Ah yes, BBB is fixed after 3 years. The delay to fix a smashed up station really shows how deep TfL cuts have gone…

Diamond Geezer Blog@diamondgeezerblog.bsky.social · 2d ago

Bromley-by-Bodge link

Alys, loudly commenting as we walk past the proprietor of a restaurant “this place looks nice… shame about the AI generated menu”

Devastated by the news that the Lord Tredegar cat, Beyoncé was mauled by a dog 🥲

I do think we should be spending the (empty) cycle shuttle bus money on something more consequential … perhaps improving bike lanes on both sides of the river? More cycle hire docking stations?

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan@london.gov.uk · 2w ago

From gridlock to getting moving 🚦 58% quicker journeys. 23% fewer unplanned closures. Over 10 million free bus journeys. One year on, the Silvertown Tunnel is making a measurable difference for people travelling across the river.

"Not to be chronically online, but I just wrote Tumblr instead of tumbler. And I had to correct it twice" @alys-creative.bsky.social

The sooner that water comes into public ownership the better.

Jim Pickard@pickardje.bsky.social · 3w ago

looks like Thames Water has given a 14% pay rise to its chief executive and a 26% rise to its finance director

Because you’re not legally allowed to directly advertise drugs or to doctors here - all the ads at Custom House are [pharmaceutical company name] + [generic slogan]

A frustrating conversation with a colleague about LTNs, bike lanes and School Streets today - data and hard evidence is no match for lived experience apparently!

“councils no longer employ their own armies of engineers and architects and builders” okay, well…. Hire us? this is a fixable problem

7.2km and 4 new stations of Metro line for €880m. Madrid knows what it’s doing! That’s incredible value - the Bakerloo line extension is similar length and is estimated (in 2017 prices!) to cost up to 10x as much. www.railwaygazette.com/metro-metro-...

Madrid metro Line 11 to be extended to Valdebebas

SPAIN: The Comunidad de Madrid has given the go-ahead for an extension of metro Line 11 from Mar de Cristal to serve the northern suburban development area of Valdebebas Norte. The cost of building th...

railwaygazette.com

Spooky vibes this evening, as someone is blasting the X-Files theme out of their apartment www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz2w...

Mark Snow - Materia Primoris: The X-Files Theme (Main Title) (Official Audio)

YouTube video by RHINO

youtube.com

Why not 128 countries? Why not stage it every year? Don’t devalue your tournament by making it so large everyone qualifies! (Also, the bigger it gets, the harder / more expensive it is to stage)

The New York Times@nytimes.com · 3w ago

From @theathleticfc.bsky.social: Gianni Infantino said FIFA will examine expanding the World Cup by a further 16 nations to a 64-team tournament ahead of its next edition in 2030. The 2030 tournament will be spread across six nations and three continents. nyti.ms/4pmQ1Fu

Astonishing - Vingegaard is so much faster than the rest of the GC contenders, but nothing compared to Pogačar!

the Inner Ring blog@inrng.com · 4w ago

Tadej Pogačar (UAE) wins Stage 6 of the Tour de France

Bayeux Tapestry tickets booked!!

Heatwave sunsets

In the final stages of wedding planning - the number of people who filled in the "I have an allergy" box with n/a is non-zero. (Design by @alys-creative.bsky.social of course)

CBC/Radio-Canada is now a full member of the European Broadcasting Union. One step closer to Eurovision glory.

Well this is a bit on the nose.

Grantham Research Institute at LSE@granthamlse.bsky.social · last mo.

We regret that our event on Extreme Heat: Improving governance and strengthening action around the world has been cancelled due to the red extreme heat warning issued by the UK Met Office. Our apologies to everyone who was planning to attend the event.

I do find my job really rewarding - but when it's this hot, I realise how much of a difference my work on keeping homes cool in summer will benefit residents for the decades that will come.

So... this is our new summer normal? 10º above the previous averages? This is dangerous, honestly.

The last leader to have a full term in office with a majority government was Tony Blair, 2001 to 2005. Says a lot about the dysfunction of the last 10 years….

As seen on Alys' tumblr. Happy Pride month y'all!

Quoting a friend on discord talking about the UK’s proposed social media ban “Whenever I see news stories like this, I can't help but think of the young trans kids in transphobic households, whose only way of connecting with peers and learning about themselves is on social media.”

An example of the silliness of big hammer approach banning platforms like YouTube - sure, 17 year olds won’t be able to watch streamers and concentrate on homework, but they also won’t be able to access amazing learning resources such as Crash Course. youtube.com/@crashcourse

CrashCourse

At Crash Course, we believe that high-quality educational videos should be available to everyone for free! Subscribe for weekly videos from our current courses! The Crash Course team has produced more...

youtube.com

I'm not exactly a libertarian, but the very notion of the government banning 16 and 17 year olds from using social media after a certain time in the evening just seems laughably tinpot

Very much enjoyed the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration. The excerpt from @cashbrowns.bsky.social in the Queer Comics exhibit made us laugh, and @alys-creative.bsky.social did some art!

It continues to amaze me that a brand that *only lasted 8 years* still has remnants littered around London, and is held in high regard by train nerds. Such was the step change in quality, service and brand …

Diamond Geezer Blog@diamondgeezerblog.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Network SouthEast 40 link

It’s fascinating that there’s boroughs that want to meet their housing targets … and those that have zero interest in doing so. IMO government should be using development corporations to “force” new towns into existence…

Andrew Carter@andrewcities.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I think the proposed Crews Hill new town/urban extension should go ahead. And if the government and the London Mayor agree - they have the powers to make it happen www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

And TfL are taking over the Great Northern and the Thameslink core at the same time… oh wait. I live in hope of further devolution, but DfT isn’t going to give the cash cow of profitable / revenue neutral London commuter lines to TfL anytime soon….

Josiah Mortimer@josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 2mo ago

This Sunday, Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express will transfer into public ownership, to "deliver more reliable, passenger-centred services across the rail network." Plans include doubling trains to Gatwick Airport each hour and recruiting more drivers to reduce cancellations.

Under 100 days to go until the wedding. A lot still to do…