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Phil Gilmartin

@pmgilmartin.bsky.social
1.6K followers 1.3K following 3.4K posts

Eclectic posts from a retired Professor of Plant Molecular Genetics, now enjoying life house renovating, dog walking, gardening, & travelling.

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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 15h
Delayed travelog, Day 4: After a morning exploring Seattle, & discovering some things that we weren’t allowed to do (1 & 2), we arrived at King Street Station to catch the Amtrak train back to Vancouver (3), arriving later that day into Pacific Central Station (4). A fabulous journey. See ALT text.
A sign on a school fence, NO PETS ALLOWED ON SCHOOL GROUNDS, NO DOGS, CATS, OR POT BELLIED POTBELLIED PIGS. (Silhouettes of each animal also shown). 

Pot bellied pigs 😳 Who has a pet pot bellied pig? Is that a Seattle thing 🤔 🐖 Sign in a shop window

GUNS NOT ALLOWED ON PREMISES (together with a crossed out gun silhouette) 🔫😳A view of the front of King Street Station in Seattle with a multi-coloured art sculpture in the foreground.  I was last here in 2021 when I arrived after crossing the continental US by Amtrak from New York on the Atlantic coast. A view of the Amtrak Cascades locomotive after arriving into Pacific Central Station in Vancouver. I was last here in 1985 after crossing transcontinental Canada by VIA Rail from Halifax on the Atlantic coast.
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Delayed travelogue: Day 3, Vancouver to Seattle. 1) early morning at the Vancouver harbour sea plane terminal for the short hop to Seattle. 2) the Seattle Space Needle seen from the Chihuly glass museum. 3 & 4) some of the many incredible Chihuly glass sculptures. The museum is well worth a visit.
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I’m off to a school reunion tonight (Longdean School in Hemel Hempstead). We left 46 years ago; 46 seems like an odd number for a reunion, but that’s how it is. My old tie is a bit short!
Selfie of me in my old school tie. The Longdean School sign by the main entrance.
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Delayed travelogue: Day 2. Exploring Vancouver. 1) the Capilano suspension bridge. 2) the view from the top of Grouse Mountain.
The Capilano suspension bridge, 450 ft long, & 230 ft above the Capilano river. The first bridge across the canyon was built in 1889.A selfie on the Capilano suspension bridge. I was last here in 1985.The view of the tree clad hills and mountains flanking Howe Sound as seen from from the cable car up to the top of Grouse Mountain. View from the top of Grouse Mountain over the city and Stanley Park. The Strait of Georgia beyond, with Vancouver Island in the background.
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I’ve been a bit quiet on here for the past 3 weeks as I’ve been away, I’ll now share the adventure with a 3 week buffer delay. Day 1: how it started, how it went, how it ended. 1) Leaving LBA for AMS. 2) en route to Vancouver. 3) a view from the hotel. 4) dinner & beer at the Stanley Park Brewery.
KLM plane on the runway at Leeds Bradford Airport before departure to Amsterdam.Mount Baker (USA) as seen on the approach into Vancouver (Canada) with a jet engine for scale.A view of Vancouver harbour and Stanley Park at sunset from the hotel balcony.Pub sign for Stanley Park Brewing, a great place to enjoy locally brewed beer, with great food.
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I just received this via LinkedIn, do I look like I need a job?
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AgonyFlips @agonyflips.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
When you're ticked off and a friend sends you something to make you feel better. 🐑🔊
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Hannah & her favourite ball, which marches the marigolds.
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
This is a really great book! It gets you hooked early on, even though you don’t know where it’s going, it’s complex, but then everything comes together in such a clever way. It’s fabulous. Beautifully written. Highly recommended. @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social
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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Sadly so few people listened to this/rated it that my publishers have decided not to release audiobooks of Villager, 1983 or Notebook. I still think it's a great book and Justin's narration is wonderful. He's a unique talent.
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Just had a flash back 😬 It’s been a long job, but after the second coat of PolyX waxoil it’s looking OK.
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Long shadows on my early morning walk
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Bessera elegans flowering in the kitchen tonight.
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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
One last gentle nudge on this...
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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Hello new followers. I've removed the paywall permanently from this piece, which is a chapter from my novel Villager, told entirely in the form of an online village message board. If you like it, you'll probably like the book. If you don't, you won't... www.tom-cox.com/the-village-...
tom-cox.com
The Village Message Board
Its authenticity was discredited because of his reputation, but also because he was quick with gin at the time and wearing an item of knitwear back to front.
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
How it started, how it’s going. When you clean up reclaimed parquet tiles, lay the floor, sanded it flat, fill the gaps & chips, & then sanded it again & again with finer sandpaper, you know if you have laid a good floor, but it’s only when the PolyX waxoil goes on that the work of art is revealed.
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
The gingers are putting on an incredible show this year 😍 Around 20 flowered heads of various species/cultivars still to open. I can’t normally smell flowers, but these smell like lilies (a smell I seriously dislike). They look great, but smell sickly sweet to me.
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
We have peppers 🌶️ 😊
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Bessera elegans, such an elegant plant.
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Jenny TP @jennytpgrows.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
American friends ⬇️
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Reclaimed oak parquet, reclaimed, laid, & sanded. Sawdust filler with resin to fill the gaps. Almost done now.
