Mike Liddle

@ianrankin1.bsky.social Is the title Midnight and Blue taken from the Anthony John Clarke song?

This photo is from the RingGo app showing the hourly parking charges for George Street in Edinburgh - £4.50 per half hour.

This photo shows an AI generated table of the current UK national living wage for over 21s, which is £12.21 an hour.

I took a walk in Edinburgh city centre today. The west end of George Street (from Hanover Street west) is almost empty of shops. I’m not surprised given the ridiculous parking charges, people just won’t come to the city. £9 an hour to park there?! Average wage £12.21 before tax.

I genuinely feel he’s missed out on the core message of the show for the last 62 years - be kind, be inclusive, and fight for the underdog. #doctorwho #inclusivity

The picture contains a screenshot from Twitter of a tweet by Philip Morris. Philip Morris (Doctor Who and other TV missing episode hunter) - twitter handle @archives1963 - posted the following tweet: “Sorry, but what purpose does Ruth Madeley’s Shirley serve? Oh, she’s a special needs insert just like Yasmin Finney — who’s back next week, folks! — is the token trans insert. They’re there to make RTD2 feel virtuous and righteous. That’s alright, then!”

I’ve protected my tweets on the other platform for work purposes, and to be fair I’ve been withering for a year about deleting my account entirely. But this tweet from Philip Morris made me see red. There’s no point in me tweeting it on the other place as no-one will see. #doctorwho #inclusivity #

@anncleeves.bsky.social Reading The Dark Wives and it’s just struck me… what does Vera spend her salary on?! Clearly not car maintenance or clothes… no mortgage or rent… she must have a nice little pot put aside!

The picture shows 4 people wrapped up warmly on the sandy Portobello beach, Edinburgh walking a labyrinth made out of beach stones, formed of 7 concentric circles. The tide is coming in. The sky is mostly clear with a little cloud.

The picture shows a labyrinth made out of beach stones, on sandy Portobello beach, Edinburgh. The labyrinth is formed of 7 concentric circles. The tide is coming in. The sky is mostly clear with a little cloud.

The picture shows a labyrinth made out of beach stones, on sandy Portobello beach, Edinburgh. The labyrinth is formed of 7 concentric circles. The tide is coming in and has started to lap at the stones closest to the sea. The sky is mostly clear with a little cloud.

Our beach artist has created this labyrinth today on Portobello beach. Made me think of @katemossewriter.bsky.social !

Top of my “to read” pile are:
• Midnight and Blue by @ianrankin1.bsky.social
• The Dark Wives by @anncleeves.bsky.social
• Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer
• The Great When by Alan Moore

I’m going to have to either avoid watching tomorrow’s Vera or hope it’s not too close to the book! #books

• The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan
• Failed State (why nothing works and how we fix it) by Sam Freedman
• The Masquerades of Spring by @baaronovitch
• The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
• The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer

• The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
• The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan
• The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan
• Code of Conduct (Why we need to fix Parliament and how to do it) by Chris Bryant MP
• Holy Island by LJ Ross
• None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell
• The Map of Bones by Kate Mosse

• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
• Dracula by Bram Stoker
• Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
• Sepulchre by Kate Mosse
• Citadel by Kate Mosse
• The Rise by Ian Rankin
• The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle by T.L. Huchu
• Damascus Station by David McCluskey
• Star Wars: Thrawn by Timothy Zahn

Favourite book of the year: The Satsuma Complex - I think I needed something a little lighter at that point and Bob Mortimer’s slightly surreal humour did that for me. I did enjoy the conclusion to Kate Mosse’s Joubert family books too.

I’ve also read a little bit more non-fiction this year than I normally do, but it certainly wasn’t any escapism for someone working in government.

I’ve tried to dip into a couple of classics this year that I either read at school (Tale of Two Cities), tried to read when I was younger (Dracula) or never got exposed to (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall). I had hoped I might get through Middlemarch by the end of December but still a work in progress.

