iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I'm making green tomato chutney. Not only is this totally square, middle aged, middle class behaviour, it is guaranteed to be not very nice. Everybody will have to dutifully eat it at Christmas while dreaming of lovely shop bought piccalilli.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

How is it that intelligent people still circulate this stuff as common sense? How do they explain all the other countries who pay more tax than we do but haven't experienced total economic collapse?

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Also, from Tom Forth over on X...

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

“Chips and gravy”. Some people are struggling with the idea of becoming middle class through education, the combination of middle class cultural traits with regional accents, or the idea that someone might authentically retain elements of a working class upbringing.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Thinking about it, the sensible view on this is particularly egregious because it's a false consensus. Some mainstream commentators and organisations do question it and are simply ignored in favour of common sense and everybody knows.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

If it's out of a small tumbler rather than a wine glass, and I'm cooking, does it bypass my new self imposed 'no alcohol on a Sunday' rule?

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Anyone have any answers to Dom's question?

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

As ever, though...cars aren't banned.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

The war on cars continues in Delft.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Haarlem. How do any of these businesses survive in the face of the disgraceful lack of parking?

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Whatever problems Saxony-Anhalt has, it's certainly not full.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

These weekend "Reform pledge to simply..." headlines on the BBC website are getting almost funny tbh.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

It went "indie” in 89 and the kids could scarcely believe it.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

The good old days of drunk men hoying bottles of urine at Meatloaf, hothouse flowers, and - sorry - the late Bonnie Tyler.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

This is doing the rounds on X. , I'm not getting into the 2000 vs 2026 thing, but it did strike me that nobody who has got inovled in the "good old days vs now" debate is sharing Reading line-ups from the 1980s. (pre-89)

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

There's predictable consternation at this among the various unashamedly excellent Atlases and Übermensch on X. I read it as an old tutor saying to a bunch of 18 year olds, we know you're all clever - you're at Cambridge - but you're here for more than that.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Are we confusing "there is no evidence" with "I haven't bothered to look"? There's a lot of this about.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

If I were in government I would simply find 50 billion a year in savings. It's obviously a damming indictment of the uniparty that they haven't already made this simple change.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

There's a controversialist grift opportunity here to talk about Burnham's regional growth and devolution agenda, and ask if the problem is that northerners are thick. Hashtag nothingworks

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Do we still talk about 'ratioing?'

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Presumably Ashington is a boom town now.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Hopefully. The money isn't always there though. I'm optimistic about Stockton's new urban park, although I'd never thought I'd say this about north east England, but there's not enough shade yet (until the trees mature)!

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Does this make you smile? It does me - every time.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Great to see people who were in and around the government that delivered Brexit and the EU settlement scheme now gotchaing universities about EU nationals being eligible for student finance. Also good to see it pitched as fraud story in the newspaper of record Top work lads

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

This is grim. DO is essentially a professor of practice - a common title where people often don't have PhDs He's obviously got the gig because he's well known for doing popular history telly programmes not coz woke.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

If a mayor wants to use their budget like this then probably allow it. I can't see it being a power that's used widely, TBH. When places ask for "tax cutting" powers they generally mean they want an additional fiscal incentives grant from Whitehall, not less spending on their patch

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

1000 words of pub bore "stop moaning and enjoy the lovely weather".

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

"Dad's taking photos of them building a metro". For shame

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Reading this and it is good (as are the other papers in the series) An early minor quibble - I'm not sure that the 1997 Labour government did chop and change so much. It retained and built on things like regional Government offices.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

I'm still praying for some respite from the punishing heat.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Is this surprising on the first vote? I'm a bit surprised given national polling. findoutnow.co.uk/blog/greater...

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Quite excited that the Bayeux Tapestry is coming to the UK… I'll finally get a look at its little-seen and long missing final section.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

This would likely generate a bunch of 'yookay' on X. However, I'm in the Scottish Stores on Caledonian Road and I remember what the neighborhood and the pub were like in the 90s.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

I expect it's all too boring and complicated for them

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Anyway, I'm having a sensible solo pint in the Harrison in KX. Every time I'm back down here these days I'm struck by the success of the congestion zone. Away from a few main bus/taxi/cycle routes it is so peaceful - like Amsterdam.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Listening to this. I own it on vinyl but the youths are playing video games. They are listening to music too but I got in after three pints and groovily asked oh is this pink panthress, but it was Charlie xcx. That's why I'm in the garden.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Spotted this creating a bit of chatter on X. Chatter that's apparently impervious to low engagement accounts like mine saying it's not showing (only) cash transfers.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

I don't know how much to trust this poll, but it's got to be hard for reform to win on a supplementary vote sytem.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

I bemoaned too soon. One of them secretly baked me a tea loaf.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Really, it's not complicated. Or shouldn't be.

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Have to worry about what kind of private conversations people like Cole are having. Is someone already writing the book on middle class online radicalisation?

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

This is getting a bit of traction on X. Whatever questions there are for Burnham and Manchesterism, is economic activity being clustered in the urban core a gotcha? Manchester has been explicitly about agglomeration for a long time. What do people think that tram network is for?

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Nick Gray @path-dependent.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

That ballooning welfare bill again.

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