Lot of people worried about going to the World Cup in America now but as long as you don’t do anything completely crazy like help a woman up who’s been pushed over then you have nothing to worry about and hopefully won’t be executed in the street. Enjoy it! ⚽️

A line drawing of a street scene with children skipping, a bike going by and birds in the sky

An observation test for your inner 8-year-old.
You’ll be doing well to spot 12 deliberate mistakes.

From Treasure magazine, 1963
Official answers coming soon

(Even if you don’t reply, could you please ‘like’ or share this one?)

Sit back and relax for a few moments and enjoy the magic of starlings in a frosty field 🐦❄️✨

#Winterwatch ❄️

Trump's Board of Peace so far:

Tony Blair
Benjamin Netanyahu
Vladimir Putin
Stephen Miller in his Darth Vader onesie
Thanos
The reanimated corpse of Ghengis Khan
AI Hitler (with thanks to Elon)
Anyone craven enough to bung him a billion dollars or a bit of gold tat with his name on it.

'Birdstrikes can ruin your whole day and most of your aircraft'. Probably not much fun for the bird either. These warnings from Falkland Island maps made during and after the 1982 war show how the war and post-war reconstruction had to coexist with the animal life on the islands @bodleian.ox.ac.uk

An intriguing door in a very posh but non-smug non-judgemental old wall.

A door in an old wall leading to a garden where you can bet there is a fucking crazy party happening

An old door in an old wall which is so arrogantly great, it’s almost disgusting.

Some dickhead had better not try to paint this great messed up old door in an even older wall or I am going over there with some people I know, and I am not kidding.

This might well become a thread.

I am calling it 'Bloody Hell, Aren't Doors On Old Walls Fucking Brilliant?'

Britain’s housing crisis is getting worse and symptomatic of a deeper problem of how governments have failed to protect public services and people who rely on them.

My book Left to Rot is a 4 year investigation into what has gone wrong.

Out June 2nd, pre-order now www.amazon.co.uk/Left-Rot-Gov...

The Artemis II ship on its launch pad against a blue sky, captioned 'Return to the moon: why explore our nearest neighbour.' A red banner reads 'Lovell Lecture.'

Why explore our nearest neighbour? 🌙

In this special #LovellLecture, join our expert panel for an evening of insights as we examine the science, motivations, and challenges of returning humans to the Moon – and why returning there is about far more than simply going back: https://ow.ly/7aqy50Y1c9e

meanwhile, in tilting-at-audio-windmills news... we want to make brilliant audio comedy, but we do not have the money you need to do it properly. if 5,000 of you buy it, we can make it.

Wow! Check out this amazing video sent to us by Debbie Lawson of a kingfisher hovering & diving for prey! 🐟❄️

Kingfishers can dive at speeds of up to 25mph, & strike their fish prey with excellent precision! Not only are they beautiful birds, but they are highly skilled hunters too!

#Winterwatch ❄️

Umm, "pleasant-tasting"? That implies they ate the mystery sky meat. Gutsy. Not sure I would try eating mystery meat that fell from the sky, but I'm not from Kentucky :P

Another round of charity X-odus – January 2026 An update into the charity sector’s use of X in January 2026. Use it to help benchmark your use.

ICYMI over the weekend, here's my latest look at charities on X and how this has shifted this month.

“As such we have taken him hostage and demand the return of the 13 colonies”

Just a stoat saying hello at Brimham Rocks to brighten up your Monday.

A moment of creativity in the studio painting a goldfinch

Hundreds of children in illegal care homes is ‘what failu... New data obtained by Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner for England, reveals many youngsters are being housed in unregistered and unsuitable premises

So often with these stories, people see the big numbers - hundreds of kids in illegal settings - and not connect with the personal story.

That's why I spoke to Lucy*, who has been in 18 placements since she was 11, five of which were illegal

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

In case you are wondering, the story behind this photo is that these two dogs had borrowed their mum's car for the first time & were trying to persuade me to drop what I was doing & go & break into a tennis ball factory with them. The little brown one even "did the eyes" at me but I stayed strong.

A dog who has fallen out with her husband and step-children for the final time and is feeling the special kind of freedom that can only come from hot-wiring a vehicle belonging to a local tradesman and setting off into a bright winter's day, unencumbered by personal belongings, with no particular destination in mind.

THREAD.

A collection of random dogs I have met on my adventures in the British countryside.

You will find the captions to the photos in the alt text.

Gaza, Greenland, Venezuela, Iran, Minnesota, Greenland again. Trump creates a new drama every day because he's terrified that if the spotlight of attention swivels away from him for even an instant he will collapse. A shark must swim or die, and Trump must bloviate or deflate.

Now, these are something special! 🤩 Mid-13th century wall paintings at St. Agatha’s Church, Easby, Richmond, North Yorkshire.
A photo thread…

Had an intriguing editorial discussion recently: how did people in the past talk about 'minutes' when they didn't have watches or standardised times? How does that affect your thinking?

Come down an Elizabethan/Jacobean rabbit hole with me.

1/

View of Magdalen College ante-chapel from near the roof. Tall gothic stone columns.

A close view of a monochrome stained glass window depicting Mary Magdalen with her ointment jar.

We're having a survey of the rare monochrome C17th glass in the ante chapel. Apparently it was difficult to source coloured glass from Lorraine during the 30 Years' War.

I climbed the scaffolding - a great view, though a little vertigo-inducing. And I had an amazing close up of Mary Magdalen.

Have you seen this? Not sure if you would be able to help bsky.app/profile/alan...

The Reith Lectures - Rutger Bregman - Moral Revolution - 2. How to start a moral revolution - BBC Sounds Rutger Bregman gives the second of his 2025 BBC Reith Lectures called Moral Revolution.

“People don’t do good things because they’re good people. They become good people because they do good things.”
@rutgerbregman.com 2nd Reith lecture is quite the tonic

notwithstanding all the caveats, terms and conditions apply etc, well worth a listen

Ah yes, I remember it well. #TimeTrumpet

Image of the the Victorian cottages and frame shop at the Framework Knitters Museum. At the centre there is the crossed fingers symbol of the National Lottery, with the wording 'Made Possible with Heritage Fund'

The Framework Knitters Museum is now looking for a Collections Consultant to work with us as part of our ‘A Stitch in Time’ project, funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund. Full details here … frameworkknittersmuseum.org.uk/get-involved...

A person standing on a ladder, inspecting a specimen. In front of them, there's a very large blue whale model as well as other specimens.

Have you ever wondered how we care for our galleries and specimens? 🧹🐳

Last December, our conservation team undertook work in one of our most iconic spaces, the Mammals gallery. Discover what they've been up to. ⬇️

Infographic on snowdrops, Alzheimer's and chemical warfare. Snowdrops contain poisonous alkaloids which, if they are eaten, can cause vomiting and diarrhoea. Falling levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine are associated with Alzheimer's disease. Galantamine stops an enzyme that breaks acetylcholine down. Organophosphate nerve agents target an enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine; galantamine can bind reversible to this enzyme, blocking the nerve agents.

Snowdrop season is coming in the Northern Hemisphere!

What links these winter flowers with Alzheimer's treatment and nerve agents? Find out in this infographic! www.compoundchem.com/2018/02/08/s...

#ChemSky 🧪