The picture shows the covers of the first 6 books listed in the skeet - A Tale of Two Cities, Dracula, Labyrinth, Citadel, The Rise.

The picture shows the covers of the second 6 books listed in the skeet - The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle, Damascus Station, Star Wars: Thrawn, the first 3 Wheel of Time books: The Eye of the World, The Great Hunt, The Dragon Reborn.

The picture shows the covers of the 3rd set of six book listed in the skeet - Code of Conduct, Holy Island, None of This Is True, The Map of Bones, The Shadow Rising (Wheel of Time book 4), Failed State.

The picture shows the final set of 3 book covers listed in the skeet plus a graphic of the year 2024. The last 3 covers are of The Masquerades of Spring (a Rivers of London novella), The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and The Satsuma Complex.

Happy new year! My regular annual post of what I’ve been reading. This year I’ve had to embrace the audiobook as with having a toddler a lot of nights have needed early lights out. I managed to read 6 of the 21 with physical copies, the remaining 15 were audiobooks.

Just… gonnae no! :)

YouTube video by Thorn Entertainment Chewin The Fat - Gonnae No Dae That

Can’t help but think of this… youtu.be/TeYKlz6nXjo?...

The Calvin & Hobbes Compendium books, and Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer.

The picture shows a small yellow plant pot, sitting on a wire mesh garden table. The pot holds several miniature daffodil bulbs which have all sprouted very early, with growth of roughly 15 centimetres of leaves. One yellow daffodil is just opening and another bud is visible. Behind the pot is a wreath of fir and holly which still hasn’t made it to our front door.

If you ever feel bewildered and confused, spare a thought for this daffodil in my garden which has decided that December 10th is the start of spring…

Really enjoyed it too, but we had to dash after Sinnerman to get back to Edinburgh for the babysitter… hope we didn’t miss too much!

Thanks - will have a look at that!

Cute! That’s what’s *really* inside a Dalek, right. Not a Kaled mutant.

I’m keen to get recommendations for photo book creators (UK based)? Which are the best apps out there? I’ve tried Mixbook (gave up as the uploader took forever), Journi which is good but not quite as adaptable as I’d like - though I really like the automatic map feature. #photobooks #photography

It’s a great fun book, really enjoyed it!

Morning book lovers, lovely to see so many of you here! This starter pack is now full so make sure to check it out and follow everyone on it! Shares appreciated 📚💙

go.bsky.app/7QXmWKr

Thank you! I’m trying to find out if I have Huguenot ancestry, my great grandmother was a Jaques (from near Doncaster) and I’ve managed to trace back to Sir Roger Jaques (Lord Mayor of York in 1639). Trying to find out if his parents might have come over after the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre.

@katemossewriter.bsky.social I’ve just finished the Joubert quartet, and have read the Languedoc trilogy this year (I read Labyrinth when it was first released) and wondered - are the Vidals in the two series linked? Apologies if it’s an obvious question or has been answered before!

My godparents gave me a box set of Lord of the Rings when I was baptised, age 8. Tried reading it soon after that but made the mistake of trying to read from the start and didn’t get much past the notes! Went back to it in my early teens and read through the trilogy.

Sylvester is an absolute gem! In fact, I can’t speak highly enough of him, Sophie Aldred and Bonnie Langford. Met them all and they’re so lovely!

📌

The waterfalls at the Falls of Dochart near Killin, Perthshire, Scotland. A river flows over a rocky river bed, with islets in the middle of the stream. The falls create white water in numerous places. The background is a Scottish hillside landscape in autumnal colours, mostly green but with some yellows, ochre and orange. The sky is partly blue but with a threatening dark cloud.

First post here so thought I’d share a pic I took a couple of weeks ago of the Falls of Dochart in Killin, Scotland. Was heading for a hike up Meall nan Tarmachan with the Scouts, my first Munro! #Munro #Munrobagging #waterfall #Scotland #Scottishhighlands