iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

There's been one of these is Durham for a while, but it only has the signs. Not very effective. Not that easy to spot now either.

A street view image of Pontop Pike Lane. There is a bush in the foreground obscuring a green sign on a short bit of fence.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Quite a crowd gathered to watch, but didn't seem impressed. The general consensus was "baaaa", which seemed harsh.

A photo of a heard of sheep eating grass in the foreground, with rough brown grassland stretching off into the distance.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Also caught the Red Arrows making their final turn before their Great North Run start line fly past. It turns out Thockrington in directly in line with the Cow Hill to GNR section of the Central Motorway, though I was a bit further west for a better view (you had to be there!)

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I had a ride past the church at Thockrington this morning, resting place of Lord Beveridge, of “Beveridge Report” fame.

A view of the church at Thockrington, with a grassy mound in the foreground.

A view of the church at Thockrington on top of a small rise with a tree at the right edge of the image.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Yeah. The maps of percentage of residents born in the UK and Reform voters make unsurprising viewing.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I've made the same journey and also had to make do with the notice board. The nearby signpost is a mildly amusing bonus though.

A photo of the name plate at the top of a notice board which reads "No Place Community Notice Board"

A photo of a finger post on the National Cycle Network with one branch reading "No Place 1/4"

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Reminds me of the bit that hasn't worn off yet in Wolsington.

A street view image showing a cycle lane roughly 10cm wider than three double yellow lines on the road.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

I really like the idea of trains, but I've not used them much lately as on the routes I need they are just a bit rubbish. Now, even the refunds for delays are delayed.

Please accept our apologies for the delay in processing your claim that we received on Sat, 15 Aug 2026. We are currently experiencing high volumes of claims which is preventing us from assessing your claim as quickly as usual.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Now the north end of Gateshead flyover has been removed and the roundabout reopened the journey time in a vehicle from Gateshead Stadium to the Tyne Bridge at 9am this morning was half what it was on the equivalent day in 2024 when the flyover was in operation.

A chart showing journey times in 2024 and 2026. At 9am the 2024 line peaks at just over 10 minutes while the 2026 line peaks at just over 4 minutes.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

"We're going where?" That part of the ride when you can see what you have to ride up before the end. Steep finish for the Tour of Britain today.

The lead group in the Tour of Britain at the foot of Great Orme.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

The ride back from Cockermouth was a bit of a struggle (from ~100km). It consisted of 1 hour and 45 minutes of regular heavy showers, where I was crawling along worrying about missing another train, followed by 45 minutes of very fast, soaking descending. Planned on a 20kmph average, ended on 20.7.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I also found time to watch the middle of the race on a TV handily stationed in Jennings Brewery, which also had some good rehydration options and was a minute from the route, so easy to dash out at the appropriate moment for the live experience.

A photo of a big screen showing the race in the Jennings Brewery tap room.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I had a good day out following stage 1 of the Tour of Britain Women today. Managed to catch the start, the coast, the finishing circuit and finish.

A photo of the start line just before roll out of the Tour of Britain Women on stage 1

A photo of the full peloton together on the coast, south of Allonby.

A still from a video of the riders just after the first pass of the finish line, starting finishing loop, showing the eventual winner and 3 other riders.

The winner and her team mates just after the finishing line. A photographer to about to take a photo with a large lensed camera.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

A sign you want to see when out cycling, above a sign you don't want to see when out cycling.

A photo of a finger post with an arm pointing to a village named Flat. Attached to the post is a temporary sign about stone chips warning of skid risk.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Public data shows that if drivers used the park and ride car parks on the Metro system, which has a station in Tynemouth, they wouldn't get fined at all. It would be helpful if the ~400 space Northumberland Park car park reopened, which has been shut for a year too.

I column chart showing occupancy at Four Lane Ends Park and Ride site. Peak occupancy is about 80 of 475 available spaces on Saturday 15th August 2026.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

I crossed Sandy Lane Roundabout last night. None of the crossings are working. The lights for vehicles were fine of course, but guessing if it's safe to cross 3 lanes of fast traffic 4 times is not ideal. Reported, though there's already an open report from last week so not holding out much hope.

A satellite view Sandy Lane roundabout, which is a large junctions with 5 busy roads meeting, two of them dual carriageway. There are 5 different crossings, at least 4 of which are needed for pedestrians or cyclists to traverse the junction.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

"I'm not a particularly good climber" says Nicola Quaye, winner of the Curlew Cup, who looked pretty good at climbing to me!

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

They were prepared - lots of breaks and crossing points. I still felt irrationally nervous when crossing the line though! There were a few confused delivery riders when it got close to the main event. I was hoping none of them misjudged it. All behaved and followed directions though.

A line of white blocks, stood on end, lined up along a cobbled street and leading in to Blackfriars restaurant. There are blocks missing at regular intervals to avoid any accidental knock downs.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

I spent 40 minutes this morning stood on the Ryals waiting for a bike race to come past. Lovely, if slightly damp, scenery. I couldn't shake the feeling I was being watched though.

