Clare M

A lush green woodland with moss-covered boulders, low ferns and a scatter of bluebells beneath twisting old trees. Sunlight filters softly through the canopy. Landscapes like this should be central to nature’s recovery but without proper support and clear targets, protected sites can’t deliver what they’re supposed to.

England’s most important nature sites are being failed.❌

Protected sites can and should be driving nature’s recovery.

But today’s OEP report exposes the real problem: years of weak delivery, underfunding and political drift have left them unable to do the job the law intended.

That was such a superb series. It had a huge impact on me as a teenager

TV Tonight: celebrating two of the best Christmas films ever How festive favourites The Muppet Christmas Carol and It’s a Wonderful Life were made. Plus: are Bunny Munro and son nearing the end of the road? Here’s what to watch this evening

TV Tonight: celebrating two of the best Christmas films ever

Farne Islands seabird census paints mixed picture The annual Farne Islands seabird survey shows a 23% decline in Puffin pairs but a strong increase in Arctic Terns, according to the National Trust.

The National Trust's latest seabird census on the Farne Islands has revealed a mixed picture for one of Britain's most important seabird colonies:

The UK claims to lead on animal welfare, yet millions of animals remain trapped in cruel conditions.

Today, I & 36 MPs and Peers urged Defra to include a clear time-bound plan to end all confinement cages and crates in the upcoming Animal Welfare Strategy.

Royal Mail have written a GDPR policy for their letter to Santa scheme that is a) pitched at children explaining how their data is used and b) fully committed to the existence of Father Christmas and it’s just… really cute

We now have a greater understanding of how exercise slows cancer Tumour growth is reduced by exercise due to a shift in the body’s metabolism that means muscle cells outcompete cancer cells in the race to get sugar to grow

Tumour growth is reduced by exercise due to a shift in the body’s metabolism that means muscle cells outcompete cancer cells in the race to get sugar to grow

When a TV production exec/manager: “Have you met anyone famous?”

Hen Harrier found poisoned on a grouse moor in North Yorkshire I’ve blogged recently about a number of illegally-killed Hen Harriers whose deaths have not been publicised by the authorities (Hen Harrier ‘Susie’ who was found dead with gunshot…

Hen Harrier found poisoned on a grouse moor in North Yorkshire.

Once again, details have only come to light through scrutiny of a spreadsheet - where's the publicity from the Police? This is supposed to be a national wildlife crime priority!

#RaptorResearch

raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/12/01/h...

Here is a list of reasons why some of my hearings and trials this year have been delayed and kicked off into the long grass, stuck in our record court backlog. Serious allegations which will now be tried *years* after the event. 🧵👇

You’d better be! Sending massive get well vibes xx

Oh no!!!😟 Awful timing, germs. Take all the drugs, Kate, and stay warm and hydrated xx

Opinion | I’m a Marine Biologist. This Is How I Talk to Whales.

Mind-blowingly cool use of AI
“Altogether, these findings are leading us to an extraordinary conclusion: Whales may possess a communication system more intricate than our own, one that possibly predates human language by tens of millions of years.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...

Massive decline in Cairngorms National Park Peregrine population linked to intensive grouse moor management Press release from Cairngorms National Park Authority (24 November 2025) PEREGRINE NUMBERS IN DECLINE IN CAIRNGORMS NATIONAL PARK The last UK-wide survey of peregrines took place in 2014 and covere…

Massive decline in Scotland's Cairngorms National Park Peregrine population linked to intensive grouse moor management.

Press release from Cairngorms National Park Authority, copy of the new report, & commentary from me ⬇️⬇️

#RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime

raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/11/30/m...

FACT 😼😈😻

I am lying in bed hearing baubles hit the floor downstairs. It’ll be bare by morning.

I think she’ll survive.
Not sure the tree will 🎄😬

Ripley had to go to the vets today with a swollen right cheek. Gave me a proper scare.
Vet suspected an insect bite or plant reaction so she had an injection and is on meds.

Thankfully she soon felt well enough to help me put up the Christmas tree (which will probably be toppled within the week…)

Don’t they have common law in the US?

Not really a comment on this story, but I think we should try to make it easier and more normalised to downsize in your 60s.

If left too late, moving house can be incredibly disorientating - and you don’t tend to know it’s too late until it is

What do you do with unlawful orders? The critical - and topical - issue of when the military and security services can refuse to do what they are told

NEW

What do you do with unlawful orders?

The critical - and topical - issue of when the military and security services can refuse to do what they are told

By me

emptycity.substack.com/p/what-do-yo...

‘They don’t have symptoms’: CAR-T therapies send autoimmune diseases into remission Engineered T cells that have been used to treat ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus show promising results.

‘They don’t have symptoms’: CAR-T therapies send autoimmune diseases into remission www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Huzzah!!! 🧑‍🎄🧑‍🎄

Ooooh, yes, it will be so CHRISTMASSY!!! 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

Horrible. Good men must sometimes feel so ashamed of what is done by their fellow men. And with good reason.
As a sex class, they have a LOT of work to do.

Oooh, hello again David! I hope you enjoyed Walthamstow Wetlands. It’s my happy place 😁

Why can’t humans hibernate? WHY!?

UK wildfires devastated more areas in 2025 than at any time since records began, figures show Firefighters call for long-term investment and say UK is dangerously underprepared as climate crisis worsens

UK wildfires devastated more areas in 2025 than at any time since records began, figures show
Firefighters call for long-term investment and say UK is dangerously underprepared as climate crisis worsens
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

UN warns world losing climate battle but fragile Cop30 deal keeps up the fight Reaching agreement in divisive political landscape shows ‘climate cooperation is alive and kicking’, says UN climate chief The world is not winning the fight against the climate crisis but it is still in that fight, the UN climate chief has said in Belém, Brazil, after a bitterly contested Cop30 reached a deal. Countries at Cop30 failed to bring the curtain down on the fossil fuel age amid opposition from some countries led by Saudi Arabia, and they underdelivered on a flagship hope – at a conference held in the Amazon – to chart an end to deforestation. Continue reading...

UN warns world losing climate battle but fragile Cop30 deal keeps up the fight

I’ll never forget the horror of the Covid wards | The Observer

"My NHS colleagues & I weren’t willing to let the bodies pile high in their thousands. Boris no longer mentions them at all."

My piece on the responses to the UK Covid-UK Inquiry report that try to airbrush the dead away.

Sincere thanks, @theobserveruk.bsky.social.

observer.co.uk/news/nationa...