Looks like the first round results for the Manchester mayoral by-election are due soonish. Turnout is 25%, which is the lowest ever, but there has never been a big turnout in these elections - the highest was 34% in 2021, and in 2024 it dropped to 32%. BBC coverage could not sound less interested.

Greater Manchester mayoral by-election: Counting under way in contest

The contest was triggered when now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham stood down from the role following his election as an MP last month. Results are expected later today.

bbc.co.uk

Or all the Lib Dems in Trafford etc etc

I've always liked Argos, and we still use it fairly regularly. I always thought integrating it into Sainsbury's shops was a terrible idea, but weirdly this story doesn't even mention the fact that (presumably) it now needs to be extracted from Sainsbury's shops again. Seems ... expensive!

The Times and Sunday Times@thetimes.com · 5d ago

Sainsbury’s sells Argos for a ‘knock-down’ price of £120m

Can you imagine how much of a story it would have been if Reform had won the Manchester mayoral contest. And for a while it looked not only possible but in some ways probable looking at the polls a few months back. And yet they were trounced. They got nowhere near. That should be a big story.

Hours without a toilet break. Unsafe, dirty, inaccessible facilities. No access to sanitary products. From periods to childbirth to menopause, the rail industry is failing women train drivers. By not improving toilet access they're placing barriers in front of women who may wish to join the grade.

I recently had an article on food and patronage by women in late antique and early medieval Iberian monasteries published in the newest issue of Medieval People. ☺️ scholarworks.wmich.edu/medpros/vol4...

This week I wrestle with a very thorny issue: Should history make us uncomfortable or comfortable? I don't know if I fully came to a conclusion but here are some ideas about using history to teach us morality, how we abdicate responsibility to the past, and how we draw meaning from it.

Should History Make You Uncomfortable?

Spend enough time on the internet and it's likely you've come across the sentiment that "history that makes you comfortable isn't history but propaganda." Sometimes it is expressed more bluntly as "hi...

among-the-ruins.ghost.io

(features elephants, which @samottewillsoulsby.bsky.social will surely appreciate)

Another summit conquered.

Spain will deploy its military to restore order at its border with Morocco in Ceuta after thousands of migrants streamed into the tiny Spanish territory, with at least nine dying in the attempt. n.pr/4pQJq6m

At least 18 die after breach of border between Morocco and Spanish exclave of Ceuta

At least 18 migrants have died trying to reach the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, where Spain deployed its military after thousands of people breached the border with Morocco and poured into the territory.

n.pr

"ditch of blood"? (@roelkonijn.bsky.social intensifies)

Cuthbert indulges in a spot of light cultural tourism.

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

Book returned to Cambridge University Library after 60 years

The university has a long history of overdue books, forgotten keys and stolen clock hands returned late.

bbc.co.uk

@neuroalscotland.bsky.social Hi I messaged Caroline Coates on Linkedin CEO of the Harry's Hat charity and she said she might arrange a meeting with Angela Constance about hydrocephalus. I wonder if I will ever set up a hydrocephalus only charity in Scotland as the existing one is focused more on SB.

18 miles done with Warrington, Halton and St Helens @samaritans.bsky.social today for the tri-borough trek - to mark Samaritans Awareness Day, and the fact that the branch support three Boroughs - Warrington, Halton and St Helens! To donate visit: samaritanscommunity.enthuse.com/pf/whsh-sama...

Terrific thread this:

Dan Neidle@danneidle.bsky.social · last wk.

I have a modest proposal for a new tax. It involves a deck of cards and a monkey throwing darts. Here are the rules:

“I’ve long supported a fundamental reset of the upper house” Paul Sweeney MSP sets out his idea of a restructured upper chamber at Westminster, suggesting that legislators should “fundamentally have a mandate that has been democratically expressed”.

From Troy to Ithaka, Glasgow to Palermo - stories of homecoming and the unhomed anatomiesofpower.wordpress.com/2026/07/26/c...

