is so hard to find. Come on BBC, get it up online for a bit, I think a lot of people would like to rediscover it.

Well thank you *very* much, Sophie Scott-Brown, Rachael Wiseman, @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social, Fergus Butler-Gallie and Sudhir Hazareesingh for coming on to FreeThinking to discuss the Good Life. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

This is EXCELLENT. An EXCELLENT programme about an EXCELLENT man. @drmatthewsweet.bsky.social — help yourself to a medal. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

@robertwilfort.bsky.social hi Robert - I’ve been trying to locate ‘Grass’ on various streaming channels, but it doesn’t seem to be available. Do you know anywhere it can still be viewed? One of the best comedy series of the last 25 years imho and would love to rewatch it.

Went to see this today. If you’re in or around London and have the time, I’d heartily recommend. It’s a superb show.

📚 To mark the 65th anniversary of World Soccer, we dived into the archives to pick out some of the most iconic covers from the magazine’s six-and-a-half decades... 🧵 🗓️ October 1960 This is the cover of the first-ever edition of World Soccer, out almost exactly 65 years ago.

Finally got round to @dorianlynskey.bsky.social’s excellent history of the ways mankind has been convinced the world will end. First three quarters of the book; weirdly optimistic. Last bit; “Oh my God! What are we doing? We’re all going to die!” #conflicted

Proper tour this … 💪🏻🤣

What better time of year to spend time under the trees. #ThickTrunkTuesday

Fabulous

This will be good…fact.

Wow, that’s a microTruss!

When train trips go wrong … 🤦🏻‍♂️

This is an interesting thread. It turns out I have countless cultural holes… 😏

Just published ...I have a small stock £25 post free! signed email me [email protected]

Limmy sums up the feeling of being middle aged very well here, I think. Or at least, my feeling of it. It's not that I don't enjoy things, nor that I don't get pleasure out of brilliant art, music or literature. It's more that I'm very rarely surprised by anything anymore. youtu.be/5T6omDi0pwg?...

🤣🤣

Fair point

Sunshine for a grey day. Headphones on! Episode 270 - Soundscene from Northward Hill Nature Reserve (19mins) A short but mighty episode recorded in Kent in May. A woodland full of birdsong, including a nightingale. > bit.ly/LenNtgl

People who live in London: I’ll be doing a work-in-progress at Top Secret Comedy Club on 10th November. It’ll be utterly unlike this essay in every way. thetopsecretcomedyclub.co.uk/events-listi...

Oh wow.

Happy National Poetry Day to all those who celebrate. This year’s theme is ‘play’ so here’s a poem which plays with some letters. It’s called ‘The Problem of Writing Poems in the Shape of Deciduous Trees’.

If you remember Reggie Perrin, this is definitely worth your time. Excellent piece.

Cursive and non-cursive.

If you enjoy poppy, emotive guitar music, the new album by Motion City Soundtrack is well worth a listen youtu.be/bUVLGZ8wmMM?...

Booking for French trains for Christmas & New Year opens tomorrow, for German trains it opens 15 October.

The secret location of the canal is under lock and quay.

The @chathmuseum.bsky.social Remembrance event in conjunction with @footballandwar.bsky.social, The WFA and the Army FA will take place at The Valley on the 3 November with @blitzwalker.bsky.social amongst the speakers. It is a free event but places are limited. More information👇

I am giving a talk about the history of football against fascism 🗓️ Friday, 10 October 2025 ⏰ 18.00 📍 Marx Memorial Library, London, EC1R 0DU 🚇 Farringdon More 👉🏼 substack.com/@outsidewrit... If you're in London, come along!

Love this. What a fabulous photograph.

Four of the five paintings of mine that were exhibited at Dismaland.

Hard to believe Dismaland was ten years ago. It was a huge privilege to work with Banksy and an unforgettable experience.

New YouTube upload - 3 mins from the sleeper train as it glides through the night.

One thing I've learned from the Internet is that a lie needs 0% proof to be believed, but the truth requires thousands of pages of proof and still won't be believed.

We had a great screening last night for @thelibrariansfilm.bsky.social at Curzon Soho + Q&A with Director Kim A. Snyder librarians Amanda Jones & Julie Miller 📖 THE LIBRARIANS is in UK/IRE cinemas now. www.librarians.film

To mark the anniversary, a replica steam engine (built in 1975 for the 150th anniversary) is on a three-day journey from the Locomotion Museum in Shildon, Co. Durham via Darlington to Stockton: www.bbc.com/news/article...

A landmark day in railway history… on 27 September 1825 George Stephenson’s ‘Locomotion No.1’ took a 26-mile journey along the Stockton and Darlington Railway: the world’s first public steam-powered passenger service...