My silliest discovery of the #eclipse: filming through glass means that you can get a pretty crisp image and make it orbit the sun and dance about into your garden.

Reform tried to stop them after the third verse. I wonder why it was then? "Not in this land alone, But be God’s mercies known, From shore to shore! Lord make the nations see, That men should brothers be, And form one family, The wide world o’er." Excellent malicious compliance from Kent Greens.

Delighted that Otherlands Illustrated has been longlisted for the @wainwrightprize.bsky.social in the Children's Non Fiction category. And alongside the next in the excellent "Everything you know about x is Wrong" series by my good pal Nick Crumpton, who shares Gavin Scott as illustrator!

Lying in the cool of the garden, as the sun sets. Looking up, the clouds seem to vibrate and shimmer as if they are being reflected on water - is that me seeing the refraction of a cold mass of air arriving? Scattered bats and raindrops appear in the sky, but not for long enough.

Since Brexit, Trump's first election, and the talk of 'small boats' began, I have been thinking very often of Michael Tippett's A Child of Our Time. Make no mistake, the events in Belfast are a direct and foreseeable conclusion of Farage's evil rhetoric being adopted by all.

It needs a lot of work (I feel like while everything has a meaning for me, that meaning probably doesn't really get across), but here's a palindrome written this evening, inspired by the unseasonal heat. I'd like to come back to this and refine it...

Important news in Barnet Council. There, the 31 Labour and 31 Conservative councillors have modified the constitution of the council to reduce the rights of ungrouped councillors. With this, they have excluded the single Green councillor, Charli Thompson, from *every* committee.

Reform UK sent this appalling leaflet through our door in Enfield with very divisive and misleading figures. Now the same exact leaflet has been delivered in Suffolk with names and values changed. This is not just one bad candidate, but a template from head office. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I'm choosing to believe that this is a statement from this actual dog.

I occasionally write poetry, usually formal and/or heavily constrained. This one is about interpreting ambiguous data - in this case the dying 'condylarth' and its discovered remains. Each half of the poem has the same letters in the same order.

I just watched the first episode, and this is a fun line in 2026... Oscar: Alright, I'll bring you up to date. The bad guy is the leader of the world - Thaddeus Vent - and he's after me! [Cut to Thaddeus Vent on a throne, looking at a screen] Vent: Use ... the *image generator* [evil laugh]

It's a BBC show from 1995 called Oscar's Orchestra, starring Dudley Moore. Oscar is a grand piano that leads a group of musical instruments against an evil dictator who has banned music. He's on the run, and his mere existence is illegal, but he dedicates his life to saving imprisoned instruments.

I have a clear, old, memory of a TV show with a blue piano and a magical triangle that could become a portal, but until yesterday could never locate it. Turns out it was about an anti-fascist underground revolutionary group, and I watched it aged 5 or 6.

Exciting news - Otherlands Illustrated has been shortlisted for an Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award in the Children's category. Good to see that time travel counts, and looking forward to going into @stanfordstravel.bsky.social to find out how we've done! www.stanfords.co.uk/edward-stanf...

Not since a fairly low quality tournament in 1900. There aren't enough countries that play to make it eligible right now - only about 30. But there's a good international scene that's often live streamed. And Scotland are not terrible. We won Tier 3 of the world team championships last year...

Imbolc. The snowdrops return to the garden. With a dark and rainy day, folklore says that the Cailleach can't go out to collect firewood, and winter comes to an end.

Jack Horner also apparently went fossil hunting in North Dakota with Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Robert F Kennedy Jr some time before the ranch visits.

On this day in 1793, the Russian Empire under Catherine II continued its annexation of Poland-Lithuania in a series of partitions; they wouldn't be independent until 1918. As it's also Burns Night in two days, here's what the bard thought of those trying to seize land and install new governments...

Well, #PrehistoricPlanet might have speculated that a Thylacoleo in a tree is dangerous, but ours is always very cheery.

Fungus spotting in Gobion's Wood this half term, where we found about 25 species (of apparently about 550!)

Ever get the feeling you're being watched? Publication day for the Illustrated Otherlands - get your own copy at all bookshops, or get your local library to order one and borrow it!

I mean, seriously, Iceland. I've not even had time to leave the city but you're still just so nice to be in. Thanks for inviting me, and I'll be back.

I've spent the last couple of days in Reykjavik at the Umhverfisthing (Environmental Assembly). Lots of visions of climatic and Environmental hope, great engagement with the community. From the architecture to the food to the people, Iceland has quickly become one of my favourite countries.

Anyone in the Brighton area should come and watch some of the Golf Croquet World Team Championships (Tier 2). 5th-10th of August, Sussex County Croquet Club. Fierce competition between 12 countries to get promotion to the top tier in four years time - and Scotland are in with an outside shot! 🔵🔴⚫🟡

🚨Exciting news🚨 The illustrated version of Otherlands has appeared through my letterbox! The art by Gavin Scott is just beautiful, with more than 100 pages of scenes, stories, and guides to bring the past to life. Perfect for readers aged 7-11, but also for anyone who just wanted more pictures!