Andy Mabbett
@pigsonthewing.org.uk
Man of many talents—some of them useful. Multiple monomaniac. Author, 'Pink Floyd: The Music & The Mystery'.
Also Wikipedia, Wikidata &c. OpenStreetMap. Birds. Birmingham. Open data. FoI. Art. Architecture. History. FRSA.
Everything is interesting.
Also Wikipedia, Wikidata &c. OpenStreetMap. Birds. Birmingham. Open data. FoI. Art. Architecture. History. FRSA.
Everything is interesting.
Reposted by Andy Mabbett
I made a site where you send your poem to a stranger and get real feedback back.
No followers, no likes, no algorithm. Just your poem and someone who actually read it.
penpalpoets.com
#poetry #poetsofbluesky #amwriting
No followers, no likes, no algorithm. Just your poem and someone who actually read it.
penpalpoets.com
#poetry #poetsofbluesky #amwriting
September 16, 2026 at 11:39 AM
I made a site where you send your poem to a stranger and get real feedback back.
No followers, no likes, no algorithm. Just your poem and someone who actually read it.
penpalpoets.com
#poetry #poetsofbluesky #amwriting
No followers, no likes, no algorithm. Just your poem and someone who actually read it.
penpalpoets.com
#poetry #poetsofbluesky #amwriting
Reposted by Andy Mabbett
Job – Head of Data & Digital (fixed term) at the National Biodiversity Network Trust, apparently home-based nbn.org.uk/news/nbn-tru...
NBN Atlas nbnatlas.org
#biodiversity #opendata -adjacent
NBN Atlas nbnatlas.org
#biodiversity #opendata -adjacent
September 17, 2026 at 10:52 AM
Job – Head of Data & Digital (fixed term) at the National Biodiversity Network Trust, apparently home-based nbn.org.uk/news/nbn-tru...
NBN Atlas nbnatlas.org
#biodiversity #opendata -adjacent
NBN Atlas nbnatlas.org
#biodiversity #opendata -adjacent
Haiku for Roger McGough:
Sometimes I feel like
a priest in a fish & chip
queue quietly think
Sometimes I feel like
a priest in a fish & chip
queue quietly think
September 17, 2026 at 11:26 AM
Haiku for Roger McGough:
Sometimes I feel like
a priest in a fish & chip
queue quietly think
Sometimes I feel like
a priest in a fish & chip
queue quietly think
Among the worst culprits for not using alt text on images of screenshots seem to be journalists.
September 16, 2026 at 12:15 PM
Among the worst culprits for not using alt text on images of screenshots seem to be journalists.
I'm going to write an article with the headline:
"Is Betteridge's Law Valid?"
"Is Betteridge's Law Valid?"
September 16, 2026 at 8:42 AM
I'm going to write an article with the headline:
"Is Betteridge's Law Valid?"
"Is Betteridge's Law Valid?"
Reposted by Andy Mabbett
I'd like to wish Piddington Parish Council good luck in explaining why everyone in the village now has to pay the surcharge to use the NHS
September 16, 2026 at 7:25 AM
I'd like to wish Piddington Parish Council good luck in explaining why everyone in the village now has to pay the surcharge to use the NHS
Sherlock Holmes
You know who else returned after a long absence where everyone believed him to be dead
September 15, 2026 at 6:18 AM
Sherlock Holmes
Lots here for my @wmau.bsky.social friends. Also those in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Yemen, Somalia and Caribbean
🌍 54 million historical weather observations from 95 countries have been unlocked & made freely available online.
📚 With records dating back to 1837, the project enabled the discovery of an HMS Terror logbook & an international weather station network
Read ⤵️
www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2026/ho...
📚 With records dating back to 1837, the project enabled the discovery of an HMS Terror logbook & an international weather station network
Read ⤵️
www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2026/ho...
How 54 million historical weather records are being made globally accessible
For more than a century, the Met Office's National Meteorological Archive has held a treasure trove of historical weather data, some of it dating back to 1837. Now, thanks to a major project, tens of ...
www.metoffice.gov.uk
September 14, 2026 at 1:15 PM
Lots here for my @wmau.bsky.social friends. Also those in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Yemen, Somalia and Caribbean
Reposted by Andy Mabbett
🌍 54 million historical weather observations from 95 countries have been unlocked & made freely available online.
