Sign in

Ed Douglas

@calmandfearless.bsky.social
1.9K followers 402 following 542 posts

Writer. Loves the spikier bits of the planet. Bath addict. Contributor to Guardian Country Diary. Represented by David Godwin Associates.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Ed Douglas
Svetovid @svetovid.bsky.social · 21h
Well, that's a hell of a thing to leave next to a statue of Joan of Arc.😏
392220436
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 17h
Kemi’s got a crush on the waxed jacket brigade. Thinks nature is for losers.
021
Reposted by Ed Douglas
James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Restoration ecologists have long known that many ecosystems are so degraded that simply leaving them to recover naturally will not work Dispersal limitation, damaged substrate, excess nutrients, altered hydrology, etc mean active intervention is needed to recreate rich ecosystems in a timely way
25413
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 18h
Blimey, if your aircraft struck a zebra taking off, you'd remember that one. (I mean, the aircraft taking off, not the zebra. The zebra died.) theaviationhub.co.uk/zebra-strike...
theaviationhub.co.uk
Zebra Strike Causes Kilimanjaro Emergency Landing
A Sindbad Air Embraer EMB-120 struck a zebra on takeoff from Seronera and landed gear up at Kilimanjaro. All 30 on board escaped unhurt.
000
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 18h
The New York Times just sent me an email saying 'your cat is a picky eater'. I don't have a fucking cat. My son does. Bother him. Or else, say 'Cats are picky eaters.' What's wrong with them?
000
Reposted by Ed Douglas
southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 22h
I despise seeing what’s really going on stuffed into a “but critics say” clause.
271412261
Reposted by Ed Douglas
George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
“Zionism is racism” is not a policy but a slogan. It compresses a complex history, going back millennia, and a very wide set of beliefs into one narrow meaning. The answer to genocide is not discrimination. We don't fight racism with racism. I’m gutted to see this motion adopted by the Green Party.
3541335210
Reposted by Ed Douglas
Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I'm sure this'll go down great at conference. I am absolutely not sure that scrapping an organisation called Natural England will go down so well at the election.
39565135
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Came across this excellent radio show last night by chance doing the washing-up. Kathleen Jamie on the 'third person' phenomenon of the Poles and high mountains. Altitude and exhaustion turn the mind tricksy. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
bbc.co.uk
Illuminated - Third Man Syndrome - BBC Sounds
Kathleen Jamie on the unseen presence that walks beside climbers at the edge of survival.
3125
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Sixteen mountain workers in Nepal died in one avalanche recently but there’s been little coverage because none of them were famous or foreign. Luckily Ben Ayers has been digging into the reasons why. www.facebook.com/share/v/1GXu...
facebook.com
Facebook
052
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Part of this is the volume of rage against perfectly normal behaviours online and local papers, including mine, can’t resist that ‘reader engagement’.
030
Reposted by Ed Douglas
ET Heisenberg @utdheisenberg.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Man City when asked to provide their “irrefutable evidence.”
571820376
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Sheesh, the plod with the camera in her face. Meanwhile masked thugs can close Dover with impunity.
002
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Made it Ma! Top of the world.
020
Reposted by Ed Douglas
Foreign Policy @foreignpolicy.com · 29/09/2026
Compared to Xi, Trump looks like a rank amateur: an incurious and ill-informed improviser who is guided by his own gut and whims, writes columnist @hofrench.bsky.social. foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/28/x...
foreignpolicy.com
What Xi Actually Thinks of Trump
China’s president has likely concluded that the U.S. under Trump has lost its way.
1135
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Two climbing routes on Kilimanjaro closed as fire breaks out again. www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business...
theeastafrican.co.ke
Kilimanjaro fire: Tanapa closes two mountain climbing routes
Closure affects routes that tourists use to summit the mountain.
021
Reposted by Ed Douglas
Richard Delevan @richard.wickedproblems.earth · 05/09/2026
Chatting just now with local Kent winegrower at farmer's market. This year's grapes are "smaller than peas" - not going to bother to harvest. What did he think of politicians saying 'hey enjoy your English sparkling wine thanks to climate change'? "Fucking morons."
8808246
Reposted by Ed Douglas
John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 28/09/2026
Remember, Jenrick is not stupid. He's a trained lawyer, he knows the difference between police and court bail. He's just a turd.
29459105
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Amazingly Maoist for a bunch of conservatives.
000
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
While acknowledging the sport is Dutch in origin?
100
Reposted by Ed Douglas
Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
An ancient and magical amber bear 🐻 ✨ Carved some 10,000 years ago, it washed up on a beach at Fanø in Denmark from a submerged Mesolithic settlement under the North Sea. National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen 📷 by me #Archaeology
My photo shows a small and ancient figurine of an amber bear carved some 10,000 years ago during the Danish Mesolithic period. The museum lighting makes the amber glow translucent orange against a dark display case background. The bear is displayed on a small metal stand viewed in profile facing right. The ears, muzzle, and mouth are defined. The neck has a polished groove suggesting it was once suspended on a cord. The characteristic shoulder hump of a brown bear is clearly defined. There are some finely incised horizontal lines along the belly. The legs are incomplete. Length 6.5cm. Amber has many properties which may have been associated with 'magic' for ancient peoples. For example, when rubbed against fur, amber produces static electricity which can give off sparks in the dark, make hair stand on end, and attract small things towards it.
The bear was found in 1991 on a west coast beach of the Danish North Sea island of Fanø. It is one of a small number of amber animal figurines from the Baltic Sea region which have been assigned to the Mesolithic period by means of a typo-chronological approach and /or other contextual information.
111052242
Reposted by Ed Douglas
Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
DoorDash spent $1.4M trying to stop Zohran Mamdani from becoming mayor. This week's historic $131.5M enforcement action against DoorDash for underpaying NYC delivery workers shows why. Yet another reminder that the only thing that can beat organized money is organized people.
theintercept.com
DoorDash Spent $1.4 Million Trying to Stop Mamdani From Becoming Mayor. Now We Know Why.
In a wage-theft settlement, DoorDash now has to pay its workers around 100 times what it spent trying to beat Zohran Mam
