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Darren T

@darrenturpin.bsky.social
445 followers 462 following 222 posts

Pro #Gardener @ NT Quarry Bank 12+yr #Allotment tenant #Orchard geek & fruit grower @orchardnotes.com / orchardnotes.com Also: Beer, Pubs, Music, Comedy, Gaming, History, Psychology, Art, Philosophy, Mental Health

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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Hats off to the Eye (as ever), for flagging the Conservative hypocrisy over our conference ban
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Twonks @twonks.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Wow
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Thornbridge Brewery @thornbridge.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Year of Beer 2026 | October Cask 🍂 Introducing Autumnity, our 4.8% Autumn Ale. Pouring a deep copper hue, it is rich, robust and full-bodied, with a smooth mouthfeel and layers of warming malt character. Keep an eye out for it pouring this month!
Autumnity cask clip
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◉●○•° @cosmoecology.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Can a forest you can eat also rebuild a neighbourhood? In this new post I examine how food forests in Germany, Italy and the US demonstrate that repairing land, growing food, and building community can occur at the same time.
entangledecologies.net
Forests You Can Eat, Commons You Can Join
Step into a food forest and your first thought might be that nobody planted anything. There are no neat rows. There is a layered tangle instead: fruit and nut trees overhead, berry bushes beneath t…
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Rebecca Wheeler @botanybeck.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
A cheeky #fungi foray after work yielded ten waxcap species, one of them Garlic, new to me. My son’s first time of seeing red & pink waxcaps, he absolutely loved it!!! 🥰 🔁 from top left Scarlet, Ballerina, Honey, Blackening, Glutinous, Slimy, Parrot, Golden, Garlic & Snowy. #FungiFriends 🍄 📸
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Eric Orchard @inkybat.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Weird Fiction Art
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
🔴 Andy Burnham Urged to Put Compulsory Voting at Heart of His Electoral Reform Plans Democracy campaigners say changing how Britain votes will not be enough unless the Prime Minister also changes who votes as well bylinetimes.com/2026/10/06/a...
bylinetimes.com
Andy Burnham Urged to Put Compulsory Voting at Heart of His Electoral Reform Plans
Democracy campaigners say changing how Britain votes will not be enough unless the Prime Minister also changes who votes as well
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hookland.bsky.social @hookland.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Hooklanders talk of dusk as 'hurry home'. It's an attempt to express that creeping sense of peril that comes upon you in certain places as the sun goes down. Twilight terror. Another cup of tea declined. The Highway Code ignored. The true rush hour of the county. – #MattAdams
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Humanists UK @humanists.uk · 05/10/2026
Well put, Stephen! As humanists, we don't believe in any kind of afterlife. But that doesn't mean nothing of us lives on: we are remembered in the people we love, the work we do and the world we leave behind.
Stephen Fry. Author and humanist

When we do die, we will live on, in the work we have done, and in the memories of the other people whose lives we have been part of.' How to be a happy Human
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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 05/10/2026
This is your occasional reminder that generative "AI" in particular could have been developed on public domain materials and/or licensed and compensated works but the major players intentionally, methodically and systemically chose to steal labor from working creative folks instead
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Met Office - weather and climate @metoffice.gov.uk · 05/10/2026
Nature's seasons are changing and a pioneering project is helping to measure what that means for plants, wildlife and landscapes in the UK's National Parks. Read more: buff.ly/2SoglRf @newforestnpa.bsky.social @southdownsnp.bsky.social @nppartnerships.bsky.social Image: @newforestnpa.bsky.social
A woodland carpeted with thousands of purple-blue bluebells stretches across the forest floor beneath tall trees with fresh green leaves. Sunlight filters through the canopy, highlighting the contrast between the vibrant spring flowers and the lush woodland greenery.

