Lady of Shalott®, an orange-red shrub rose bred by David Austin in 2009 and named to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s birth, seen in Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire @midsandeastnt.bsky.social #RoseWednesday #BloomScrolling

I'm really grateful to @enghistrev.bsky.social for getting this out in time for the anniversary. Why not relax ahead of the England game by reading about "Brexit as Democratic Crisis"? It asks why Brexit was so hard for our democratic institutions to handle - & what that tells us about democracy.

💷🐉 From Pond to Pocket – Vote for the Emperor Dragonfly! You have until 3rd July to vote for your favourite wildlife to feature on the next series of UK banknotes. We may be biased, but few species are as iconic as the Emperor Dragonfly. 🔗 buff.ly/AdwB8Wu

Oxford's first Hindu temple officially opened yesterday at Court Place Farm in Marston, in a ceremony attended by over 300 people and Oxfordshire's High Sheriff Jawaid Malik and Lord-Lieutenant Marjorie Glasgow (pictured middle and right alongside temple secretary Dharmaraj Gupta)

Is binning expert correspondents in eastern Europe a good idea at a time like this? Disinformation on the rise, Russia interfering in many countries, threatening several and actually at war with one? Well, BBC News management seems to think so. It's disposing of me and 4 of my colleagues.

We've currently got hundreds of Common Spotted Orchids dotting the fen here. Numbers seem to be increasing year on year thanks to our ongoing scything and raking. Worth a visit if you're local! #WildflowerHour #OxfordshireFens #orchids 🌍

A grim morning was transformed into a lovely afternoon at Sumburgh Head - with lots of puffins, razorbills, wrens and Red Admirals #Shetland

Carlo Ginzburg est mort, annonce la presse italienne. Immense historien, il a su construire une oeuvre originale entre micro-histoire et anthropologie historique qui a considérablement renouvelé la discipline. www.repubblica.it/cultura/2026...

Lovely calm morning at Sumburgh Head - ideal for auk watching #shetland #puffins #razorbills #auks

Based in Scotland? Keen to have your #WildFlowerID skills assessed, whether for work or just for your own interest? Then we'd urge you to snap up the last few spaces on this #FISC (Field Identification Skills Certificate) in Aberfoyle on 26 June. www.field-studies-council.org/courses-and-...

Lots of puffin activity this morning at Sumburgh Head #auks #shetland

RIP

Today, we celebrate the 183rd birthday of Edvard Grieg – a composer with whom our publishing house shares a close and longstanding connection. Explore more about our Grieg editions. www.fabermusic.com/shop/list?gr...

Lovely morning for orchid spotting on Scat Ness #ScatNess #Shetland

Monthly report for May 2026. Oxford & Shetland rossmac.blogspot.com/2026/06/mont...

Today June 10th is Age Without Limits Day. Plenty to think about here! www.agewithoutlimits.org

Schama’s best critique of the man-child #Hegseth : “As if the little people’s rage against immigration somehow is superior to the war against the 3rd Reich and entitles this comic book nobody to lecture the actual heroes.” ‘Comic book nobody’ sums up Hegseth really well.

And this exchange with Dominic Cummings is perfect. Read the whole obituary here www.ft.com/content/59c9...

#Shetland flowers are really doing their thing now. Marsh Marigold (Blugga), Tormentil, Spring Squill and Cuckooflower all in fine fettle #WildflowerHour @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiscotland.bsky.social @ukorchids.bsky.social

#Shetland has finally caught up with last week’s #OrchidChallenge A few Early Marsh ssp. Coccinea and lots of Heath Spotted #WildflowerHour @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiscotland.bsky.social @ukorchids.bsky.social

Searching for orchids on Scat Ness. A few (well, ok one) Early-Marsh, but lots of Heath-Spotted. #ScatNessSunday #Shetland #orchids

Puffins in the Mist at Sumburgh Head #shetland

Today is the first day of #30DaysWild, run by The Wildlife Trusts. More info here, if you’re interested: www.wildlifetrusts.org/30dayswild