A view across a field, with trees in the centre of the image. Behind the trees the ground rises to a ridge in the distance. The closest field has some sheep in, with on just visible in long grass lying down in the middle, looking at the camera.

The same image as before, but zoomed in a bit. The sheep in the centre is a little more obvious.

The same image zoomed again. The sheep is now quite clear.

The same image zoomed in on the sheep, which looks slightly odd.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

I didn't see much more of the aftermath as it was cleared away with impressive efficiency by the army of volunteers, with every block picked up and moved by hand very quickly. 👏🏻 to all involved.

A line of white blocks laying down along a road. In the background some people can be seen stacking them on pallets.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

I quite enjoyed the domino run in town today. There was a wave of very excited kids running after then as they fell, but I quite liked the scenes a few minutes later when the crowd had moved on leaving empty streets and a sense that something had just passed through.

A photo of the main street in the Helix with a long line of white blocks laying on the ground leading off in to the distance.

A section of the city walls with a line of white blocks laying down along the top.

A narrow alleyway with bins and weeds with a long line of white blocks laying down on top of one another along its full length.

An anonymous back lane with some shuttered rear entrances to buildings and block of flats in the background. A line of white blocks is lying down along the middle of the road before disappearing over a wall at the end.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Most people aren't even *allowed* to drive down a fair stretch of Blackett Street, never mind stop on it. If they are all law abiding souls it will be impossible to get fined as they won't even be there. Reality would suggest some people need reminding of that however, which a fine may help with!

A Streetview image showing a No Motor Vehicles Except local buses and for loading sign

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Also caught the race on the Ryals.

The leader on lap 1 of the Curlew Cup on the steep bit of the Ryals.

The main bunch in the Curlew cup on the steep bit of the Ryals

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

I caught the full honking, screeching, clunking symphony of a bike race taking a sharp wet corner this morning in a damp, grey Northumberland. 🔊

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

I've solved this with removable measures. It doesn't work that well in the wind and upstairs is a bit of a problem and I've not tried it at the front yet, so not bad reactions. More seriously it stops at least 2-3°C rise inside one room, so properly installed measures would be very effective.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Regular problem on that street. Very irritating.

Photo of a van parked in an off road cycle lane.

CCTV image of a van parked in an off road cycle lane.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

The sunniest July on record led to my best July solar generation so far and only 1kWh less than June this year. It meant about 9 days⚡more at my normal usage than my next best July, which was 2022. Good for small energy bills, but otherwise a little concerning.

A column chart showing July solar generation in kilowatt hours for the years 2021 to 2026.

Values:
Year kWh
2021 496
2022 512
2023 487
2024 456
2025 492
2026 547

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

I cycled along some quiet, even for Northumberland, roads today. The section picture was great. I got a good 30 minutes of mostly flat, entirely car free, wind assisted riding with only a few sheep wondering what I was doing. Then I got to the café and had cake. Glorious.

Photo. There's a sheep in the bottom right looking at the camera. On the left is a tree with a single track road in front of it that go off in to the distance, disappearing from view mid image. The rest of the bottom half is rough grassland, with the top half of the image very cloudy sky.

Photo. A single track road goes straight ahead from the bottom right to mid image before turning left and heading up an incline between green vegetation. At the left of the image the road turns again, right tis time, and disappears behind a slight rise.

Photo shows a small road that forks to both sides of a grassy hill. The sky is partly cloudy.

A single track road goes dead straight towards the centre of the photo before turning and getting lost in the grass. There's a line of telegraph poles on the right of the road. Most of the rest of the image is rough grass which is mostly brown.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Today a driver told me to cycle in the road before threatening to 'rip your f***ing head off' 😱 All I did was to politely point out they shouldn't be driving and parking in a protected cycle lane 🙄 Oddly, about an hour later I cycled past the perfect representation of the driver's mind 👇🏻

A photo of a steaming pile of poo, taken near a farm in Northumberland.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Why park in the available space when you can park 5 metres further back across a cycle lane and drop kerb? Had to deploy the 🔔 to get their attention away from their 📱.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

If you are walking, cycling or farming there are a few safer options in places like this tunnel near Felton. There's a short path linking it to the next road. The start of the path was partially blocked today as a car had been driven through a fence next to it instead of round a corner 🙄

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

I crossed the A1 at a similar junction further north this morning, though I did shorten my exposure by using a bit of pavement and a bus stop and being there at 7am on a Saturday helped. I'd not try it later in the day or in the week, and on a Bank Holiday the whole area is best avoided.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Cracking benchmark too, for those who like that sort of thing.

A close up of an Ordnance Survey Benchmark carved in to the base of a monument. The top of the back wheel of a bike is at the bottom of the image and a seat post with a bag attached on the left.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Was honoured to find a village had erected a monument to remember me* passing through today. No idea how they knew I was coming. *possibly another better known Nelson.

Photo shows a bike in front of the base of a monument. There's a stone tablet with 'NELSON' carved in it, with some other unreadable text.

