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philbixby.bsky.social

@philbixby

Architect and Passivhaus Designer in York, UK with a passion for sustainable & community-based projects, half of myfutureyork.org & part of yoco.uk. Makes B&W photos on film, rides bikes for pleasure & utility, and leans to the political left.

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21.01.2024
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Latest posts by philbixby.bsky.social @philbixby

Well it's not a good strategy for empire-building but then being an architect is more fun (generally) than being an emperor!

09.03.2026 16:07 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
A black and white photograph of a zig-zag pedestrian ramp to a footbridge, with strong sunlight accenting the geometry

A black and white photograph of a zig-zag pedestrian ramp to a footbridge, with strong sunlight accenting the geometry

Diverted

B&W photography on film
📷 Nikon F4
🎞️ Ilford Delta Pro 3200
#believeinfilm
#fridayfavourites
#ilfordphoto

09.03.2026 08:19 👍 21 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
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Our @yorkopenstudios.bsky.social directory dispenser awaits passing Yorkies and this is the view it gets when you, yes every one of you, takes a free directory and starts to plan your York Open Studios weekends' visits!

Venue 15 - find @singfoodie.bsky.social and me at yorkopenstudios.co.uk

08.03.2026 16:26 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
A black and white photograph of the underside of bridges reflected on a very still canal, creating a confusing pattern of line and texture

A black and white photograph of the underside of bridges reflected on a very still canal, creating a confusing pattern of line and texture

A journey of confusing signals

B&W photography on film
📷 Nikon F4
🎞️ Ilford Delta Pro 3200
#believeinfilm
#fridayfavourites
#ilfordphoto

08.03.2026 09:00 👍 19 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Thank you! Taken on a walk from dropping off a photo at a Sheffield gallery to get the return train one station closer to York...

07.03.2026 15:19 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
A black and white photograph with compressed perspective of tramlines leading to a bridge, in a setting of Victorian buildings

A black and white photograph with compressed perspective of tramlines leading to a bridge, in a setting of Victorian buildings

Contemporary landscape

B&W photography on film
📷 Nikon F4
🎞️ Ilford Delta Pro 3200
#believeinfilm
#fridayfavourites
#ilfordphoto

07.03.2026 09:43 👍 32 🔁 8 💬 2 📌 0
Preview
I’m here to buy a Range Rover – no one mentioned a passenger: the Stephen Collins cartoon There seems to be somebody in the back seat …

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

06.03.2026 10:31 👍 133 🔁 22 💬 5 📌 2
A photograph showing framed photos and artwork hung at an exhibition with viewers looking on.

A photograph showing framed photos and artwork hung at an exhibition with viewers looking on.

Final days of Scarborough's Old Parcels Office Open Exhibition & your final chance to see this lovely mix of artwork from across the UK. Including, of course, "Endless" which will be (woop!) departing to a new home after closing time.

Info & opening hours at www.oldparcelsoffice.org/opo-open-2026/

06.03.2026 17:49 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Post image

Grace, reflected

B&W photography on film
📷 Nikon F4
🎞️ Ilford Delta Pro 3200
#believeinfilm
#fridayfavourites
#ilfordphoto

Sheffield & Tinsley Canal on my return from delivering my part in the upcoming Black & White show at @fronteer.bsky.social - shot on the lovely Delta Pro 3200 rated at 1600.

06.03.2026 08:21 👍 17 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Video thumbnail

Yesterday's sunshine reflected onto the underside of a bridge , Sheffield and Tinsley Canal.

05.03.2026 07:06 👍 6 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 1

Many years ago I realised I was a control freak and hence would be a crap employer, so have remained self-employed sole trader since. I'm happy to confirm my views on crap employers should any client wish to questionnaire me.

04.03.2026 11:21 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Net zero is the answer to Middle East energy crisis, says Business Secretary

His comments came after the conflict in the Middle East sent the European gas price up 80pc and oil prices nearly 20pc as Iranian strikes on production facilities in the Gulf spooked markets.
buff.ly/K4XKbIf

04.03.2026 10:30 👍 19 🔁 8 💬 0 📌 3
[We see a close up of a young white male, tanned, white teeth, coiffed hair clearly an influencer on social media. It is an image such as you see when social media posts are shown on the news. In the corner of the screen is named a location: DUBAI. He is staring slightly off-camera for several silent panels of the comic strip. His eyes move slightly. He is having a thought.]

From off-screen a newsreader’s commentary comes:

NEWSREADER:

Extraordinary images here 

of an expat in Dubai 

[The influencer’s eybrows raise slightly]

…Having their first ever geopolitical thought.

[CUT TO a BBC news scene. The BBC newsreader CLIVE MYRIE is talking to an interviewee next to the screen showing the social media influencer’s face. The interviewee’s name is David Jones]. 