Credit: New Forest National Park Authority
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Cath Hodsman @cathhodsman.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Did u know?Our 1st summer of veg growing is coming to an end. It's been so empowering to take control of something as important as food. We're now looking forward to drying veg out to keep us going through the winter. Herb drying is fun to do & a great way to lengthen the season. 🌿🌱🇬🇧🌱🌍🫛🥕🥒
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Maria Popova @mariapopova.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
A Stoic's key to peace of mind – Seneca's timeless antidote to anxiety www.themarginalian.org/2017/08/27/s...
themarginalian.org
A Stoic’s Key to Peace of Mind: Seneca on the Antidote to Anxiety
“There are more things … likely to frighten us than there are to crush us; we suffer more often in imagination than in reality.”
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Maria Popova @mariapopova.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The importance of being scared – Nobel-winning Polish poet Wisława Szymborska on fairy tales and the necessity of fear www.themarginalian.org/2016/04/22/w...
themarginalian.org
The Importance of Being Scared: Polish Nobel Laureate Wisława Szymborska on Fairy Tales and the Necessity of Fear
“Andersen had the courage to write stories with unhappy endings. He didn’t believe that you should try to be good because it pays … but because evil stems from intellectual and emotiona…
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Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
The Prime Minister @andyburnham.bsky.social has pledged to hold a Wildfire Summit later this Autumn (which may cover other extreme weather too). The Summit must agree a plan to re-wet the UK’s peat bogs, restore lost ponds in farmers’ fields, and stop grouse moor owners setting fire to moorland.
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Orchard Notes @orchardnotes.com · 04/10/2026
Anyone for a spot of #autumn colour, courtesy of our back garden #blueberry bushes? All the crimson, scarlet, maroon, orange and gold you could possibly crave. A few more pics on the blog: orchardnotes.com/2026/10/04/g... 🌱
A row of potted blueberry bushes with leaves in various shades of orange through bright red to deep maroon, against the background of a wood-panel fence.Blueberry foliage, with leaves in various shades of bright red to deep maroon.Blueberry foliage with leaves in various shades of orange through bright red to deep maroon.A pair of bright red to deep maroon coloured blueberry leaves, speckled with raindrops.
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Ian McQue @ianmcque.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Best Of 2000AD cover what I did #dayofdredd
Digital painting, cover illustration for Best Of 2000AD book. A scene on the mean streets of Mega City One
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Wil Eelsing @wileelsing.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
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Alasdair Beckett-King @misterabk.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Back on the road (train) to the Haymarket in Basingstoke tonight, then Hull 7th, Otley 8th and Southport 9th. Otley is selling fast! The others are... well let's just say tickets are available. www.mickperrin.com/tours/king-of-crumbs
mickperrin.com
King of Crumbs - Mick Perrin
ABK is the crumbliest comedian in the game: a multi-award-winning stand-up comic and (occasionally) an internet sensation. Come vagabonds, come mountebanks, come coney-catchers and cutpurses and meet ...
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Richard Waite @waiterich.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Helpful new paper: “Regenerative agriculture should not be viewed as universally beneficial. Rather, its environmental performance depends on the balance between changes in productivity, production emissions, and land-use consequences across interconnected food systems…”
iopscience.iop.org
Regenerative agriculture: we need better evidence to inform policy
Regenerative agriculture: we need better evidence to inform policy, Copping, Joshua P, Balmford, Andrew, Bradbury, Richard B, Dicks, Lynn V, Field, Rob H, Wade, Ruth, Finch, Tom
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Eric Orchard @inkybat.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Cross hatching
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Jim @beersmanchester.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
A long long drive, but a lovely lovely day. Making a beautiful with lovely humans is always a joy. Come and join us at @salfordbeerfest.bsky.social 90 beers. Most - if not all - first pour in the Manchester area!
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hookland.bsky.social @hookland.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Books are ghost magnets. This means every good library has it phantoms. A density of Dewey Decimal Classification is spirits what a saucer of beer is to slugs. Of course we understand ghosts desire to haunt libraries. Thousands of books and the time to read them is a heaven. – #CJosiffe #Ghosts
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Matthew Curtis @totalcurtis.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Pre-orders will really help support the financial load producing our first print edition of @pelliclemag.com, so if you're able to order ahead of publication we'd really appreciate. I'm also taking wholesale orders, so drop me a line if you'd like to stock it! www.pelliclemag.com/shop/pellicl...
pelliclemag.com
Pellicle — Issue 1: Joy — Pellicle
Pellicle is proud to present our very first print magazine. The inaugural, full-length issue features interviews, essays, long reads, short humour pieces, and much more, all centred on the topic of jo...
