Last year I attended the #freerange #liverpool event and posted a thread 🧵 at the time: https://en.osm.town/@SK53/114811375356906671. A couple of days ago cleaning a cupboard I found a shallow dish or plate bearing the inscription "Welsh Presbyterian Chapel, Fitzclarence Street. 1864". Image in […]

[UK pol] Patrick Gordon Walker

Bad, but not unexpected, news from Owen Bowarva on #uk #openaddresses: https://www.owenboswarva.com/blog/post-addr86.htm Ordnance Survey & Geoplace are threatening legal action over data sets of local authority addresses derived from council tax systems hosted by Owen. As a result he has […]

Another #DigitaHumanities corpus which seems to have disappeared: WWII Bomb Map of Britain : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-50056395 RT @nfgusedautoparts @ohm

Bit surprised to see both @maptiler.bsky.social & @opencage mentioned in this Financial Times graphic about our dependence ob US Twch in Europe https://bsky.app/profile/hetanshah.bsky.social/post/3mlkry4tduc2m

Just under 47 years ago I sat the final exams of my degree. Being a student with a heavy academic workload I only caught one episode of the original transmission of Life on Earth. I was home briefly during the Easter vacation and saw the penultimate programme on Primates. It proved to be […]

For #bench and #OpenStreetMap enthusiasts a fascinating in depth look at benches in US🇺🇸 cities: https://placesjournal.org/article/the-disappearance-of-the-public-bench/ Most intriguing for me was learning about riots when Central Park NYC introduced private chair rental. Loads of other aspects […]

[UK Politics] I see Antonia Bance MP is trotting out daft opinions again. Last time about housing, now universities.

What a surprise! UK Biobank personal data compromised: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/23/private-health-records-uk-biobank-chinese-website-alibaba In my experience UK Health researchers are somewhat naive about the risks of cybercrime and the actual degree of anonymity afforded […]

Glad to see Peter Wells (peterwells.com) articulating thoughts close to my own regarding the use of Palantir in the NHS. https://bsky.app/profile/peterkwells.com/post/3mjzbnds7o22h I'm some 30 years removed from doing any NHS IT, at least in part because Financial Services firms were better […]

Last week my brother & sister walked part of the Pennine Way between Hawes and Dufton. We had an interesting conversation about how the path next to Cauldron Snout in Upper Teesdale is surprisingly difficult for a national trail. It's immediately next to […] [Original post on en.osm.town]

Noticed in Oakham, a 'fake' blue plaque on the side of Oakham Tyres on Station Approach. Designed to look like an official blue plaque, but recording the mundane refurbishment of a completely indistinguished building, which is not much more than a shed. Would it […] [Original post on en.osm.town]

Went with my niece to Barnack Hills & Holes and Bedford Purlieus National Nature Reserves yesterday. When I got back realised that this was my first all day field trip since 2019. I last visited both reserves in 2017, but usually with a very knowledgeable local […] [Original post on en.osm.town]

A friend's son, who lives in Cork, joined us in the pub last night, and through him I learnt of the death of Paul Whelan, documenter of Ireland's Lichens (https://www.lichens.ie). I met Paul on a course almost exactly 18 years ago, early on in his Lichen project, bought his first book in 2011 […]

Lots of hoots today rom @jonty & @jon taking down What3words and Matt GPT (Goodwin) respectively BlueSky:

RIP David Chivers, one my favourite lecturers in the final year of my degree. He went well above and beyond his duties, leading a few extracurricular sessions just because we were interested. As I was a scientist, not a medic, and interested in a research career, there was an possibility to do […]

Seems we need a loc_name on this bit of grass (https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/128001222/history) in York. HT https://bsky.app/profile/dreadships.bsky.social/post/3mi2wdiu5is26 @SomeoneElse #rudeplacenames

Started to re-watch "Travels with Pevsner" on #bbc #iplayer. I really enjoyed this seroes when it came out 30 years. (Well, OK, not the Janet Street-Porter episode.) Brought up short about 30 seconds in when the voice-over describes Pevsner's "Buildings of England" as unique. This is a typical […]

I'm intrigued that the Pennine Way is mapped on #OpenStreetMap as recognisable sections (mainly a reasonable hike for a day) until Middleton in Teesdale. Then there's just one relation for the remaining 190 km to Kirk Yetholm (just under half of the total route) […] [Original post on en.osm.town]

One of my favourite authors, John Grindrod, is promoting his new book "Tales of the Suburbs" in Glasgow & Edinburgh this week.

Briefly joined the NWT #Nottingham group at Chilwell Dam Plantation, a fragment of ancient woodland on the edge of the city. Particularly pleased to be see Sanicle in it's only known location in the city. A number of other Spring flowers were out: the odd […] [Original post on en.osm.town]

Echoes my own experience over 40 years ago with Iraqi friends. https://bsky.app/profile/hern.bsky.social/post/3mhik6ny67c2x He offered us red or white wine (actually Cinzano) poured in bumper measures, oblivious to the likely effect. She cooked an amazing meal. Overwhelming hospitality which we […]

RE: https://mastodon.scot/@ultrazool/116240524503087266 Thinking about @zool's experience proposing an idea to #aria. I still think that there's scope for completely different ways to innovation funding. ARIA have a saner process than many, but I always liked the late Donald Braben's approach:l […]

Reminder that Oracle (ORCL) ran into financial problems in 1991, and required a discrete bailout from Nippon Steel. https://www.techmonitor.ai/hardware/oracle_hopes_that_its_deal_with_nippon_steel_will_keep_its_bankers_at_bay […]

Fed up about the NHS App continually nagging me to use Chrome. No thanks, I don't want to. I have a perfectly good browser app which suits me. Thought this sort of thing went out with Internet Explorer.

