Simon Osborn

We live in the shadows
And we had the chance and threw it away
And it's never gonna be the same
'Cause the years are falling by like the rain
And it's never gonna be the same
'Til the life I knew comes to my house and says 'hello' ♥️

Signs you’ve reached middle aged, No 34.

You have the first wet day in ages and you spend all morning muttering ‘this is good for the garden’.

Well look who has just rocked up on Bluesky!

Important day for Sport England and some genuinely positive news to brighten a dull Thursday…

Much Wenlock school swaps uniform for tracksuits and trainers - BBC News The headteacher does not believe "that wearing a shirt and tie means you will learn better".

This is great.

We have a childhood obesity crisis in England and building physical activity into the whole day is a huge part of the solution.

That Trump/Zelenskyy video has to be the most depressing thing I’ve ever seen.

First 53 Place Expansion Partnerships announced | Sport England Sport England announces 53 new places it's expanding its work into to address regional inequalities in activity levels. Each place is in top 10% of the country for inactivity, social need, deprivation...

Where we live can make a huge difference to how likely we are to play sport or be physically active.

Today, Sport England is announcing 53 places we’re partnering with, giving extra support and resources to help change that.

YouTube video by TheWonderStuffVEVO The Wonder Stuff - The Size Of A Cow

“I said, oh wow, look at me now
I'm building up my problems to the size of a cow”

I’ve never been able to decide if this is a brilliant lyric, or a terrible one.

I think, ultimately, it’s so bad that it’s really good.

Either way, this gem is stuck in my head tonight.

Chief executive to stand down this summer | Sport England Sport England chief executive Tim Hollingsworth to stand down from post this summer.

Some big news from @sportengland.bsky.social this morning.

The big boss has announced he will leave his role at the end of July.

Tim has been amazing to work for and I’ve learnt a great deal from him over the last six and a half years.

I’ve always found ice hockey fans to be most similar to British football supporters.

Always a good bellweather of public opinion and further evidence, if needed, of why sport and politics will forever be linked.

Tools to close our sector’s work gap | Sport England The workforce lead at Activity Alliance tells Sport England about the key findings from the charity’s latest research into disabled people in our sector's workforce.

What can be done to support more disabled people to work in the sport and physical activity sector?

Helen Newberry of the Activity Alliance has some of the answers.

What's the social value of sport in your area? | Sport England Sport England breaks down its overall figure of £107 billion to reveal the annual social value of sport and physical activity by region in England.

📢 We’ve broken down our overall figure of £107 billion to reveal the annual social value of sport and physical activity by:

🟡 Region
🟡 Active Partnerships
🟡 Local authority

Find out more 👉

Four years of Uniting the Movement | Sport England Learn how Sport England has progressed over the last 12 months of Uniting the Movement, its long-term strategy to tackle inequalities and transform lives through the power of sport and physical activi...

👁‍🗨 Focus on tackling inequalities
✨ Creating real change
🎯 Targeting our approach

On the fourth anniversary of #UnitingTheMovement, we're reflecting on the progress we've made over the last 12 months in our mission to transform lives through sport and physical activity.

Gen Z doubts about democracy laid bare in ‘worrying’ survey More than half believe the UK should be a dictatorship and there’s a stark gender divide over equality, research for Channel 4 shows

‘Fifty-two per cent of Gen Z — people aged between 13 and 27 — said they thought “the UK would be a better place if a strong leader was in charge who does not have to bother with parliament and elections’.

Quite a terrifying report in today’s Times. We’re sleepwalking into a total crisis.

The knicker-snap that changed everything | Sport England It's This Girl Can, Sport England multi-awarded campaign, 10th birthday and its director of marketing shares the importance of its mission and how it's changed the lives of millions of women and girls...

‘Exercise because you love your body, not because you hate it’

It’s one of the best mantras I’ve heard and has stuck with me as a great way to promote the benefits of being active.

Disappointing start to the Women’s Ashes series in Australia. I can’t help feeling this England team are not the sum of their parts.