📚 With records dating back to 1837, the project enabled the discovery of an HMS Terror logbook & an international weather station network
Read ⤵️
www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2026/ho...
📚 With records dating back to 1837, the project enabled the discovery of an HMS Terror logbook & an international weather station network
Read ⤵️
www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2026/ho...
How 54 million historical weather records are being made globally accessible
For more than a century, the Met Office's National Meteorological Archive has held a treasure trove of historical weather data, some of it dating back to 1837. Now, thanks to a major project, tens of ...
www.metoffice.gov.uk
September 14, 2026 at 1:08 PM
🌍 54 million historical weather observations from 95 countries have been unlocked & made freely available online.
📚 With records dating back to 1837, the project enabled the discovery of an HMS Terror logbook & an international weather station network
Read ⤵️
www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2026/ho...
📚 With records dating back to 1837, the project enabled the discovery of an HMS Terror logbook & an international weather station network
Read ⤵️
www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2026/ho...
Reposted by Andy Mabbett
A novel set in an 18thC London confectionary shop mentions 'Piccadilly puff' - a puff pastry with lemon and spices. Did such a pastry exist? (Like, say, Tottenham cake or Chelsea bun). Quick google search only gives me a cigarette shop in Piccadilly called Piccadilly Puff.
September 14, 2026 at 7:54 AM
A novel set in an 18thC London confectionary shop mentions 'Piccadilly puff' - a puff pastry with lemon and spices. Did such a pastry exist? (Like, say, Tottenham cake or Chelsea bun). Quick google search only gives me a cigarette shop in Piccadilly called Piccadilly Puff.
I've seen images of these works many times before, but never with anything to indicate scale; I always assumed they were a coupe of inches across..!
September 14, 2026 at 10:18 AM
I've seen images of these works many times before, but never with anything to indicate scale; I always assumed they were a coupe of inches across..!
TIL
The Girl with the Leica, which is being premiered at the Venice Bienale, reminds us that the photographer Robert Capa wasn’t a real person but a shared byline that almost erased Gerda Taro’s name from history.
New film 'The Girl with the Leica' reminds the world that photographer "Robert Capa" wasn't a real person, but a shared byline that almost erased Gerda Taro's name from history
Premiering at Venice Bienale, the movie retells the story of a real-life female photographer whose shots were credited to someone else.
www.digitalcameraworld.com
September 14, 2026 at 9:50 AM
TIL
Reposted by Andy Mabbett
Your regular reminder: If the Russians stop fighting, the war ends. If the Ukrainians stop fighting, their land will be occupied, their leaders will be killed, their history and language will be erased, their children will be kidnapped to serve Russia.
September 14, 2026 at 12:14 AM
Your regular reminder: If the Russians stop fighting, the war ends. If the Ukrainians stop fighting, their land will be occupied, their leaders will be killed, their history and language will be erased, their children will be kidnapped to serve Russia.
So they're not actually seeking any concessions from Putin at all?
Well, what a surprise!
Well, what a surprise!
Kushner on Ukraine:
“President Putin's laid out his line of what he wants to achieve. If Ukraine, you know, wanted to withdraw to that line, then obviously, you know, we have the rest of the deal set up and put together. Ukraine right now does not want to do that.”
Putin’s brain cell
“President Putin's laid out his line of what he wants to achieve. If Ukraine, you know, wanted to withdraw to that line, then obviously, you know, we have the rest of the deal set up and put together. Ukraine right now does not want to do that.”
Putin’s brain cell
September 13, 2026 at 5:58 PM
So they're not actually seeking any concessions from Putin at all?
Well, what a surprise!
Well, what a surprise!
"I'm really popular if you discount all the people who don't like me"
Hassett dismisses Trump's bad economic polling: "They are surveying Democrats who hate President Trump, that's all. So therefore I disregard that number."
