Fi Daisy G

Talking of elites normalising things… I’m getting increasingly convinced that our big problem is a breakdown of elite norms.

Stable democracies depend on elites implicitly agreeing on key things (cordon sanitaires, not spuriously claiming electoral fraud etc). A lot of those norms have collapsed…

I know I keep pointing this out but: if you want immigrants to contribute to British society, integrate across community lines, become engaged civic actors, you actually *want* them to get citizenship, and as soon as possible in fact!

A black - white cartoon explaining the different ways sites get buried

It's really fabulous to wake up to 9k followers 😮🥳. Diolch yn Fawr / thank you everyone 🙏

As a thank you - here is my 1994 Toby the Trowel explainer: 'How Sites Get Buried' 🤔

Surely the most common question ever asked of an archaeologist in a trench..🧐🏺

📷 My own, from younger days

Photo of College Green after dark, taken during Bristol Light Festival 2026. A cyclist has just passed an illuminated sign reading 'Bristol is always a good idea', at the front of an open space filled with an interactive installation of scale model hot air balloons. The Council House is visible beyond with blue lights on the top storey

Bikes, balloons and solidarity;

Bristol is always a good idea!

Dame Carole Jordan – first female president of the RAS – 1941-2026 We are saddened to hear of the death of Professor Dame Carole Jordan – the first female president of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) – who has passed away a...

Carole was my astronomy tutor in my undergraduate days. To my shame, I never understood her exam questions on stellar chromospheres.

www.ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...

Ghosts feature film officially confirmed as cast and crew unveiled in huge production update Button House is reopening its doors as the BBC comedy favourite Ghosts returns in a big-screen adventure featuring the original cast.

I should be in this film.
I can be the human who annoys the ghosts by always asking questions about tiny details about daily life before they died.
www.radiotimes.com/movies/ghost...

Looking forward to seeing what public artworks @bristoluni.bsky.social incorporate into their new campus!
www.bristol.ac.uk/temple-quart.... joining the statue of Henrietta Lacks, and others, across their historic precinct
public-art.bristol.ac.uk

Hope Beats Hate: Green Party Defeats Reform and Labour in Huge Gorton and Denton By-Election Victory A concerted political and media campaign to scare voters about a “Green Menace” winning this by-election failed, reports Adam Bienkov

“In a battle between hope and hate, hope has won.”
Congratulations to new MP Hannah Spencer!
bylinetimes.com/2026/02/27/h...

The Midnight Ballet sculpture by Will Budgett, a steel sculpture lit to cast a shadow of a ballerina

Did you know that we're currently hosting the Bristol Festival of Light for the first time? The Midnight Ballet by Will Budgett is in Royal Fort Gardens, plus our outdoor artworks will be illuminated so you can enjoy them in the dark. public-art.bristol.ac.uk/2026/02/16/b...

AND Y'ALL, YOU CAN ACTUALLY WATCH THE FILM AT THE LINKED ARTICLE!!!

WE CAN WATCH A CINEMATIC DISCOVERY DATING BACK TO ALMOST 130 YEARS AGO

***I CANNOT OVERSTATE HOW FREAKING DOPE THIS IS, GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH***

Frances Bradfield as a very young woman in a sailor suit. B&W head & shoulders photo. #WomenInSTEM

Frances Bradfield aeronautical engineer. 1918 recruited to Royal Aircraft Establishment. By end #WWII 1 of 3 women principal scientific officers working for Ministry of Aircraft Production. 1948 1st woman winner of Royal Aero Society Bronze Medal. d #OTD 26 Feb 1967 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances...

Photo of a statue of Henrietta Lacks. The bronze statue is life size and stands on a gravel path with well managed borders beyond

Photo of "Henrietta's garden". The statue of Henrietta Lacks is visible beyond an interpretation board, telling her story and explaining the significance of the planting

There is a statue of Henrietta Lacks, and a garden planted in her honour, beside the Life Sciences building at University of Bristol, UK. #BlackHistory
www.bristol.ac.uk/research/imp...

Novartis settles with Henrietta Lacks' estate over use of her 'stolen' cells to advance medicine Novartis has settled a lawsuit by the estate of Henrietta Lacks that alleged the pharmaceutical giant unjustly profited off her cells, which were taken from her tumor without her knowledge in 1951 and...

