iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

When our boys were small one of them advanced the theory that the dinosaurs died out because there were no people for them to eat. Quite hard to disprove really.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Freaky cloud formation spotted on the M6 approaching Birmingham (no, I wasn't driving)

Orange sunset light reflected on the underside of clouds, creating a ripple or wave effect, with an electricity pylon in the foreground and a few cars on the road

Cropped version of first photo, showing the heart of the clouds and base of the pylon

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Probably surprised how I had changed but also relieved that I’d muddled through. In truth, previous me would not have wanted to see the future. I’ve always hated spoilers.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Of course, if the Normans had won the Battle of Hastings, we'd all be speaking French now. Oh, hang on...

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Reposted by Phil Banting

Hassinator @hassinator.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

a great letter in the times today. perhaps worth sharing in these troubled times. #RNLI #heroes

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I used the word “pernickety” in a message and had to resist autocorrect’s attempt to change it to “persnickety” which is apparently the more common US version. I’m really quite pernickety about this kind of thing.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Nice to see the B's topping the poll. The last time I stood in a multi-member election I did indeed get the most votes of any of my party's candidates. On every other occasion the electorate has been singularly unmoved by my position on the ballot paper. ☹️

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I'm a victim of ageism on a website. The login process involves entering my date of birth via drop-down controls and it takes a lot of scrolling to get down to my birth year. Anyone born before 1916 can't log in at all, so things could be worse.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

It answers every question with "I'm on my tea break" or "It's more than my job's worth".

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Reposted by Phil Banting

onlycans @onlycans.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

just stop oil protesters got five years in jail for *planning* to do this to the M25.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Exciting times in a WhatsApp group of which I am a (somewhat ill-qualified) co-admin. Someone has accidentally started a voice chat and is baffled by the stream of warning emojis being sent. Seems there's no way to forcibly end the chat. Smartphones make everyone so much more productive 🙂

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Flying the flag for Crossroads in the spiritual home of Sale Of The Century #IYKYK

Same as the previous image, but zoomed out to show the whole spire of Norwich Cathedral in the background, against a blue sky with a few wisps of white cloud.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

The church we visited this morning (which was fine in every other regard) had this rather distressing mat at the front. It was in my full view for over an hour. What kind of designer would skew one of the squares like that?

A mat with dark blue background and a nearly symmetrical pattern of light blue L shapes and white squares - but one of the squares, together with its adjoining L shape, is rotated thought 45 degrees.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Make your favourite film sound as boring as possible without giving away the title: A black cuboid messes with an ape's mind, space and time. AI is revealed to be capable of making mistakes.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I bought a suspiciously cheap bottle of Sprite and failed to notice that it was mint flavoured. Mint sauce has its place, but mixed in with Sprite is not it. That's £1.70 put down to Experience.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

The lady who approached me was very concerned: is that your wife? There’s a young man following her who looks suspicious. He might be trying to steal her bag. I thanked her for her thoughtfulness but assured her that our son is entirely law-abiding. It’s good to know that people are so vigilant.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Did someone say town halls? I snapped this magnificent municipal edifice in Hunstanton, Norfolk, in evening sunshine just today.

A 2-storey Victorian building with rectangular frontage, built of Norfolk carrstone (a type of sandstone). The lower right corner is unfortunately obscured by parked cars.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

No cheating. Share the last picture of the sky from your camera roll.

Approaching sunset with low-level clouds on the horizon. The sun’s reflection is visible on the sea. In the foreground is a beach - almost dark - with a groyne stretching into the sea.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

This weekend has been an East Midlands extravaganza with visits to Nottingham, Melton Mowbray, Oakham and Rutland Water - all places with which I was previously almost entirely unfamiliar. Clearly, I need to get out more.

Dark green exterior wall of the Sir John Borlase Warren pub in Nottingham, on which is painted a stylised image of Sir John pointing with his finger next to the words "This way to courtyard and sun terrace". We were at the pub for a family event.

Pedestrianised shopping street in Melton Mowbray with hanging flower baskets attached to lampposts and bunting stretched across the street

Market Square in Oakham with the main Post Office building on the right and a frontage of Oakham School directly ahead. Also ahead is the Market Cross, with an 8-sided tiled roof. In the distance is a church spire.