September 13, 2026 at 3:58 PM
"I'm really popular if you discount all the people who don't like me"
Bluesky: I'd like to be able to turn on "Do not see replies", but for an individual poster
(Someone who bizarrely replies to their own posts, expressing thanks each time they get liked or reposted)
(Someone who bizarrely replies to their own posts, expressing thanks each time they get liked or reposted)
September 13, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Bluesky: I'd like to be able to turn on "Do not see replies", but for an individual poster
(Someone who bizarrely replies to their own posts, expressing thanks each time they get liked or reposted)
(Someone who bizarrely replies to their own posts, expressing thanks each time they get liked or reposted)
Reposted by Andy Mabbett
If you care about governments being held accountable, then you need to know about disastrous cuts being planned for Archives NZ and the National Library.
These cuts don't just make it much harder to do history. They undermine the institutions at the heart of our democracy.
These cuts don't just make it much harder to do history. They undermine the institutions at the heart of our democracy.
Newsroom talked to PHANZA President Matthew Woodbury about further cuts at the National Library and Archives NZ.
He says "It’s only when one zooms out that you can see the effect of all of these cuts. These institutions ... are critical cultural infrastructure."
newsroom.co.nz/2026/09/07/g...
He says "It’s only when one zooms out that you can see the effect of all of these cuts. These institutions ... are critical cultural infrastructure."
newsroom.co.nz/2026/09/07/g...
Government slammed over job cuts at National Library
Historians count the cost of a proposed restructure at the National Library and Archives NZ
newsroom.co.nz
September 9, 2026 at 11:39 PM
If you care about governments being held accountable, then you need to know about disastrous cuts being planned for Archives NZ and the National Library.
These cuts don't just make it much harder to do history. They undermine the institutions at the heart of our democracy.
These cuts don't just make it much harder to do history. They undermine the institutions at the heart of our democracy.
I stopped in at The Book Exchange in Ashland, Oregon and discovered a book that was previously unknown to me: "This Wild Life; Heroines in the History of Botany 1650-1850" by Lucretia Saville Weems. Ordinarily I pass by self-published books but this one looked, and is proving to be, well written.
September 13, 2026 at 8:08 AM
The shocking state of Kenneth Budd's fine "Horsefair 1908" mural in Birmingham; many pieces of which are lying on the ground below the work (and far more missing completely). Seen yesterday.
Birmingham City Council are responsible for its upkeep.
Birmingham City Council are responsible for its upkeep.
September 12, 2026 at 5:55 PM
The shocking state of Kenneth Budd's fine "Horsefair 1908" mural in Birmingham; many pieces of which are lying on the ground below the work (and far more missing completely). Seen yesterday.
Birmingham City Council are responsible for its upkeep.
Birmingham City Council are responsible for its upkeep.
I'm going to start a chain of bookshops called "Allgood".
Think of the free advertising I'll get
Think of the free advertising I'll get
September 12, 2026 at 4:07 PM
I'm going to start a chain of bookshops called "Allgood".
Think of the free advertising I'll get
Think of the free advertising I'll get
Reposted by Andy Mabbett
Reign of far right terror has been ushered in… untrammelled.
Lifeboat museum forced to close after abuse from thugs
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Poole Old Lifeboat Museum shuts after protesters target volunteers
The museum in Poole says it will remain closed until until the anti-migrant protests stop.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 11, 2026 at 12:19 PM
Reign of far right terror has been ushered in… untrammelled.
At a Wikimedia UK event; we brainstormed (an incomplete list of) the types of activities undertaken by Wikimedia volunteers.
September 12, 2026 at 12:14 PM
At a Wikimedia UK event; we brainstormed (an incomplete list of) the types of activities undertaken by Wikimedia volunteers.
25 years ago today I was working for Walsall council, based in the IT department. My Mom rang and told me she had just heard on the radio a plane had hit a skyscraper in NY. It took several attempts to reload the BBC News website to find out what was happening.
September 11, 2026 at 1:08 PM
25 years ago today I was working for Walsall council, based in the IT department. My Mom rang and told me she had just heard on the radio a plane had hit a skyscraper in NY. It took several attempts to reload the BBC News website to find out what was happening.
Reposted by Andy Mabbett
For your joy and delight.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HWU...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HWU...
Rush E - Automatic Ruler Playing Robot | Ruler drive
YouTube video by XA10C4
www.youtube.com
September 11, 2026 at 7:16 AM
For your joy and delight.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HWU...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HWU...