Stephen J Jenkins

Black and white photograph of two 1930s single-seat motor cars racing each other around a bend. They are each heading toward the lower-left of the frame. In front, the lighter-coloured vehicle, in sharp focus, has taken a wide line. Behind, the darker-colured car in softer focus, is taking a much tighter line around the bend.

Goodwood Revival, 2019. #Goodwood #MotorRacing #Cars #1930s #Monochrome #BlackAndWhite #Photography

Black and white photograph of two 1930s single-seat motor cars racing each other around a bend. They are each heading toward the lower-left of the frame. In front, the lighter-coloured vehicle, in sharp focus, has taken a wide line. Behind, the darker-colured car in softer focus, is taking a much tighter line around the bend.

Goodwood Revival, 2019. #Goodwood #MotorRacing #Cars #1930s #Monochrome #BlackAndWhite #Photography

Detail photograph of a section of mosaic, mainly featuring entwined leafy tendrils in gold on a red background. At top-left and bottom-right, the mosaic continues in black and gold.

Detail photograph of a section of mosaic, mainly featuring foliage in black on a gold background. At top-left, the mosaic continues in black and gold, while at bottom-right it continues in red and gold.

Mosaic details from the Mezquita, Cordoba. #MosaicMonday #Photography

Detail photograph of a section of mosaic, mainly featuring entwined leafy tendrils in gold on a red background. At top-left and bottom-right, the mosaic continues in black and gold.

Detail photograph of a section of mosaic, mainly featuring foliage in black on a gold background. At top-left, the mosaic continues in black and gold, while at bottom-right it continues in red and gold.

Mosaic details from the Mezquita, Cordoba. #MosaicMonday #Photography

A photograph of heraldic stained glass. A central shield is surmounted by a golden coronet and surrounded by a circular golden halo adorned with scallop shells and roses. The shield is divided into quarters. The upper-left and lower-right of these are each largely gold, with a black stripe across the top that is decorated with three gold scallop shells. The upper-right and lower-left quarters are each white with a triangle of three red roses. Outside the halo is a regular diamond pattern of plain glass.

Arms of William Graham, 1st Earl of Montrose. Stained glass in the Great Hall of Stirling Castle. Quarterly, 1 & 4 Or on a chief sable three escallops of the first (Graham); 2 & 3 Argent three roses gules (Earldom of Montrose) #Heraldry #CoatOfArms #StainedGlassSunday #StainedGlass #Photography

Ye gods, it doth amaze me
A man of such a feeble temper should
So get the start of the majestic world
And bear the palm alone.

Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene ii

#ShakespeareSunday

A photograph of heraldic stained glass. A central shield is surmounted by a golden coronet and surrounded by a circular golden halo adorned with scallop shells and roses. The shield is divided into quarters. The upper-left and lower-right of these are each largely gold, with a black stripe across the top that is decorated with three gold scallop shells. The upper-right and lower-left quarters are each white with a triangle of three red roses. Outside the halo is a regular diamond pattern of plain glass.

Arms of William Graham, 1st Earl of Montrose. Stained glass in the Great Hall of Stirling Castle. Quarterly, 1 & 4 Or on a chief sable three escallops of the first (Graham); 2 & 3 Argent three roses gules (Earldom of Montrose) #Heraldry #CoatOfArms #StainedGlassSunday #StainedGlass #Photography

A photograph of heraldic stained glass. A central shield is surmounted by a golden coronet and surrounded by a circular golden halo featuring stars and entwined leafy tendrils. The shield is mainly white, albeit with stylised floral patterning in light grey, while across the top of the shield is a red stripe upon which are two white five-pointed stars. Outside the halo is a regular diamond pattern of plain glass.

Arms of John Douglas, 2nd Earl of Morton. Stained glass in the Great Hall of Stirling Castle. Argent on a chief gules two mullets of the first. #Heraldry #CoatOfArms #StainedGlass #Photography

A photograph of heraldic stained glass. A central shield is surmounted by a golden coronet and surrounded by a circular golden halo featuring stars and entwined leafy tendrils. The shield is mainly white, albeit with stylised floral patterning in light grey, while across the top of the shield is a red stripe upon which are two white five-pointed stars. Outside the halo is a regular diamond pattern of plain glass.

Arms of John Douglas, 2nd Earl of Morton. Stained glass in the Great Hall of Stirling Castle. Argent on a chief gules two mullets of the first. #Heraldry #CoatOfArms #StainedGlass #Photography

Photograph of a small fishing boat, on the inside of a harbour wall, facing left to right in profile. The boat is white and blue, while the background has been artificially desaturated to shades of grey.

