Chris Townsend

Beaver ‘escape artist’ mystery A mysterious beaver has appeared in Norfolk, prompting excitement and an investigation into which enclosure it escaped from

Norfolk’s wildlife mystery of the year. A beaver has appeared in the wild on the River Wensum for the first time in 400 years. Somewhere there is a breached beaver enclosure, but none of the nature reserves admit to losing one! Here's the intriguing story ⤵️

@eastangliabylines.co.uk

Collectivising Surrey: A Tragedy in One Act The mansion tax isn’t a revolution - but judging by the screaming, you’d think Rachel Reeves had just seized the Home Counties and nationalised the Cotswolds.

I go abroad for a week and return to wall-to-wall melodrama, pearl clutching and fainting sofa flop-downs about a surcharge affecting 1% of homes.

Britain's capacity for uncontrolled panic about nonsense remains totally undefeated.

I missed you, chaos island.

Welcome to the Liz Truss chatshow, but beware: viewers may end up in survivor’s therapy SuperLiz reboots herself in a utility room studio, delivering nonsense so pure even her guests look trapped

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Don't ever call this THING a president!

THE HILL: Highland landscape folk album fundraiser www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/thehillalb...

The Liz Truss Show review – hapless ravings from a cupboard Britain’s briefest PM kept her fans waiting before launching her latest plea for Maga attention in the form of a ham-fisted YouTube talk show

The Liz Truss Show review – hapless ravings from a cupboard | Liz Truss | The Guardian www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Former Dulwich pupil says Farage told him: ‘That’s the way back to Africa’ Exclusive: Yinka Bankole says he felt compelled to speak out after Reform leader’s attempts to ‘dismiss’ hurt of alleged targets

Farage, at seventeen, to a nine year old child from Africa...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

YouTube video by Chris Townsend Outdoors A Look At The Hilleberg Soulo

A tent for winter conditions. #hiking youtu.be/eGb2T3qYloQ

Well well. FIFA have just trashed their peace prize at the first hurdle

Over a pint in Oxford, we may have stumbled upon the holy grail of agriculture | George Monbiot I knew that a revolution in our understanding of soil could change the world. Then came a eureka moment – and the birth of the Earth Rover Program, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

1. Some good news at last. This week’s column is about the amazing thing a couple of us stumbled into three years ago, which we’ve now developed into a global research programme. It doesn’t change everything, of course, but it could help change quite a lot. + 🧵 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Lammy refuses to rule out Brexit reversal admitting rejoining EU would 'boost UK growth' | LBC The Deputy PM joined the News Agents as he said that 'our future is inextricably linked to the European Union'

Admitting that rejoining the customs union was not “currently” the Government’s official policy, Deputy Prime Minister Mr Lammy did concede that the growth potential of rejoining was “self-evident”

www.lbc.co.uk/article/lamm...

75% of Reform UK’s donations have come from just three rich men Calls grow for donation caps as Democracy for Sale research reveals that three-quarters of Reform’s funding comes from a trio of wealthy donors

🔴 Nigel Farage’s Reform is more reliant on super-rich backers than any major party in modern British political history

75% of *all* Reform donations *ever* have come from just three rich men

Is this what democracy looks like?

New on Democracy for Sale
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/75-of-refo...

Context: there is already a thriving black market trade in raptor young for 'falconry'. Certain countries (of course you can guess who) would like to make that a white market.

Attempt to downlist conservation status of Peregrine Falcons (to allow international trade) is thwarted at CITES conference To the relief of many raptor conservationists, a proposal to downlist the Peregrine Falcon from Appendix 1 to Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), which w…

Attempt to downlist conservation status of Peregrine Falcons (to allow international trade) is thwarted at CITES conference raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/12/04/a...

When the Hills Wear Stripes Have you noticed stripey patterns on high hillsides? I’ve noticed a lot recently. That’s undoubtedly because I’m spending so much time in the Cairngorms these days, where such patterns are common, but...

When the Hills Wear Stripes | Walkhighlands: www.walkhighlands.co.uk/news/when-th... @walkhighlands.co.uk

Screenshot of a tweet on 2nd December by the Reform UK party saying 'Nearly 1 in 3 schoolchildren in Glasgow do not speak English as their first language. This is not diversity. This is culture smashing. Reform UK will make this a big issue in our campaign.' There is a video of Nigel Farage speaking.

Feeling proud of the intelligent multi-lingual children in our city!

This tweet and the Farage video in it about "the cultural smashing of Glasgow" is getting rightly roasted by the good people of Glasgow on the other place...

Normalising deprivation – when charity is the default response to poverty The rise of foodbanks shows how charity has filled the gaps of a failing system and now risks normalising hardship

We’re relying on foodbanks to fill the gaps left by a shrinking welfare state. This article by Community Organisers CEO Nick Gardham explains why that risks normalising deprivation.

@eastangliabylines.co.uk @nickgardham.bsky.social

1. The European Parliament’s attempt to ban plant-based foods from being sold as “sausages”, “burgers” etc is a direct response to livestock industry lobbying. This is a short thread on how utterly bleeding ridiculous it is. 🧵1/6

November Sunset in the Cairngorms Cairn Toul & the Lairig Ghru just before sunset One of the big advantages of the winter months in the Scottish Highlands is that sunset is i...

A few days ago in the Cairngorms #hiking www.christownsendoutdoors.com/2025/12/nove...

Winter weather warning after 10 jump in mountain rescue callouts Lake District mountain rescue teams have reported a 10 per cent rise in callouts.

Lake District mountaineers warn of 'vital' weather updates | The Westmorland Gazette share.google/ujVPtuq8RcaB...

More detail on Natural England’s decision to close Hen Harrier Southern Reintroduction Project Back in September, Natural England announced its decision to end its controversial plan to ‘reintroduce’ Hen Harriers to southern England (see here). The decision was widely welcomed by…

More detail on Natural England's decision to close Hen Harrier Southern Reintroduction Project raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/12/02/m...

Goshawk dies from gunshot injuries in Aberdeenshire – Police Scotland appeals for information Press release from Police Scotland (1 December 2025): APPEAL FOR INFORMATION AFTER BIRD OF PREY SHOT IN ABERDEENSHIRE Officers are appealing for information after a bird of prey was shot in Aberdee…

Goshawk dies from gunshot injuries in Aberdeenshire - Police Scotland appeals for information raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/12/01/g...

Great culture can save lives. Literally.

Amazing letter in today’s @thetimes.com about Tom Stoppard

"A meat tax is a win for our climate, our forests, our health, our healthcare systems, and animal welfare. "

news.stv.tv/scotland/sco...

This is actually quite brilliant, up to and including the final sentence 🔥

Trump Boat Bombings Suddenly on Shakier Ground as Damning Info Emerges Will Republicans give us a real investigation into Trump’s bombings, now that we just learned horrific new details about them? Or are they seriously going to fall on their swords for Pete Hegseth?

News --> The commander who oversaw Pete Hegseth's alleged killing of two boat bombing survivors is now likely to come in and face questions from the House Armed Services Committee, ranking Dem Adam Smith tells me.

In this piece, I try to make sense of this horror:
newrepublic.com/article/2037...

Pete Hegseth committed murder—the only question is will he be held accountable?! Both Trump and Hegseth violated the law

Pete Hegseth committed murder—the only question is will he be held accountable?!
open.substack.com/pub/deanobei...

Kelly: He runs around on stage talking about lethality and the warrior ethos.. That’s not the message that should be coming from the Secretary of Defense… He runs around on a stage like he’s a 12 year old playing army. It’s embarrassing.