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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Back from my long drive to the Blackwell's warehouse. Car full (and I *mean* car full: I don't know how I squeezed them into a VW Polo) of books now dropped off and should be dispatched soon. Grab one of the remaining signed ones (FREE international delivery) here: blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/pro...
blackwells.co.uk
Curious Events Lately Occurring In This Neighbourhood
Curious Events Lately Occurring In This Neighbourhood
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
The swallows are planning an exodus summer is now autumn.
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Jasmine 🌌🔭 @astrojaz.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
CURIOSITY HAS OFFICIALLY SPENT 5,000 SOLS (martian days) ON MARS!!!
A selfie of the Curiosity rover on Mars
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fravery.bsky.social @fravery.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” ― Stephen King
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
A good showing in the local produce show today, two 1sts, two 2nds, & two 3rds. My favourite was the ‘three stems in a vase’; Hedychium gardnerianum & Hedychium ‘tara’ came up trumps. My hand carved loo roll holder didn’t get a prize, but got a few laughs. Mrs G got three 1sts, a 2nd, & a 3rd.
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Time to change the parquet floor sanding pad.
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
I’ve entered 9 categories for the local village produce show. MrsG has also entered 9, & hers are more edible than floral. This is the hand-crafted item I’m entering, whittled from the off-cut of an oak barn roof truss. I hope it’s in with a shout for a rosette that will brighten the downstairs loo.
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
The last parquet floor I will ever lay.
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Butterfly of the day: I think it’s a Speckled Wood Butterfly (Pararge aegeria) on a plant I bought as a bulb at the Harrogate Flower Show, but didn’t write down the name!
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
No cheating. Share the last photo of the sky from your camera roll
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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
If anyone else would like to read this, Blackwell's UK have just a few signed ones left (and will send with free international delivery): blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/pro...
blackwells.co.uk
Ring the Hill
Ring the Hill
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Blowing the early morning dust out. An East Yorkshire view of a compressor from Hemel Hempstead @atlascopcogroup.bsky.social
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Andrew Boa @anboa4.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Also good to remind all that bats are a protected species. www.bats.org.uk/advice/bats-...
bats.org.uk
Bats and the law - Advice - Bat Conservation Trust
In Britain, all bat species and their roosts are legally protected, by both domestic and European legislation. This means that under Regulation 43 of th...
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
I posted about a bat on the kitchen floor, assumed it was dead so picked it up, wasn’t dead so put outside, it soon flew off. @sciencemaeven.bsky.social sent me a link. Just had 1st of 4 rabies shots after GP assessed the risk. Rare, but some UK bats do carry rabies. www.bats.org.uk/about-bats/b...
bats.org.uk
Bats and rabies in the UK - Bats and rabies - Bat Conservation Trust
A small number of bats in the UK carry Lyssaviruses which belong to a group of viruses that cause the disease rabies. The UK is free of classical rabies...
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
A shoal of Perch spotted in the Leeds-Liverpool canal near Kirkstall today, the light was just right to reveal them.
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
The bay windows are done. Just the black edges to finish.
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🇨🇦 l.faraday 🇨🇦 @mizati.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
This should have much more import. We are the first generation to see this. #Mars
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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
The publishing industry views Bluesky as some tiny unimportant island out somewhere in a far-off ocean. It's not worthy of their attention like Amazon Algoland or The Republic Of Instagram Influencer Collaborativepost is. What they don't realise is just how much the island's inhabitants love books.
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Scadoxus multiflorus ‘Katherine Flame’ 😍
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
I bought a Begonia xanthini tuber at the Harrogate Flower Show nearly two years ago, I planted it but it has never done anything other than a few shoots which rapidly died off. I’ve increased the humidity with a kitchen bowl, and now have some real leaves. Exciting times 😀
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Hannah coordinating her toys with the garden flowers.
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Secondhand book sales are booming. Is it because of AI? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Secondhand book sales are booming. Is it because of AI?
Booksellers are reporting mysterious bulk orders. It's thought the books are being used to train AI - and ending up pulped.
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
I think this farmer must be a David Hockney fan, he’s arranging his bales in the field just like a Hockney painting 🖼️
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
The great wall of straw. #YorkshireWolds
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
We have potatoes 🥔 😃@profgdfoster.bsky.social
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Hedychium ‘Tara’. Stunning 😍
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Quadram Institute @quadraminstitute.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
⏰️ Closing soon! We’re looking for a proactive and highly organised People & Talent Coordinator to join our team and help deliver initiatives that create an inclusive, supportive and collaborative working environment. 💷 £30,600 to £37,400, 🗓️ Apply by 18 August 2026 ➡️ buff.ly/Bq81ncS
A photo of the Quadram Institute building with wildflowers in the foreground. A teal quadrangle contains the text "People and Talent Coordinator, to help deliver initiatives that create an inclusive, supportive and collaborative working environment. Salary: £30,600 to £37,400, Contract length: 1.5 years, Apply by 18 August 2026"
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Phil Gilmartin @pmgilmartin.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I’m currently reading this by Tom Cox (@dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social), it’s a really captivating & enthralling read. Highly recommended.
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