Fishing Boat, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire. #Photography #Trawler #Boat #Harbour #Stonehaven

Photograph of a small fishing boat, on the inside of a harbour wall, facing left to right in profile. The boat is white and blue, while the background has been artificially desaturated to shades of grey.

Fishing Boat, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire. #Photography #Trawler #Boat #Harbour #Stonehaven

Black and white photograph of a broken stone archway, partially blocked by a stone wall and a modest wooden barred gate. The arch comprises three voussoirs on each side, but the central span is missing. Walls leading off, on either side of the archway, stand a little taller than the gate. Through the arch can be seen fields and distant hills. The sky is largely clear, but scattered with clouds.

Milecastle 37, Hadrian's Wall. #RomanFortThursday #Photography #BlackAndWhite #Monochrome

Black and white photograph of a broken stone archway, partially blocked by a stone wall and a modest wooden barred gate. The arch comprises three voussoirs on each side, but the central span is missing. Walls leading off, on either side of the archway, stand a little taller than the gate. Through the arch can be seen fields and distant hills. The sky is largely clear, but scattered with clouds.

Milecastle 37, Hadrian's Wall. #RomanFortThursday #Photography #BlackAndWhite #Monochrome

Black and white photograph (wide aspect ratio) of three dolphins swimming from left to right in a calm sea. Only backs, blowholes, and dorsal fins are visible above the surface. Toward the right of frame, two swim very close together, practically touching, while a third swims a body-length behind.

Three dolphins in the Moray Firth. #Dolphins #Nature #Photography #BlackAndWhite

Screenshot of first part of letter (continues in next image). Text reads: Dear Sir Adrian I write to request that in its deliberations tomorrow the Council resolves to take a principled stand to defend the scientific values written into its code of conduct. In its attempts to deal with the actions of Elon Musk FRS, the Royal Society has repeatedly failed to explain how his repudiation of those values is consistent with the code of conduct that all Fellows must adhere to as a condition of their fellowship. As is now well established, these actions include attacking Antony Fauci FRS without good cause; spreading scientific misinformation on X [through his own utterances and by relaxing controls on the platform]; recklessly and unlawfully degrading the research ecosystem of the US as part of DOGE; and bragging publicly about "feeding USAID into the wood chipper", which the Lancet estimates will cause the deaths of 14 million people, many of them children under the age of five, by 2030. The Society’s inaction extends to the recent brief exchange of correspondence between Prof Sir Paul Nurse and Mr Musk. Although there was some initial contact, when Sir Paul laid out the Society’s specific concerns there was no reply or explanation from Musk. For reasons that I’m afraid I cannot fathom, you chose once again not to enforce your code of conduct.

Screenshot of letter. Text continues: "You will be aware that the sense of bewildered dismay over this affair is shared by Royal Society Fellows, medallists and journals editors, and many thousands within the scientific community here and abroad. The Royal Society still claims to speak for scientists in the UK, but on this vital issue, its inaction represents an inexplicable rupture with values that our community holds very dear. In all this my primary concern is has been for the good standing of the Royal Society as the UK’s national academy. As I am sure you understand all too well (given your recent remarks in the wake of Mr Musk’s ill-judged speech at the Tommy Robinson rally), the country, the world at large, and the very practice of science itself face severe challenges from technologies and populist politics that foment division and ignorance. In such troubled times, people look to our established institutions to have the courage to stand by long-held values of truth and decency. It is my sincere hope the Royal Society will demonstrate tomorrow that it is just such an institution. Yours faithfully, Stephen"

I am so dismayed a the statement today from the President of the @royalsociety.org that I want to publish here the letter I wrote to him yesterday urging him to address the clear concerns of the UK scientific community.

I suspect that indeed they have just made this matter worse for themselves. The trouble with this statement from Adrian Smith is that it conflicts with the RS's Code of Conduct (e.g. below).

Black and white photograph of a dolphin swimming from left to rigth in a calm sea, its dorsal fin, back, and blowhole visible, but little else.

Another dolphin in the Moray Firth #Dolphin #Nature #Photography #BlackAndWhite

“I am increasingly concerned over threats to the values that allow science to flourish. Today at a meeting of the Royal Society’s Council, I led a discussion regarding some of those threats. “Science thrives when individuals and institutions have the freedom to carry out research without fear of discrimination, censorship, or other restrictions that would hinder their work. In support of that, Council believes that it is not the role of the Royal Society to police the personal political opinions of individual Fellows and disciplinary procedures should not be initiated because of a Fellow’s social and political views. “However, the Society can and will criticise Fellows who act in a way that runs counter to the values of tolerance, courtesy and respect for others that allow science to flourish. Elon Musk’s contribution to the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally is an example of a growing tendency towards the use of the language of violence, and narratives of division and polarisation. This language and these narratives threaten the values that enable science to thrive and the Royal Society rejects them, from wherever they originate.”

