David Irwin
@davidirwin1987.bsky.social
Former journo, left for pastures news. I enjoy good books, old footpaths, folklore, writing, watching wildlife and tennis and most geeky things involving goblins.
🚗💨 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%
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.
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.
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".
Trying to get back into pencil drawing after many years off..
"Under weaknesses, you've put 'Accidentally stopped the fight against Ebola'?"
This excerpt from the rather brilliant A Very British Coup - penned in the 80s - seems rather prescient.
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
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...
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.
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.
My winter garlic is coming along well, the recent cold snap should hopefully help split the bulbs.
Happy 91st birthday to Tom Baker. I never really had a Doctor of my own - the hiatus mapped almost exactly onto my childhood; a baby at the time of McCoy, all but an adult when Eccleston arrived. But old VHS tapes of my Dad's meant I was a massive Baker fan.
