Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 2hI'm sure I've seen a version of that made to look like this one of Mrs Mangel 010
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 06/10/2026A reminder of that time Jeffrey Archer was involved in a coup in Equatorial Guinea www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/oct/...theguardian.comNew Archer link to coup plot allegedNew evidence has emerged linking Jeffrey Archer to the alleged conspirators behind the attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea. 000
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 03/10/2026"Go fly a kite" was an old way of telling people to fuck off. It's hinted at in Mary Poppins. Time to bring it back I think 010
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 03/10/2026Absolute scenes at a "My name is Henry" convention in Sydney 010
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 01/10/2026Has Guido Fawkes/Paul Staines gone quiet or have I got better at ignoring him? 011
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 01/10/2026One for @apiln.bsky.social's bands in the news from www.theguardian.com/commentisfre.... I'm off to see them tonight 000
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 30/09/2026I didn't realise storms were caused by weather forecasters waving their giant purple arms over the chart 000
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 30/09/2026Another reminder of my birthday fundraiser. The #RNLI does good work even if Danny Posho doesn't like it 000
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 27/09/2026My theory is that Leeds didn't have a controlling crime family like some other cities because a certain TV presenter was its own Mr Big. The title of his TV show even admitted it in plain site . Imagine who else might be implicated if he'd gone on trial. Poulson was bad enough 030
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 22/09/2026A reminder that I'm doing a birthday fundraiser for the #RNLI. Don't let idiots in gimp masks ruin things 000
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 22/09/2026I want a jingle that's as 80s as Fourscore 2 youtu.be/83Ir7akpTzc?...youtu.beFourscore IIYouTube video by Gavin Moffitt 021
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 22/09/2026It doesn't help when Ikea stuff is surprisingly cheap. £7 for lights and sensors, £3 for remote controls 000
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 22/09/2026You could probably delete all but the first 4 words of the second sentence in this review without losing any meaning 000
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 21/09/2026Be careful. A couple of weeks ago I replaced some old Hive bulbs with Ikea ones. A week later I installed Home Assistant: www.home-assistant.iohome-assistant.ioHome AssistantOpen source home automation that puts local control and privacy first. Powered by a worldwide community of tinkerers and DIY enthusiasts. Perfect to run on a Raspberry Pi or a local server. 180
Reposted by Marcus HouldenRichard Littler @richardlittler.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Coming in 2027... #doctorwho #scarfolk 716626
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 18/09/2026People who liked or reposted this might be interested in this fundraiser that I've set up for my birthday bsky.app/profile/mhou... 000
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 18/09/2026Let's do something useful. My birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks. It seems as good a reason as any to set up this fundraiser for the RNLI. They could definitely do with support at the moment www.justgiving.com/page/marcus-...justgiving.comMarcus's fundraiser for RNLI - Royal National Lifeboat InstitutionHelp Marcus Houlden raise money to support RNLI - Royal National Lifeboat Institution 010
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 17/09/2026On the face of it quite a boring report about a planning application, apart from this bit. I think more planning officers should be sarcastic 000
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 17/09/2026I'm not sure what it is about opticians but they always seem very aggressive about selling me the first pair of frames I try, even if they like a cross between Trevor Horn's Buggles glasses and something Dame Edna Everage would reject for looking too silly 030
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 16/09/2026www.youtube.com/watch?v=58rb...youtube.comThey Say Of The Acropolis Where The Parthenon IsYouTube video by Just Kai 000
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 16/09/2026They say of the Acropolis where the Parthenon is... www.theguardian.com/science/2026...theguardian.comUK mathematician debunks myth around Parthenon’s optical illusionsStudy challenges belief that temple’s curves were designed to correct optical illusions that would have ruined its clean lines 100
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 13/09/2026I'm old enough to remember when nanotechnology and grey goo were supposed to be the next existential threat to humanity 000
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 11/09/2026That would be Matthew Vernon, to be followed by @markgoodge.com in December: www.usenet.org.uk/committee.htmlusenet.org.ukUK Usenet Committee 000
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 11/09/2026It was. The Usenet archives on Google Groups were a blast from the past. He used x-no-archive: yes but the person who kept replying to him didn't 100
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 11/09/2026And then there was Michael Gove dancing at a club in Aberdeen www.theguardian.com/politics/202...theguardian.com‘Merry’ Michael Gove seen dancing ‘alone’ in Aberdeen nightclubTory minister reportedly said he did not need to pay to get in because he is chancellor of Duchy of Lancaster 001
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 08/09/2026The increasingly hysterical tone about immigration is a separate issue, but as far as I'm concerned you do *not* diss the RNLI 0171
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 08/09/2026I'm not sure where this bollocks about "taxi services for asylum seekers" came from. Once refugees are rescued they're handed over to appropriate authorities, who might be Border Force, the police or emergency medical treatment. 1160
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 08/09/2026The RNLI saves lives at sea, regardless of who they are. Sometimes the crew doesn't come back. To me that sounds a lot more patriotic than getting ballied up and chanting inane slogans at people trying to go on holiday. rnli.org/about-us/our...rnli.orgWhy does the RNLI launch to small boats in the English Channel?RNLI lifeboat crews have always launched to the rescue without judgement or preference. Men, women and children in danger in the Channel are no exception. 613429
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 06/09/2026The French preferred philosophy to draught animals. They were always putting Descartes before the HORSE 080
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 05/09/2026We used it because Come & Praise had a weird Caribbean version of The Lord's Prayer 010
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 04/09/2026Did another thing. Leeds local history links including the Pickles Papers, Guardian Leeds, Beyond Guardian Leeds, old maps and stuff. Unfortunately I think Secret Leeds is defunct after trying to contact the site owner for over a year houlden.org/local-histor...houlden.orgLocal History LinksOver the years I’ve found various sites to discover local history around Leeds. Some of these are are Leeds-focused, some are more regional, national or even international. While some are obv… 100
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 04/09/2026Direct successors are @wldispatch.bsky.social, @southleedslife.bsky.social and eastsidestory.co.uk. The Local Democracy Reporting Service covers council news in the way local papers used to when they were actually localeastsidestory.co.ukEast Side Story 010
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 04/09/2026Direct successors are @wldispatch.bsky.social, @southleedslife.bsky.social and eastsidestory.co.uk. The Local Democract Reporting Service covers council news in the way small local papers used toeastsidestory.co.ukEast Side Story 000
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 04/09/2026It's interesting rereading hyperlocal news blogs from the early 10s. Early days of austerity before the spending cuts really started to bite, and also coverage of craft revivals. That type of blog is as much part of social history as local newspapers before Reach & co got to them 200
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 04/09/2026Did a thing. I'm interested in old maps and finding out what was at those places called "The Old Bank" and "The Old Post Office", apart from the obvious. Here's a map of old banks, building societies and post offices around a lot of the west of Yorkshire houlden.org/old-banks-map/houlden.orgOld Banks MapThis page is a snapshot of old bank, building society and post office branches in and around Leeds. It is mostly taken from the 1972 and 1984 Leeds telephone directories. These cover Leeds, Wakefie… 000
Marcus Houlden @mhoulden.uk · 03/09/2026Cliff Richard thrills the crowd at the Green Shield offices in Leeds some time in the 1970s. Does @apiln.bsky.social in do bored people in local papers? 020