Hanging out with the puffins on Monday morning at Sumburgh Head #Shetland #puffins

The last of the Green-winged Orchid. Winks Meadow, Suffolk. For the #OrchidChallenge by #WildFlowerHour @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @ukorchids.bsky.social @floraconuk.bsky.social

No orchids yet on #Shetland but the spring squill, thrift and birdsfoot trefoil are out and the ribwort plantain looks amazing #WildflowerHour @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social @bsbiscotland.bsky.social

Shetland coffee www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

While for decades Georgia acted as a solid transit route, new corridors and a fragile Armenia–Azerbaijan peace mean the question is no longer who controls regional transit, but whether the region’s states can coordinate well enough to compete at all.

This is Tbilisi on the 545th day of nonstop protests. Today’s mass rally marked Georgia’s Independence Day, driven by the hopes and ideals that shaped the First Republic in 1918.

#Shetland sunset

There's been some erosion on the Crigyll estuary but this brave little clump of Bird's-foot Trefoil has managed to cling on looking like a hanging basket on the sand bank #WildFlowerShow #Wildflowerhour

Some 2,000 years ago, a Roman fresco painter transformed a room into an enchanting garden filled with lush plants, trees, and birds, all under a clear blue sky! 🌿🌳🐦‍⬛ 😍 House of the Golden Bracelet, Pompeii 📷 by me #FrescoFriday #Archaeology

Good to be back hanging out with the puffins (and razorbills and guillemots) at Sumburgh Head

Chewe Munkonge, city councillor for Quarry & Risinghurst, is now Oxford's Lord Mayor. You can see the Mayor-making ceremony here on YouTube, but if you don't have 50 minutes to spare you can see him voted in at 15 minutes, and then hear his speech www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqc3...

In which i worry about the constitutional literacy of our politicians. Two recent examples of mistaken, or deliberate misreading, of core principles about the role of PM and the issue of confidence. @instituteforgovernment.org.uk www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/labo...

Just saw this brilliant show at #Mareel #Shetland @shetnews.co.uk

In Bloom, How Plants Changed Our World. @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social #Oxford

This exquisite 17th-century book features an embroidered dos-à-dos binding. “Dos-à-dos” (French for “back-to-back”) joins two books into one. Here, the Psalter and New Testament are bound together, embroidered with pansies & carnations. BSS.201.C33.15 (1633). By kind permission of Bible Society.

Two new locally-produced films about the Shetland Bus will soon launch to coincide with Norway’s 17 May Constitution Day celebrations. The first film, Hearts Across the Sea, is a 30-minute documentary featuring three Shetland people with living memories of World War II shet.news/65n45

Monthly Report for April 2026. Mostly Italy. rossmac.blogspot.com/2026/05/mont...

Strength in Europe, Strength in Unity - today’s #GeorgiaProtests march in Tbilisi. May 9, Europe Day. Video by MoSe

'Ngayuku ngura - My Country' by Wawiriya Burton, Indigenous Australian artist from Pipalyatjara who is also a ngangkaṟi (traditional healer) #womensart

This is very well- deserved - congratulations to Chewe!

This World Press Freedom Day, support independent journalism in the Caucasus. Become an OC Media Member — because a free press grows stronger with you. ⭕ Join today: https://oc-media.org/membership/

Sunday morning in the Lye Valley #Oxford

Orto Botanico / Botanical Garden #Bergamo

The painting Woman with Umbrella, by Henri Matisse, around 1919-1920, is a key example of his early style in Nice, where he often depicted figures on balconies or near windows to capture Mediterranean light.

A pair of Adélie Penguin chicks, Ross Island, for #BirdOfTheDay #SuperSeabirdSunday #penguins #nature #wildlife #Antarctica

Coming this Fall/Winter 2026! We are honored to bring you ten new collections by first-time and returning poets! These wise and persistent books make their way by questioning the self and its surroundings, both present and historical. Learn more about these forthcoming titles at: bit.ly/4tWw21c