Stuff like this is exactly why public services get such a bad rep. Southwark Council is literally paying someone to watch an overflowing bin and fine anyone who tries to deposit their rubbish there, rather than pay someone to empty the bin.

I was fined £500 after putting a coffee cup in a rubbish bag next to a full bin

Reader expresses consternation after enforcement officer issues penalty notice outside station in London

theguardian.com

We saw CJ perform on Sunday, just before the start of the gymnastics. It was funny and absurd, and a great way to celebrate the volunteers.

‘It’s OK to mess around’: how ‘mop man’ stole the show at Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games

CJ Miller from West Lothian has delighted global audiences with ‘sheer stupidity’ of his half-time routines

theguardian.com

That thing where it's difficult to work out where Scotland ends and Northern Ireland begins.

There are worse ways to spend a Sunday afternoon in Glasgow

Commonwealth Games 2026 LIVE: Glasgow - live text updates, scores, results from day three

Follow live text updates, results and medal table from day three from the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

bbc.co.uk

My uncle lives in (and was evacuated from) Nethy Bridge. Climate change is here: it is bewildering that there is even a debate on the need for Net Zero.

Evacuated villagers in Cairngorms allowed home after wildfire threat lifts

Scottish first minister thanks Nethy Bridge residents and aid workers after earlier requesting UK military aid to fight 10-day fire

theguardian.com

Worrying times as my uncle and aunt are among those that have been evacuated from their house tonight because of the wildfires in the Cairngorms. Hoping the predicted rain this weekend arrives in time to prevent any more serious damage.

Police declare 'major incident' as wind change increases Cairngorms wildfire risk

All residents in the village of Nethy Bridge have been evacuated over the threat the wildfire spreading.

bbc.co.uk

Termsync.co.uk is most excellent, not least it's running on an open weight LLM hosted under the maker's desk.

My friend tried to stand for Parliament. She was likely to win the local Labour party selection for her winnable seat. So the Labour party organised a stitch-up to stop her. She would have been a great MP but wasn't a Labour party insider. The main parties not welcoming newbies is a problem.

Why Was No MP Capable of Being Prime Minister? — Freewheeling

Why, without Andy Burnham, did Labour seem doomed? How can a party with 403 MPs not have a single person deemed capable of becoming Prime Minister. I would argue that this is a flaw in institutional ...

freewheeling.info

First Bus is providing free travel passes to vulnerable pregnant women in Leeds to help them attend maternity appointments. The scheme, run with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, will offer 1,000 Day tickets until March 2027. news.firstbus.co.uk/news/first-b...

First Bus teams up with Leeds hospitals to help mums-to-be make vital appointments | First Bus UK News

Bus operator to provide 1,000 Day tickets to help vulnerable women in pregnancy

news.firstbus.co.uk

One day I will see my "free bus travel on the day you have a hospital/NHS appointment" idea enacted. Akin to the free travel if you had a Games ticket at London2012; it'd be for you and a friend/carer.

Prof Scarlett McNally@scarlettmcnally.bsky.social · 2w ago

Woo-hoo! My new @bmj.com article On how to fix health. By enabling physical activity eg active travel + public transport. Discusses #motonormativity, incentives, culture www.bmj.com/content/394/... x @livingstreets.bsky.social @ianwalker.bsky.social @walkwheelcyclet.bsky.social @fsem-uk.bsky.social

Oh mate, New York style. @apiln.bsky.social

New York sculptor spent $100,000 to make a Charlie Kirk statue no one wants to buy

Sergio Furnari said he thought the lifesize sculpture – which no one commissioned – would raise ‘millions’ of dollars

theguardian.com

Maybe, just maybe, @thetimes.com, you should mention that the journalist who wrote this piece has a child at the school at the start of the article, not the end. (Also the standfirst says the school is not backing down, but the article says it has implemented the recommendations from the report).

The Times and Sunday Times@thetimes.com · 3w ago

The school punished for being too strict

Is this the Burnham effect? #FRAENG

What a lovely episode of DID this was. For reasons I don't completely understand Lauren Laverne gets quite a bit of stick for her presenting style, but give her a guest like Paul and she is a brilliant host.