RE: https://mastodon.green/@davidallengreen/115967395034161078 This is such a shame. I've appreciated @davidallengreen's legal commentary, but have also enjoyed finding out about their other interests. I remember being scolded on Twitter a few years ago for having a plastic bottle of water in […]

Saw Hamnet this week: a cleverly plotted poignant film. Some great acting. BUT: Agnes (Anne) Hathaway's hawk is a Harris Hawk. Glad I was able to identify it, but was a tad distracting at the start of the film. Also soaring raptor against a bright sky as redemption/ resurrection is becoming a […]

Currently listening to the "13th Floor Elevators". Had forgotten about gems from the 1960s US garage punk wave. The music element of the pub quiz last night featured artists with a number in their name. Needless to say that this band didn't feature, but I had to convince the sceptics in our […]

Key post on iNaturalist form from Steve McWilliams https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/best-practice-for-using-inaturalist-in-the-uk/74248/36 Post and discussion all relevant to the earlier thread. Particularly it clarifies workflow. @sarahdalgulls @ultrazool @OccasionalDucks

This, "Phoenixism" in recruitmentagencies, has been going on forever. Colleagues in Zurich, 25 years ago, were with a Sussex-based agency which folded. I was contacted by one of the former directors as they built the phoenix company. Usually the principals often have the client list even before […]

RE: https://toot.community/@lccmunicipal/115831389105443396 Didn't know about this book: https://www.londonstreetsigns.info/ Obviously one which I hope every London @openstreetmap need should own. @harry_wood @gravitystorm @tomh et al.

Despite doing some long recces, I found my actual #NewYearPlantHunt tough going. Saw 66 species in flower (around 6 fairly marginal) and failed to get to 2 others (Ivy & Small Nettle) in the allotted 3 hours. Also missed Tansy seen a few days earlier. First […] [Original post on en.osm.town]

Thanks to @RayNewman for boosting, on bsky, this fantastic list of 1926 films by Pamela Hutchinson: https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-films-1926. I've only seen one (Keaton's The General), knew about a of couple of others, and was dimly aware of Murnau's Faust. #film #1926

I'd not come across the New Year's Day Steak Pie tradition in Scotland alluded to by @scotslass () And this despite having been in Scotland over Hogmanay many times. Turns out Andy Arthur (@threadinburgh.scot) has a deep dive […]

Lost points in the pub quiz last night for saying Garlic is in the Onion family (Amaryllidaceae in EOL/iNaturalist). The wanted answer was "Lily family". Unfortunately taxonomy of many monocots has been in flux for a while, as wikipedia says "the circumscription of Liliaceae is not […]

Found Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) workers visting a fragrant Honeysuckle (Lonicera x purpusii) today. First winter active colony I've seen in several years. Flickr photos are old ones taken in Leicester 7 years ago. https://flic.kr/p/RJMjZs

I'm seeing a lot of errors in English wikipedia info box links to Geohack. (First noticed when looking up an Xmas wine choice). #wikipedia #geohack

It could have been a changeset comment. #OpenStreetMap

Just spotted an egregious error in #TheGuardian #Obituary of Tom Stoppard. They misplaced the setting of "Travesties" to Trieste. I've lived in Zürich, been on a literary tour of the city, and seen the play twice, so I'm confident about this being the correct […] [Original post on en.osm.town]

Flabbergasted to see Hazel catkins open this early in December. It's only 13 years ago, but finding these flowers open on my first #NewYearPlantHunt on New Year's Day 2013 was quite hard. These particular plants have been flowering before Christmas in recent […] [Original post on en.osm.town]

RE: https://en.osm.town/@harry_wood/115650834037247679 Fancy a friendly #openstreetmap chat in the pub, with some Christmas celebrations? The London OSM gang is meeting on December 16th near Paddington. #openstreetMap #maps #london

A huge unforced error by senior management at the University of Nottingham: https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/university-nottingham-selling-80m-campus-10675585 Utterly disastrous for University staff. A second round of early retirement/voluntary redundancy, or more, is in the […]

Fascinating coda to my #FreeRange #Liverpool walk in the summer: Eldonian Village. I walked past the entrance and along one side of Eldonian Village and it looked a fairly innocuous piece of redevelopment. Turns out there's rather more to it […] [Original post on en.osm.town]

Fascinating coda to my #freerange #liverpool walk in the summer: Eldonian Village. I walked past the entrance and along one side of Eldonian Village and it looked a fairly innocuous piece of redevelopment. Turns out there's rather more to it […]

Rather late in tgebday for #sotmeu2025, but I finally found my copy of "Buildings of Scitland : Dundee and Angus". So I'm doing a bit of retrospectivevarchitectural tourism before I go to sleep tonight. Even had I found it earlier it would have added too much weight to my bag.