iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Mike Hall

British Cartographic Society @bcsmaps.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

BCS AWARDS 2026 WINNERS *Stanfords Award for printed products - Winner* Congratulations to The Boroughs of London, by Mike Hall & Matt Brown A huge thank you to Stanfords and Vivien for presenting, judging and supporting this award. #carto2026 #GeoFutures #GeoViz

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 16/09/2026

Mother of all thunderstorms assaulting us in Valencia right now ⛈️

Screenshot from lightningmaps.org showing lightning strikes around Valencia, Spain

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 10/09/2026

Some exciting news from yesterday! 👇🏻

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 10/09/2026

Spotted my first AI slop menu in the wild (Russafa, Valencia) 🤢

An AI-generated menu outside a kebab shop with horrible, alien-looking food

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 09/09/2026

🚨 Delighted to receive the news that The Boroughs of London has won the Stanfords Award for Printed Mapping at the annual @bcsmaps.bsky.social Awards! 🥳 🙌🏻 @mattfromlondon.bsky.social @batsfordbooks.bsky.social www.stanfords.co.uk/bcs-stanford...

Front cover of the book The Boroughs of London by Mike Hall and Matt Brown, published by Batsford

A map from the book The Boroughs of London by Mike Hall and Matt Brown, published by Batsford

A double page spread from the book The Boroughs of London by Mike Hall and Matt Brown, published by Batsford

A double page spread of maps from the book The Boroughs of London by Mike Hall and Matt Brown, published by Batsford

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 04/09/2026

You can guarantee someone will always pipe up mentioning *that* episode of that bloody show.

Meme of Batman slapping Robin referencing a story by The Guardian about a UN vote to stop using the Mercator projection on world maps. Robin is saying "There's an episode of the West Wi-" but he's interrupted by Batman slapping him, who says "Yes we know"

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 04/09/2026

Ah, the EU: on one hand, a remarkable historic project of unity which brings nations together, safeguards peace, champions shared values, and opens up travel and opportunities across Europe 🇪🇺 On the other hand, this:

An email from Etsy to a shop owner about a boring new regulation that reads as follows:

Hi thisismikehall,

As of 12 August 2026, new EU rules under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) may require you to register and report on your packaging if you sell to buyers in the EU. If you sell packaged goods to buyers in the EU, here's what you need to know about your compliance obligations.

Depending on where you sell, what you sell, and where your business is established, you may need to:
Register with the national producer register in each EU country where you sell
Provide your EPR registration numbers and self-certifications to Etsy in Shop Manager
Appoint an Authorised Representative in EU countries where you're not established
Report packaging quantities to the national producer register
Participate in a compliance scheme and pay EPR fees that help fund

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 01/09/2026

Website saying "hang on! Just checking you're human", while I, a human, stand staring at the phone screen, waiting for a distant robot to establish whether I am in fact, a human

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 17/08/2026

Thinking of introducing a new rule for my timeline: blocking anyone who hate-shares screenshots of mad people's posts on X, no exceptions. They seem to forget that we quit that site and set up here instead for a reason.

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Reposted by Mike Hall

Jay Foreman @jayforeman.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

@thisismikehall.com Finally stuck this up on the wall where it belongs! :)

Mike Hall’s London boroughs and rail map.

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Reposted by Mike Hall

Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 12/08/2026

It's Total Eclipse Day here in Spain, and I have my glasses ready 😎 The last eclipse I could have seen (back in '99) totally passed me by for some reason, so I've been excitedly awaiting this day for years.

Pair of eclipse glasses standing on a white desk

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 12/08/2026

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 10/08/2026

We spent some time in Pereira and the local area during our honeymoon in Colombia three years ago and met some lovely people there. Hope they're all OK 🙁

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 05/08/2026

Had to unfollow someone whose shtick I enjoyed but who was waaay too liberal with the ‘repost’ button. To the point that 80% of my timeline seemed to be made up of things that this one person was reposting.

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Reposted by Mike Hall

Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 01/05/2025

The first commandment of every Airbnb apartment kitchen: thou shalt need to buy salt for the dishwasher

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 18/07/2026

I genuinely thought this was some kind of embroidery or carpet pattern at first glance

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Reposted by Mike Hall

Anthony Zacharzewski @anthonyzach.be · 10/07/2026

Nothing says “this insurance company knows my country” than using an AI generated map of Belgium that puts Ghent in Wallonie, gives us two Namurs and a south coast on the Med.

Absolutely shit map of a country roughly the shape of Belgium with three regions, and Brussels in the middle but absolutely nothing else is right.

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 29/06/2026

Babe wake up, another perfect metaphor for the shitty Trump administration just dropped

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Reposted by Mike Hall

Alex von Tunzelmann @alexvont.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

The Brexit vote was ten years ago, was it? Well, the results of that have been shit. No redeeming features at all. Just shit. Shame on everyone involved.

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 22/06/2026

Small violin for me 🎻 🙁

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Reposted by Mike Hall

Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 12/06/2026

I've seen this map doing the rounds today, which is indeed very interesting (though Bexley appears to have been partitioned). If you like this kind of thing, we delved into all kinds of borough-by-borough stats in our book 'The Boroughs of London'. Here are just a few ⬇️

Statistical map of Greater London showing the percentage of residents born outside the UK in each borough, designed by Mike Hall for the 2025 book The Boroughs of London. Using data from the Office for National Statistics, the map compares the proportion of foreign-born residents across London's boroughs. Brent has the highest percentage at 56.1%, while Havering has the lowest at 19.4%.

Statistical map of Greater London showing poverty rates by borough, designed by Mike Hall for the 2025 book The Boroughs of London. Using data from Trust for London, the map compares the percentages of the population living in poverty across London's boroughs. Camden has the highest rate at 43%, while Richmond upon Thames has the lowest at 12%.

