"Zozo". The Basque word for blackbird. To me, it seems to perfectly express the bird's zest and busyness. While the Spanish "mirlo" and especially the Catalan "merla", conveys the male's melodious fluty song. And then we have blackbird now sounding so drab. Image: wiki

@daliagebrial.bsky.social : "Sally Rooney.. was also making a point about the proscription of Palestine Action as an unprecedented overreach of govt power, an abuse of govt power.. [that] the actions of PA do not fit any conventional respected intl definition of terror.." 🎯

How the media works: this morning, we had the presenter on Sky who is a Labour peer being told by a Labour minister that the Greens are racist and the presenter of a BBC politics show being told by an ex-presenter of a BBC politics show who now shills for Murdoch that the Greens are racist.

Of course this was coming, but it doesn't make it any less ridiculous Reform UK plans to scrap Sandwell Council climate emergency | Halesowen News share.google/pHvOn1reAHVd...

Reform to axe climate emergency declaration

Reform UK plans to scrap Sandwell Council’s 2020 climate emergency declaration, with deputy leader Gary Dale set to put the motion to a full council vote.

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The Woodman, Curzon Street, Birmingham UK #art #drawing #illustration #urbansketching #urbansketch

Great to see my union @unison.org.uk opposing more drilling for oil

Stop Rosebank@stopcambo.bsky.social · 2w ago

BREAKING 🚨: 10 trade unions, representing millions of workers, have jointly warned Burnham to "do the right thing by the planet, UK communities and workers" and reject the controversial Rosebank oil field

The Woodman pub is a dogged survivor of all the recent upheaval on the east side of Birmingham. Good to be out in the sun sketching it #drawingonlocation #urbansketching #pubs #Birmingham #HS2

1/ 🚨 Breaking News: the Cressingham Gardens and Central Hill Estates - two high-quality and much-loved schemes built by Lambeth Council in the late 60s and early 70s have - after sustained campaigning by residents - been saved from demolition: www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Two 1960s London housing estates saved from demolition after decade-long battle

Change of council leadership hands reprieve to residents of architecturally celebrated developments in Lambeth

theguardian.com

With the planet now heating at 0.4C a decade, the idea the world will be just 2.7C hotter by 2100 is pure fantasy Like 1.5C before it, the 2.7C figure is being used to massively underestimate the dire straits we are in, and to play down the desperate need for action NOW

Andy Burnham needs to ask himself a serious question: 30 years from now, who will history judge harshly: Sally Rooney or the politicians who sent arms to Israel? It's not a hard one to answer, is it?

'Pigeon park', Colmore Row, Birmingham UK. Pencil and acrylic ink #art #drawing #illustration #urbansketching #urbansketch

"Bird populations have long been considered to provide a good indication of the broad state of wildlife... This is because they occupy a wide range of habitats and respond to environmental pressures that also operate on other groups of wildlife" New data shows continued long-term decline

RSPB Science@rspbscience.bsky.social · 2w ago

Today’s update of the official Wild Bird Populations Indicator for the UK and England depressingly reveals continued declines across habitats, both in the short and long term Read on for more www.gov.uk/government/s...

Many might be dead chuffed with a 'wobble' that increases their party's vote from 10% to 33% @zackpolanski.bsky.social @greenparty.org.uk

#FOTW Daily Post 9 We're in uncharted territory The air you are breathing today is different in composition to any breathed by humans before. This is because CO2 levels are higher than at any time in the last 14 Million years, and still climbing Please share + tag 2 #FateOfTheWorld

"Firefighters attend far more than fires. They respond to road traffic collisions, flooding, rescues, hazardous materials incidents, building collapses, medical emergencies and major incidents that place lives at risk." Stop the Cuts to West Midlands Fire Service www.change.org/p/stop-the-c...

