Alison Tomlin

Blossom in the Hollies. Leeds.

I think it might actually be spring...

Labour must stop channelling Reform and unite with progressives. That’s the lesson from Gorton and Denton | Sadiq Khan The threat to the party in some parts of our country is now existential. But we can progress, as we have in London, by being bold and strong in our core beliefs, says London mayor Sadiq Khan

"Trying to compete with Reform not only feels inauthentic... but a betrayal of what Labour is supposed to represent. We must address the concerns and fears of voters, not play on them."

Damning stuff from Sadiq Khan

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Ah the gorgeous Lisa O'neill. So good and hugely entertaining stories too. All in the equally gorgeous City Varieties where my grand parents used to watch The Good Old Days. Music, place, connections.

Good init.

Anyway, Lisa was right. The wind didn't blow that far right. Really looking forward to seeing her live tomorrow. If I could just get rid of this assembly cough...

Spare us from men who can never admit that they're wrong.

Yes, sectarian Muslims voting for a white female plumber from a party led by a gay Jewish man... Am guessing none of the other parties will learn the right lessons from this result for their own different reasons.

At last, a Telegraph headline that is actually true.

Ha well I would be happy to see some frogs as the tadpoles in the garden pond always seem to get eaten.

I'm on the old landfill site behind the house. Its a bit flooded at the bottom and there's masses of frog spawn. Finally a reason for all the rain.

The Committee have been disappointed at the smallness of the support they received
from steam users, in whose interests the work was undertaken.

Report of the committee for testing smoke prevention appliances. 1895

I went down a rabbit hole but this definitely looks to be worth 5 shillings. And a close read.

No denying that thick smoke makes for great pictures. This is looking over Kirkstall Road.

to washing rather than health based costs. The conclusion being that local patriotism alone would not be enough to prompt mitigation. "Masters will not take the trouble to alter their furnaces, nor will the men alter their method of stoking the fires unless they are compelled." Still true of course.

Found a fascinating lecture on the nature of air pollution in Leeds from 1896. A really interesting description of measurement techniques. What caught my attention though, was that the discussion of costs of atmospheric soot was based around loss of fuel and damage
en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Cha...

Playing my congas. I bought them for £250 on ebay about 10 years ago and I play them nearly every day. Works out at about 50 p a day although I could probably sell them for more than £250 now. Musical instruments are the best money you'll ever spend.

Getting rid of McSweeny seems to have worked then...

Roda de Samba at the Belgrave Music Hall. Musicians sitting amongst the crowd playing samba classics.

Rather jaded after a late night celebrating Carnival in Leeds. Here's the lovely roda de samba that formed part of it. So many Brazilians singing along. Really diverse crowd and great atmosphere. One reason why I love Leeds. And now for a quiet stress free night of curling...

This will be flowing through my local park a few miles further downstream. Not ok.

They are always welcome. Love em!

Ah, neither is good. I've gone through a big round of unsuscribes, but not sure its made that much difference.

Yes I didn't cross the pennines for that to happen.

Nope. Even reading about the very interesting science hasn't made me feel any better about experiencing this. It has though, fed a little bit more support to my occasional desire to move to NW Scotland. Without the jet stream, there must surely be nowhere nicer.

Uh oh. Anything in particular?

I don’t know who needs to hear Jesse Jackson leading the kids on Sesame Street in this beautiful call-and-response reminding them that every child is somebody, but here it is

Say what you like about the BBC Olympics coverage, but Ed Leigh and Tim Warwood are hugely entertaining.

There's quite an extensive literature on "post normal science" which might tackle some of the questions you are raising. Worth taking a look.

Thought so. She's very good.

Aw. Who was said pal?

The situation is awful, but that was my experience of Havana too. A magical place despite everything the people have to endure.