The Royal Society has met to discuss Elon Musk – and they’re NOT removing his fellowship. They are criticising him publicly, but stopping short of actual removal.

This feels like the kind of compromise that will please *absolutely nobody*.

A statement from the President of the Royal Society | Royal Society A statement from Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society, regarding threats to the values that allow science to flourish.

Deeply disappointing. Once again the @royalsociety.org has avoided explaining how *actions* by Elon Musk that clearly repudiate the Society's values are consistent with the code of conduct that Fellows must adhere to. royalsociety.org/news/2025/10...

Struggling to see the part where you actually do something to defend those values. Musk should be expelled.

Black and white photograph of a dolphin. Having leapt out of a calm sea, it is diving back underwater, about three-quarters of its body visible including dorsal fin and tail. A modest splash marks its point of entry.

Dolphin in the Moray Firth. #Dolphin #Nature #Photography #BlackAndWhite

Parkinson’s ‘trigger’ directly observed in human brain tissue for the first time Scientists have, for the first time, directly visualised and quantified the protein clusters believed to trigger Parkinson’s, marking a major advance in the

Our work on visualising protein aggregates in human brain tissue in Parkinson's disease was published today in Nature Biomedical Engineering, well done to Becs, Bin and Christina for their hardwork!
www.cam.ac.uk/research/new...

Black and white photograph (wide aspect ratio) of three dolphins swimming from left to right in a calm sea. Only backs, blowholes, and dorsal fins are visible above the surface. Toward the right of frame, two swim very close together, practically touching, while a third swims a body-length behind.

Three dolphins in the Moray Firth. #Dolphins #Nature #Photography #BlackAndWhite

Black and white photograph of a dolphin swimming from left to rigth in a calm sea, its dorsal fin, back, and blowhole visible, but little else.

Another dolphin in the Moray Firth #Dolphin #Nature #Photography #BlackAndWhite

Black and white photograph of a dolphin. Having leapt out of a calm sea, it is diving back underwater, about three-quarters of its body visible including dorsal fin and tail. A modest splash marks its point of entry.

Dolphin in the Moray Firth. #Dolphin #Nature #Photography #BlackAndWhite

I hope it's clear to everyone now that Trump really is going for it - he's trying to become a dictator. I don't know if he'll succeed, but he's working to install himself as an autocrat unaccountable to voters. And he's weaponizing the military against Americans who oppose him as part of that effort

Black and white photograph of a steep-sided island rising in silhouette from haze above a calm sea. The sky behind is largely clear with just a few wispy clouds.

Steep Holm, Bristol Channel. #Photography #BlackAndWhite #Islands

Black and white photograph of a steep-sided island rising in silhouette from haze above a calm sea. The sky behind is largely clear with just a few wispy clouds.

Steep Holm, Bristol Channel. #Photography #BlackAndWhite #Islands

Photograph of a common kestrel, standing on green grass, in right-side profile but looking over its shoulder toward the camera. The bird's head and tail are grey, while its wings are reddish brown with dark flecks. The bird is tehthered via leather jesses at its feet.

Photograph of a merlin, standing upright on a leather glove and tethered via leather jesses around its bright yellow legs. The bird is in left-side profile, one eye looking directly at the camera. Its back and wings are silvery grey, while its body is mottled white and orangey buff with dark flecks.

Kestrel and Merlin, Stirling Castle (2021). #Raptors #PirdsOfPrey #Falconry #Birds #Nature #Photography

A photograph of heraldic stained glass. A central shield is surmounted by a golden coronet and surrounded by an intricately patterned golden halo. The shield is divided into four quarters, the upper-left of which is mainly white with three golden scallop shells on a black band across the top. The upper-right and lower-left quarters are gold with two upward-pointed red chevrons, and the lower-right quarter is gold with a horiontal stripe in blue and white checks. Outside the halo is a regular diamond pattern of plain glass.

Arms of Alexander Graham, 2nd Earl of Mentieth. Stained glass in the Great Hall of Stirling Castle. Quarterly, 1 Argent on a chief sable three escallops or (Graham); 2 & 3 Or two chevrons gules (Earldom of Stratherne); 4 Or a fess checky azure and argent (Stewart) #Heraldry #CoatOfArms #StainedGlass