Paul Oldham
LightNews LightNews
banner
tallpaul.org
Paul Oldham
@tallpaul.org
24 followers 16 following 37 posts
Semi-retired Internet geek living with my wife and dog in Nairn, Scotland.

I'm also the #SNP councillor for #Nairn & #Cawdor but I generally post about that as @paul.nairn.scot

More here https://about.me/TallPaul
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
tallpaul.org
Paul Oldham @tallpaul.org · Nov 16
I'm also on Mastodon as
mastodon.scot/@tallpaul

... and Facebook as
www.facebook.com/paulatthehug/

I also have some personal pages which we host starting at
the-hug.org/paul
Paul Oldham 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 💛 🇺🇦 🇵🇸 (@[email protected])
1.21K Posts, 159 Following, 246 Followers · Semi-retired Internet geek living with my wife and dog in Nairn, Scotland. I'm also the #SNP councillor for #Nairn & #Cawdor but I generally toot about th...
mastodon.scot
tallpaul.org
I've been writing about #books again

aboutabook.uk/about-the-bo...
About The Bookshop
My journey through books continues in its usual random manner and this time I've ended up in a bookshop, and not just any bookshop but The Bookshop. I first came across it because of yet another book...
aboutabook.uk
July 21, 2026 at 10:54 AM
tallpaul.org
Split and merge PDF files with #PDFsam fast, free and open source! Works a treat for me. @pdfsam.org pdfsam.org #PDFmerge #PDFsplit
PDF Split And Merge
A free and open source software to merge, split, rotate and extract pages from PDF files
pdfsam.org
June 5, 2026 at 3:49 PM
tallpaul.org
As of lunchtime today this EDM has now been signed by 89 MPs, including my own @grahamleadbitter.bsky.social so thank you for him for doing that. But we've still got another five hundred plus to get on board so contact your MP today.
June 4, 2026 at 1:15 PM
Reposted by Paul Oldham
heatherpaterson.co.uk
Email your MP to reject the Code of Practice and support EDM 240

equalrecognition.eaction.org.uk/rejectthecode
Email your MP to reject the Code of Practice and support EDM 240
equalrecognition.eaction.org.uk
June 2, 2026 at 3:54 PM
tallpaul.org
Very excited to hear today that my #Pebble Time 2 is finally on its way to me.

The Time 2 has a bigger screen, better battery life, heart rate monitor, two microphones, speaker, compass, and a touch screen but still has those four buttons we all loved.

Order yourself one here repebble.com
The Finest In Wearable Gadgets
Get a new Pebble smartwatch or ring right here
repebble.com
May 21, 2026 at 10:11 AM
tallpaul.org
I've been writing about #books again, this time about Manderley Press and also a little about @tomgauld.bsky.social

aboutabook.uk/about-2/
About Manderley Press
As I've remarked before one of the things I like about reading is the part serendipity plays and, like Persephone Books, my discovery of Manderley Press came about that way too. In this case it was be...
aboutabook.uk
April 17, 2026 at 8:52 AM
tallpaul.org
I've been blethering on about books again. The #FolioSociety this time.

aboutabook.uk/about-the-fo...

#books #blog
About the Folio Society
I've been interested in the Folio Society since back in the day when I subscribed to the now long dead Punch magazine and it carried adverts for the society, which was then a book club. Book clubs se...
aboutabook.uk
January 29, 2026 at 10:56 PM
tallpaul.org
After a long pause (council work has kept me very busy) my book blog is back. This time talking about two books in 'About some dams'.

aboutabook.uk/about-some-d...

#books #NOSHEB
About some dams
I've recently finished Emma Wood's book "The Hydro Boys: Pioneers of Renewable Energy". It's her examination of the Scottish hydro-electric power schemes and reading it provided an interesting contras...
aboutabook.uk
December 31, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Reposted by Paul Oldham
paul.nairn.scot
Locally I would add to this:

• Mikeysline - oursupport.mikeysline.co.uk

• James Support Group - jamessupportgroup.com

Remember: it's OK not to be OK.
Do not suffer in silence this Christmas period. Samaritans - 116 123 Age UK - 0800 678 1602 Alcoholics Anonymous - 0800 917 7650 Cruse Bereavement Care - 0808 808 1677 Men’s Adviceline - 0808 801 0327 Narcotics Anonymous - 0300 9991212 National Debt Helpline - 0808 808 4000 NHS 111 Relate Relationship Support - 0300 003 0396 Shelter - 0808 800 4444 Shout (confidential text service) 85258 Women's Adviceline - 0808 200 0247 Emergency Services / Police 999
December 23, 2025 at 10:28 AM
tallpaul.org
Dr Husam Zomlot speaks at 2025 #SNP Conference
fediverse.tv/w/hTvaNRuKHF...

#Palestine
Dr Husam Zomlot speaks at 2025 SNP Conference
Dr Husam Zomlot, Head of the Palestinian Mission to the United Kingdom, speaks at 2025 SNP Conference
fediverse.tv
October 12, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Reposted by Paul Oldham
paul.nairn.scot
In their response to the 2.75m people who have already signed the petition "Do not introduce Digital ID cards" the government has said:

'For clarity, it will not be a criminal offence to not hold a digital ID and police will not be able to demand to see a digital ID as part of a “stop and search.”'
October 3, 2025 at 7:29 AM
tallpaul.org
Petition: Do not introduce Digital ID cards. Now approaching 1,000,000 signatures. Have you signed it yet?
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...
Petition: Do not introduce Digital ID cards
We demand that the UK Government immediately commits to not introducing a digital ID cards. There are reports that this is being looked at.
petition.parliament.uk
September 26, 2025 at 1:23 PM
tallpaul.org
Blog: About a childhood of reading

I've just finished reading 'Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading' by Lucy Mangan. In it she details her life in books from the earliest days of being read to, then learning to read, and her progress through ...

aboutabook.uk/about-a-chil...