6584021411827
Reposted by Ed Douglas
Mongabay @mongabay.com · 25/09/2026
Pakistan's endangered Indus River dolphin population has grown to nearly 2,000 individuals, prompting the creation of a new 400-km protected corridor. Safeguarding the species long-term will require modified barrage operations and community-led sustainable fishing. Fellow Muhammad Talal reports.
mongabay.cc
Pakistan expands protected habitat for Indus River dolphin as recovery offers hope
Between 11 million and 16 million years ago, during the high sea levels of the middle Miocene period, the ancestors of the Indus River dolphin entered the muddy waters of what is the Indus Basin today...
6661185
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Nice to see letters of appreciation for Phil Gates after his long contribution to the Guardian’s Country Diary. Everyday miracles are possible! www.theguardian.com/media/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Thank you, Phil Gates, for nearly 40 years of country diaries | Letters
Letters: Jim McManners says Phil’s columns have inspired his teaching, while Ann MacAskill says she intends to follow his marvelling method
050
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Watching them yesterday. They're busy right now. Fabulous to see.
020
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I wonder what the Restore Trust folk will do with this if they ever take over the National Trust? Turn it back into a golf course?
130
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The video to that still haunts me. Jason Donovan off his tits.
010
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Fucking up the environment is hugely profitable. The people who are supposed to stop it either can't or won't. People are getting sick. And politicians keep demanding less regulation. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
‘The eels were climbing out of the water to die’: why did every fish in this idyllic lake perish overnight?
Furnace Brook in East Sussex was home to carp, tench, bream, roach and trout – and 15 trailer-loads had to be buried. The mystery led to a neighbouring farm, and a story of waste, pollution and dirty ...
044
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Does this mean that the ‘authorities’ will only do something about Danny Tommo if it turns out he’s funded by Russia?
010
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Blimey. That’s something.
010
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Victims of the Trishuli flood are bracing themselves as a major cyclone moves towards Nepal. Bodies continue to be recovered from flooded hydropower tunnels.
000
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Sheffield's already limited art offer has suffered another blow as the Graves Gallery at the top of Sheffield's Central Library has announced it will close because they can't fix its heating system. Pitiful, really.
001
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Yes, but also the Sunkoshi landslide in 2014, the year before the earthquake, which swept away part of the Araniko Highway.
000
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Sort of like, ‘here comes the tough question’ (wink, wink)
000
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Ed Sheeran can’t get a break just now.
040
Reposted by Ed Douglas
Miles King @milesking.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
a good first step would be for all Govt depts to leave Xitter, where its owner actively encourages it to be a cesspool of misogyny.
085
Reposted by Ed Douglas
Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
my brilliant colleague @robertshrimsley.bsky.social on the threat from Elon Musk’s X platform www.ft.com/content/f270...
6428101169
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Looking forward to this. Great idea and hopefully will do some good.
010
Reposted by Ed Douglas
John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 18/09/2026
What on earth is happening?
  This had become the new normal. RNLI crew members had been forced to take their permits off their cars after their tyres have been repeatedly slashed. Most of them have been pilloried at the school gates or turned away from local pubs. One man who worked in search and rescue had been beaten unconscious and hospitalised, recognised for TV interviews he had done.
23833101338
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Walkley ward in Sheffield just flipped from Green to Labour. Comments under the local paper's story about it were a mix of Islamophobia and anti-cycle lane rage. How did Islamophobia get mixed up with active travel?
051
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Because the victim was himself drunk, lying in the road, the driver was somehow absolved. Our driving culture is deteriorating.
000
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The kicker of Wakefield.
040
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The ones in Santiago move, and start running when the light’s about to change. Fun!
000
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
After yet another monstering of cyclists by the Mail, this thread was a grim reminder where the real peril lies. This driver had drunk several glasses of wine, pints of beer and Jäger bombs. If you want to off someone in Britain, run them down with your car.
221
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
In Sheffield we used to have the Blue Loop, a circular trip through post-industrial Sheffield featuring the canal and the River Don (with egrets and kingfishers). Now the council have closed sections of it through lack of maintenance. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Access-to-nature crisis ‘on par with that of Victorian Britain’s filthy air’
Research finds many in England lack proximity to green and blue spaces as Labour urged to speed up manifesto pledge
010
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Tibet's government in exile warns that China is using AI to tighten surveillance and push China's narrative. savetibet.org/new-report-r...
savetibet.org
New report reveals Chinese AI-enabled surveillance on Tibetan exile government, Buddhist members, ICT and SFT
September 16, 2026 A new Anthropic threat intelligence report titled
000
Reposted by Ed Douglas
Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
While Piddington dominates the news, at Leicester Crown Court this man was sentenced today Ivan Jennings, a former Conservative councillor, called for terror attacks on small boat migrants and Muslims and shared target ideas, telling fellow white supremacists to kill as many “subhumans” as possible
24864571
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Presumably they ran their operation with crypto. I'm sure if you took coke away from the far right, a lot of it would simply go back to bed for a month.
010
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I guess the world has moved on from the floods in Nepal but was just watching video of a bulldozer grappling with a boulder the size of an SUV that had been washed up one of the hydro-power tunnels, packed around with silt and dirt. The force needed to do that must have been apocalyptic.
030
Ed Douglas @calmandfearless.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Will he be flying back from Russia for this? Or get his mates in the FSB to do the campaigning?
030