Martin

Katie Lam should learn London’s language Recent comments about the capital's school children's English skills suggest the Tory MP from Kent must try harder

I've now republished my piece examining Katie Lam's claims about spoken English proficiency in the capital's schools on my personal Substack: davehillonlondon.substack.com/p/katie-lam-... #london #truelondon #conservatives

Bowhead whale. Illustration by Uko Gorter/American Cetacean Society

How bowhead whales live for centuries—and how we might borrow some of their biology to extend our healthy lifespan. Gift link to my new column: nyti.ms/4hyD9ry

"The Chancellor has some difficult choices to make, but, with the cost of petrol and diesel now much lower than when the 5p fuel duty cut was introduced five years ago, the resulting revenue from ending the fuel duty cut and freeze could be used to benefit millions more people than it currently does and help alleviate the ongoing cost-of-living squeeze on households by providing better and more affordable public transport." - A quote by Ben Plowden, Chief Executive, Campaign for Better Transport

With 6 other orgs, we have written to the Chancellor ahead of next month's Budget urging her to reclaim £4.2 billion a year in lost revenue by allowing the "temporary" 5p fuel duty cut to come to an end and ending the 14-year fuel duty freeze.

Nigel Farage is wrong about the European Convention on Human Rights | Good Law Project The Reform leader is unveiling legislation to leave the ECHR. His arguments are wrong – and that move would be a disaster.

The Reform leader is unveiling legislation to leave the ECHR.

His arguments are wrong – and that move would be a disaster. Here are the facts:
https://goodlaw.social/ngjm

Comic. Confusion matrix showing renditions of different combinations, colored yellow, tan, or gray. [Air: gamma rays Y, neutrons Y, alpha particles G, light Y, sound Y, heat Y, swords Y, toxic dust Y, radio Y, sharks G] [Lead: gamma rays G, neutrons T, alpha particles G, light G, Sound Y, heat Y, swords G, toxic dust T, radio G, sharks G] [Water: gamma rays T, neutrons G, alpha particles G, light T, sound Y, heat Y, swords Y, toxic dust Y, radio G, sharks Y] [Vacuum: gamma rays Y, neutrons Y, alpha particles Y, light Y, sound G, heat T, swords Y, toxic dust Y, radio Y, sharks G] [Oven mitts: gamma rays Y, neutrons Y, alpha particles G, light G, sound T, heat G, swords Y, toxic dust Y, radio Y, sharks Y] [Armor: gamma rays Y, neutrons Y, alpha particles G, light G, sound Y, heat Y, swords G, toxic dust Y, radio G, sharks T] [Biohazard suit: gamma rays Y, neutrons Y, alpha particles G, light G, sound Y, heat Y, swords Y, toxic dust G, radio Y, sharks Y] [Faraday cage: gamma rays Y, neutrons Y, alpha particles Y, light Y, sound Y, heat Y, swords Y, toxic dust Y, radio G, sharks Y] [Shark cage: gamma rays Y, neutrons Y, alpha particles Y, light Y, sound Y, heat Y, swords Y, toxic dust Y, radio Y, sharks G]

Shielding Chart

xkcd.com/3158/

Try bsky.app/profile/then...

Cardiff set to tackle SUV 'carspreading' in UK first Cardiff Council is set to become the first local authority in the UK to introduce higher parking charges for SUVs and other heavy vehicles, in a move campaigners say will make city streets safer and f...

Cardiff will be the first UK city to introduce a surcharge for oversized SUVs and trucks, "while very large vehicles – those over 3,500kg – will be excluded from residential permits entirely."

A street map of Oxford. Woodstock Road, Banbury Road and the streets in their immediate vicinity are coloured pink. Botley Road and streets off it are coloured green. Cowley Road, Iffley Road and Abingdon Road and streets off them are coloured blue. Streets in Marston and Headington are coloured orange. The ring road matches the colours at each junction and fades between colours as it goes around. A small area in the middle is coloured yellow, and labelled "Central Permit Area". THe Congestion Charge traffic filters are indicated by black circles circles with white segments, those white segments correspond on a 24 hour clock face with when the filter isn't operational (and the remaining black, when the filters are operational). Crosses mark other filters in the city that are enforced by ANPR but are not part of the Congestion Charge scheme. Text at the top of the image reads "Temporary Congestion Charge for Cars in Oxford 2025-2026. Any road outside the Central Permit Area can be accessed without passing any traffic filers by using the Ring Road and selecting an approporiate exit junction (matching colours on this map)." A key at the bottom matches the filter types, with text "Traffic Filters. Hollow Way & Marston Ferry Road 7-9am and 3-6pm. St Cross Road, Hythe Bridge Street, Thames Street and St Clements, 7am-7pm. £5 daily permit covers all Congestion Charge filters. Free Permits available. For example for residents, business use, health and car, SEND and disabilty. Congestion Charge permits do not apply for other filters, such as High Street or in East Oxford/Cowley." Small print reads "Full details at https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/transport-and-travel" and "©@sjgower Contains OpenStreetMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Locations of highway filters are approximate and for overview purposes only. v1.3"

I made an infographic map. Oxford's Congestion Charge scheme (from 29th Oct) is not like most congestion charge schemes, because you can get to most streets in the city without being charged. My impression is a lot of people haven't realised this.

