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Colin Pidgeon

@baldypidge.bsky.social
265 followers 423 following 500 posts

Psychadelic seaweed. Looking at the sun though my eyelids as we drive in the trees... Views not those of my employer.

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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
New paper out today. Looking forward to hearing what stakeholders think at our conference on Friday.
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Northern Ireland Fiscal Council @nifiscalcouncil.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
New publication next week! www.nifiscalcouncil.org/news/ni-fisc...
nifiscalcouncil.org
NI Fiscal Council to publish a discussion paper on public sector pay
The NI Fiscal Council plans to publish its report "Special Focus: public sector pay - a discussion paper" on 22 September 2026.The report will be available on our website at 11am.
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
First time watching a concert (or a bit of it) from the top of a Ferris wheel. With my best buddy Lily before she heads away to university... #Levellers #HovePark2026
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Hove Park. Me. Bean. Meffs, Brakes, Kid Kapichi, Sleeper, Levellers. Wholesome. Goodly.
Tubby bald man with his daughter at an outdoor music event.
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
This is the face of a young woman who's had a very difficult few years. This evening she's registered for her Evolutionary Anthropology course at Liverpool University. It's simply wonderful to see her happy, excited and future-focused. But I'm going to miss her like crazy when she goes...
A photo of a young woman with pink, green and purple hair. She is smiling broadly and appears very happy.
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
When our cat Storm was on the BBC news... @marksimpsonbbc.bsky.social he had a magpie again recently. No more pigeons, though.
A black cat is laying on a perch. Close by, a TV screen shows his picture as part of a BBC News report.
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
@lewiscapaldioffice.bsky.social I don't know if you will read this. Probably not But I'd like you to know that my daughter and her friend loved your gig in Belfast last night. They were in the ♿ viewing area. Here's the thing... The world is full of barriers. Not everyone can slip through...
static.klipy.com
Cute Dog Squeezes Through Gate
Alt: Cute Dog Squeezes Through Gate
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Northern Ireland Fiscal Council @nifiscalcouncil.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
📢 New blog: How Is the Northern Ireland Executive budget funded? From the Block Grant 💷 & the Barnett Formula 📊 to rates 🏘️ & borrowing 🏗️, we explain how the NI Executive is funded & why it matters for public services and fiscal sustainability ⚖️. Read more 👇 www.nifiscalcouncil.org/news/how-nor...
nifiscalcouncil.org
How Is the Northern Ireland Executive’s budget funded? - an explainer
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
#EclipseMyArse
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
#CatsLoveCrotchet
a black cat in a box of crotcheted flowers
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Arguably, safe food is already long gone. 2024 "Ninety percent of animal and vegetable protein samples tested positive for microplastics" edition.cnn.com/2024/04/22/h...
edition.cnn.com
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised | CNN
How much plastic is in the food you eat? Much more than you realize, experts say.
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
A soft morning in Donegal. But it's no wetter under the surface of the sea than on any other day. So I don't care.
Clear water in the Boatstrand Bay. It is a very low tide.The view to Oileann na Marbh from the Boatstrand Pier, Carrickfinn.

The view behind the island is lost in the mist.View across a misty beach at low tide. The sky is grey and somewhat dismal.
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Morning.
A view of Errigal, from Carrickfinn, Co.Donegal.