Justice sure took a long while…

apnews.com/article/henr...

New study of media collision reporting from @patrickrerat.bsky.social

"Cyclists are placed at the center of the narrative, while motorists are either omitted or reduced to their vehicles... Making these biases visible is essential for challenging motonormativity"

findingspress.org/article/1575...

@graemegooday.bsky.social

To echo the sentiments of G.K. Chesterton, fairy tales do not tell children that monsters exist — because they know that already. But rather more importantly, fairy tales tell them (and us) that the monster can be killed. And such stories must never ever go out of fashion.

Possibly - but not much fun persuading a small person to walk a mile to school BEFORE breakfast! And then another mile plus on to work before you can join a long queue for a coffee yourself.

Parent and child breakfast clubs - or a parent cafe - could be the game changer!

And perhaps the biggest small change, employers anticipating that fathers also need flexibility to coordinate their role in childcare. Even before OH's employer moved out of town, the hours were 'too early to drop at breakfast club' to 'too late to collect from after school club'!

But mainly small! Routes maintained for walking without needing to change, and still safe for return leg at end of after school club; timetables that can be coordinated with childcare ...

Care was pretty well grouped for us though. There was even a nursery on campus but it closed before last lecture started and had to be fixed days, even though lecturer timetables changed week to week.

We did drive to primary at times - my onward journey was a further 1.5 miles up hill but timings too tight to walk or cycle+shower ahead of an 0930 lecture across campus :(

Repair the Oldbury Court Estate River Path The path between Snuff Mills and Oldbury Court is becoming unsafe and impassable. We don't need a massive, expensive project—we just need the Council to plug the gap and stop the flooding now. If you ...

There is a paved alternative, but regularly flooded you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/re...

Well maintained too ... This petition is for paths we used to walk children to primary school (0.9 miles) and youngest walked to secondary (1.3 miles)
democracy.bristol.gov.uk/mgEPetitionD...

If the graduate premium is falling, supply-side tinkering won't bring it back Jim Dickinson assembles cross-national evidence showing Britain's shrinking graduate premium is a demand-side problem – and that closing courses won't fix it Jim Dickinson assembles cross-national evi...

This is a brilliant piece by @jimdickinson.bsky.social on Monday about why the graduate premium has been falling (but, I should point out, remains high) and what we should do about it.
He's kind enough to mention my work on this and I've added a comment to explain further. wonkhe.com/blogs/if-the...

Coming to a screen near you tonight!

More info and bookings can be found here...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/reinterpre...

Great Coxwell Barn | Oxfordshire Discover the sole surviving part of a thriving 13th-century grange at Great Coxwell Barn in Oxfordshire.

Bus stops are presumably where visitors 'alight at Great Coxwell' to visit @nationaltrust.org.uk barn.

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/oxford...

Screenshot of A420 streetview. A pair of tringular signs warn of pedestrians and horses, with a square speed camera sign below. A 50 speed limit sign is visible beyond and the riad is busy with traffic, including a small lorry.

'Watch out for pedestrians' on A420 near Farringdon. Drivers are warned, southbound at least. There's a pair of bus stops either side of the road, as well as a bridle path crossing :(

BBC Four - Classic Albums, Tears for Fears: Songs from the Big Chair Documentary that explores the creation of the second album by Tears for Fears.

BBC featured The Big Chair in their Classic Album documentary series www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m.... Only a couple of clips available but recollection is that Chris Hughes (producer) and Dave Bascombe (engineer) were critical to the success. Chris Hughes does get a writing credit for "Everyone .."

#LoveLD - love #creativeHE and love this: For five years, we’ve been asking: Why reimagine education?
Because how we learn changes how we live.
Join us! re-imagining.education
Feb 26 – March 1, 2026 | Online

Photo of a neon pink sign, reading Bristol is always a good idea. A collection of model hot air balloons are visible behind and blue lights on the top storeyof a building beyond

I hear Redcliffe Caves is particularly good - so may have a queue. Balloons are a bit beyond, at College Green, Cat by the watershed, Jelly monsters at the Left Handed Giant. All a good idea!