Alliums @ Dulwich Park... #GardenersWorld

Awful lot of folk don't seem to recognise the power of a political bandwagon, which is precisely what any half-decent campaign in Makerfield will be - sending Andy Burnham to sort out the Westminster mess will absolutely play to northern views of the south

Threadette. I know they won't do it, such is Labour's strategic genius, but in the current climate Electoral Reform would be an easier sell, and would also open the door much wider to SM/FOM or total Rejoin, plus provide EU with much needed insurance policy i.e. keeps Farage out of power.

Politically difficult straight after GE'24 i.e. Labour's manifesto red lines, but they've certainly had opportunities since to revisit e.g. Trump's tariffs. Alongside immigration and it's role in economic growth, it's one of a number of grown-up conversations with the country that needs to happen.

Terracotta Plant Pot Chandelier @ The Nunhead Gardener Garden Centre... #SarfLondon

From the generation that benefitted from: free healthcare from birth; free education, and if going into HE, free LA grant & fees; no National Service or subscripted to fight a war; housing/mortgage affordability & equity therein; access to benefits if needed. And yet nobody looks out for him.

Spot on thread. The media really need to start calling Farage's bluff, if he walks off, that's the far bigger story. The Tory Gov eventually came crawling back to GMB when they boycotted it during Covid for similar hard questioning. #SpeakTruthToPower

On a day when most of the country will raise a glass to the UK's greatest living environmentalist Sir David Attenborough's 100th birthday, many of those have also just voted for a climate change denying fossil fuel funded charlatan. www.bbc.co.uk/news/resourc...

This for me was a tipping point, I never imagined in my lifetime a Labour politician, let alone a PM, would make such a Powellesque speech. Problem is, the 2 main progressive alternatives are a politician more akin to a children's entertainer, and a tribute Corbynista cosplaying eco-warrior.

A smidge of olive oil on kitchen roll brings up olive wood a treat... #SpringClean

Euphorbia @ Bluebells enjoying the sunshine in the Sensory Garden, Peckham Rye Park...

Light & Shade While some potted Lavender 'Hidcote' enjoys the scorchio weather, a trough of Maidenhair Vine, Impatiens 'Busy Lizzie', & New Guinea Impatiens are just as happy chilling in the shade below... #GardenersWorld

Exciting to see the boards up for the Dulwich Festival's Artists' Open House. The festival is 8-17 May. dulwichfestival.co.uk

Just filled in my postal vote for the #LocalElections2026 I've voted tactically before but this is the first time I've gone full-fat protest vote.

No Saturday morning lie-in for some @pcsavage.bsky.social Peckham Rye Park Run... #ParkRun

Camelia enjoying the early evening sunshine. Have a nice weekend everyone... #GardenersWorld

This is a dance off. If you see this, repost a dance, or you’re eliminated #Sting #Quadrophenia

The Trump administration rewrote their entire foreign policy doctrine on Europe to make it about supporting administrations like Orbán's. That might have skipped the attention of most Americans, but we definitely noticed it over here.

It's that time of year again. Garden furniture getting a teak oil sprucing up...

After last night's excellent news, revisited photos I took of Budapest pre-Orban, one of my favourite city breaks. This is a pano taken from the castle on the Buda side looking across the Danube towards Pest where the Parliament building sits (left hand side). Worth a visit if you've never been...

Rhubarb & Ginger Crumble 😋

The best of America... #Artemis The worst of America... #Trump

I see the Easter Bunny couldn't resist a nibble 🐇 Happy Easter...

Free to read: Patrick Gwynne. www.ft.com/content/1d3b... Patrick Gwynne, the hero of sexy English modernism

A selection of flowering Spring bulbs... #GardenersWorld

Back to Black... 🚲

America faces ‘very bad future’ if if keeps electing irresponsible Presidents who start wars on a whim without doing even basic preparation like thinking through possible contingencies and consequences

Weeping Willow - Peckham Rye Park...

A big reason why I think the unashamedly modernist Shard sits so well in London skyline views, is that it has an ecclesiastical quality, as opposed to the lumpiness of contemporaries like the 'Walkie Talkie' building.

For Ted xx

If you are going to change regime, it’s a good idea to know what you want the new one to be like and to be able to help it happen.

Dawson's Heights, Dulwich, London #photography #architecture

Dear political leaders of the last 10 years. Appointing a BAME Home Secretary to oversee xenophobic & racist asylum/immigration policy doesn't make that policy any less xenophobic & racist, and progressives will vote accordingly.

First alfresco lunch break of the year, Crocuses also approved... #GardenersWorld

From BBC: Rosenior says any individual found guilty of racial abuse "shouldn't be in the game". Rosenior is the manager of Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez, who was recorded singing with his Argentinian team mates a racially derogative song about black French footballers. #NotThatKindOfRacism

As a student visited London in '91 and went to the South Bank primarily to see the National Theatre. The whole area felt very unloved and soulless, with hardly anyone about. Such a contrast to the lively cultural hub it's now become.

The best working life advice I've received was from my first boss who advised me that when writing any form of correspondence, to imagine it one day being read out loud in a court of law.

My two things that are true at once: 1) starmer and his govt are not good at all, sometimes doing appalling things and deserve consequences 2) ALL of the alternatives at the moment are significantly to disastrously worse Those are the options the country has and we can’t avoid choosing

''Doubts surface at the BBC that the next series of The Traitors will be another huge ratings success''

Huge plaudits to @financialtimes.com which has led the way on exposing Mandelson and has also done great reporting on the corruption of Trump. What a contrast to @thetimes.com which did a soft interview with Mandy and has been hopeless on Trump

Some people think Trump's comments were a sort of tactic following the Davos climbdown. But I think his comments were actually just what they seem - freewheeling ignorance from an old man who is accorded Papal Infallibility by his followers. bsky.app/profile/theg...

Try '79, possibly the most eclectic year ever...post-punk/new wave, disco, ska/mod revival, early synth/electro & hip hop...and Art Garfunkel 🙃

If you had stood in the election to be president of your student body, and lost, despite being the only candidate, you might conclude that politics wasn’t for you

Ely in the snow

Starting 2026 with a comfort food banger 😋 Happy new year everyone...

Have a very Merry Christmas...

Anyone who mocks it hasn’t seen it at night. It’s a 10/10.

Every year, people mock this tree. But I love it anyway. It reminds us that if we stand together in tough times, we can overcome anything. Merry Christmas from my family to yours. 🎄✨

If you want to feel old like I do right now after reading this about Kylie getting the Christmas No.1 ''Arriving 37 years after her first UK number one hit, I Should Be So Lucky...'' *Sobs quietly in corner*