CLIVE MYRIE:

To explain the significance of this moment we’re joined by David Jones, our Expat Thoughts correspondent

DAVID JONES:

Clive, this is momentous

It was caught on film at the end of an Instagram post titled: ‘Dubai Is Brilliant’.

[Pointing at the screen, the influencer’s expression still the same]

You can clearly see in the eyebrows here, the dawning realisation that there *might* be something in the world beyond his dickhead self.

It marks a *huge* departure from all the Dubai Expat’s previous thoughts.

CLIVE MYRIE:

Which are…?

DAVID JONES:

You've Got To Get Yourself Out Here Mate, Everything Is So Clean, I Don't Have To Pay Taxes, 
I Am Incurious As To Why I Do Not Have To Pay Taxes, and Spa.

CLIVE MYRIE:

And might we see an expansion of these new Thoughts in coming days?

DAVID JONES:

I think we can expect to see:

“I Deserve To Be Airlifted By A Country I Pay No Tax To”

CLIVE MYRIE:

Mmm. 

[Ends]

[We see a close up of a young white male, tanned, white teeth, coiffed hair clearly an influencer on social media. It is an image such as you see when social media posts are shown on the news. In the corner of the screen is named a location: DUBAI. He is staring slightly off-camera for several silent panels of the comic strip. His eyes move slightly. He is having a thought.] From off-screen a newsreader’s commentary comes: NEWSREADER: Extraordinary images here of an expat in Dubai [The influencer’s eybrows raise slightly] …Having their first ever geopolitical thought. [CUT TO a BBC news scene. The BBC newsreader CLIVE MYRIE is talking to an interviewee next to the screen showing the social media influencer’s face. The interviewee’s name is David Jones]. CLIVE MYRIE: To explain the significance of this moment we’re joined by David Jones, our Expat Thoughts correspondent DAVID JONES: Clive, this is momentous It was caught on film at the end of an Instagram post titled: ‘Dubai Is Brilliant’. [Pointing at the screen, the influencer’s expression still the same] You can clearly see in the eyebrows here, the dawning realisation that there *might* be something in the world beyond his dickhead self. It marks a *huge* departure from all the Dubai Expat’s previous thoughts. CLIVE MYRIE: Which are…? DAVID JONES: You've Got To Get Yourself Out Here Mate, Everything Is So Clean, I Don't Have To Pay Taxes, I Am Incurious As To Why I Do Not Have To Pay Taxes, and Spa. CLIVE MYRIE: And might we see an expansion of these new Thoughts in coming days? DAVID JONES: I think we can expect to see: “I Deserve To Be Airlifted By A Country I Pay No Tax To” CLIVE MYRIE: Mmm. [Ends]

04.03.2026 11:14 👍 4006 🔁 1262 💬 17 📌 40
A black and white photograph taken on an old footbridge over a river, with elegant iron balustrading but a huge bolted, plated (presumably very essential) joint in the structure just beyond.

A black and white photograph taken on an old footbridge over a river, with elegant iron balustrading but a huge bolted, plated (presumably very essential) joint in the structure just beyond.

You don't have to be beautiful

B&W photography on film
📷 Nikon F4
🎞️ Ilford Delta Pro 100
#believeinfilm
#fridayfavourites
#ilfordphoto

04.03.2026 07:51 👍 11 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

This is nothing. Just send Mahmood out again to announce some more anti-refugee policies and you can easily find your way to fifth place.

03.03.2026 06:50 👍 955 🔁 218 💬 41 📌 7
A black and white photograph showing a broad stone trough built beneath a dry stone wall, with the wall gently reflected in the still water

A black and white photograph showing a broad stone trough built beneath a dry stone wall, with the wall gently reflected in the still water

There is a gentler place

B&W photography on film
📷 Nikon F4
🎞️ Ilford Delta Pro 400
#believeinfilm
#fridayfavourites
#ilfordphoto

02.03.2026 08:58 👍 21 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Post image

Proximity restores health. As reported in The Lancet, walking 7,000 steps a day—about one hour—reduces major risks: cancer, cardiovascular disease, dementia, depression, and diabetes. Walkable proximity turns life into prevention, compressing morbidity and extending well-being.
(🙏 & HT A. Flahault)

01.03.2026 18:08 👍 44 🔁 14 💬 0 📌 0
How Much I Dislike the Daily Mail 
 
I would rather 
eat Quavers that are six weeks stale, 
blow dry the man bun of Gareth Bale, 
listen to the songs of Jimmy Nail, 
than read one page of the Daily Mail. 
 
If I was bored 
in a waiting room in Perivale, 
on a twelve-hour trip on Network Rail, 
halfway through a circumnavigational sail, 
I would not read the Daily Mail. 
 
I would happily read 
the autobiography of Dan Quayle, 
1001 Things You Can Do With Kale, 
selected scripts from Emmerdale,
if it meant I didn’t have to read the Daily Mail. 
 
