Sally Richards

This handsome caterpillar was reposing on an Apple of Sodom leaf.

Christopher who? In May, a party founded eight years ago, with no record in national government and only eight MPs, will fight elections in Wales and Scotland, and for control of councils across England, with every chance of winning many of them. British politics is being reshaped by Reform UK. This is a result of Nigel Farage's personality and of Christopher Harborne's money - £9m, from a fortune amassed largely through cryptocurrency investments. The party would not be able to field candidates, run social media operations or door-to-door campaigns if it weren't for the Harborne war chest. There is a template for crypto-funded campaigning - in the US, where it is viewed as having led to securing crypto-friendly legislation and sweetheart deals to enrich crypto charlatans and undermine transparency and accountability in politics. Reform threatens to destroy the Conservatives as a party of government and divide communities, increasingly along ethnic lines and with overtly racist arguments. It also poses the most serious threat to Keir Starmer's government, Harborne lives in Thailand and owns a 12% stake in the Tether stablecoin. Little else is known about this intensely private man. Yet he can influence the course of politics, seemingly without either much of a business or life in the UK. It's a lot like overseas interference in British democracy. Didn't someone once say: "Take back control"?

From yesterday's Observer.

Maybe there's an innocent explanation, and the misapprehension arose because a million people have pretended not to speak English when Nigel Farage tried to talk to them?
bsky.app/profile/benc...

Laura K. Field, Podcast Episode · New Books Network · 12/02/2026 · 43m

Recommend for a revealing and disturbing insight into the intellectual undergrowth of MAGA
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/n...

The Representation of the People Bill MUST scrap First Past the Post First Past the Post can no longer deliver real mandates - only chaos. 60% of Brits want it scrapped. Yet the new Representation of the People Bill won’t even touch our rotten voting system, which lea...

First Past the Post can no longer deliver real mandates - only chaos. 60% of Brits want it scrapped.

Yet the Representation of the People Bill won’t even touch our voting system, which leaves millions unrepresented.

Tell Keir Starmer to change this.
actionnetwork.org/petitions/th...

Chris Mason: Starmer's predicament is dire and now he faces future without top aide There is universal acceptance in Labour that Sir Keir Starmer's predicament is dire and he confronts immense peril, writes Chris Mason.

Is anyone else finding Chris Mason an odd mix of dull and hysterical?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Shakespeare in the Kitchen Audiences and scholars alike have long remarked that Shakespeare’s poems and plays record the pleasures and perils of the table. Shakespeare in the Kitchen asks what Shakespeare’s works can tell us ab...

Not long to wait now till this delicious addition
www.routledge.com/Shakespeare-...

Me too! No more inching on a bus through St Clements to get into Oxford in the evening

Oxfordshire landscaping boss banned over £300,000 of unpaid tax Neil Aldridge, from Goring Heath, is barred from running companies for 12 years by Insolvency Service

Surely this must be a relative of Brian's www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This proposal has significant consequences for Old Headington and for the Northway estate. All welcome on Wednesday 11th February 👇

A UN Convention will help us to act, advocate and empower. For this #GlobalRally I write about why a convention for older people matters to #socialwork @basw-uk.bsky.social @researchip.bsky.social @ageinternational.bsky.social tinyurl.com/3nnzsfwz

An ancient Egyptian figurine of a hedgehog blue in colour with dark blue or black bumps to represent the spikes

Happy #NationalHedgehogDay 🥺

This little Egyptian faience model of a hedgehog is from a tomb at Abydos, and was made around 1,500–1,300 BCE.

Hedgehogs had a favourable reputation in ancient Egypt, and were often seen as a symbol of rebirth and renewal of life.

YouTube video by Russia Unfiltered How We Actually Learned Russian | Russia Unfiltered #12

Russia Unfiltered is a podcast that provides fascinating insights into everyday life in Russia. The latest episode explores the presenters experiences of learning Russian. Recommend for anyone learning Russian with all its challenges! www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP5z...

👍 Excellent plug for volunteering

Warwickshire Reform UK councillor illegally let unsafe Tamworth homes Edward Harris is described as a

Yet another Reform councillor unmasked
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Statement from Michael and Susan Pretti, #AlexPretti's parents: [Please consider reposting, to respect their wishes for the truth about their son to be known. Thank you.]

Statement from Michael and Susan Pretti, #AlexPretti's parents:

[Please consider reposting, to respect their wishes for the truth about their son to be known. Thank you.]

Excellent reporting - really worth listening to, frightening yet inspiring. What citizens can do to resist evil when they come together

Nigel Farage attended Davos on a pass sponsored by the family office of Iranian billionaire Sasan Ghandehari, which told the World Economic Forum that the Reform UK leader had advised the company since 2018. ft.trib.al/V138xDu

In solidarity with today's ICE OUT OF MINNESOTA blackout, MinnMax is donating $1 to the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota for every share of this Bluesky post for the next hour.

Power cut in Old Headington. Second in the last 48 hours!

Agree and sadly there is no shortage of autocracy/failed state learning experiences available

Warneford 200 - Mental Health Through the Ages A year-long programme of events led by Oxford Health Charity, marking 200 years of mental health care at the Warneford Hospital in Oxford

An exhibition on 200 years of the Warneford Hospital opens at the Museum of Oxford’s ‘Old Cloakroom’ today (15 January 2026) and continues to 21 March. It will then move to the Glass Tank at Oxford Brookes University from 28 March to 17 April 2026 warneford200.co.uk

Thank you!

I can't see Anneliese Dodds on your list and she is on BlueSky

Heartening to see this letter on a critical issue for the future of our democracy.

What Constitutes Successful Joint Working with Social Work? A Study of Integrated Practice in Supporting Older People with Care and Support Needs | Journal of Long-Term Care

More evidence on the role of social workers in navigating the divides between health and #socialcare. Their knowledge and skills make them valued members of multi-disciplinary teams and effective advocates for older people journal.ilpnetwork.org/articles/10....

Happy New Year to all. And a joyful gero sight/site - this ancient yew has seen in the new year c. 3000 times.

The Winter Queen THE FIRST BOOK IN THE MULTI-MILLION COPY, INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING ERAST FANDORIN MYSTERIES SERIES 'A sparkling romp of a story' TLS 'In Russia Boris ...

@antoniabance.bsky.social Have you discovered Boris Akunin's Erast Fandorin series? Highly recommend.
www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk/titles/boris...

More excitement in Old Headington!

Very good to see information about the plight of West Papua here.