Robin Edwards

“Is there a problem?” asks the cat who is not mine who nevertheless I have found once again in my house

@orkneylibrary.bsky.social This seems relevant

a plate with hashbrowns, beans, tomato, fruit salad from a hotel buffet

first morning in London, thought I'd grab myself a traditional full english breakfast! 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[Scene is a 19th century drawing room with a sign outside saying TRANSPORT INVENTORS CLUB. Inside, the German Engineer KARL BENZ is addressing a meeting of gentlemen about his new transport idea] 1 KARL BENZ: OK guys - you’re gonna love this 2 KARL BENZ: So it’s like, a box made of metal that goes at up to 120 miles an hour, yeah? [Karl shows them a diagram of a car] 3 KARL BENZ: And your drive it down one side of the road, and the boxes going the other way go on the opposite side, so we don’t need to build two roads! 4 OTHER GUY: What’s down the middle? KARL BENZ: A white line. 5 OTHER GUY: So like, a white barrier… KARL BENZ: No a white line. Drawn on the floor.  6 OTHER GUY: And who’s piloting these machines? KARL BENZ: I was thinking: random members of the public. 7 [Pause, the other guys all look with concern at Karl] 8 OTHER GUY: Karl are you OK KARL BENZ: No listen it’s fine  9  OTHER GUY: You know we’re worried about you, don’t you?  KARL BENZ: No really it’ll work - 10 KARL BENZ: Once hundreds of millions of people have died and the world’s started ending because of the fumes it’ll all be normal. 11 OTHER GUY: Is that normal like the ‘commuter travel device’ you brought in last week which was just… 12 OTHER GUY:  …an iron maiden fired from a catapult? [The other guy displays a diagram of an iron maiden being fired from a catapult] KARL BENZ: THAT WOULD’VE WORKED! [ends]

Carl Benz has an idea

Apropos nothing at all, this is from Romps, Tots and Boffins.

We’ve just moved into an old house where the carpet underlay seems to consist entirely of copies of the Times 1965-1970, and it’s kind of reassuring to find the headlines (arms sales to Israel, teachers’ strike, rows about some MP calling another MP a drunken buffoon) are so utterly relatable

Useful reminder from Peter Kellner on the problems we refuse to acknowledge are getting better, and the politics of hopelessness that this breeds

open.substack.com/pub/kellnerp...

Two elongated wooden figurines with white stone eyes stand upright on a boat carved with a serpent-shaped head, displayed against a dark background.

The Roos Carr figures are dating to the Late Bronze Age or Early Iron Age. They were inadvertently unearthed by laborers during ditch maintenance at Roos Carr in 1836.
Approximately two meters beneath the surface, the workers discovered a collection of well-preserved...🧵1/3

📷 me

#archaeology 🏺

Understand points of contention, but there’s something for everyone across Radio and TV, including local. We’ve all seen what the alternatives look and sound like and I’ve no desire to subscribe to the brain dead void that will exist if it’s compromised. The BBC must be protected at all costs.

Times births column today

When a parrot wanted to connect with a distant friend, a touchscreen showed a selection of other birds available online. The parrots learned to activate the screen, designed specially for them, by touching it gently with their tongues rather than pecking aggressively with their beaks. "We had 26 birds involved," said Hirskyj-Douglas. "They would use the system up to three hours a day, with each call lasting up to five minutes." The interactions ranged from preening and playing with toys to loud vocal exchanges. "When we went through the data, we found that most of these parrots had favourite friends," said Hirskyj-Douglas.

Pet parrots which typically live alone (whilst those in the wild live in large flocks) were given the technology to call each other. They would use it for up to three hours a day, and developed favourite friends 💔
on.ft.com/3K05vhS

Today I learned, through an unfortunate chain of events, that it’s possible to start a car with the keys on the roof, have the keys stay on the roof for five miles, ask “what’s that clunk” as they fall off, continue for a further 20 miles, then find you can’t lock your car and it won’t restart.

Cruel, but funny

There's no bluer blue than a male Adonis Blue! The rarest of blue butterflies in the UK - look for it on our chalkland reserves such as Malling Down. This was spotted by Glyn Rubidge. Both caterpillars and adults feed on Horseshoe Vetch.

“Please do not give it to children with less than 3 hands”

Not sure the iPhone’s auto-translate feature is quite perfect yet.

Aw, look! A wedding.

A Twitter DM from June 2022 reads: Hi Mollie, I hope you're well. Just sending a message to say thanks. Early this year you tweeted a Guardian Blind Date, where the guy dragged the girl a little bit. After seeing a couple of people saying some pretty shit things about her on Twitter, I DM'd her to balance it out a bit - just say I thought she came across as really funny and fuck the haters etc (but with no other real intention other than that). Well we hit it off, talked every day for a month (I was working out of the UK at the time) and agreed to meet as soon as I returned. I ended up coming home early and we've been dating ever since. It might sound a bit over the top but l've never felt like this about anyone else before, and I'm pretty sure she feels the same way. I've honestly had some of the best months of my life with her around, and I want to say thanks

A Twitter DM from tonight reads: Hey Mollie, I hope you don't mind an update on the above. I asked her if she'd marry me, she said yes! She's my world. I'm so incredibly thankful for you tweeting that thing that led me and meet - I'm eternally in your debt. Thanks!

In 2022 I received the wholesome DM in the image on the left on the Other Site, tonight I received the one on the right 🥹🥹🥹🥹

Why 70-year-olds look better today than they ever have

Why do 70-year-olds look better today than they ever have?

Remarkable advances in health and wealth mean baby boomers could be the healthiest generation yet. Younger cohorts may not be so lucky

DAME CHLOE KELLY

Pardon?

An AI slop factory apparently tried to rewrite our article about AI not replacing workers en masse, but hit the paywall... so just summarised the paywall. If this is the robot that takes my job I'll be v embarrassed

View of the Seven Sisters

Joanne Leigh sent this pic of Seaford Head nature reserve: 'I visit most days & want to do what I can to highlight its beauty. As well as views of the Seven Sisters, it's encompassed by the mosaic landscapes of surrounding downland, & provides opportunities for star gazing of the dark skies'

Edvard Munch's "Coldplay.” 😱

Live Aid is 40 so BBC Two is airing it again. Here’s how they introduced it.

"Threat to Humanity"

I was sexually assaulted by a celebrity after starring in a cult film at 19. My quest for justice changed the course of my life Not long after Jenny Evans was brutally attacked by a high-profile figure, all the details appeared in the press. Her mission to find out what happened would reveal tabloid spying, phone hacking, poli...

If you read one thing today, read this www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

The global Brent oil price is tumbling as Iran shoots missiles at Qatar. That seems counterintuitive, but it makes total sense. If Iran were serious about retaliation, it'd sink an oil tanker in the Straits of Hormuz. The fact that it isn't doing that means it's bending the knee - so far - to Trump.