The mountain is lit in a soft morning  light and appears somewhat ethereal.
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
#art #ecoart My daughter's artwork is part of an eco takeover exhibition in Bangor, Co.Down on Thursday 30 July. Wonderful to see her work alongside some mature and established artists and practitioners of sustainable creativity.
Text describing Rosie's practice as a printmaker experimenting with new ideas on repurposing materials such as old fabrics to print on, and using used tetrapak cartons to print the imagesFour print works from photographers of a decaying bank building in Belfast. Made using recycled bedsheets, curtains and tetrapak juice cartons.
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Co. Donegal, Ireland. 💚
A partially collapsed granite stone wall with fields and sea in the backgroundAn empty gateway at a path coming down through rocks from a green hillsideA washing line with swim shorts hanging up to dry. The sky is blue, and beyond fields, the sea is visible.
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Recently my daughter Lily attended an Earthsong camp in Co. Carlow, Ireland. It's wholesome, focused on simple sustainable living. She did a paddle and paint workshop - sitting in a stream, she captured sunlight on water as it had passed through the trees above. #art #painting #climate
An abstract painting to capture sunshine on water
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Interesting initiatives pop up all over the place. I came across this one on Facebook. It is simply a marvellous thing to see happening, so I simply had to share it.
A poster announcing three upcoming games for what is maybe the only cricket team in the world for those in recovery from addiction
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Stop scrolling and post two characters who bring you happiness.
static.klipy.com
Legolas: What About Side By Side With A Friend?
Alt: Legolas to Gimli who has just said he didn't expect to die fighting side by side with an elf: What About Side By Side With A Friend?
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
There is something very calming about rockpools. #seaside #wellness
A rock pool, full of lush green seaweeds
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Co.Wexford.
The sun setting behind trees at the edge of a cornfield. The corn has picked up an orangey pink glow from the late evening sun.
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
My hometown has the first Lidl pub in the world due to the way our alcohol licensing laws work. I bought this shirt especially for my first visit, which happened tonight 🍻 #toiletselfie #lidlpub
A tubby man taking a selfie in a brightly painted toilet. He's wearing a Lidl shirt.
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Northern Ireland Fiscal Council @nifiscalcouncil.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
🔎New article: Budgeting without a Budget. How NI departments are managing spending, planning and risk in 2026–27—building on our 16 June report. From Vote on Account to contingency powers and 95% limits—what this means in practice 👇 www.nifiscalcouncil.org/news/budgeti...
nifiscalcouncil.org
Budgeting without a Budget: how NI departments are planning, spending and managing risk in 2026–27
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
2 young Pidgeons off on adventures. One hiking the Cumbria Way, the other on Christian mission to Nyírbátor, Hungary. The house feels a bit empty.
A young woman with blue hair standing by her front door. She's carrying a large backpack 
A young woman standing by her front door holding her luggage
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
#CatsofBluesky #FelineBookclub
A view of a black cat from behind. The cat is sitting with its paw on a copy of Lionel Shriver's The Female of the Species, open at chapter 9. It looks like it is reading.
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Stunning and massively unexpected win in Belfast for the Boys in Green ove the current world champions. #cricket #ireland #india www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricke...
bbc.co.uk
Ireland v India: Irish stun world champions in T20 opener at Stormont
Ireland pull off a massive shock as they beat world champions India for the first time in Friday's opening T20 international in Belfast.
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Leavers' Garden Party at the school with Lily and Mrs P today. It has been a rock road but she has come through it more or less unscathed. Facial hair went blue in solidarity with her. 🟦🟦🟦
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Grateful for daughters.
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Out about in County Wicklow #Ireland #sunshine
An orchid flowering amid grassA distant heron sits on a rock in a river, waiting watchfully for preyFoxgloves in sunshine
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Northern Ireland Fiscal Council @nifiscalcouncil.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
📢 New NI Fiscal Council Sustainability Report published today: The report examines NI’s public finances, focusing on operating without an agreed Budget and longer-term issues, including Treasury’s Open Book Review, funding comparisons, and population change impacts. tinyurl.com/y5np4t4k
nifiscalcouncil.org
Sustainability Report 2026
This report is the Council's fourth sustainability report, providing a focus on immediate budget pressures alongside longer-term challenges such as funding, population change and structural fiscal pre...
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Nice one. #Belfast #UniteAgainstRacism
A small child sitting on a man's shoulders holds a placard, that says 'delivered by an immigrant'
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Lauren Dobson-Hughes @ldobsonhughes.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Immigrants do not have to contribute exceptionally to deserve safety Immigrants do not have to permanently grovel to their new country to justify their existence Immigrants are allowed to be just as mediocre, grumpy or homesick as anyone else
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Today's #poem is an old one from 2020. It will soon need to be updated to XXL. #FatManPoem Lockdowns ended. But the spreading belly never did...
A poem that reads:

