One completely random thing I wish I knew: what were the fish in the "loaves and fishes" Gospel story? Were they smoked? Were they pickled? How did people in Judea thousands of years ago carry smelly fish for a portable lunch without them rotting?

Ok, on care provision, as someone who lives in H&F, I'm delighted it's the only council that pays for home care. How does it do this? Why can't other councils? What's weird/mad/special about H&F? www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcar...

The only council in England offering free at-home social care to elderly

In the London borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, more than 1,500 people a year get free essential support, taking pressure off local NHS hospitals

thetimes.com

On this day 27 years ago , Arsenal signed Thierry Henry for 11 million 🤯 #ArsenalFC #Gunners #PremierLeague

I met some people during covid who changed my life for the better, & I'm grateful for that. I remember being involved in work that felt important & progressive. And, I still get a sick, physical reaction to certain images & memories, to mentions of certain politicians. Both these things are true.

Those who want to weaken the Spanish government, boost the European far-right, and create turmoil inside the European Union lost little time in promoting images from Ceuta as soon as they arrived, @anneapplebaum.bsky.social writes:

The Far Right Is Distorting Ceuta

We’ve seen this before.

bit.ly

Every time I hear people claim that school lockdowns were a mistake, I wonder how many more children would have lost caregivers, if we hadn’t.

Prof Christina Pagel@chrischirp.bsky.social · 5d ago

Several studies have since shown definitely that children and schools contribute signficantly to transmission. In Sweden (with no formal lockdown), parents and teachers of pupils at school had higher infection rates. Children live with and are taught by adults. Many are vulnerable adults. 4/12

Another bit of travel advice that many don’t seem to know. If you’re travelling in most of Europe (the EEA footprint) get a GHIC card, even if you have the best travel insurance ever. www.nhs.uk/using-the-nh...

Applying for healthcare cover abroad (GHIC and EHIC)

Find out if you're eligible to apply for a new UK EHIC or UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC).

nhs.uk

Craig@craig.nikolic.co.uk · 2y ago

Talked yesterday to the third person in the last week who didn’t know about the UK Foreign Office Travel Advice page. If you’re going abroad, even as a seasoned traveller, this is where you get the only reliable advice on immigration, health, etc. Sign up to the alerts. www.gov.uk/foreign-trav...

A major advancement was made with sodium batteries recently in England  www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...

Scientists left water inside a battery and nearly doubled its power

A surprisingly simple change could make sodium-ion batteries far more powerful while opening the door to turning seawater into drinking water. Researchers at the University of Surrey found that sodium...

sciencedaily.com

The diarrhea lettuce company, Taylor Farms, uses slave labor contracted from the Arizona Dept. of Corrections. The backbreaking labor is often performed by imprisoned Mexican nationals who would be otherwise ineligble to work in the US. They are paid $1.50 an hour.

The Diarrhea Lettuce Company Has Been Linked to Forced Labor

The lettuce-producing Taylor Farms was linked to the widespread use of prison labor before its involvement in a cyclospora outbreak.

futurism.com

Pope Leo at Angelus: “Hoarding and waste are two sides of the same evil: greed. This spiritual sickness numbs the senses, which become intoxicated with wealth, to the point of making people forget those who weep from hunger and cry out from thirst.” www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

Massachusetts farm installs 832 solar panels above berry fields, and the berries grown underneath turned out sweeter and juicier and could change the future of American farming - The Economic Times share.google/GDGqQBgisqhG...

Massachusetts farm installs 832 solar panels above berry fields, and the berries grown underneath turned out sweeter and juicier and could change the future of American farming

A Massachusetts farm is integrating solar panels above berry fields. This agrivoltaics project generates electricity while shading the crops. The elevated panels create a cooler microclimate, retain...

share.google

Which is exactly what Kevan Collins was very aware of when he went to govt in 2021 and proposed his £15bn schools recovery plan, and govt said no. Instead we had Ofsted going into schools saying they didn't want to hear COVID mentioned and the DfE hammering schools over attendance figures.

If provided in early teens might help them decide on GCSEs or technical path. Of course ideally you need a route back. Dutch secondary system has different paths from 12 or 13 but with the option of taking an additional year later to move across if they change their mind.