Jenny Edwards CBE@jennyedwards.bsky.social · 4w ago

Lovely to hear @paulfarmerceo.bsky.social on Desert Island Discs. A great campaigner talking about his work on #mentalhealth & #age Moving to hear about how friends helped him grieving the loss of his partner Claire. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

News orgs are definitely stretching the definition of "breaking news" with the announcement of Andy Burnham's selection as leader of the Labour Party. There will be more "breaking news" on Monday when he becomes PM.

Drove through the middle of this yesterday on the way home. Yes it was a bit disruptive, but a dispersal order seems quite an extreme measure to deal with people gathering to grieve.

Coventry dispersal order extended ahead of vigil for young biker

A balloon release also took place in memory of Jayden Cornwall who died in a crash in Coventry.

bbc.co.uk

Just imagine a world where stories like this lead the BBC News website every day...

Bayeux Tapestry delivered to British Museum in dead of night

The famous artefact depicting events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England will go on display in September.

bbc.co.uk

As three men are found not guilty of the murder of journalist Lyra McKee in 2019, her family say they will continue their fight for justice for the rising star, whose impact endures internationally. ✉️ Read our latest newsletter, by Alex Thomson:

‘System of justice has failed Lyra and Northern Ireland’, say family

As three men are found not guilty of the murder of journalist Lyra McKee in 2019, her family say they will continue their fight for justice for the rising star, whose impact endures internationally.

channel4news.substack.com

RSS has been around for decades, but it’s still one of the most powerful tools around to take control of your media and social consumption. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...

Hate “The Algorithm?” RSS Is One of the Tools You’ve Been Looking For

Since at least the moment Facebook introduced (and apologized for) its News Feed, “the algorithm” has been shorthand for the ways the tech giants control what we see and when we see it. In the age of

eff.org

TV historian Laurence Westgaph sued us to expose our sources and posted sinister threats about me and the 'cutthroats and sell outs'. We spent £75,000 fighting him in court - a crucial first test of the 'journalism exemption' in GDPR. And we won!! ✌️ www.livpost.co.uk/a-dish-best-...

A dish best served cold: Laurence Westgaph sued us to reveal our sources - and lost

The former TV historian waged a legal campaign to find out who had spoken to The Post. A year later, we met him in court

livpost.co.uk

This is exactly the kind of content I'm here for. Chris Spargo goes behind the scenes showing what happens if you are part of the UK press pack at the recent G7 conference in Evian. And then, as a bonus, gets the last interview with the PM before he resigned.

The Prime Minister resigned after this video

YouTube video by Chris Spargo

youtu.be

On parking duty at local football tournament. More stressful than it should be.

Newspaper stories on radio presenters with new gigs always have a line that goes'how will they cope when the mic goes live on day one?'. But they've usually been dep'ing the show for ages. In Sara's case, almost 10 years. Her day one show could easily be her 300th breakfast show on Radio 2.

Sara Cox on the Radio 2 breakfast show: ‘It’s huge but I’m ready’

She had a reputation as a hard-partying ladette but was normally in bed by 9pm. Now the BBC has rewarded the conscientious DJ — and charity marathon runner — with the biggest gig of her career

thetimes.com

"I'm fed up with too many immigrants in my country." "What are you going to do about it?" "I'm going to become an immigrant in another country."

The people leaving the West behind in search of the Russian dream

The BBC asks Westerners who moved to Russia if life there lives up to expectations.

bbc.co.uk

This is brilliant. It's a great story, made even better because it was all captured on video.

Angry People in Local Newspapers@apiln.bsky.social · last mo.

Living the dream. Unless you’re the crim, then ha ha mate. #NiceThings

Surely it's this?

Jeremy Benson@jembenson.bsky.social · last mo.

Every hometown’s got the ominous megastructure, what’s yours?

I just don't understand how headteachers can do this? At some point it must become a safeguarding issue. Our kids' school has allowed PE kit / shorts for the rest of the term, and it is a rare state school with full aircon.

Angry People in Local Newspapers@apiln.bsky.social · last mo.

The heatwave #HomeYouGo stories are coming thick and fast now. www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...

Chilling in the server room. Quite literally.

Went outside. Won't make that mistake again.

Apropos of the obvious, did you know that the Number 10 lectern has its own Wikipedia entry?

10 Downing Street lecterns - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org