UPSIDES by Colin Pidgeon 

I shopped in Decathlon the other day,
To buy a new wetsuit so that I could play:
Bodyboarding; kayaking; messing around...
But when I got home, to my horror I found
I'm no longer Large, my belly has spread!
From my lockdown diet: cake, honey on bread,
Tins of coca cola, biscuits and crisps,
Chocolate, pastries... What have I missed?
Chips and lasagne, ice cream with flake, 
Muffins and brownies. Did I mention cake?
So the Large was exchanged for the next size up. 
(Soon I'll be needing a double D cup!)
But, I'm not saying it's all bad being fat.
At least I've found something I can XL at!
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the Grand Opera House, Belfast tonight. What a show!
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
This is what recovery from Covid-induced ME looks like. After a trip to England, a game of bowling and dinner out for a birthday, an evening spent making paper. Drying here are small sheets of paper made from pulped life drawings and sketches made years ago.
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
A cautionary tale, by Fat Pidgeon He's sitting sadly on the chair Telegraph face Signalling despair Thinking at pace Searching for truth Not looking too far Regretting his tooth Irretrievably sweet When he's poking around For something to eat What can be found When he wants a treat? 1/3
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
Water lilies starting to bloom at Oxford Island, the southern edge of Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland.
A moorhen walking across waterlily pads.
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
Always good to get a run out with the Northern Ireland Tin Snails, our local #Citroen #2CV owners' club.
A row of Citroen 2CVs parked up and a group of owners chat nearbyA selection of multi-coloured Citroen 2CVs and cans meets in a car park near Lisburn, County AntrimA panoramic shot of 13 vintage Citroen 2CVs and cans, at Oxford Island, by Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Working on a little something ;
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Finn is taking after his big sisters, showing a fondness for art materials.
Finn, a jet black cat, sleeping in a wooden artist's box filled with colouring pencils and other materials.
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
This is a little wannabe #haiku I wrote a couple of years ago. I shared it on X and was quite heavily trolled. X is a toilet. This is a nicer space.
A carer pushing a person in a wheelchair.

A haiku reads 

The shame of saying
We die younger for a reason
Carer fatigue is real
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Esther @elhopkins.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
We are still here…
One queue full- comforting lies 
Another empty- unpleasant truths
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Mark Tolman (he/him) 🏳️‍🌈 🖖 @mtolman.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
America didn’t turn ugly because he became President. No. He became President because America was already this ugly. That’s the uncomfortable truth nobody wants to admit.
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Never seen this before. Makes my efforts at Kate Bush's red dress Wuthering Heights routine look like a sad puddle of piss 😞
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Today's poem TUMBLE DRYER DAY by Colin Pidgeon I am a father. I use a tumble dryer. It has energy-saving heat-pump technology and drying sensors. I wonder if that makes me A good guy Or a baddie?
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
I have not written any #poetry for a while. Today's prompt is 'paranoia' which I couldn't ignore because I immediately thought of a rhyme. "Sequoia Tree" by szeke is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
A photo of a giant sequoia tree in a forest.

The text reads:

Paranoia 
Huge sequoia 
Someone's watching me 
Time to chill 
I'll take a pill
And sit
Beside this tree
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
This is a remarkable initiative. I have just written a letter. Join me? ; reasonstostay.org
reasonstostay.org
Home | Reasons To Stay
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
Sun's up. So am I and a little family of greylag geese
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
Ballycastle, North Antrim Coast, Ireland.
Mrs Pidgeon, Zoli the wonderdog and a sign reading Ballycastle with the sea, Fair Head, a glorious and uncharacteristically blue sky behind them
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
We've had a decent week or two health and mood wise. Evenings like this are special.
A wooded hillside with bluebells in the evening sunshineThe lowering sun seen through the blossom and spring leaves in a wood Hawthorn blossom in the evening sunOxalis acetosella or wood sorrel in a large clump on the floor of a woodland
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Colin Pidgeon @baldypidge.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Nice Life if Brian reference spotted by Lily. Courtesy of the excreable Daily Star, no less.
A newspaper on a shelf in a shop. The paper is called the Daily Star. The front page features Trump's weird AI Christ-like image of himself as a healer. The headline is You're Not the Messiah, You're A Very Naughty Boy. This is an allusion to a line from Monty Python's film Life of Brian, in which Brian is mistaken for Jesus in a mix up at his birth.
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