Alastair Harper
@alastairharper.bsky.social
Veteran of various UK squabbles on housing, climate, nature, refugee rights.
Thomas Edison in 1910. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves on this net zero business, lads
September 22, 2026 at 8:22 PM
Thomas Edison in 1910. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves on this net zero business, lads
Look, I think we all need tk tell Home Office Tommo also wants to insulate some homes so they actually take him off our streets
Worrying scenes in the Channel today, for all interested in asylum policy and maritime tactics.
A small boat from Normandy spent more than 30 hours at sea. Those on board now on their 2nd rescue vessel as Border Force forced to play cat and mouse with far-right activists who have their own boat.
A small boat from Normandy spent more than 30 hours at sea. Those on board now on their 2nd rescue vessel as Border Force forced to play cat and mouse with far-right activists who have their own boat.
September 22, 2026 at 7:25 PM
Look, I think we all need tk tell Home Office Tommo also wants to insulate some homes so they actually take him off our streets
Guys, commentators think Net Zero isn’t popular so i’m afraid we have to turn this off, ok? www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Jaw-dropping’: Super El Niño bursts through temperature record months ahead of peak
The ‘Godzilla-level’ phenomenon is supercharging the climate crisis and will heavily impact communities across the world
www.theguardian.com
September 21, 2026 at 1:33 PM
Guys, commentators think Net Zero isn’t popular so i’m afraid we have to turn this off, ok? www.theguardian.com/environment/...
I really was just hoping you'd tell me the slow roast pork recipe
September 15, 2026 at 12:40 PM
I really was just hoping you'd tell me the slow roast pork recipe
Next article - "Orwell was quite right to write to defy the woke in his celebration of Big Brother"
Hell yeah. Hell yeah brother. Here we go. Hit me with this content. Hell yeah. I can feel it.
September 10, 2026 at 2:26 PM
Next article - "Orwell was quite right to write to defy the woke in his celebration of Big Brother"
Donate here - rnli.org/support-us/g...
RNLI volunteers put themselves in harm’s way to save lives. They should never face abuse or threats for doing so.
That includes the crews based on the Thames, who respond to hundreds of incidents every year.
They deserve to be thanked, not attacked.
That includes the crews based on the Thames, who respond to hundreds of incidents every year.
They deserve to be thanked, not attacked.
Abuse of RNLI volunteers 'wholly unacceptable', chief says
Peter Sparkes says there has been "deliberate misinformation" spread about the charity.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 9, 2026 at 3:37 PM
Donate here - rnli.org/support-us/g...
Hello. I finished Furious last night on Disney+ and it is probably my favourite drama in years. Like Promising Young Woman pretended to be but was not. The Wire meets Talented Mr Ripley meets the best bits of Gone Girl. Thanks you for your attention to this matter.
September 9, 2026 at 12:40 PM
Hello. I finished Furious last night on Disney+ and it is probably my favourite drama in years. Like Promising Young Woman pretended to be but was not. The Wire meets Talented Mr Ripley meets the best bits of Gone Girl. Thanks you for your attention to this matter.
Reposted by Alastair Harper
![Cartoon by Stephen Collins for The Guardian. Script as follows:
[scene is Winston Churchill in a bbc studio, giving his 'finest hour' speech]
1
CHURCHILL:
The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us.
2
CHURCHILL:
Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war.
3
CHURCHILL:
If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free
and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sun-
BBC PRESENTER:
Thank you prime minister
4
BBC PRESENTER:
Mr hitler, your response?
5
HITLER [in the studio]:
Vell zis is hysterical woke nonsense as usual from mr Churchill
6
HITLER:
What we are proposing -
CHURCHILL:
Hang on
7
HITLER:
Let me finish - what we are proposing eez a simple power-sharing arrangement -
8
CHURCHILL:
What's he doing here
BBC PRESENTER:
It's important we hear both sides of the debate
9
CHURCHILL:
This isn't a debate
You don't debate fascists
10
HITLER:
Oh here we go with ze Godwins law!
11
HITLER:
Why must you people always compare ze things you don't like to 'fascists, Nazis, Hitler'...
CHURCHILL:
Because you are a fascist Nazi Hit-
12
HITLER [standing up, saluting]:
RAUSS!
BBC PRESENTER:
*Please* Mr Churchill let him speak
[ends]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4m3we4apbjayclzcnhwe3pfp/bafkreibw4ldc3fhslbvxgy2oqrof2oys5kpgh7zu6a5f3usmx3lf4547qm)
Reposted by Alastair Harper
Three years on from the ULEZ expansion, the evidence is clear: cleaner air, healthier children, fewer lives cut short.
September 8, 2026 at 6:00 AM
Three years on from the ULEZ expansion, the evidence is clear: cleaner air, healthier children, fewer lives cut short.
nominative determinism - it a thing
September 4, 2026 at 8:05 PM
nominative determinism - it a thing
Since no one asked, it’s the Betsey Trotwood (any era) , the Jerusalem Tavern (up to about 2015) and the Bank of Friendship (now)
September 4, 2026 at 12:50 PM
Since no one asked, it’s the Betsey Trotwood (any era) , the Jerusalem Tavern (up to about 2015) and the Bank of Friendship (now)
A supposedly English public school educated banker doesn’t know what black velvet is?This should have been the “doesn’t count like a German” scene. Farage deserves what he gets
September 3, 2026 at 8:58 PM
A supposedly English public school educated banker doesn’t know what black velvet is?This should have been the “doesn’t count like a German” scene. Farage deserves what he gets
Will they please just let Binface have a rest!