The interesting thing about school closures during covid (agree with them or not) is they had much less impact on long-term academic outcomes than people expected (me included). But much more long-term impact on mental health and attendance.

Every day, I hear a new-to-me falsehood that I never thought was possible. Disinformation regarding vector-borne diseases, in particular, seems to be a frequent among those who would undermine & dismantle public health.

Bill Grueskin@bgrueskin.bsky.social · 3d ago

RFK told Dana Bash that Lyme disease “almost certainly” came from gain of function research. Which is utterly false. www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdi...

“The climate emergency kills,” he said on Monday. “And that’s why it’s not enough to address the consequences, which we do; what we have to do is reduce its causes, anticipate its effects, and, consequently, better prepare our country to protect people’s lives.”

‘Climate change kills’: Pedro Sánchez speaks plain truth to Spain’s deniers

PM has long history of speaking out on realities of global heating but political opponents remain unnmoved

theguardian.com

My books will be on my shelves where they belong. A few friends used to laugh at me for keeping what they called obsolete things like vinyl records and old books. They all agree it was a good idea now.

Cats currently all huddled terrified under furniture. Dogs of the neighbourhood freaking out. Birdlife audibly distressed. But, hey, it's all ok. No need to be a killjoy. Everyone loves the sound of war! Why should that be upsetting? It's all just a bit of good fun.

Can confirm that ostriches as well assume that we're also ostriches - when I worked in an ostrich farm we scared them away by putting a small bag on top of a pole and lifting it up. When the bag gets higher up than the ostrich's head they figure you for a bigger ostrich and run away.

One thing that really struck me reading about the 1918 flu pandemic which killed at least 25 million, and up to 100 million, was how it was scarcely mentioned afterwards ianhopkinson.org.uk/2022/05/book...

He can properly be called "the first pediatric infectious diseases physician" & he's one of those largely unsung heroes of science & medicine who saved millions of lives with his research & advocacy. The /opposite/ of RFK, Jr., in other words.

Theodor Escherich: The First Pediatric Infectious Diseases Physician?

Abstract. The career of Theodor Escherich (1857–1911) qualifies him as the first pediatric infectious diseases physician. His landmark bacteriologic studie

academic.oup.com

When he says it shouldn't have been the only harm considered! It wasn't! Christ, as someone that works in schools, when I think back to what harm we knew many of our (not just working class) students would come to by being home, to imply this wasn't considered, (or mitigated) is mind blowing.

Some of London's most attractive spaces are blue. Over the next decade, we'll restore habitats, tackle pollution and revive waterways across the capital. Here are the 10 locations being revitalised ​⬇️ www.standard.co.uk/news/london/...

Revealed: London's 10 new wild swimming and revitalised beauty spots

Sir Sadiq Khan announces his 10-year plan to clean up the capital’s rivers, which he said had suffered from ‘decades of neglect and pollution’

standard.co.uk

I had some hope Healey might be better but all the stuff he’s briefing shows he understands nothing about the way costs divert to other services, escalate and multiply the more you try to dodge them. It’s not even conceptually complicated… a stitch in time saves nine.

Their own children’s recovery tsar resigned because they weren’t acting seriously or responsibly. A government that showered money about but couldn’t find a serious sum to make amends to children.

Well all I will say is that it was well known in the corridors of power that lockdown 1 would have to happen before it happened. And that they didn’t bother to ask for enough advice about kids or heed the advice that was offered unsolicited about repairing the damage.

Covid was dangerous. We really could not gather inside with no ventilation for months. Thing is. We know that to mitigate this for the future, we need a societal change in ventilation systems that need to be placed into pretty much every public space where people gather. School, hospitals, pubs etc.

Oh and while we're at it, did you know that the DfE made early years settings (which HAD to stay open) buy their own masks and testing kits for staff. They bought them for schools which often had more than they needed so we passed on my own kids' spare testing kits to the early years setting I run.

So a whole lot of my talented Humanities colleagues are now unemployed as of today. A lot of understandable concern over Exeter. But for over two decades my Hums colleagues were in the top quartile for their research contribution to society. History top 10. Now gone with only a national whisper.

My take on COVID is it was a test which UK civil society failed. And there is little sign that things will be handled any better next time around. Humans are essentially solipsistic