Ian Hall

London Welsh are now two promotions away from the Championship, where they were in 2017 when the RFU decided to boot them out as a result of the huge financial issues caused by their ruinous Premiership excursions between 2012–15.

They started from the very bottom of the pyramid. Amazing stuff.

Unusually my third butterfly species of the year behind red admiral and small white. All yesterday. Spring is coming!

The Chalk Stream Recovery Pack is a DEFRA document outlining the policy roadmap to protect and restore England’s unique chalk streams.

It exists. It was set for publication in 2023. The government shelved it.

Now there is a petition to publish it: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/71...

Sign up 💙

Thanks to RevIvel for an informative tour of the Ivel Springs this week.

One key takeaway: It's vital that excessive water abstraction from chalk stream source aquifers is reduced, to restore natural waterflow.

Healthy, flowing watercourses are critical for our wildlife, and indeed for ourselves.

It was great to have you out with us. Thank you! We have provided affinity water with a workable and sustainable solution. But they will want to kick the can down the road for decades. Help us to get this timescale accelerated and adopted as a chalk streams first pilot. 6 chalk streams will benefit

Hello BlueSkyers

A lovely early winter dog walk in North Herts this morning. @northessexnotes.bsky.social @bbcweather.bsky.social

They are awesome. Remind me of a Yes album cover. All colours work beautifully but purple for me.

psychadelic tote

tasteful orange tote

victorian greens tote

calming greens tote

Opinions Wanted!
So . . . . just supposing . . . . we were maybe going to get some Real Seeds Tote Bags made up, ideal for bringing your veg home in, which colours should we go for???
Four options here, would you prefer:
Tasteful Orange?
Calming Teal?
Victorian Greens?
Psychadelic?

You can read the full letter here: bit.ly/CHMPOpenreach

Hi everyone. New on Blue Sky. We are a passionate group fighting to get flow back in the upper Ivel (chalk stream). Keen to link up with other like minded people to keep the pressure up on Steve Reed / Labour to deliver on pre election promises. Start by overturning awful CS recovery plan decision.

An adult and child watching water pass under a wooden bridge. Photo taken from behind, they’re dressed for the cold but the sun is shining.

A pushchair on a footpath alongside a vegetated stream.

A slow river on a sunny day. Trees on leaf are reflected on the river surface.

An adult carrying a baby in a backpack in a chalk quarry.

A busy mind this eve after the Dept of Geography’s screening of Tony Eva’s film, Pure Clean Water purecleanwater.film, on the Cambridge chalk stream crisis. I learnt a lot (cried a bit) & found a little hope. These precious Cambridge waterways hold many memories. Thank you @cambsclimate.bsky.social

Agreed. I feel very relieved and slightly proud!

A lump of chalk on a frosty morning demonstrating its ability to store water. Unfortunately Affinity Water currently take 53% of all available water from the upper Ivel catchment, up to 14 million litres per day! @beneath-b-waters.bsky.social @stormwater-jo.bsky.social @welshriversunion.bsky.social

Not a multicoloured toothbrush, but another of our UK moth caterpillars, the Vapourer.

The continued destruction of wildlife-rich habitat in east Suffolk, much in the AONB, by Sizewell C ahead of a final investment decision supported by #UKLabour all funded by UK taxpayers, shows #Labour's total disregard of UK's #biodiversity crisis
Heart-breaking #SayNo2SizewellC

We seem to be getting daytime murmerations here in North Herts. Lovely to see but a bit odd!

Bye to the high

Hi to the low...and some much colder weather

Turning more unsettled with some rain, snow and ice over the next 7 days, with colder air gradually digging down from the north

The first taste of some colder weather arriving from the north this weekend

Petition: Apply for the UK to join the European Union as a full member as soon as possible I believe joining the EU would boost the economy, increase global influence, improve collaboration and provide stability & freedom. I believe that Brexit hasn't brought any tangible benefit and there ...

#Brexit “the Petri dish for Trump”
“#Brexit hasn't brought any tangible benefit and there is no future prospect of any, the UK has changed its mind and that this should be recognised.”
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...

Warnings issued for cold and wintry weather There’s a major change in the weather from this weekend, as an early winter cold spell arrives bringing the potential for disruption for some next week.

A taste of winter incoming..

www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/new...

Imagine meeting someone who was alive when Stonehenge & the pyramids of Egypt were built 5,000 years ago

Daft yes? Well what about a tree that was alive then, and still is

The Great Basin Bristlecone Pines of California

Photo: Rick Goldwaser

Anglian Water had biggest increase in sewage spills over last two years The study compared figures from 2022 and 2023

"Heading into the Autumnal months, heavy downpours and prolonged periods of rain can be expected to overwhelm the UK’s drainage infrastructure".

A reminder: in the 6 months ended 30/09/23, Anglian Water revenue went up £66.6m (+8.8%) to £827.5m...
www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-n...

Outrage in pretty UK town as sewage 'emergency' alert issued The Environment Agency classed it as the most severe, which means it has a serious, extensive, or persistent impact on the environment, people, or property.

Anglian Water. Again...

See my post yesterday for exactly how much money they're raking in from customers, whilst defiling our waterways in return... 😡

(Apologies for quoting the Daily Express. I wouldn't normally go near it, but this is important).

www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1956...

go.bsky.app/KaDADYV

Rivers and water quality starter pack.

Comment below if you think you or someone else should be part of this group.
I will add you.

Two Ealing housing developments flushing sewage into River Brent and Thames - EALING.NEWS - The Voice of Ealing 7 towns - Acton, Ealing, Greenford, Hanwell, Northolt, Perivale, Southall. A Environmental Information Request (EIR) to Thames Water has revealed that two housing developments in Ealing have been flushing sewage directly into tributaries of the River Thames through the River...

Report in @ealingnews.bsky.social on the 5 housing developments discharging sewage straight into the River Brent. ealing.news/environment/...

WE DID IT!

Hello—introductions seem in order in this cordial new space.
👋
I’m Robert Macfarlane; I write books, films & music about the infinitely complex & fascinating terrain where nature, landscape, language & imagination entangle.
These are some of my books—& Is A River Alive? (just finished, out May 1st.)

Golden autumnal scene with trees and leaves reflected in a stream.

Autumn in Cambridge keeps getting better and better!

Glad you added the hashtag! Would bring a bit of excitement to your local patch! Have a great time!