September 1, 2026 at 2:20 PM
Will they please just let Binface have a rest!
Guys. The vehicles in London are compliant with ULEZ. And the voters in London with vehicles know this as they don’t get fined. This wins over nobody who can vote in London.
Issue 1. We did it. It worked. Vehicles driving through London are now 98% compliant. It polls positively in inner and outer London.
Issue 2. No one in London reads the Telegraph. Not even the editor.
Issue 2. No one in London reads the Telegraph. Not even the editor.
August 31, 2026 at 12:31 PM
Guys. The vehicles in London are compliant with ULEZ. And the voters in London with vehicles know this as they don’t get fined. This wins over nobody who can vote in London.
Issue 1. We did it. It worked. Vehicles driving through London are now 98% compliant. It polls positively in inner and outer London.
Issue 2. No one in London reads the Telegraph. Not even the editor.
Issue 2. No one in London reads the Telegraph. Not even the editor.
August 31, 2026 at 11:19 AM
Issue 1. We did it. It worked. Vehicles driving through London are now 98% compliant. It polls positively in inner and outer London.
Issue 2. No one in London reads the Telegraph. Not even the editor.
Issue 2. No one in London reads the Telegraph. Not even the editor.
The dude didn’t blink. Now these kids have a brighter life ahead of them. Some will have a future life when they wouldn’t have. Political choices matter
Ulez has delivered remarkable public health gains in a short period.
Sadiq deserves more credit than he’s had for defying Labour pressure to U-turn after Uxbridge. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Sadiq deserves more credit than he’s had for defying Labour pressure to U-turn after Uxbridge. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Ulez led to better lung size and function among London children, study finds
Researchers find capacity stunted by pollution restored after introduction of ultra-low emission zone
www.theguardian.com
August 19, 2026 at 9:22 AM
The dude didn’t blink. Now these kids have a brighter life ahead of them. Some will have a future life when they wouldn’t have. Political choices matter
Show me you don’t know much about energy and climate policy by 1. Not knowing what the shadows minister’s title is 2. Only repeating hot takes that think we can stop North Sea being deported and 3. (From a few weeks ago) assuming the acronym ICE meant magic snow sledges
August 18, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Show me you don’t know much about energy and climate policy by 1. Not knowing what the shadows minister’s title is 2. Only repeating hot takes that think we can stop North Sea being deported and 3. (From a few weeks ago) assuming the acronym ICE meant magic snow sledges
My aging parents have a little woodland behind them which is very, very dry right now. If a buzzy buzz noise helps someone learn they shouldn’t fire up the bbq, that’s fine by me
August 14, 2026 at 6:45 PM
My aging parents have a little woodland behind them which is very, very dry right now. If a buzzy buzz noise helps someone learn they shouldn’t fire up the bbq, that’s fine by me
Such a magic set up for a show that can run until it runs out of homes. The building my flat is in has been in has been up and down the class register in the 100 and odd years it has existed
My latest article, on the new series of A House Through Time, staring tomorrow on BBC Two at 9m. Set in the amazing, beautiful, gothic city of Edinburgh.
‘Houses with long histories are magical’: David Olusoga on the home history show that’s gripped the UK
At first, I worried that only historians would find A House Through Time compelling. But its appeal is so enduring that fans of the show stop me in the street to ask when they can watch more
www.theguardian.com
August 14, 2026 at 9:54 AM
Such a magic set up for a show that can run until it runs out of homes. The building my flat is in has been in has been up and down the class register in the 100 and odd years it has existed
Eclipses are bollocks. A bus drove by and did a better job of blocking the sun
August 12, 2026 at 8:23 PM
Eclipses are bollocks. A bus drove by and did a better job of blocking the sun
Anyone thinking our economy is helped by back to 19th century technologies is not serious about our society or growth - this is spot on by @london.gov.uk www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
This burning summer is the proof: the voices of climate denial aren’t just delusional, they’re deadly | Sadiq Khan
Look at our blazing forests and parched cities. Green policies aren’t a ‘luxury’, and we can’t burn more oil and gas. People need the truth, says London mayor Sadiq Khan
www.theguardian.com
August 8, 2026 at 10:52 AM
Anyone thinking our economy is helped by back to 19th century technologies is not serious about our society or growth - this is spot on by @london.gov.uk www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Successful regionalism will need evolution as much as devolution
As ever, obsessed by the euphemism of “Vertical Drinking”.
“How can we make standing up, having a pint with your friends, sound bad?”
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
“How can we make standing up, having a pint with your friends, sound bad?”
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Council wants pubs in London’s Soho and West End to ban standing
Sadiq Khan criticises Westminster council’s ‘anti-growth policies’ after it recommends stopping ‘vertical drinking’
www.theguardian.com
August 6, 2026 at 8:24 AM
Successful regionalism will need evolution as much as devolution
In other news, Ted Bundy promises second will be “way better”
Wildfires in Europe are “very worrying”, says Shell boss, as oil giant cashed in on high prices to make bumper Q 2profits of almost $10bn.
"My heart goes out to the many who are suffering from it”
Sawan abandoned many green investments made by his predecessor
www.thetimes.com/business/com...
"My heart goes out to the many who are suffering from it”
Sawan abandoned many green investments made by his predecessor
www.thetimes.com/business/com...
Wildfires very worrying, says Shell boss as he defends green record
Wael Sawan, the oil group’s chief executive, insists it is not ‘just a fossil fuel company’
www.thetimes.com
July 31, 2026 at 12:21 PM
In other news, Ted Bundy promises second will be “way better”