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Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray) @boakandbailey.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
GOOD MORNING! Here's the latest edition of our regular round-up of good reading about beer and pubs. If there's a theme this week it might be about how beer culture changes over time. boakandbailey.com/2026/10/news...
boakandbailey.com
News, nuggets and longreads 3 October 2026: Ludwig
Every Saturday we round up the best writing about beer from the past week. This time, we’ve got expired beer, closed taprooms and anti-Kindle sentiment.
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Humanists UK @humanists.uk · 30/09/2026
Humanists UK mourns Dame Esther Rantzen (1940–2026) Esther was a great champion of human dignity. She approached her final years with the same fearless determination that defined her career of advocacy, using her own experience to shine a light on the suffering caused by our outdated laws.
Esther Rantzen smiling wearing a blue-and-red feathered fascinator and red coat, with headline text noting her years (1940–2026).
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
One of two Labour gains from Reform in Northumberland by-elections yesterday. Too early to know for sure we've passed peak Reform, but another encouraging sign.
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
‘If you’ve got £1 million or £2 million to spend on political advertising, forget it,…. If you’ve got £8 million, you can make people believe anything you want.’ I wrote about Britain’s broken political finance system for the latest @lrb.co.uk
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Dustin A. Chacón @lingdustin.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I've heard people make claims that AI would lead to a new Renaissance, but I didn't imagine it'd happen like this:
Screenshot of a Tweet from Pope Leo XIV. It reads: 

"In this era of artificial intelligence, it is becoming urgen to distinguish human art from what machines produce. There is an ontological difference, even before an aesthetic one, between art and what a machine can generate through statistical calculation based on millions of images created by others. Algorithms lack the spark of humanity. For this reason, the Church wishes to renew an alliance with artists and cultural institutions to safeguard our humanity."
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LordWoolamaloo @lordwoolamaloo.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Gorgeous, large rainbow 🌈 glimpsed out of mucky train windows, to the north of Falkirk. It's near the Firth of Forth, which means a selkie has been born somewhere along that coast, according to ancient Scots folklore that I just made up (but rather like). #Rainbow #Scotland #Ecosse #photography
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Danie Ware @danacea.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Jesus fucking motorboating Christ, NO. Fuck off, right to the edge of fucking off, fuck off over that edge, hit the very fucking bottom of fucking off, and then fucking crawl away to die in a fucking corner.
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Pilot @pilotbeer.co.uk · 02/10/2026
Yes diesel is expensive at £2 a litre but a milkshake IPA works out at about £18 a litre and tastes an awful lot worse.
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Adrian Tierney-Jones @atjbeer.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
English literature began in the pub so I was very pleased to be asked to write about pubs and their literary connections in @camraofficial.bsky.social Good Beer Guide 2027
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
What a week. We've seen the news agenda rescued from the grip of the far-right. We've seen astonishing levels of competence in government communication. And we've seen the outline of a radical policy programme. It's a v.exciting time to be involved in politics iandunt.substack.com/p/some-dispa...
iandunt.substack.com
Some disparate thoughts on a historic speech
For the first time in two years, we freed ourselves from the far-right’s strangle-hold over the news agenda.
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
UAE officials have warned the UK that a severe punishment for Man City could hurt future Emirati investment in Britain, Bloomberg reports. This is the perfect argument for keeping foreign money out of football.
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Darren T @darrenturpin.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
youtu.be
The ACTUAL Oldest Pub in England
YouTube video by Historic England
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Unlock Democracy @unlockdemocracy.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
An independent national commission, with strong citizen and expert participation, is the best way to put electoral reform above the immediate interests of the government - or any party - and to build consent and legitimacy for a lasting settlement. buff.ly/1e00Q3M
buff.ly
If he wants to secure legitimacy for electoral reform, Andy Burnham must stick to these rules
Involving both the public and all parties in shaping reforms on how they vote will be crucial.