Naga Munchetty - 08/01/2025 - BBC Sounds Naga Munchetty features news, experiences, and big name interviews from around the UK.

Our This Girl Can campaign is nearly ten! 🥳

Hear from Sport England’s Kate Dale as she speaks to Naga Munchetty about the impact the campaign has had over the past decade, supporting more than 3 million women to get active in any way that works for them.

🎙️Listen at 2:25:00: bbc.in/3DO6lLv

Log in | Sport England We have a wide selection of sport and physical activity images that are free for you to use, whether it’s for a brochure, banner, leaflet or report.

Looking for some photos to help illustrate an article on sport and physical activity?

Need some marketing material to help you promote your club or organisation?

@sport-england-se.bsky.social has a FREE image library of real people getting active and it’s available for anyone to use.

My smart speaker just informed me that Johann Sebastian Bach released new music today.

I have some doubts about the validity of this claim.

Use our school | Sport England How schools can open up their facilities to community use.

How can schools open up their facilities to community use?

Use our School is a free resource that supports schools to open their facilities to the community during evenings, weekends and holiday periods.

It increases schools’ revenues and gives communities the facilities they need.

Ethics Panel Report Accuses Matt Gaetz of ‘Regularly’ Paying for Sex and Using Drugs: Trump Transition Live Updates

There are many ways you can describe Matt Gaetz.

Attorney general material is not one of them.

New report into diversity in leadership roles published | Sport England Sport England and UK Sport, along with Perrett Laver, publish the Diversity in Sport Governance 2024 report.

This week Sport England and UK Sport published a report into diversity in leadership roles.

Diversity in Sport Governance 2024 provides a breakdown of the makeup of boards and senior leadership teams of organisations across the sport and physical activity sector.

From today’s Times…

‘This involved a team of evolutionary biologists spending time in three pubs in Boston in the US. Over the course of several evenings, they observed the behaviour of 160 groups of customers…’

How does one become an evolutionary biologist - sounds like just my sort of job!

Statement on Pickleball England | Sport England Sport England, sportscotland, Sport Northern Ireland and Sport Wales recognise pickleball as a sport and Pickleball England as its national governing body in England.

Big day in the world of #pickleball.

@sport-england-se.bsky.social has today announced that the home nation sports councils have recognised pickleball as a sport and we’ve endorsed Pickleball England as its national governing body in England.

Commitment to playing field protection continues | Sport England Sport England's role as a statutory consultee saw 94% (1,007) of all concluded planning applications involving playing fields result in the protection or improvement of facilities.

The data shows that, across 2022/23, 94% of all concluded planning applications involving a playing field resulted in improved or safeguarded facilities.

You can read the full story and access the data tables below. 👇

Sport England knows that playing fields are vital community resources that allow people to be physically active in a variety of ways.

Part of our role is to protect these valuable spaces - and we’ve published new statistics that show how well we’re doing.

A graphic showing that Sport England award funding, provide insights gathered data and have expertise.

‘What does Sport England actually do?’

It’s a question I’m regularly asked, especially at this time of year by distant relatives at the dinner table.

Well, we’re a major funder for the sport and physical activity sector but our role is much wider and more varied than that….

Which inning do you think he is in of his time at the Cubs?

Our funding | Sport England Sport England's Movement Fund offers grants or match-funding for crowdfunding projects. The £160m fund ensures our investment is targeted where it can make the biggest difference.

Do you know of an organisation that could help more people to become become physically active?

We’ve grants of up to £15,000 available to make big ideas happen at sports clubs and community groups all over England.

Take a look at our Movement Fund 👇

Something nostalgic about top flight games being called off due to the weather. Reminds me of listening to Radio Five as a kid and nervously sitting through the list of postponed matches waiting until they got as far as W to find out if we’d be going to Upton Park that afternoon.

On an entirely different subject, I think I’ve finally and definitively decided that Landslide is without doubt and inarguably the best song by Fleetwood Mac.