Photo of a bike lent against the base of a stone monument. There is a cube shaped base with a pointed shape on top tapering in from the base to the top.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

I spent 4 hours cycling in the the countryside this morning only to have a deer bound across the road in front of me while riding through a huge housing estate on the edge of town, next to the A1. I saw another one on the edge of the city centre on the way to the station earlier too.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Enjoyed a night of drama at the People's Theatre tonight for a performance of The Girl On The Train. On till Saturday. Highly recommended. No extra hydration breaks, and won't leave you disappointed at the end.

A photo of the empty stage setup for The Girl on The Trian. The title is on a screen at the back of the stage, behind some upright curved segments of staging suggesting a tunnel, all bathed in blue light.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Peak car brain. Closed road, empty loading bay because the road is closed, but a driver goes through the loading bay and parks in the cycle lane, on top of the symbols highlighting the cycle lane.

A CCTV image of a road with cones and signs indicating its closed. There is a can parked half in a kerb separated cycle lane and half in a loading bay which is otherwise empty.

The same view as the previous image but without the car. Where the car was parks are two painted bike symbols on the cycle lane.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

They are very large. You get to experience them and similar models close up in Jesmond quite frequently. They don't usually fit in the street very well.

A photo from a bike camera that has a bit of the front wheel of the bike at the end of a large white arrow painted on the road. Obscuring most of the road is a red Range Rover that is turning left. Just behind the car a cycle symbol and another arrow can be seen painted on the road.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

It was always a bit dodgy. It wasn't going to be new buildings anyway - the data centres at Cobalt have been there since about 2010, there's just not a lot in them.

A satellite view of datacentres at Colbalt, North Tyneside.

"Our region boasts computing power that are among the best in Europe with Cobalt Park Data Centres already established in Wallsend and the QTS Cambois Data Centre Campus in Blyth due to open in 2028. We have the skills and brainpower in our tech sector and universities, and now we can match that with the new investment this Growth Zone will bring to the North East from around the world."

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

That's an impressive amount!. I exported less than half that, but still about 10x what I imported. It was my lowest generation for June (just) in 6 years though thanks to a bit of a dull start and excessive heat reducing things a bit for a couple of days.

A chart of June solar generation.
Values:
Year kWh
2021 590
2022 546
2023 568
2024 566
2025 562
2026 544

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

According to Reform in Sunderland "Council policy should be driven by evidence, affordability and local priorities, not by ideological targets and net zero". I think they may have got ideology and evidence mixed up a bit. Their timing is spot on though.

"A motion to end the climate emergency declaration and associated schemes. Vote Reform, Get Reform"

A weather forecast map showing temperatures of 30°C in Sunderland and 39°C in London.

Heat-health alert for North East.

Significant impacts are expected across health and social care services due to the high temperatures, including:

- a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions. There may also be impacts on younger age groups
- likely increased demand on all health and social care services
- internal temperatures in care settings (hospitals and care homes) may exceed the recommended threshold for clinical risk assessment
- the heat affecting the ability of the workforce to deliver services

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

If @karlonsea.bsky.social suggests a route is 'pretty flat', don't believe him. He really means 'mostly flat, apart from the bit which is all hills'

A map showing a GPS track from a cycle ride with 19 climbs indicated, mostly in the second quarter.

Strava stats for a cycle ride.
245.32km , 1912m, 11h 11m

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Last night I cycled up to Holy Island to celebrate the solstice.

Three bike leaning on a gate next to a National Trust sign in the foreground with Lindisfarne Castle in the background. Taken at night, with a hint of light on the horizon.

A photo, taken at night of boats in Holy Island harbour.

The moon above the Cheviot Hills with the last of the days light just visible in the background.

The sun rising out of the sea near Alnmouth.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

As it's forecast to reach nearly 30°C in Newcastle next week I've dug my heatwave counter measures out of the cupboard. Very effective, easy to deploy, and cheap to run. Inside seems to be about 2°C cooler than outside currently.

A photograph showing the outside view of a window with a curtain on the outside, held up by a tension bar.

A photograph showing the inside view of a window with a curtain on the outside, held up by a tension bar.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

If you see this post a pic from your device with no explanation.

A a wooden post with a green sign with white text that reads 'Rock Church', with an arrow pointing to the right beneath the text.

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

I can confirm there's lots of solar, and having been outside, it's definitely very windy!

A photo of a smart meter showing a current usage of -3.07kW and a total for the day so far as 1.12kWh

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

A good message to see from Northern Stage about tomorrow's planned march.

Image reads "Ahead of the planned anti-immigration protests in Newcastle tomorrow, we remind you of Northern Stage's stance.
Northern Stage will be open on Saturday from 9am to 7.30pm if you need a safe and welcoming space in the city centre.
At Northern Stage we celebrate difference and are serious about inclusion.
We stand with our immigrant, asylum experienced and refugee communities."

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Mark Nelson @sphericalsquare.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

If drivers are going to insist on using cycle lanes can the road be closed and used for walking and cycling safely, away from drivers?

A CCTV image of Queen Victoria Road in Newcastle. A car can be seen being driven along a protected cycle lane which runs along side the road. The adjacent road lane is empty.

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