Brad Gray

Heathrow’s third runway has been a bugbear for decades. N... Despite lingering questions, the financial case for expansion has reached a tipping point

I've written this piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social looking at why the argument for building Heathrow's third runway is different now, whether that matters, and why the price of expanding airline emissions is considered worth paying, even as the world burns.

observer.co.uk/news/the-sen...

'The first ever 'Big Tesco' was built in Essex and there's nowhere else like it' It's a national institution and deserves all the praise it gets

Here's a piece raving about Pitsea Tesco I wrote years ago:

www.essexlive.news/news/essex-n...

YouTube video by Chris Spargo What happened to 24-hour supermarkets?

Brilliant that Chris Spargo (who is brilliant) has done a video involving Pitsea Tesco (which is and always has been brilliant).

Brilliant!

youtu.be/yTWD7qULzA4?...

Round the corner from my childhood home, and still there today!

Such fun! Here's a photo of it these days, and also of the standalone Watermill pub shortly after opening (in the distance). Also just a cracking bit of local journalism.

I like to think I know 95% of everything there is to know about the history of Basildon - so it always excites me when I learn a new noteworthy thing!

Today I found out that the first Premier Inn hotel (opened under the Travel Inn name) was the one by The Watermill pub!

“We have only days left, literally days.” With Morecambe caught in an ever-worsening financial and ownership crisis, two members of the board who resigned last week have broken their silence to talk about the madness of recent months and t…

🚨 Exclusive 🚨
“We have only days left, literally days.”

In their first public statement since resigning, I spoke to two former directors of Morecambe about the madness of the last month and their fears for the future of the club.
theuglygame.wordpress.com/2025/07/14/w...

Yeah the internet is in a great, great state.

Chelmsford sports bar announces closure day in second blow to city Its the second venue to announce its closure in two days

Watching England beat Colombia on penalties here (Chelmsford Walkabout 2018 World Cup) in a packed room will forever be one of my favourite football memories.

☹️

www.essexlive.news/whats-on/wha...

If your eulogy begins like this, you really made it

My favourite Brian Wilson story

Heartbroken.

Get in there

Lol

New Tube map means new "ewwww" moments.

Tottenham Court Road and Goodge Street now look like they're both labelled to the dash on the Northern Line.

And where is Oxford Circus now? I can't tell what it's supposed to be linked to.

As always information is more important that aesthetics - but jeez.

Mind the steps: escalator repairs plague travel network | The Observer A growing number of mechanical problems at the capital’s tube and light rail stations are disrupting commuters and incurring huge costs

I've written about escalators for @theobserveruk.bsky.social - because they're absolutely essential but also a 40-tonne infrastructural headache.

Read here: observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

Hear hear

What a story.

www.echo-news.co.uk/sport/251880...

I'd say give Kevin Maher the freedom of the city of Southend but he already bloody has it!

Unbelievable. What an amazing club. What an amazing man. WEMBLEY COME ONNNNN

Southend never ever ever ever make it easy

NEVER IN DOUBT

All that transparently naff "it's going away" marketing just for this weak redesign? Genuinely upset.

Portugal erasure smh.

This club just does not know when it, is, beaten.

MIGHTY MIGHT SHRIMPERS

COMEBACK OF THE CENTURY

GET IN

Called it.

Universal Bedford: Theme park plans are a key test for Labour “Project Nectarine” is attracting investment in a way levelling up didn’t

New from me for @theobserveruk.bsky.social - how Labour nurtured an environment perfect for a theme park, and why it is a big deal actually.

observer.co.uk/news/the-sen...

WE NEVER MAKE IT EASY FOR OURSELVES

Can't count can I? Still immensely impressive.

If anyone is worrying about how I'm handling such an important Southend match with the Snooker final - please don't!

Snooker on telly - muted. Speaker playing the BBC Essex commentary on BBC Sounds.

If Zhao nabs this last frame of the session, it is the most impressive World Championship win ever.

Cold after 20 months off, multiple Q Tour tournament wins, four qualifying rounds, breezing through every round proper.

A final where he has not once looked like losing. With a session to spare.