Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 10/09/2026I was living in the Oakland hills, in the California Bay Area. We woke up to the first reports of a light aircraft hitting a WTC tower. Stunned disbelief at work in Berkeley that day as the news unfolded. A rash of 🇺🇸 on desks and homes in the weeks that followed. 110
Reposted by Richard CloseHayley Gullen @hayleygullen.com · 10/09/2026I studied early British / Scottish / Irish history during my degree. We know frustratingly little about this time period (4th-10th century) and even less when it comes to the Picts, which is one of the reasons I’m obsessed with them. 2185
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Maybe even the odds by dropping a bowl over it? 110
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 11/08/2026It might have been possible that he just hadn't thought about letting the staffers and reporters get hit. This shows that he had in fact thought about it. 031
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 01/08/2026An amazing haul of CDs for £1 each from an antiques warehouse near Auchtermuchty. Quite esoteric stuff, none of your Classics for Pleasure or Andre Rieu. All ripped and tagged, in your face Spotify. 000
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 10/07/2026Absolutely! Bioethanol and biodiesel barely compensate for the fossil fuels used to grow them, while solar panels don't preclude some crops or grazing. 020
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 08/07/202633° in our old Worcestershire village! 25° here is very nice for a change, but I'm glad it's not more. 100
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 23/06/2026Phacelia! I've noticed fields of it around here, apparently it's a green manure / pollinator friendly fallow crop. 110
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 05/06/2026Got the CDs in the mail today! Now I'm ripping like it's 1994. Also got this, not sure what to expect: 000
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 31/05/2026So I've gone ahead and bought this album of Mompou's music. Really enjoying it so far. Some support for the position that algorithms are occasionally not terrible. /end 110
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 31/05/2026The Youtube algorithm threw this at me: youtu.be/HK6ce0JXaJk?... (Mompou / Scenes d'enfants / jeunes filles au jardin). Delightful and evocative. /1youtu.beIs This Composer the 20th Century's Chopin?YouTube video by The Music Professor 110
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 31/05/2026But Indy Scotland sees itself as a Scandinavian nation! 100
Reposted by Richard CloseDan Snow @thehistoryguy.bsky.social · 25/05/2026This is an unforgivably stupid situation. It is an astonishing own goal to try and drive student numbers down to move an immigration number that in turn is totally ignored by the anti-immigrant head bangers. 311389436
Reposted by Richard CloseJWexTheSpa @jwsidders.bsky.social · 13/05/2026Morally indefensible Politically insane Economically harmful The government's immigration policy is a catastrophe for the Labour party, a gift to its opponents on left and right, and really bad for the country. Starmer owns it entirely. 513536
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 12/05/2026I hope it's because I've missed it, but I haven't seen any letters citing immigration policy or Gaza as a problem. I think these are the main reason for voters defecting to the Greens. 0100
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 10/05/2026This is a bit of a mystery to me. Why do Labour voters repelled by govt position on immigration, Gaza protests and EU switch to Green rather than LD? Some historic antipathy? Will listen to Quiet Riot for insight on this. 210
Reposted by Richard CloseBrian Bilston @brianbilston.bsky.social · 08/05/2026Here’s a poem called ‘Life of a Naturalist’. 26533202
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 28/04/2026Congratulations on your period of heightened bird salience. 010
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 19/04/2026youtu.be/oTsD8Dm-fRM?... Already spotted by Trevor Noah, who should know!youtu.beTrump, Amin similaritiesYouTube video by Watchdog Uganda 072
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 17/04/2026Who gave Ian Gray the Collected Works of William Topaz McGonagall for his birthday? 010
Reposted by Richard CloseGeorge Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 14/04/2026In the 1930s, Oswald Mosley claimed to be a patriot, while his British Union of Fascists was secretly funded by the Italian government. We are just beginning to grasp how much of the far right in the UK today has been funded by Viktor Orbán and Russian oil money. Their "patriotism" is always a con. 562207834
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 14/04/2026Exactly! This is how corrupt authoritarian regimes work. It's also why Trump is floating the idea of preemptive blanket pardons at the end of his term. One thing that worries me is that even if Dems regain control, the bad actors will still have all that money and therefore power. 010
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 07/04/2026I agree! If so, somebody has been keeping the growth around the base cut back. 010
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 07/04/2026I was very sad to hear about this. It may come back as a museum, or in a museum. No substitute for the coffee though! www.dundeeculture.com/post/j-a-bra...dundeeculture.comJ A Braithwaite closure sparks interest as museum preservation explored | Dundee CultureEfforts may now be underway to preserve part of one of Dundee’s most historic businesses following the closure of J A Braithwaite after 158 years.Anna Day, Head of Cultural Services at Leisure & Cultu... 010
Reposted by Richard CloseThe Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 07/04/2026The further one went from Earth, the better the news became. 422117
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 05/04/2026Spooky! There was a Campari and soda in this glass 10 minutes ago. 120
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 05/04/2026Evolution of written language in reverse! Spaces between words were the first innovation for legibility. (Maybe second, if you count single writing direction, e.g. left to right). 120
Reposted by Richard CloseAlison Murray @bonneesperance2.bsky.social · 02/04/2026We visited Perth today. The heather blooming in the Bellwood Riverside Park was quite breathtaking. We've driven past this park so often, and had no idea of the beauty on the other side of the wall. 121
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 01/04/2026As long as you're posting from the future, has It Happened yet? 110
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 24/03/2026My serious suggestion is to refer to it (when you must) as "the Your Party". Same as the Labour Party and every other party. 130
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 22/03/2026WTAF, Kemi? The surge in gas prices shows that renewables are dangerous? 040
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 08/03/2026So much effing and blinding in our household when Mason appears on the television that I'm glad we're not on Gogglebox. 120
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 08/03/2026Aaargh! Might have to retune the clock radio to the World Service. 110
Richard Close @richardclose.bsky.social · 06/03/2026Absolutely this. I think authoritarians instinctively (or consciously) identify renewable energy as their enemy. Fossil fuels are such an effective mechanism for concentrating wealth and power. 010
