The first stage of today’s journey from Bologna to Villefranche sur Mer. The stops are a list of foodie dreams; Bologna, Modena, Parma and, of course, Milano. Treated ourselves to business seats to watch the Apennines slipping past as we head north after a week in beautiful Bologna.

Cassini’s 67 meter long meridian line and the aperture in the ceiling of the Basilica Di San Petronio in Bologna. I didn’t quite get there for midday!! Installed in 1655 - an extraordinary scientific instrument helping to prove Kepler’s law of elliptical planetary orbit among others things. #Bologna

En route from Dusseldorf to London on Eurostar via Brussels. A good view of the iconic Cologne cathedral and the stunning curves of Liège-Guillemins station. #railway #flightfree travel.

Stayed in Wuppertal a couple of weeks ago and rode on the wonderful Schwebebahn. It went into operation in 1901 and runs 13 kms, mostly suspended above the river. An absolute joy of imaginative engineering. My 📷.

Yesterday’s journey from Bath to Wuppertal via Brussels. Travelling and having a day in the office simultaneously. Yes I’m going to take a ride on the famous Schwebebahn at some point! In the meantime work intrudes.

Lincoln Cathedral last week. The original built in the 11th Century was heavily damaged by an earthquake in 1185 and rebuilt in phases over the next 150 years. Viewed from a great distance or close up it is an extraordinary building. Lincoln also has other treasures, a lovely city!

The Palais des Papes and the famous bridge in Avignon earlier this month. Also the Tour Philippe-le-Bel and the castle, Fort Saint-Andre, in Villeneuve-Les-Avignon on the opposing bank of the Rhône. Philippe built them to keep an eye on the Popes. 13/14th century. #medieval #France #Castles My 📷.

Cattedrale di Otranto, Puglia consecrated in 1088 with the 12C tree of life mosaic floor below. It also houses the bones and skulls of the Otranto martyrs from the massacre of 1480. #ceilingsunday

Calling Reform racist isn’t slander. It’s maths. 20 incidents. 18 months. 1 Farage in a permanent huff.

DEEP DIVE: How Does Reform Show Its Racism? Let Me Count the Ways

From “target practice” on refugees to burqa bans in Parliament, the tally tells the story better than Farage ever could.

bearlypolitics.co.uk

Fontaine d'Eure near Uzès, the supply of water via the Pont du Gard to Nîmes. Slots for water level control and 2-3cm of opus signinum still visible in the rock cut channels that carried 40Km3 of water a day across 50 kms with a drop of 17m of Built 40-60AD. Astonishing #Roman #Provence. My photos.

Sadiq Khan's team on Trump's comments about London crime The homicide rate in the US is seven times that of London

Party of the people.

Written by a doctor at St Thomas' Hospital, London after the Tommy Robinson march on 13/9.

Rollright Stones on the Oxfordshire/Warwickshire border. The Neolithic/Bronze age site was used 4th to 2nd millennium BC and built in phases. A view of the King’s Men stone circle, one of three monuments at the site. What rituals took place here ? #StandingStonesSunday #Neolithic #BronzeAge

Oh no

Antronics Ltd@antronicsltd.bsky.social · last yr.

It's easy to forget how utterly inhuman this is. How unspeakable. How absolutely appalling. Israeli forces deliberately fired missiles into a hospital. A *fucking hospital*. And - according to WHO - they've done it to at least 734 other healthcare facilities. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

Four journalists among 15 killed in Israeli strike on hospital in Gaza, say health officials

Deaths take to at least 192 the number of Palestinian journalists killed in the conflict since 7 October 2023

theguardian.com

A word on immigration. Don't prejudge this, just listen to the data, and then consider what the solution is. The UK has a falling birth rate. This means that - unless things change - each generation will be 25% smaller than the one before.

Walz: "It boggles my damn mind that in the midst of a military takeover of our cities, the flaunting of the rule of law, that the press finds the need to talk about, 'Oh, there's a division in the Dem Party.' There's a division in my damn house & we're still married and things are good. That's life"

Anti-asylum protests and threats, political dog-whistling, flag-mania, emboldened racists strutting around our streets… It must stop. People must speak out. This country mustn’t be chewed up with hatred and failure. Such an important read. @iandunt.bsky.social liveapp.inews.co.uk/category/386...

Reform UK ‘looking after our own!? Don’t count on it. Homeless charity closes following funding dispute With Reform UK council www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...?

Northampton homeless charity has closed, says council

A council says it

bbc.co.uk

The Iron Bridge in Shropshire. Completed in 1779; the first finished large scale cast iron bridge in the world. Made from iron smelted close by in the Severn Valley it spans, the bridge is a symbol of the Industrial Revolution and is curiously complex and beautiful with a span of 30 meters. #bridges

Did a walk around Lincoln (Lindum Colonia) this afternoon looking at Roman stuff. There’s a lot to see, imagine what’s beneath the pavement ! The Newport Arch still in use, base of one of the east gate towers and the Mint Wall variously 1st to 3rd Century. #Roman #Lincoln

Brilliant museum at Egnazia. Not often you encounter an aquarium in a museum displaying prehistoric and classical era material. The tank has a massive 2000 litre Roman wine amphora, and live fish ! Lots of 5/6 C BC Messapian pottery and a wide selection of Roman artefacts. #Puglia #Roman #Italy

Egnazia, a Messapian then Roman city in Puglia. My pics of the amphitheatre, a section of the Via Traiana, the market and the interior of a painted stone cut tomb. This site has a superb museum. The city was abandoned in the Middle Ages when malaria became widespread. #Puglia #Roman #Italy

Little Down Hill Fort sometimes known as North Stoke Hill Fort. Triangular multivallate promontory fort outside Bath. The the point looks west across to Bristol. You can walk from Little Solsbury Hill fort to this easily in a morning. Both overlook Bath. #HillfortsWednesday

Solsbury Hill iron age hillfort ramparts built around 300-100 BC and possibly destroyed during a Belgic incursion in the early 1st century AD. The turf maze near the fort entrance has a Celtic feel, was created during protests against the building of the nearby A46 in the 1990s. #HillfortsWednesday

Haven’t been able to visit any sites recently but spotted this beautiful single rampart hillfort built by children on the beach at St-Jacut-de-la-Mer last month. Are we naturally inclined to build these structures ? Love the shell cobbled floor !! #HillfortsWednesday #IronAge

Swans with seven cygnets today on the canal in Bath and a bonus heron hunting in the water’s edge. #Birds #Birding

The ramparts at Dolebury Warren hillfort, part of a beautiful walk in the Mendip Hills with incredibly varied landscapes. The views are across the Chew Valley to the Bristol Channel. Some of the huge rubble walls are exposed by weathering. #HillfortsWednesday #IronAge

Last night’s journey from Inverness to London on the Caledonian Sleeper after a few working days in Scotland. Thanks to the great crew for a smooth trip. #FlightFree2025 #Trains #Railways