for the first time in two and a half years, a new note was played in this organ performance today!

Brilliant letter from Stuart Thompson to Jeremy Clarkson about his comments that benefit claimants should write weekly thank you letters to tax payers detailing how they spend their benefits each week.

So it's farewell to the History subject area at the University of Hertfordshire, not the first nor the last to go. One of the best departments in the country, just extinguished like a snap of the fingers. Think of the waste. (1/2)

Emancipation Day Underground Freedom Train Ride is a unique and awesome tradition the TTC runs with the Blackhurst Cultural Centre. A non-stop ride between Vaughan Metropolitan Station and Union Station with singing and drumming to celebrate emancipation day. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Shellene Drakes-Tull: Canada’s Black history: A deeper look beyond the Underground Railroad

There is more to Black history in Canada and its history with slavery than the Underground Railroad.

thestar.com

Breastfeeding is ideal for those who can, but I am only alive today because of formula. Nestle as it happens. Pricing it high deliberately to make it inaccessible is vile. Interesting thread:

madeline odent@oldenoughtosay.com · 5d ago

the reason stores do this- and this is not a Tesco exclusive policy- is because official WHO policy is to support breastfeeding, and someone somewhere decided to interpret that as “don’t promote formula” and then decided to interpret THAT as “make it as unaffordable as possible” and here we are

Now presenting: a thread of “Comic Celluloid Buttons” from a 1943 novelty catalog

These days, traffic lights are controlled by computers linked to sensors. A hundred years ago, it was a little more manual - as this controller for Picadilly Circus that went live on 26 July 1926 shows.

I’ve been standing stock still in this wood for about 10 minutes while I mess about with a photo on my phone. I look up, notice the shape, and slowly crouch down to film This has made me so happy I feel I could cry. It’s as close to magic as I hope to get.

In previous years this event has been dominated by archaeologists asking questions of each other. Break the mould! Ask questions no one is expecting. Or ones they've heard a thousand times. Qs you've just thought of, or ones you've always wanted to ask. Archaeologists are waiting for your Qs!

YAC@yac-cba.bsky.social · 2w ago

Welcome to Ask an Archaeologist day! 🎉 Follow @archaeologyuk.bsky.social throughout the day and send in your questions. #AskAnArchaeologist #FestivalOfArchaeology

Could Excel be conscious? We surveyed more than Jan 1 1900 people to find out.

LIVE: Four unitary councils announced for Hertfordshire in reorganisation plans #Hertfordshire

LIVE: Four unitary councils announced for Hertfordshire in reorganisation plans

The Government has confirmed that Hertfordshire will have four new unitary councils under Local Government Reorganisation plans announced today.

hertsad.co.uk

Great news everyone. Our Reform-led county council has solved the problem.

#OnThisDay 60 years ago BR abandoned its 'colour bar' - preventing black workers from occupying customer-facing roles at London railway stations - thanks to the campaigning of Asquith Xavier. Asquith pictured here in the role he fought for; Guard at Euston buff.ly/Riixw15

I made an animation which shows the effects of air pollution on pedestrians waiting to cross the road, along with what can be done to reduce its harmful effects: stepback.gregdev.com Thank you to @ianwalker.bsky.social for the inspiration for doing so during a conversation a couple of weeks' back!

'Step back' - air pollution at pedestrian crossings

Every busy road produces a cloud of pollution you can't see. Where you stand in it matters more than most people might realise.

stepback.gregdev.com

If I get 2 more patrons, I can start sending out stickers like this! patreon.com/dsoart

Major fire near where I live. Our local church and mosque are working together to collect food and supplies for people who've been evacuated. That's the reality of Islam in London. Could you pass that on to the American midwesterners for me, @dlknowles.bsky.social...

A superb dog charity in nearby Murcia are offering to help treat/look after any animals injured in the fires in #Almeria. They have in-house vets and have saved space - they're saying any species. If you see people needing help with any animal because of these fires, tell them.

#BookIndustryNews 💙📚

Victoria Strauss@victoriastrauss.com · 4w ago

Writer Beware is currently receiving an incredible volume of reports of impersonation scams: publishers, editors, literary agents, production companies, conferences, & more. I started keeping a list in 2024; in recent months it has more than doubled. writerbeware.blog/2024/03/15/t...

I do think it is useful every once in a while to read some directions and hold them in your head while you walk or drive or bus or train somewhere. A little memory palace exercise is always good, even if a GPS-capable phone is in your pocket to save you if needed

It’s 2026, you don’t need to play me a recorded message telling me there is help available on the website! Obviously I tried the website first! I don’t want to talk to you any more than you want to talk to me!

I see Ann Widdecombe has died. When she was Home Secretary I showed her round Drake Hall womens’s prison. There was a pregnant woman on a bed in the early stages of Labour and she asked the prison officers why she wasn’t handcuffed to the bed. That’s the kind of woman she was.

This is a real image. Taken by Voyager 1 in 1979, the icy moon Europa floats above Jupiter's swirling Red Spot maelstrom. The shadow is from Io, another of Jupiter's large inner moons, which is out of frame. Oh to see this view with my own eyes (safely shielded from the lethal radiation fields)

We want to pay particular tribute to Alain Du Chemin, who, after being diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour bravely shared his story to campaign for assisted dying in Jersey until his death. Together, we have made history.

Finally got around to reading A Visit from the Goon Squad (2011). I see Jennifer Egan has a new book out, so I’ll probably catch up to that by the mid 2030s… 💙📚

An incredible life here, both saved and defined by a technology now made obsolete through vaccination

KXAN News@kxan.com · 4w ago

The last polio survivor in America to depend on an iron lung, Martha Ann Lillard, has died. She recalled the day in 1953 when she knew she had polio. "I got it on my fifth birthday." https://www.kxan.com/top-stories/last-american-polio-survivor-in-an-iron-lung-dies-at-78/

Installed a Ring cam in my chicken coop and can honestly say these are the best Notifications I've ever had

Happy birthday NHS (with Alt text).

Norfolk Record Office@norfolkro.bsky.social · last mo.

78 yrs ago today our wonderful #NHS was born. This NHS registration card was issued on that day to Adelaide Cole of Rackheath. #otd #NorfolkHistory

It's still not wealth beyond the dreams of avarice, but it is payment in respect of people accessing one's books/chapters/articles, etc, so, academics, sign up with the Authors Licensing and Copyright Society www.alcs.co.uk

Contingent Magazine@contingent-mag.bsky.social · last mo.

“. . . it’s not just that most academic writing doesn’t earn you anything—most of the time, it costs you.”

These beautifully crafted balls, dating to around 1500 BC (18th Dynasty), were made from linen and decorated with vibrant red, blue, and green reed strips. They were likely used not only for play but also in rituals and acrobatic performances. On display at Museum August Kestner 📷 me

England is divided into two newspaper regions. They are the Bicester Times, the Worcester Times.