Far better to 
stand outside in a storm of hail, 
scratch a blackboard with a fingernail, 
be swallowed by a humpback whale, 
than have to read the Daily Mail. 
 
If I was blind  
and it was the only thing in Braille, 
I still would not read the Daily Mail. 

 
Brian Bilston 

How Much I Dislike the Daily Mail    I would rather  eat Quavers that are six weeks stale,  blow dry the man bun of Gareth Bale,  listen to the songs of Jimmy Nail,  than read one page of the Daily Mail.    If I was bored  in a waiting room in Perivale,  on a twelve-hour trip on Network Rail,  halfway through a circumnavigational sail,  I would not read the Daily Mail.    I would happily read  the autobiography of Dan Quayle,  1001 Things You Can Do With Kale,  selected scripts from Emmerdale, if it meant I didn’t have to read the Daily Mail.    Far better to  stand outside in a storm of hail,  scratch a blackboard with a fingernail,  be swallowed by a humpback whale,  than have to read the Daily Mail.    If I was blind   and it was the only thing in Braille,  I still would not read the Daily Mail.    Brian Bilston 

Today’s poem is called ‘How Much I Dislike the Daily Mail’.

20.08.2025 09:06 👍 960 🔁 302 💬 31 📌 32
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Blog! YoCo cohousing group member Tim Larner took part in ChaCo's recent evening with Diggers & Dreamers' Chris Coates, and marvels in the breadth and variety of intentional communities... www.yoco.uk/blog/the-his...

27.02.2026 21:52 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

It’s a running joke in academia that Matt Goodwin is bad at maths.

This sort of thing is why: the combined Labour/Green vote could have split in any way possible and Goodwin would have finished 2nd or 3rd. He did not lose because progressives coordinated. He lost *in spite of them not doing so*.

27.02.2026 09:26 👍 900 🔁 245 💬 33 📌 7
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Save me

26.02.2026 21:27 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
Allister Heath Headline Generator

In honour of the Sunday Telegraph's editor and offical maddest columnist, we have created the Allister Heath headline generator...
stirring-fox-7e1fab.netlify.app

26.02.2026 10:46 👍 1558 🔁 516 💬 528 📌 877

Brilliant. The sort of day-rescuing joy that Twitter used to bring us all before Musk fucked it up

26.02.2026 21:24 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Preview
The Life-Sized City - Taipei, Taiwan — YoCo Our sixth overseas visit of this winter was to Taipei in Taiwan – a city with a history of political change, which has left its citizens with an independence of mind and an enthusiasm for democratic p...

Blog! Yesterday evening's YoCo (York Central Co-Owned) visit to Taipei via The Life-Sized City documentary series prompted some thoughtful discussion about citizenship and young people. Read about it here - www.yoco.uk/blog/the-lif...

24.02.2026 20:55 👍 1 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
Monstrosities Mon Amour: Swindon with Helen Barrett Podcast Episode · Monstrosities Mon Amour · 27 December 2024 · 32m

Marc Riley played Status Quo's Down Down yesterday, and it reminded me of this wonderful conversation with @helenbarrett.bsky.social on one of the first Monstrosities Mon Amour. Also contains Swindon. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/m...

24.02.2026 18:46 👍 10 🔁 2 💬 3 📌 0
A black and white photograph of an old stone wall, shot straight on with shadow across the lower-right half. The stone in shadow looks smooth; the stone in the sun looks highly textured (despite all being the same).

A black and white photograph of an old stone wall, shot straight on with shadow across the lower-right half. The stone in shadow looks smooth; the stone in the sun looks highly textured (despite all being the same).

The difference a bit o' sun makes

Currently part of the www.fronteer.co.uk exhibition "Stone" along with a lovely mix of all sorts of media. Sheffield has good galleries - worth a daytrip!

B&W photography on film
📷 Nikon FA
🎞️ Ilford Delta Pro 400
#believeinfilm
#fridayfavourites
#ilfordphoto

24.02.2026 07:59 👍 7 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Is this even satire?

21.02.2026 05:26 👍 1443 🔁 359 💬 8 📌 12

I did briefly look at our garden pond and think briefly "how flat! How frozen! Wonder if a couple of saucepans would bother the frogs" but I'm guessing the training is likewise more rigorous and my age is against me, frankly

22.02.2026 12:59 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Entertaining, fascinating and informative

22.02.2026 12:39 👍 118 🔁 33 💬 6 📌 4
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Final reminder for Monday evening's Zoom visit to Taipei and discussion of what it teaches about making our city fit our lives. Hosted by YoCo (York Central Co-Owned) but relevant for anyone anywhere interested in what "good" city-making looks like. Tickets are free from www.yoco.uk/events/the-l...

22.02.2026 12:12 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0