Sign the Petition

Stop the Cuts to West Midlands Fire Service

change.org

It's not easy to deliver a talk on evolution that both young and old will find interesting. @juleshoward.bsky.social more than managed it at my local school last night. I know at least one young person who is more enthusiastic about their schoolwork after hearing it @profaliceroberts.bsky.social

Celebrating 70 years as a nature reserve "Hundreds of millions of years ago, the rockface of Wren's Nest (in the English West Midlands) was located underwater all the way across the globe, south of the equator near what is now Brazil." BBC News share.google/xlPaVFLRfam2...

Celebrating the geological importance of Wren's Nest in Dudley

Wren's Nest nature reserve is being showcased in a year of special events that shine a light on history.

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Corbyn, Rosen join fight against Islington library budget cuts share.google/Wx6irzudlDt7... @alanwy.bsky.social @jeremycorbyn.bsky.social @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social @unison.org.uk

Corbyn, Rosen join fight against Islington library budget cuts

Islington library cuts have sparked a protest backed by Jeremy Corbyn and Michael Rosen, as campaigners oppose potential funding reductions.

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One day, we too will all be refugees looking for shelter. Let's hope we never come across anyone as self-serving, petty, and mean-spirited as the Tories sitting on Dudley Council @sutrbirmingham.bsky.social www.dudleynews.co.uk/news/2660250...

Dudley Council leader refuses £120,000 grant for refugee and migrant charity

Dudley Council’s leaders aim to pull the plug on funding for a charity which helps migrants claim benefits and housing.

dudleynews.co.uk

#FOTW Daily Post 2 Fossil fuels are just old sunlight - stored solar energy from deep time that we're now burning all at once. The sun already sends us 10,000x the energy we need. We're digging up the past instead of making the most of the gift above #FateOfTheWorld — please reshare + tag 2

The London Borough of Islington are planning to cut as much as a quarter from their budget for public libraries Join us this Thursday to protest this decision @unisonmedia.bsky.social @unison.org.uk @librariesconnected.org.uk @tuc.org.uk

"Libraries and Library Workers promote and support community empowerment, wellbeing and wealth building. It’s a service to be proud of and one worth fighting for" Join the campaign to save Islington libraries @unison.org.uk @andreaegangs.bsky.social islingtonunison.wordpress.com/2026/09/16/s...

Say NO to cuts to Islington Libraries

Alan Wylie, Islington librarian and UNISON shop steward, on why we need to fight cuts to our libraries: Islington Libraries have a long and illustrious history from James Duff Brown to our very own…

islingtonunison.wordpress.com

In the 25 years since 9/11, the United States has spent $8 trillion+ on wars that have taken millions of lives in the name of fighting "terror." Can you imagine if we had instead invested those funds here on climate, health care, housing, and education?

UNION WIN! London bus drivers to get air conditioning! Following negotiations between Unite, Mayor Sadiq Khan and TFL, air con will be installed in all bus driver cabs by the end of May 2027. During the heatwave cab temperatures could get as high as 40 degrees.

Mural from @philthblake.bsky.social at the entrance to Worcester bus station

Coventry Street, #stourbridge. Pencil and acrylic ink. #art #drawing #illustration #urbansketching #urbansketch

Bandstand at Mary Stevens Park, #stourbridge. Pencil and acrylic ink. #art #drawing #illustration #Park #urbansketching #urbansketch

A bit of light reading it ain't. ... but important stuff from @profbillmcguire.bsky.social

Climate breakdown is all-pervasive and affects the solid Earth as well as the atmosphere and oceans We ignore this at our peril Read my latest piece in @theguardian.com 🙂 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The Nepal and Tibet flood is a warning: melting snow and ice will bring more disasters around the world | Bill McGuire

In Alaska, the Himalayas, the Andes, Greenland, and perhaps also the Alps, deadly chain reactions are just waiting to be triggered, says climate professor Bill McGuire

theguardian.com

250 million birds flew across America last night, tracked by radar. Migration season is upon us, and it’s wilder than you could imagine. Birdcast’s live migration maps and forecasts (from Cornell Lab of Ornithology) are brilliant, and you can find them here. birdcast.org/migration-to...