Former soldier and engineer, @carlbenfield.bsky.social joins @zackpolanski.bsky.social "We need an immediate COBRA-level response. We need climate change reinstated at the top of our defence and security agenda. And we need the bold leadership of Zack Polanski for our nation. Thank you."

Going back longer than we care to count, @itspetergabriel.bsky.social has been one of our favourite artists, and he is still creating beautiful new music. Enjoy a solo classic on your Wednesday aft. #DiggingInTheDirt #LiveForLiveMusic

"A decision that made sense in a British Rail spreadsheet does not in a regional economy." In praise of inefficiency.

Drought conditions

This week: southern Britain has too little water; this map projection has far too much. But first: in praise of inefficiency.

jonn.substack.com

You know what would be fun? FOI’ing all the cathedrals to ask how much they spend on teabags each year

Clare M. Dowding@claredowding.bsky.social · 10h ago

I'm just wondering how long the teabags are expected to last, and therefore when you'll need to get another 1300.

Let's talk about JK Rowling's 'bearded men'... I want to vent something that's been on my mind: The way transphobic groups and individuals are also actively homophobic. I've experienced it first hand, and know many others have too. 1/

There’s more and more BBC radio stuff that you can’t listen back to internationally and I must say, I don’t love it. I’m, of course, as a non-resident Brit, not going to (indeed can’t) pay a TV licence, but being able to get the radio has always been a lifeline for native Brits living abroad.

🎉 New article @nature.com! Ever wondered how the European Union can effectively reduce and remove life cycle #emissions of building construction and operation and reach its #climate targets across Member States? Check this out! 👇 Available #OpenAccess - Free download via: doi.org/10.1038/s414...

Did you hear our National Librarian Amina Shah on BBC Radio 6 Music this morning? Amina spoke with Nick Grimshaw about a Very Specific Playlist which ties in with our exhibition, ‘Rain’, on now at our George IV Bridge building in Edinburgh.

All joking aside, this feels a bit misogynistic to me. If the UCI are that worried about marginal aero gains then why are they not targeting those ridiculous TT helmets. Or even checking riders in male tts for chest padding? www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/a...

Tour de France Femmes cyclists face checks for aerodynamic-boosting chest padding

Riders at the Tour de France Femmes were subject to extra clothing checks before Tuesday’s stage following claims some could be using extra padding to seek an aerodynamic advantage

theguardian.com

“Protect users from discrimination and harassment” is doing a whole lot of heavy lifting for a code that is explicitly designed to target, harass, and enable discrimination against trans people, who should be protected by the Equality Act 2010

Equality and Human Rights Commission@equalityhumanright.bsky.social · 14h ago

Our code of practice for services, public functions and associations comes into force today. It provides practical guidance on how the Equality Act 2010 applies to services, public functions and associations. Find out more: https://ow.ly/alIf50Zwrkx

I just saw a piece in @thebookseller.com about this fundraiser - to protect and share a collection of over one million Black books in the UK, a labour of love by one collector, Baba Pepukayi, but a vital resource for the nation. www.gofundme.com/f/save-1-mil... Please share, and donate if you can.

Donate to Save 1 Million Black Books, organized by Black British Book Festival

Save 1 Million Black Books One of Britain's Largest Collections of Black Books… Black British Book Festival needs your support for Save 1 Million Black Books

gofundme.com

does anyone know of any work that’s been done on career trajectories of (UK humanities) academics who have been made redundant? eg information about how many go into school teaching, early retirement, independent research? appreciate this is complex, sensitive and much data is too recent

📢PROJECT UPDATE📢 You may have seen the news that the University of Exeter, home of the wills project, has placed 500 academics at risk of redundancy. The project leader Prof. Jane Whittle & project co-investigator Dr Laura Sangha are both at risk, alongside almost all of the History department. 1/

Here a compilation of stupid things library consultants have said to me in solidarity with library pals at Lambeth Libraries where genius consultants has decided that a qualified head of library service post isn't really essential.

And now a discussion and conversion chart for linear measurement. Here the key measure is a Thorburn, which is 64.2 m (70'8.5") long, named for Paul Thorburn's world record successful penalty kick for Wales v Scotland in 1986

Hugh Jones@hbsj.bsky.social · 2d ago

Here's another conversion chart: 1 Wales = 20,782 km2 1 Kilowales = 20,782,000 km2 1 Megawales = 20,782,000,000 km2 The world has only 510,072,000 km2 surface area in total (land and sea) which is about 24.5 Kilowales, so the Megawales is really only used for planetary science

Dorothéa Klumpke US astronomer. 1893 PhD on rings of Saturn @ Uni Paris. 1886 Director Bureau of Measurements @ Paris Observatory Carte du Ciel project. Worked w husband to photograph 52 Herschel areas of nebulosity. Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur b #OTD 9 Aug 1861 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothe...

Lithograph by David Hockney. ‘Rain’ part of 1973’s Weather Series suite. Size 99 x 80 cm.

Are you an early career researcher in the humanities and social sciences? Join the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the British Academy Knowledge Frontiers Symposium to network with fellow researchers in an in-person symposium in Bonn, Germany. Apply now: https://bit.ly/4yL3Stm

Hey UK #energy people - an organisation I’m working with has been quoted £12k to have the gas supply removed and capped after they switched to heat pumps. Any suggestions for how they might avoid these charges? @richardlowes.bsky.social

A range of emotions. #comicsky #webcomic #emotions

Navigating your way through all the acronyms swirling round the Higher Education sector can be a minefield. But did you know there's a glossary of OU and Higher Education acronyms on the Library website? Never be in the dark again - check it out at 👇 https://ow.ly/KLre50ZwaTf

Terms of reference here: www.gov.wales/review-highe...

Review of higher education in Wales: terms of reference | GOV.WALES

The review of higher education in Wales will make recommendations on the funding and organisation of higher education.

gov.wales

Research Professional News@resprofnews.bsky.social · yesterday

Review aims to make Welsh research ‘globally competitive’. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Scottish exam results day is today. Exciting and anxious times for 148,000+ students and their parents and carers.

Scottish exam results day 2026: More than 148,000 students finding out their grades

More than 148,000 people across Scotland will receive their exam results today.

bbc.co.uk

🧵Public consultations are used to craft new laws and really worth your while! This one is about protections for women and girls in the justice system. If you have or work with children, bear with me on this thread 🙏 consult.gov.scot/justice/prot...

This would be a very useful thing for #EduSky to think about and it works both ways.

Dr Jennie Orr@drjenniferorr.bsky.social · yesterday

“A subject is only elite if you only allow the elite to study it … [Classics] is everyone’s heritage” - Bettany Hughes on the money #Odyssey

This. It's embarrassing how anti the skill of *actually having a go at* speaking additional languages we are.

Mr E@theniceman.bsky.social · 2d ago

It's played out with tragic consequences in languages teaching. If it's not essays, literature, grammar, linguistics then we just don't do language learning in this country. There are no mainstream language learning pathways post 16. whoteacheslanguages.blogspot.com/2023/10/colo...

Penicillin was not, in fact, the first antibiotic.

Brilliant letter from Stuart Thompson to Jeremy Clarkson about his comments that benefit claimants should write weekly thank you letters to tax payers detailing how they spend their benefits each week.

What would we no longer have if fireworks were banned? Terrified pets, yet more pointless plastic released into the environment, antisocial moronic noise. Call me crazy but I reckon we can just about cope with that kind of loss, as a species.

Have you wanted to travel from London up to Towcester via Stony Stratford but only want to view the exact route? Well, you're in luck: we've found this map from we think the early 19th century showing just that. #MKMonday