Giles Woodruff

Post box with a knitted topper next to a floral display in front of the Market Place in Hitchin

Market Place in Hitchin this morning at its best.

If you visit the post box knitted topper, there is a QR code to make a donation to Hitchin Choices (a youth club for children with special needs) or you can make a cash donation (as I did) at the Visit Hitchin office nearby.

Was it a mistake ditching the co-principal speakers model in 2008?

Trump fires labor statistics chief hours after data showed jobs growth slowed US president accused of ‘firing the messenger’ as he makes claims without evidence about Erika McEntarfer

Trump thinks he can manipulate whatever government statistics he likes. His core supporters won't care about something like this. Congress won't stop him. Neither will the Supreme Court. But I wonder if, ultimately, the markets will?

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Reddit post on r/technology about young people and AI: "I recently heard about a teacher who instead of trying to circumvent students using AI, which is impossible, she made assignments by going "ask ChatGPT to write a report on this subject, and then research how and why it's wrong". Not only did the students discover that ChatGPT is extremely wrong a lot of the time, it also lead them to realise that they should not use it as a primary source".

This is one of the best ideas I've heard in ages.

Isn't it a Conservative hold (at least in terms of number of seats)? The ward split 2 x Lab, 1 x Con in the 2023 elections. The Conservative councillor died, which caused the by-election.

I have just done it via the face scan. Very easy and quick.

I have just discovered a useful live map of the Great Northern / Thameslink rail network showing the status of (late running) engineering work: livemap.greatnorthernrail.com#/GN/mapview

Sir Thomas More (1478-1535)?

Cluster of four hazelnuts growing on a tree

I was told there are lots of hazelnut trees on the lane by my local nature reserve, but that animals (probably squirrels) are taking most of the nuts. I found another tree on a footpath near a housing estate where there are lots left. I expect the local cats keep the squirrels away from this one.

Pears growing on a tree

Here are some more common (possibly Conference) pears. These are on a tree in Hitchin town centre. However, I suspect of the thousands of people who walk past it each week, most have no idea the fruit is there.

Figs growing on a tree

Worth looking up on footpaths. Here are some figs that might be missed.

Vine with bunches of (green) grapes

I was walking along a footpath in Hitchin yesterday, and did not expect to come across this.

I think Trump regards the truth as "woke". He doesn't want AI to get in the way of his propaganda.

At the moment there is no new party (of whatever name) related to this initiative on the Electoral Commission register so 'Your Party' is probably just a placeholder. They probably want the prospective members to choose the name.

I don't know, but the by-election was caused by the Reform councillor resigning only two weeks after having been elected in May (see www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...).

This is a special case. The Reform councillor for that division resigned two weeks after being elected: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article.... Other parties will have made hay with that in their campaign there.

Morgan Gibbs-White reacts to Chris Wood amid Tottenham transfer uncertainty Morgan Gibbs-White has reacted to team mate Chris Wood following his move to Spurs being called off due to Forest's legal stance.

You get some ridiculous clickbait articles about football. Here's one: www.footballinsider247.com/morgan-gibbs....

The "news" in the article is just: "[Wood] has been taking a break away from football and he shared his holiday pictures with his Instagram followers, which was liked by Gibbs-White."

Could you elaborate why it would not be? It seems to me it would be a form of democracy that results in an elected parliament.

I am doubtful Supplementary Vote or Alternative Vote would improve things much for elections to parliament / councils, but I think we should look at Single Transferrable Vote in multi-member constituencies / wards as that provides benefits of both ranked voting and a degree of proportionality.

I am not advocating either of them, but I note that you have curiously ranked the 10% party above the 14% party in the above list.

To comply with the request might also requring disclosing what is happening in the private life of someone close to her, breaching normal standards of confidentiality.

I think there's a danger these new parties make Reform look more moderate than it actually is.

I won't like your post as I don't wish you were still on Twitter (having stopped using it myself), but I like the rest of what you wrote!

In an ideal world there would also be a bonus for propensity for altruism, which would offset the reduction as one ages. However, that cannot easily and objectively be measured and my impression is that 95% of people vote primarily for their own benefit rather than the good of society.

I wondered whether votes should be weighted by age? For example, start at 50% at age 16 and rise linearly to 150% at age 48. Then reduce linearly to 50% at age 80 (and stay at 50% for older ages). It would blend life experience with length of stake in the future.

Reform Devon county councillors reported to police by colleague Councillors Neil Stevens and his brother Tony were reported by fellow Reform councillor and Ed Hill.

This news story sums up Reform in a nutshell. Their candidate: (1) is rich enough to be able to spend £1,700 on his own election campaign; (2) did not understand the rules; (3) as a consequence may have broken the law. Their whistleblower: has been sacked. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article....

One only has to go into Wymondley Woods (close to your patch) to see the stark difference between the mature woodland and the woodland that was planted about 25-30 years ago. I agree - it takes an extremely long time (if it is achievable at all) to replace mature natural habitats.

Keir Starmer is not really a politician (his thinking is more balanced towards the long-term than the short-term than for most). We also face a world with immense challenges where maybe there are no good outcomes and politicians will not be rewarded for the least worst performance.

As today is World Parrot Day I’m bringing back to the timeline my favourite rendition of Whole Lotta Rosie by Tico (parrot) and Frank (non-parrot) of Tico and the Man (a truly great squawk n' roll band)

Reform UK to accept donations via bitcoin, Nigel Farage says Party leader says he wants UK to be a ‘crypto powerhouse’ during speech at Las Vegas conference

I suspect many Reform supporters would prefer the pound to be preserved. Are there any experts here who can advise whether permitting donations in cryptocurrency makes it easier for a political party to contravene laws relating to permitted donations? www.theguardian.com/politics/202...