#books #blog
About a childhood of reading
I've just finished reading Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading by Lucy Mangan. In it she details her life in books from the earliest days of being read to, then learning to read, and her progress ...
aboutabook.uk
September 21, 2025 at 3:28 PM
tallpaul.org
Blog: About a bookmark

How do you keep track of where you are in a book? If your answer is that you fold down the corner of the page you are wrong and you will burn in hell. The correct answer, of course, is that you use a bookmark ...

aboutabook.uk/about-a-book...

#books #blog
About a bookmark
Let’s start with some religion: which is how do you keep track of where you are in a book? If your answer is that you fold down the corner of the page you are wrong and you will burn in hell. The corr...
aboutabook.uk
August 29, 2025 at 12:19 PM
tallpaul.org
Blog: About some deaths

In my reading recently I've come across some deaths which have affected me.

aboutabook.uk/about-some-d...

#books #blog
About some deaths
[I'll start this post with a trigger warning, both for death, and also for horse lovers, plus a spoiler alert for readers of Ann Cleeves' Shetland novels.] In my reading recently I've come across som...
aboutabook.uk
August 9, 2025 at 7:32 AM
tallpaul.org
Blog: About Persephone Books

One of the things I like about reading is the part serendipity plays and my discovery of Persephone Books came about that way ...

aboutabook.uk/about-persep...

#books #blog
About Persephone Books
One of the things I like about reading is the part serendipity plays and my discovery of Persephone Books came about that way. I was listening to a podcast completely unrelated to books and someone me...
aboutabook.uk
July 30, 2025 at 9:57 AM
tallpaul.org
Blog: About how I got here

My mother taught me to read and by the time I arrived at infant school I was already a voracious reader ...

aboutabook.uk/about-how-i-...

#books #blog
About how I got here?
My mother taught me to read and by the time I arrived at infant school I was already a voracious reader. In those days books were expensive so the library was my friend. When I first visited it in th...
aboutabook.uk
July 23, 2025 at 8:52 AM
tallpaul.org
Blog: About a book

I want to tell you a story about a book ... or three.

aboutabook.uk/about-a-book/

#books #blog
About a book
I want to tell you a story about a book ... or three. In December I bought a copy of “The Folio Book of Days” by Roger Hudson. It’s extracts from diaries, letters, and other dated sources written by ...
aboutabook.uk
July 16, 2025 at 10:41 AM
tallpaul.org
I've finally found a use for the Raspberry Pi 4 which I've had lurking on a shelf for a while.

It's now running Ghost ghost.org so I can start yet another blog and also experiment with that as an alternative to Substack.

#blogging #books #raspberrypi
Small circuit board sitting on a dark wood surface. It is almost entirely covered by a heat sink with a red LED on the front and network and USB sockets on the back. A black power cable is plugged in front right. A yellow ethernet cable is plugged in back left.
July 12, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Reposted by Paul Oldham
paul.nairn.scot
#qotd '[Farage is] just another Liz Truss but in a cravat and mustard trousers.'
June 24, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Reposted by Paul Oldham
jupitors.bsky.social
You know I said I was contacting Spoons to find out how they were going to deal with the toilet issue?

Well... Get rekt transphobes.
#TransRightsAreHumanRights
April 25, 2025 at 4:01 PM
tallpaul.org
Want an example of "brave" then here it is. Paul O'Dwyer survived the plunge over the weir and made it to safety but died after going back into the water to try to save the others. #RIP

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
"But other participants fell from their boards after plunging 1.3 metres over the weir. The court heard almost two tonnes of water was crossing a 1 metre-wide section of the weir crest every second. O’Dwyer scrambled out but died after going back into the water to try to save the others, who were all described as either beginner or intermediate paddleboarders. " accompanied by photo of the four victims: Morgan Rogers, Nicola Wheatley, Paul O'Dwyer and Andrea Powell
April 23, 2025 at 12:41 PM
tallpaul.org
New release of #WayMaps now live at waymaps.the-hug.net and www.walklakes.co.uk/maps featuring latest updates from @openstreetmap.bsky.social but with lots of work behind the scenes to simplify rendering of paths, tracks, in 'busy' areas.

Note roads in Fishertown and also the cemetery bottom right.
1km square of Nairn from old release 1km square of Nairn from new release
March 18, 2025 at 10:28 AM
tallpaul.org
Just over 17 hours before I find out about the new #Pebble watch.

I'm SO excited: I've been waiting a long time and many less good smart watches for this day.

store.repebble.com/countdown

#RePebble
It's the final countdown
It's the final countdown
store.repebble.com
March 17, 2025 at 10:55 PM
tallpaul.org
I don't normally sign 38Degrees petitions but I've made an exception for this one.

you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/no...
No second state visit for Trump
Unbelievable. Keir Starmer has handed Donald Trump a letter from King Charles, inviting him for a second state visit to the UK. It’s totally unprecedented, and should not go ahead.  This is the...
you.38degrees.org.uk
March 1, 2025 at 9:38 PM