Seascraper by Benjamin Wood is a wonderful read. Short but packed with so much: beautifully detailed characters and a wonderful sense of place and nature. Poetic, resonant & hopeful. Also on Audible read by the author.

I wrote this in 2020 the last time something similar on jury trials was proposed. Every word is valid now. cyclefree.co.uk/12-good-men/. It is a disgraceful proposal for which the government has no mandate. From the article

Well worth reading.

Good morning 🌞

Excellent article by @cyclefree.bsky.social on the national inquiry into grooming gangs and their child sexual abuse. As she notes, the direct issues are largely already known; other, related ones, however, remain in the shadows, to be addressed. www1.politicalbetting.com/index.php/ar...

For anyone interested in what the law actually says about single sex spaces at work and elsewhere, this is an invaluable - and accurate - guide. www.legalfeminist.org.uk/2025/02/26/s...

The 1st para sums up much of what's gone wrong in this country's private & public sectors: too many people treating vital jobs as little better than one of many well-remunerated sinecures, for which no obvious experience or competence is required, that they try to do off the side of their desks.

Thoughts on the Assisted Dying Bill - www1.politicalbetting.com/index.php/ar... The decision to exclude disability representatives is unfathomable, cruel & shows how little regarded they are by MPs always going on about the "vulnerable", the "marginalised" & "fairness". Empty words, as usual.

On Helen Pitcher, Leadership and Taking Responsibility - www1.politicalbetting.com/index.php/ar...

Since Inquiries are in the news, a look at what some well known ones have taught us ........ www1.politicalbetting.com/index.php/ar...

Cricket and Afghanistan: not normally subjects of interest to me. But the treatment of women is. Why England should not play cricket against Afghanistan - www1.politicalbetting.com

A book review - but the last paragraph is applicable to more than just this story. barry-walsh.co.uk/challenges/

#AssistedDying I am genuinely fearful. I have 2 long-term - and potentially expensive - health conditions. So does my brother, one of my children & one of their partners. How can we, if this goes ahead, really trust the NHS not to put financial considerations ahead of our interests?

As a man, I find the term #VAWG problematic when really we all know we are talking about #MVAWG (Male Violence Against Women & Girls) #TheSilentM is a problem, IMO Too many ‘M_ _’ are silent We should speak the ‘M’

Important correction to correct misinformation being spread.

An excellent thread.

Much excitement in Casa Cyclefree today! My entry for the local agricultural show - home-made gardening compost. (Though really Nature did the work, not me.) The sun is shining too!

Cat expressing in the way only a cat can what she thinks of the notes for my book.

Anyway since moving to the remote bit of the Lakes, the part no-one knows and with not a Beatrix Potter tea-towel in sight, I have slowly been morphing into a country mouse. Not many occasions for wearing kitten heels, for instance. But my transformation is now complete because this afternoon ...