SUPERB and angrily unvarnished response, by former BBC chairman, Lord Patten. "I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA

Free stickers suitable for flag-bearing lampposts. Send a large A4 envelope with a 1st class large stamp to me at Bragg Office, PO Box 6830 Bridport DT6 9BH and I’ll send you a sheet. #ReclaimtheFlag 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇬🇧

Thatcher first PM to raise global warming at the UN. Theresa May first G7 leader to legislate to stop unmitigated emissions. The Tories have turned their back on their own leaders, their own global leadership, their own credibility.

Very positive, lets get sharing the good news!

🚗💨 EVs are holding up better than combustion cars, says ADAC. In 2024, ICE cars aged 2–4 years were 2.5x more likely to break down than EVs. EVs on the road ↑ 97% EV breakdowns ↑ only 46%

Latest visitor to the patio.

Some photos of the Robins nesting in our ivy.

Pleased to see a lot of bees and butterflies on the wing in the last few days, including a sight of an orange-tip - one of my favourites.

Recently stumbled on the Three Ravens folklore podcast. Quality stuff.

20 years on from reading the Radio Times preview of Doctor Who in the school library I'm delighted it's still here and it's brilliant.

Twenty years on from the "Trip of a Lifetime" promo, a new Doctor Who trailer is still great for the spirits...

Found an old file of folklore columns I cut out more than a decade ago that I've now transferred to a much nicer folder - if only to show off the gorgeous artwork.

These designs are awesome... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Picked up a 1999 Encyclopedia of Britain y'day. Net zero nay-sayers should check out these stats on the power sector and compare with now - wind has capacity to power 11m homes and renewables now make-up well over 40 per cent of electricity mix. The transition has been rapid and remarkable.

The breakdown of the UK consensus on climate change is very sad. As a local reporter I covered a Tory council where the administration was actually very pro-net zero - notwithstanding inevitable disputes about scale of ambition/individual policies.

Today in 180AD Commodus succeeded his father, Marcus Aurlieus as Roman Emperor. He would go berserk, naming the city, months & legions after himself. One contemporary wrote that he turned Rome "from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust".

I am very sceptical of politicians of any political stripe accusing civil servants of somehow being obstructive. Probably the most common reason they say "no" is because there isn't the money. And that's not blocking that's engaging with basic mathematic principles.

Trying to get back into pencil drawing after many years off..

Never saw Love Actually so no idea if Starmer should have gone all Hugh Grant at the White House. Personally I'd be quite keen on a British PM channelling Bob Hoskins ripping into the Mafia in The Long Good Friday. Lots of material there... "My new partnership is with Europe." "MAGA, I've shit em."

"Under weaknesses, you've put 'Accidentally stopped the fight against Ebola'?"

I am regularly disappointed but there is surely a plausible chance that various political figures and pundits who had cheered Trump's victory - indeed had rushed to be present at his inauguration and lavished his leadership with praise - face a real reckoning.

This excerpt from the rather brilliant A Very British Coup - penned in the 80s - seems rather prescient.

Fantastic... www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-fea...

Why do I suspect the deal that Johnson urged Ukraine against signing nearly 3 years ago is going to look rather like the one that Trump - who he cheered into the White House - will be putting forward shortly?

Shocker.

I do enjoy the now obligatory Ed Davey "Has anyone noticed the US elected a nutcase?" question

Cress crop coming along nicely.

As someone labels the Education Secretary "a Marxist" worth noting this is probably the most centrist Labour Govt we've had - or very nearly, I think on some policy areas they are arguably further to the left than New Labour but certainly miles from Atlee or Corbyn or even Wilson.

It is grimly amusing how people who rail against "woke" politics don't realise how recent the fight for equality for white working people was. Or understand that populists won't necessarily roll back the progress to some imaginary goldilocks period which leaves their own rights/protections intact.

As tedious culture warriors like Truss and Trump rail against paper straws, worth noting this UK poll in terms of support for banning various single-use plastics. As always the views of the crank minority are being peddled as if they are mainstream.

2025 vibes

We all need a timeline cleanse right now, so let's start the day with this lovely jug with an octopus motif, dating ca 1200-1100 BC. On display at National Museum Copenhagen. 📷 by me 🏺 AncientBluesky #archaeology

Monthly view targets are a corrosive influence in journalism, discouraging certain types of coverage, pandering to Big Tech algorithms and demoralising staff in what is already a difficult job.

I have to say that with more and more councils in financial trouble I do hate the shameless politicking that goes on with opposition groups always claiming it's the financial malpractice of the ruling group that is to blame - rather than years of chronic underfunding.

Pleased to hear several of the Labour left MPs getting the whip restored. At a time when the far-right are gaining influence here and abroad trying to settle petty fictional battles is totally indulgent - particularly when the first-past-the-post system doesn't makes coalitions a necessity.

Nice spot on a nice winter walk.

One of the often underrated Dr Who stories is definitely Rings of Akhaten. Dismissed by the Radio Times as "like Songs of Praise in space", my instinctive response was "yeah, and who else is attempting that."

When horses were replaced by cars there was a lot of resistance & scaremongering by the incumbent horse industry. Here's an old anti car advert by a horse carriage company. History now repeats itself with countless scare stories about renewables, heat pumps & electric vehicles.

My favourite finds at my favourite second hand bookshop are those which could feasibly have once belonged to a warlock...

Spotted on my walk yesterday.

Good tally on the Garden Birdwatch this morning - 15 species.

I've passed my driving test after many years of lessons. Now to learn how to tie my shoelaces properly.

Very interesting. Would be fascinating to combine with questions about media consumption.

Storm Eowyn should set a new precedent for giving extreme weather events cool, fantasy names. Fully hope to see a Storm Deckard or Storm Eddard in future.

Have started a substack for positive stories on nature, the environment and climate - hoping to use some of my old journo skills for a good cause. greenandpleasant2025.substack.com/p/boost-for-...

My winter garlic is coming along well, the recent cold snap should hopefully help split the bulbs.

It shows the state of the political debate at present that a sitting PM has to explain that Contempt of Court laws - passed 40 odd years ago under a Thatcher government - are not in actual fact an attempt by liberal elites to conceal the truth. Any trainee journo could tell you this.

It disappoints me that many of the people who are rightly horrified by the rise of the populist right always used to strangle debate about hugely redistributive tax policy etc with claims like "elections are won from the centre". I think we now know they're won with billionaire support and lies.

The Special Relationship has always given me Chris Finch and David Brent vibes...