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Marble Brewers @marblebrewers.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
🧱 WEBSHOP DROP 🧱 A stunning Red Ale inspired by the unmistakable & historic architecture of Manchester ❤️ Caramel maltiness goes hand in hand with toffee hints, offering the perfect foundation to build a balance of citrus & herbal notes for a rounded, moreish finish. #marblebeers #redale #bskybeer
Graphic design from Marble Beers for Brick By Brick. Inspired by the unmistakable architecture of Manchester, the artwork for this Red Ale features opulent brick bond patterns. The can label design also lends itself to the background of the image. Product info and logos appear in white.
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Claire Laila Dines @freedomtodoubt.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The strimmers were out at the #allotment today so with all bird song drowned out I decided to dabble in a bit of Black & White which was fun and suited my mood #allotmentlife in #blackandwhite food + water = life 1/3
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Simon Evans @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org · 30/09/2026
NEW ANALYSIS: Record wind and solar save UK from gas imports worth £5.9bn during Hormuz crisis 🌤️ wind/solar generation up 14% in 2026 to date 🏭 gas down ~10% 🚢 >100 LNG cargoes avoided
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Dr Neil Buttery @neilbuttery.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The nights are drawing in and it certainly feels autumnal here in Manchester. Well if you need a comforting, delicious and simple soup, may I suggest cock-a-leeky. I've just posted a recipe on my blog + a bit of history of course... britishfoodhistory.com/2026/09/30/c...
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Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
82% of Britons say protecting nature is important to them, new polling by @moreincommonuk.bsky.social shows “You don’t often get that degree of consensus” on any issue, says @luketryl.bsky.social - speaking at an event at Labour Party Conference with the heads of the big nature NGOs
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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Unsolicited writing advice, no. 2600: Write what you feel. Research what you don't know. Read critically. Edit ruthlessly. Take advice without ego.
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Ciaran De Buitlear | Gardeningwell @gardeningwell.ie · 27/09/2026
My kind of garden satisfaction: two full water tanks. 😊 Not the prettiest things in the walled garden, but stored rainwater means less turning on the tap when the plants need a drink. A useful little autumn job: check your water butt is catching what comes off the roof.
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David Osland @davidosland.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Laura Kuenssberg - who is paid over £400k a year - asks Andy Burnham where the money to pay for social care will come from. One obvious answer would be higher taxes on people paid over £400k a year.
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alice @aliceduke.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
it's a risky move but is there a bigger mood booster than drawing an ink sketchbook page all in one sitting?? ps after asking on here about refillable pens I got some second hand rotring isograph nibs and I love them
photo of sketchbook page with ink drawing of a narrow path and big crack willow waving in the wind
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Orchard Notes @orchardnotes.com · 27/09/2026
The Apples and People project, on @museumofcider.bsky.social's heritage orchards in Breinton. "Varieties have been collected and grafted from trees across Herefordshire, the West Midlands and South-West ... All varieties are being genetically tested to help confirm their identity."
applesandpeople.org.uk
Savouring Old Apple Varieties
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Eoghan Walsh @eoghanwalshbxl.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Do not in a million years send me a solicitious AI email asking me to endorse your beer guide website. Definitely do not do this if said website is riddled with wrong and/or outdated AI-generated info and covered in ugly AI-generated graphics. Have people lost all self-respect or what?
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Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray) @boakandbailey.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
BLOG POST: Does your AI-generated beer app actually contribute something? Is it meeting a real need, or providing new information? Or did you just get excited about being able to make something with zero effort? boakandbailey.com/2026/09/ai-h...
boakandbailey.com
AI has made it easier than ever to make apps nobody asked for
We’ve been inundated lately with AI-written press releases about AI-built tools and websites focused on beer and pubs. Who is asking for this?
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Darren T @darrenturpin.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
An Open Letter to UK Horticulture, via Josh Taylor's Substack. Important questions being asked here, in a collegiate and constructive spirit, about the mental health of all gardeners, but male gardeners in particular.
thelongborder.substack.com
An Open Letter to UK Horticulture
An open letter asking horticultural organisations what they know about suicide risk in our profession, and what they are doing to prevent further loss of life.
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