Coming Home, Becoming Unhomed: From Nolan’s Odyssey to a Palermo Collective

“One can replace, to all intents and purposes, the word ‘exile’ by refugee, misfit, outcast, outsider, expatriate, squatter, foreigner, clandestine, heretic, stranger, renegade, drifter, a displace…

anatomiesofpower.wordpress.com

Me yesterday - best seat on an RAF Airbus A400M Atlas. It was amazing to get to spend time with the pilot an crew!

If anyone has views on what's on the table, I'm all ears.

Charles West@pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 2w ago

Tax collection, as depicted in 11th-c. Byzantium (Sinai. Gr. 339, f. 73v), via Jennifer Ball, 'Uniformity and Distinction', who draws attention to the officials' white hats.

Made the mistake of reading the AI summary when I googled "oaths early middle ages" earlier, we're through the looking glass people

@pseudo-isidore.bsky.social where are you going in China? Me and my Mum went to Shanghai in 2018 on the way to Japan then but I don't think we'll go to Mainland China again. We might go to Hong Kong again and the ISPN conference in Taipei in Autumn 2027 though.

From parliament to pilgrimage: This summer I’m embarking on the Camino de Santiago to raise funds for the Communication Workers Union’s humanitarian aid projects. Follow my progress, donate if you can, and please SHARE. ¡Buen Camino! www.justgiving.com/campaign/mercedescwuha480milehike

Mercedes sponsored 480-mile Hike for CWUHA

Mercedes Villalba is a former Member of the Scottish Parliament. Inspired by her comrade Matt Kerr's recent sponsored bike ride she is teaming up with CWUHA to raise funds by doing 480 mile overland t...

justgiving.com

@pseudo-isidore.bsky.social railway-news.com/orr-gives-go...

ORR Gives Go-Ahead for Opening of Cambridge South Station

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has officially given final approval for the opening of Cambridge South station.

railway-news.com

Posting, since I haven't seen it on Bluesky yet, that my former colleague Robert L. Wilken died a few days ago. Perhaps best known for 'The Spirit of Early Christian Thought' and 'The Christians as the Romans Saw Them'; also 'The Land Called Holy' and 'John Chrysostom and the Jews.'

Robert Wilken Obituary - Washington, DC

Celebrate the life of Robert Wilken, leave a kind word or memory and get funeral service information care of DeVol Funeral Home.

dignitymemorial.com

Welcome to Scotland's new #NatureChampion for Paths, Jenny Young MSP! We look forward to working with Jenny in the months and years ahead to champion, protect and expand Scotland's trail network, for all to enjoy. Find out more: www.scotlink.org/species/paths/

Nature Champions@naturechampions.bsky.social · 2mo ago

📣 Nature Champions News! 📣 Jenny Young is the #NatureChampion for Paths! Jenny will be working with @ramblersscotland.bsky.social to champion Scotland’s vital path network in the Scottish Parliament, Find out more: www.scotlink.org/species/paths/ 📸 CCBY4.0 ScotParl | Ramblers Scotland

Biggest UK train operator's services to enter public ownership www.gov.uk/government/n...

Britain's biggest train operator’s services enter public ownership this weekend

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which includes Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express, will transfer into public ownership.

gov.uk

The corrupt US administration is now rewriting history to try to prevent violent criminals being recorded as violent criminals.

Justice Department deletes press releases on charges against Jan. 6 rioters

The Justice Department confirmed that it had deleted the press releases as part of “stripping DOJ’s website of partisan propaganda.”

nbcnews.com

Huh. Why would Boeing (airplane company) and Toyota (car company) donate a MILLION bucks to Trump's Transportation Secretary's pet project? Could these billionaire corporations expect a return on their donation with regulatory favors? Looks like corruption in plain sight.

Boeing, Toyota Donated $1 Million Each to Transportation Secretary’s Road-Trip Show

A video series will feature Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and his family on a road trip to mark America’s 250th birthday and promote tourism.

wsj.com