Mr Elliott, David has already seen this, but here’s a hill that’s worth a trip to Northumberland to ride down — from the hamlet of Ryal. About 400 feet of straight descent (slight undulations but no curves) in a mile or so, and a great view towards the Cheviots. The brave do it at almost 60 mph.

@jamesomalley.co.uk & @johnspringford.bsky.social -- both of you, I know, solar PV enthusiasts. Here's my chart of 2026 so far in what is, in winter, a gas-heated household (2 pensioners, quite large detached house). Still in the summer sweet spot, nicely negative in terms of consumption AND cost.

These are not my pics -- downloaded from time to time, without photgraphers' attributions sorry, exc the first [Paul Kingston] -- but they are terrific. The footplate b&w, with Coal Age filthy air, is 1957. I used to live in one of those terraced houses in the third shot.

Hi David, totally agree but this is 100% off-point: look at this wonderful downhill on yesterday's ride in Northumberland -- it's a perfect roller-coaster, over a mile long and downhill all the way.

This evening on the Costa South Shields — 27 degrees, cloudless sky, little breeze, small waves, loads of people swimming, partying etc. It’s not always Grim Oop North, @oldtrotter.bsky.social — such a nice vibe too, so much quieter than anywhere comparably urban on the south coast.

No index-linked, final-salary pensions in those days, poor sod, but no managerial bullshit either. That’s why he had to work 52 years at teaching, but also why he was indefatigable, until he died at least. Nice wall memorial in Stamfordham Church, Northumberland.

Saw this bit of folk art while riding through a nearby ex-mining settlement, called Toronto. This guy lets everbyody, including the cops, know what he thinks.

It is good to celebrate destruction, even if you didn't intend to be a wrecker. It's creative. Were these your leaflets, btw? The graphic is certainly very graphic. The purest mendacious bigotry. We deserve any Brekshit damage that has happened because a majority of us believed this ****.

Some Father’s Day photos getting posted on here, so I’ll add some of mine — of William George Harris, 1919-1999, a thoroughly good man. In the Royal Engineers, 1940-46. Got him off the farm, out of the shop, & to Iraq. A good war, perhaps too good. Left him with a lasting weight problem.

This is the view north up Beggars’ Reach from Lawrenny. Coedcanlas is the big house you can see just to the left of the big wooded hill on the right (east) side of the river. So it looks right down the Reach — probably why it was sited there.

Lucky man! I’m in the shire too — wonderful skies today; tomorrow not so promising…

Have loads more — glad that somebody with a good camera & a good eye wandered around the place in 1955 and captured the place as I remember it. The Head had two passions, the sciences & cricket. We played it in all weathers. His son went on to be head of one of the science research councils.

My village primary school in N. Wales, almost 70 years ago. A good place — 3 teachers, surprisingly mixed classes.

Me on the Loire, 50 years ago. Would love to go back, if I had a support vehicle.

And here he is -- went to S. Africa, where he became a bicycle dealer in Cape Town. I also attach another nice early C20th S. African cycling story, Feb. 1905. Wrote about Uncle Reg here tinyurl.com/y3e4nn4x and mapped Van Wyk's ride tinyurl.com/5xhmdcmx.

Gives a new meaning to the word "pledges" --

My local MP is only 5’ and she isn’t — has written a good open letter to her constituents instead.

And if I index total motoring costs (relative to RPI and to average wages) the result is predictably different: in real terms, however you cook it, my motoring costs have declined, as indeed have everybody's since the Blair-Brown Fuel Crisis.

You may have seen these already, but I am a record-keeper so I know the precise cost of my motoring for the last 20 years (at least) and the composition of that cost too. We have had _some_ inflation in motoring costs over this time, but I have seen none in fuel, mostly because of moving to diesel.

What was your daily consumption in midwinter? Here's our 2026 so far -- 2 pensioners, at least one at home almost all day (esp. in winter), gas for CH & hot water, otherwise electricity. As you can see, we've gone from a peak of c. £10 a day down to net negative now (in ££), or from 120+ to 15 Kwh.

Recent New Yorker cartoon:

My old friend of 54 years — talked to me about this book last time I met him, when he was doing the eulogy for John Walsh, Modern History Fellow at Jesus, our shared mentor, a couple of years ago. Even in 1972 when I had just started my D.Phil. Tom was my model of what a scholar should be. Fertile.

How can they not be Sidney & Beatrice?

Bath time in my childhood. 1952, on our cottage doorstep. Running cold water, not sure if the tap was inside or outside, but that’s certainly where the loo was.

My reward for carrying on digging until sunset this afternoon — seeing the magic minutes when the sun dropped below the clouds &, almost horizontal and due west, shone directly onto the Cathedral tower. Just a phone pic, & the colour isn’t right — the highlight was just TOO bright.

Yesterday! Planted new potatoes also. Our allotment (about a quarter of it, anyway) — a long day’s digging.

My first visit to London was in Easter hols, 1963. Definitely exciting, but (1) the air stank, even tho it was almost a decade after the Clean Air Act, and (2) much of it that wasn’t still bomb-damaged looked quite Dickensian. This must be just about where the Wobbly Bridge is now. Trip to Greenwich

Beautiful area. My wife was only saying yesterday that we ought to go back to a place we stayed on West Loch Tarbert. Wonderful sunsets.

Hi @gilesmacdonogh.bsky.social — saw a proper, old-school farm butchery this morning. Good to watch an expert at work. Local organic farm — _almost_ tempted to take out a mortgage & buy some steak. My father was a butcher — would have been impressed by the guy’s knife skills, & his meat display.

Beautiful time of year — trees still bare & skeletal, quality of light as good as summer.