Lack of rain in East Anglia has now made even mature trees so stressed they're losing leaves like it's autumn. These are from a 10m tall hybrid poplar whose roots should be in the water table here in the Suffolk Fens. Not seen it this bad before in 34yrs living here. #drought #ClimateChange

Having told us for days that the Dunwich Heath wildfire was the size of 210 football pitches I'm surprised BBCNews didn't say the firebreaks were as wide as five cricket pitches. www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...

Watch: Bulldozers create fire-breaks at Dunwich Heath site

Firefighters are to remain at the scene of the huge wildfire for the next week.

bbc.co.uk

I worked for New York’s largest medical center at the start of the pandemic. There were morgue trucks on the streets. They set up emergency medical tents in Central Park. Healthcare worker colleagues died. It is horrific that RFK Jr is on national TV lying that ICUs were empty.

You know it's not worth carryig on with a "thriller" set in WW2 London when the air raid warning is described as repeated blasts of the siren and a few pages later someone talks of film stars staying at The Savoy including Frank Sinatra.

Yeah you can donate to the Nurse Appeal here www.parkinsons.org.uk/donate/parki...

The Parkinson's UK Nurse Appeal

Thousands of people with Parkinson's don't have access to health specialists they desperately need to live well with the condition. Our Nurse Appeal is raising money to create more specialist roles.

parkinsons.org.uk

The wisteria at Melford Hall in Suffolk is having a second flower! Whilst not unusual, the amount we are seeing this year could be due to the stress caused by the prolonged hot and very dry weather. 📸 Zoe Bridges

At last, a BBC News story about Dunwich Heath wildfire that gives the area in acres and hectares first, instead of the BBC Standard Unit for area of football pitches. I can visualise 150 hectares but I don't even know what one football pitch looks like never mind 210. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Suffolk heathland fire stable, say crews, and fundraiser set up

Fire crews remain at Dunwich Heath and RSPB Minsmere. Meanwhile, a fundraising appeal is launched.

bbc.co.uk

UK heatwaves: Satellite images show how UK landscape has changed

UK heatwaves: Satellite images show how UK landscape has changed

BBC Verify's analysis indicates “vegetation stress” in many areas, which may affect wildlife and farming.

bbc.co.uk

Former farmer, aged 99, fulfils wish to lead cow at Stranraer show one more time

Former farmer, aged 99, fulfils wish to lead cow at Stranraer show one more time

Jackie Brown says it was beyond a dream come true to lead an Ayrshire cow one more time in Stranraer.

bbc.co.uk

“What will the Lovell Telescope discover/enable 20 yrs from now? I can’t tell you, and that’s the point. It will either be something extraordinary that none of us can yet predict, or we will defund it and leave Cheshire with a rusting monument to unfulfilled potential and discoveries never made.” 🔭🧪

Tim O'Brien@proftimob.bsky.social · 3w ago

www.northwichguardian.co.uk/news/2629113...

"First the traitors then the invaders" is Elon Musk endorsing an open call to prioritise political murders + assassinations before violence against migrants and minorities. Still little recognition in the UK government at the persistence of the promotion of political violence - inc murder - by Musk

Yet another drought email from @anglianwater.bsky.social telling us to use rainwater butts to water the plants. How does that work when the reason we have a hosepipe ban is it hasn't rained here for over a month? We bought a new butt in late April and it's only been full once since then.

Ollie is 10 today. He's hoping his birthday cake is as huge as the big straw bale. #Dogs

I’ll tell you “why”, Zia Contempt of Court Act 1981

This is very disappointing. Such an important and undervalued brief which was for years held by a succession of uninterested itinerants. A prisons minister who genuinely cared and who was starting to see results.

Cassia Rowland@cassiarowland.bsky.social · 2w ago

The day’s first casualty: James Timpson resigns as prisons minister. This is a big surprise! Timpson had a long history as a prisons reformer before entering government and seen as one of Starmer’s more innovative & exciting appointments. He’s also delivered a big change programme in gov. So: why?

"Overall carbon emissions have increased" in the UK, because of Net Zero, Kemi Badenoch repeatedly tells the BBC, to no pushback. Just completely untrue

How Donald Trump Created the Worst Diarrhea Outbreak This Century prospect.org/2026/07/16/h...

How Donald Trump Created the Worst Diarrhea Outbreak This Century - The American Prospect

The ‘MAHA Trots’ are what happens when Republicans implement their anti-government agenda.

prospect.org

⚠️ The loss of European Union (EU) nurses from the NHS caused more than 3,700 additional hospital deaths in the three years after the Brexit referendum, according to researchers. Utterly heartbreaking.

Loss of EU nurses after Brexit 'responsible' for more than 3,700 deaths

The loss of EU nurses from the NHS caused over 3,700 additional hospital deaths in the three years after Brexit, accordi

nursingtimes.net

Iran Speaker of Parliament Ghalibaf:

Temperatures peaked at 35.2°C today at Coton in the Elms, Derbyshire This means 2026 has now broken even more temperature records 🌡️

Had an email from Anglian Water announcing a hosepipe ban, which is only to be expected. But their ban website says you can still water plants from a water butt. The ban is because East Anglia hasn't had significant rain for months, so how can our water butts contain any water?

According to the Amazon tracking map, the driver bringing the new dog bed is only 3 stops away, even though they have 50mi to do to get here. 🤔

This is a very happy but quite mad story. (Though I am quite sad that everyone is proceeding on the basis that "James" is a person rather than an apparition of St James...)

SAVE Britain's Heritage@savetoreuse.bsky.social · 4w ago

🌟King Melchior arrived early this year - a wonderful story of community spirit www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

The UK govt wants to reclassify Coastguard Rescue Officers as "volunteers" so they can get out of paying them an hourly wage when they go out to save lives. Demand the govt scrap plans to strip rescue heroes of their pay... act.38degrees.org.uk/act/coastgua...

Save Our Coastguards: Scrap plans to strip rescue heroes of their pay!

This is so outrageous. The Government wants to reclassify Coastguard Rescue Officers as "volunteers" so they can get out of paying them an hourly wage when they go out to save lives. Join me and sign...

act.38degrees.org.uk

Who said moths are dull and eat clothes? Royal Mail stamps issue, release date 9th July

hi hello modern slavery expert here 👋👋 requiring asylum and refugee seekers to pay back support is precisely how traffickers keep victims in debt bondage. this exposes people to even greater re-trafficking risks. is the uk government trying to stop trafficking or learn from criminals?

Pictured: The new cut price British drone will be carried around the battlefield to reduce fuel costs.

Unofficial BBCNews (UK) Bot@bbcnews-uk-rss.bsky.social · last mo.

Burnham's chancellor will have to find extra £4.7bn for defence, says minister

Ben Cullen, a leading figure of the "Raise the Colours" campaign, will stand trial for three separate charges regarding a total of 78 indecent images of children. I have only seen this covered in local newspapers, so far. Grim as it is, it needs wider coverage www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/2624087...

Sunscreen *does not* raise your risk of skin cancer, despite what you might read on social media. This is all down to a classic misunderstanding of a scientific paper. We explain 👇

No, sunscreen doesn’t cause skin cancer – Full Fact

Posts on social media have misunderstood a scientific study, which explains that people who use more sunscreen may well be exposed to more cancer-causing sunlight.

fullfact.org