iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

And, unlike our Conservative and Labour opposite numbers, we do it all unpaid…

Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Greetings from Portman Road, home of the Tractor Boys, for Ipswich Town vs Leicester City in the second round of the Carabao Cup…

The view from our seats at Portman Road, home of Ipswich Town FC…

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I am, slightly unexpectedly, in a mildly damp forest, watching the @redrosechain.bsky.social production of “Twelfth Night”…

A sweet chestnut tree looms over the stage at Sutton Hoo for the Red Rose Chain production of “Twelfth Night”.

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

I’m at Portman Road for Ipswich Town vs Le Havre - a preseason friendly…

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

It’s been a long time since I last worked alongside @aaemmerson.bsky.social and it’s probably fair to say that it’s a long way from Liberal Youth to a policy working group on Rural Communities, but there you go…

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Reform UK want to waste your Council Tax money to delay the new Unitaries, sign up here to tell them no… www.southsuffolklibdems.org.uk/stopreformuk...

southsuffolklibdems.org.uk

Our Petition - Babergh Liberal Democrats

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

So, trans people are going to be punished for what they are rather than what any individual does. It’s a reminder to the rest of us minorities that our rights aren’t necessarily secure and, that if we don’t conform, they could be taken away. Canary in the coal mine, anyone? 🏳️‍⚧️

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

I’ve rather failed to report back on my trip across Europe, and so it’s time to catch up with Antwerp to Flensburg, in which I reminisce about my youth, miss connections and walk… liberalbureaucracy.blogspot.com/2026/05/inte...

liberalbureaucracy.blogspot.com

#interrail2026 - day 2: across the Low Countries to Schleswig Holstein

It's time to catch up with the trip now that I'm back, so le t's do just that... Early morning, Antwerp, and my first intention was to de...

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

It’s apparently World Bee Day today, so here’s a photograph of a bee from my archive….

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

After eight years, I am no longer the Chair of Creeting St Peter Parish Council. I am, in parts, sad, relieved and proud. It has been one of the greatest honours of my life to hold the position but, whilst it might seem irrelevant to some, I’ve made a difference, and not everyone can say that.

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

And to celebrate my final stop on this possibly crazy journey… I am, I think, worth it… #interrail2026

A bottle and goblet of Westmalle Tripel Blonde.

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

Und so… welcome to German-speaking Belgium, where I have stopped on my way from Eindhoven to Brussels. I’m in Eupen, the “capital” of the German Community in Belgium, which has its own rather tasteful looking Parliament. #interrail2026

The Parliament of the German Community in Belgium.

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Well, this is amusing. My ICE train from Frankfurt to S’Hertogenbosch was due to stop at Moenchengladbach about 35 minutes ago, where it would then reverse before continuing its journey towards Amsterdam. However, we’re so late that we’ve stopped at Viersen, about four miles away,

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Good morning, everyone, and greetings from Strasbourg! #interrail2026

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

And so, I’m on another train, leaving Linz for München. This is my seat for the next three hours or so… #interrail2026

Business class seat on ÖBB’s Railjet Express.

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

So, I was supposed to be on a train to Feldkirch this morning, and yet, here I am, still in Linz, on a bridge over the Danube instead. #interrail2026

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

So, I’ve done the tour of the Budvar brewery here in České Budějovice, drunk the unfiltered, unpasteurised beer, seen the factory and even its little shunting locomotive.

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

So, what am I touring, and why was it worth a four hour, fifteen minute journey by train, rail replacement bus and another train?

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

And so, having left my luggage at the station, the true purpose of my visit to České Budějovice can be told. This train is taking me one stop, to České Budějovice severní zastávka for, hopefully, a tour.

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

The train to České Budějovice is described on the Interrail planning app as “Fast Train”. This is not strictly accurate, in that we switched to a rail replacement bus at Třebíč and reached Horní Cerekev before the train was scheduled to arrive there. #interrail2026

Horní Cerekev station on a sunny Thursday morning.

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

And so, another day begins, this time in **** (as @helenbelcherobe.bsky.social noted last year, we don’t talk about it), and here I am, after a leisurely breakfast, on the 9.44 České dráhy service to České Buděnovice. #interrail2026

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Hmmm… we’ve crossed the border into the Czech Republic but our train has turned west towards Ostrava after Chalupki, instead of east towards Bohumin, as it is supposed to. I wonder what happens now? #interrail2026

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

I did wonder why a EuroCity train didn’t have first class, and now I know… EC307 from Wroclaw Glówny to Graz Hbf has just two aged carriages… #interrail2026

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Well, here’s a first, as I leave Częstochowa Stradom - my train is early as it arrives here. Now, as PKP have a 0% success rate so far with all three trains late, will we make it to Opole Glówny in time for my connection to Bohumin? It’s a scheduled eighteen minute connection so… #interrail2026

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

You might find this hard to believe, but I’m on another train - a rather fancier one this time, from Gdańsk Glówny to Zawiercie… #interrail2026

A Polish high speed train arriving at Gdańsk Glówny.

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

I am reminded that @baronessros.bsky.social marked twenty-six years as a member of the House of Lords yesterday. And whilst I am hugely proud of her anyway, her journey from a small town in mid-Suffolk to where she is now has been a remarkable one.

Ros in Mongolia on a Parliamentary delegation.

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Something is happening here in Gdansk… #interrail2026

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

Welcome to Kaišiadorys, where I unexpectedly have half an hour to kill due to a late running train and a bit of reservation shuffling… Wikipedia describes it as a city, which proves that you really shouldn’t believe everything you read n the internet… #interrail2026

The view from Kaišiadorys railway station.

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

And so, it’s time to leave Latvia and head for the third of the Baltic States, Lithuania. Nice looking train… #interrail2026

Lithuanian LTG Link train at Riga station.

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

Time for a late lunch in Riga before I make my next leap… #interrail2026

Litre of Latvian lager with the message “Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder”

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

In fairness, I only came to Ogre so that I could video call my granddaughter and make her smile… #interrail2026

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

Interestingly, with my Interrail pass, I am “sold” a ticket with a fare which is then given a 100% discount…

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

So, I’m at another railway station, this time in Riga, and I’m making an unscheduled diversion, funnily enough, on a train (it’s free, right?)… but where am I going on the 13.09 Vivi service? #interrail2026

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

So, I’m waiting for the 22.16 train here at Tornio Itäinen, and it’s running late… #interrail2026

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

I am in Sweland, or Finden, and so I guess that this is an obvious place to see here… #interrail2026

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Mark Valladares @honladymark.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

This is Sweden. On the other side of yonder river is Finland, an hour into the future…

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