Tickets Alert: Evening opening of Severndroog Castle Severndroog Castle, a tall folly in southeast London that offers clear views across the city, is going to trial an evening opening of its rooftop viewing platform.

Severndroog Castle, a tall folly in southeast London that offers clear views across the city, is going to trial an evening opening of its rooftop viewing platform.

www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/tic...

Conor Gearty · Unwelcome Remnant: Erasing the Human Rights Act The Supreme Court is quietly editing the Human Rights Act out of existence. None of this is being done in secret – the...

‘None of this is being done in secret – the judgments are public – but the changes have barely registered. Judges, whether serving or retired, tend not to speak out. Barristers know on which side their bread is buttered.’

Conor Gearty on the Human Rights Act: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

The inflatables have made it to Broadview.

If CGT was assessed annually, if not actually paid then. Then no need for exit tax. Would need to have a point at which non-collected CGT became payable.

Paestan Red-Figure Fish Plate (happy-looking octopus detail) attributed to the Binningen Painter 3rd quarter of 4th century BCE terracotta 6.5 × 26 cm (2 9/16 × 10 1/4 in.) Paestum, South Italy Greek (South Italian, Paestan) Getty Museum Obj. No. 96.AE.240

For #WorldOctopusDay 🐙 here's a smiley octopus on a terracotta plate from Getty Museum 😀
Detail from Paestan Red-Figure Fish Plate, 4th c. BCE, attributed to the Binningen Painter
getty.edu/art/collecti...
#CephalopodAwarenessDays

ME: Now Mom, just remember, there's a lot of disinformation and AI in your social feed and your friends' Facebook.
MOM: I know! My friend sent me this crazy post where someone used AI to make an image of a giant frog fighting Army troops!
ME: ... okay, no, that one's ... goddamit, Portland.

This new residential tower in Lyon is made from wood.

In many ways, this is quite an incredible building. Here's why:

YouTube video by Green Party of England & Wales Let's Make Hope Normal Again - Green Party Political Broadcast

This is the first party political broadcast in a very long time that understands the trouble we’re in.

Great job @zackpolanski.bsky.social 💚

youtu.be/qxt4HCjd7VA

When I was a teenager there was a bus direct from my hometown in Germany to London - we had a British army base, and this direct bus connection was one of the benefits of that. One summer I went on that bus to go volunteer in an old people's home in Southend-on-Sea. I had just turned 18 and was... 🧵

From promises to collapse: The measurable damage Brexit caused the NHS Staffing gaps, medicine shortages and avoidable harm – the everyday reality of a broken Brexit promise

Brexit wasn’t abstract, writes The Bear.

It stripped out the NHS’s stabilisers – staff, medicines, safety nets – and left us running on fumes.

The cost isn’t just GDP points. It’s lives.

The ECHR and United Kingdom international relations The suggestion that the United Kingdom might withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights for immigration purposes is misconceived. To contend that ECHR withdrawal is a simple act without …

This is an excellent piece by @berryadrianc.bsky.social. cosmopolismigration.com/2025/09/11/t...

Contact information for bus operating companies contracted by Transport for London for subject access requests, including CCTV footage, under UK GDPR. The image provides details for Arriva London, First Bus, GoAhead London, Metroline, Stagecoach, Transport UK, Uno Bus, and Transport for London, including their opening hours, CCTV retention periods, and privacy policies. It also explains how to find which company operates a London bus route and includes disclaimers about logo use and copyright. The resource was created in September 2025 by @CLondoner92.

I have created a guide to help you or others obtain CCTV footage from TfL’s #London Buses through a Subject Access Request. You will need to identify which company operates the route, as each company has its own process and retention period (usually 10–14 days).

This one is €12.35 single when bought on the day from Barcelona.

Monopoly much? Also, that's pretty substantial legal AI training library.

From Kyiv to the Suwałki Gap, bogs return as Europe’s defensive shield Restoring the EU’s drained bogs would stop both Russian tanks and planet-warming pollution.

The "impassable turd" - why a Ukrainian defense strategy borne of desperation is inspiring countries along NATO's eastern flanks to reinstate long-lost bogs and marshland.

AI Is a Mass-Delusion Event Three years in, one of AI’s enduring impacts is to make people feel like they’re losing it.

Hello. I wrote a nice long essay about AI and this very strange moment where we're constantly told we're living in the dawn of a strange new future but the only thing that's actually clear is that everyone feels pretty unmoored and uncertain. I hope you'll read it

How microbes could help solve the world’s plastic pollution crisis Scientists are discovering more microbes with the natural ability to break down plastic.

Scientists are discovering more microbes with the natural ability to break down plastic.

Mexit, not Brexit, is the new priority for the UK A Microsoft Exit strategy isn’t just a good idea, it’s vital. It must go a long way beyond a farewell to Redmond Opinion  One of the dangers of stories based on big cash numbers is distraction. The numbers get all the attention, the bigger story behind them gets missed.…

Mexit, not Brexit, is the new priority for the UK

Tokenised trading creates structural risks When code is law, accountability goes missing

What's in your wallet? Who knows!

on.ft.com/46C38Lw

Genuinely think everyone in the Anglosphere and everyone in the States who has escaped this method should be aware of this, just as a reminder that a lot of the time, people's weird reading of your posts aren't their fault, they are the victims of a terrible way of teaching kids to read!

Ah a different type of beer trap