Rutland Water viewed from the end of the Hambleton peninsula. There is a clear view across the reservoir with low-lying land opposite. The sky is blue with some white clouds reflected in the water. In the left foreground is brown, dry land - almost like sand - exposed due to the very low water level after the drought.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

I’ve just written my nephew a cheque. I’m now thinking that it’s the equivalent of me receiving a postal order when I was his age.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

#FingerpostFriday Bored with Carmarthen Castle? Here are some other nearby castles you can visit

Signposts pointing to Pembroke Castle, Swansea Castle and others. In the background are ruins of Carmarthen Castle, with blue sky behind

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Freshly marked hieroglyphics on the pavement, plus the presence of men and women in hi-viz jackets, suggest that something is Going On

Symbols and numbers marked on a pavement in white, yellow, orange and red

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Without downloading any new pics, where are you at mentally?

Spinning plates (plastic plates on handheld sticks)

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Now that Farage has been elected once more as an MP, presumably he has to resign this position. Does this trigger a by-election? www.gov.uk/government/n...

gov.uk

Manor of Northstead

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has this day appointed Nigel Paul Farage to be Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Pedantic nit-pick of the day: I've just seen a social media post referring to Barcelona's most famous church, La Sagrada Familia, as the "cathedral". Amazingly, it is just an "ordinary" parish church. Barcelona does have a Cathedral, and here's Miriam's choir - the Phoenix Singers - singing in it.

Side view of a mixed choir of about 60 people singing in a traditional Gothic cathedral, with columns behind and chandeliers overhead.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

St David's is a real doggy town. They know how to keep cool, when they're allowed to. #Pembrokeshire

A dog lying in a shallow stream that runs behind St David's Cathedral

A dog straining at its lead to get into the stream, but a human (out of shot) is holding it back

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Holiday bonus: got the emergency message in Welsh as well as English 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Pesky rebrands. Bring back Opal Fruits!

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Pembroke's many delights include a tin tabernacle, and it's still in use - and looks to be well kept. It was opened in 1913 (according to the church's website) as the Undenominational Mission Band, popularly known as The Mission.

A blue-painted corrugated metal church building - view from right

A blue-painted corrugated metal church building - view from front, with entrance porch and cross above

A blue-painted corrugated metal church building - view from left

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Viewed the solar eclipse in a park overlooked by Pembroke Castle

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

In Carmarthen. Nice town, shame about the buskers. I’d really have expected better singers than that in Wales.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

A loooong time ago - I must have been about 13 - I was playing hide and seek with a friend in a park next to the river in Bedford, where I then lived. It was Mark's turn to hide, and he disappeared into some woods, only to run out half a minute later waving some small pieces of paper.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

The brown, brown grass of (my mother’s) home (actually there’s a bit more green than in many places)

View from a first floor flat over an open grassed area, mainly brown. Behind a fence is a large area of waste ground with long grass, also mainly brown.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

This is magnificently niche. I’ve never used Forth but got this right away. Very much #IYKYK

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Instagram is inviting me to "tell us what you're into" so that they can show me more relevant ads. Options include hair styling, sofas and motorcycles. The only topic I'm actually interested in is food delivery and we're well sorted for that. I suppose I'll have to stick with irrelevant ads.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Well, it’s not as if anything ever happens in Brazil, Argentina or Venezuela to affect US policy, is it?

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

I've just had to enter my DOB in a website using a type of dialog that was new to me. It looked as though I would have to scroll back from today a month at a time which, at my age, would have been exceedingly tedious. I tried clicking on the year and fortunately it allowed me to go back a lifetime.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Miriam has been watching the Commonwealth Games with commentary in Gaelic on BBC Alba - the only feed she could find. The last time I heard Gaelic was when I visited the Western Isles some 40 years ago now, and it was spoken as the main language. It's beautiful to hear.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Someone reposted one of my posts, and within seconds their account was suspended. Touch my posts at your peril.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

As a child I was hooked on the Apollo programme and enjoyed watching James Burke and Patrick Moore getting terribly excited as the lunar module landed successfully. I went outside and looked up at the Moon and felt that it was somehow different - now part of the human domain.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Took the risk of running (in unsuitable shoes) for the bus and just caught it, helped by the passenger in front being slow to pay. Despite the extra effort I actually used fewer steps, due to longer stride length, than if I had walked and waited for the next bus. Step count isn't the whole story.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

By my reckoning only 4 of the 31 knockout World Cup matches were decided by penalties, and none from the quarter-finals onwards - quite a low number I would have thought?

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Reposted by Phil Banting

Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Top Cat only aired for one season. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? In my mind those guys were hanging around by those bins for decades.

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Phil Banting @philbanting.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

A simple technological fix has provided a major boost to office efficiency. I should have thought of keeping the Kit-Kats in the fridge before.

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