Statistical map of Greater London showing recycling rates by borough, designed by Mike Hall for the 2025 book The Boroughs of London. Using data from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the map compares the percentages of household waste sent for recycling across London's boroughs. Bromley has the highest rate at 49%, while Tower Hamlets has the lowest at 18%.

Statistical map of Greater London showing access to children's playgrounds by borough, designed by Mike Hall for the 2025 book The Boroughs of London. Using data from the Office for National Statistics, the map compares the number of playground facilities per 100,000 residents across London's boroughs. Southwark has the highest provision, with 94 facilities per 100,000 people, while Redbridge has the lowest, with 24 facilities per 100,000 people.

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 12/06/2026

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 12/05/2026

*Taps the self-aggrandising topical post again* 👇🏻

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 27/04/2026

The maddest thing about this is: I log into the app on the phone I carry everywhere, and it’s one 4-digit passcode, no questions asked. On my home computer however, which weighs half a ton and been anchored to the same spot for years, it’s like: ooh, hang on! Might be someone else, best be careful

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 24/04/2026

Quite liking Bluesky's new scrolling image gallery feature (is that the right technical term?) - a good excuse to repost some recent projects!

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Reposted by Mike Hall

Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 09/12/2024

"Priority Boarding" on Ryanair makes me laugh. Congratulations, you paid £60 extra to stand in a cold, windy stairwell for 25 minutes before the rest of us!

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 14/04/2026

Wait what - Starmer came to Valencia for a holiday!? He’s gone up in my estimation. Slightly.

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 13/04/2026

🚨 New work: Really pleased to receive my complimentary copy of Atlas of Botany, a sumptuous new title from DK for which I designed a vintage-style base map of the world that is reproduced throughout the book and also appears on the endpapers and cover art. On sale next month! dk.com/products/978...

Photograph of a spread from the new DK book Atlas of Botany, with a vintaage-style map of the world designed by Mike Hall

Detail of the front cover of the new DK title Atlas of Botany, featuring the outlines of the vintage-style world map designed by Mike Hall

Detail of the endpapers of the new DK title Atlas of Botany, featuring the outlines of the vintage-style world map designed by Mike Hall

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 08/04/2026

Two-step authentication, man. "Just checking it's you!" Yes, bank, it *is* me again, logging into my account for the umpteenth time on the same computer I've been using for the past ~5 years.

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 07/04/2026

What do the other members of the "Board of Peace" have to say about all this?

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 07/04/2026

Red = Castile Blue = Aragon

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 30/03/2026

Dismayed to realise that I've started humming podcast theme tunes to myself which probably indicates that I've been listening to too many of them recently

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Reposted by Mike Hall

Olaf Falafel @ofalafel.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Surely I’m not the only one who thinks this whenever they see a map of The Strait Of Hormuz on the news?

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 27/03/2026

Years ago I had a housemate who always drank his coffee from the same mug, which he would leave unwashed on the side in the kitchen. I found this strange and one day I decided to wash it for him, and he was *furious*.

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 09/03/2026

This posits a really interesting question I'd never considered before: where does the Iberian Peninsula start/end? We'd all say the Pyrenees of course, but Google Maps apparently has other ideas (and it's not necessarily wrong)

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Reposted by Mike Hall

Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 12/02/2026

Been reminded this morning of the existence of the Anagram Tube Map (thx to @diamondgeezer.bsky.social's latest blogpost) wharferj.wordpress.com/wp-content/u... ("This train is for Pig Pen. The next station is Yeti Witch"). Tag yourself, etc. Also: didn't the Tube Map look SO much better back then?

Tube Map from 2006 in which all of the station names are replaced by anagrams. Highlights include Pig Pen (Epping), Swearword & Ethanol (Harrow & Wealdstone), Burst Raccoon (Barons Court) and Queer Spank (Queen's Park).

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 12/02/2026

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 10/02/2026

Hallelujah 🙌🏻 One down, two to go. bsky.app/profile/bsky...

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 09/02/2026

If Wes Streeting replaces Keir Starmer, it'll be exciting news for me at least as he'd be the first British Prime Minister (that I know of) to own a Mike Hall Retro London Borough map

Screenshot of Wes Streeting being interviewed on BBC News in summer 2020, with a framed copy of Mike Hall's London Borough of Redbridge map in the background behind him

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 26/01/2026

Well blow me sideways. Today I received the delightful news that The Boroughs of London by me and @mattfromlondon.bsky.social has been shortlisted in the Trade Illustrated category in the British Book Design & Production Awards 🥳 www.britishbookawards.org/shortlist-20...

Cover of the book The Boroughs of London by Mike Hall and Matt Brown, published by Batsford Books

A page from the book The Boroughs of London by Mike Hall and Matt Brown, showing the introduction and a map from the Southwark section

A detail of a page from The Boroughs of London by Mike Hall and Matt Brown, showing colourful statistical maps of Greater London

Detail of a page from the book The Boroughs of London by Mike Hall and Matt Brown, showing text and illustrations in the Wandsworth section

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 26/01/2026

"What do Scottish people like?" "Irn Bru and... Tunnocks?" "Great. Get that sad-looking sandwich in there too, this is supposed to be a meal after all. And me looking important with a ringbinder." "Got it." "Oh don't forget that weird photo of some pipes behind me" "Done. Share?" "Great work team"

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 22/01/2026

It gets better: I've just noticed that apart from the US, not one single country represented by all these people who appeared on that stage earlier is shown on that map.

A list of representatives from each country who appeared on stage alongside Chump at the Board of Peace launch at Davos today, from the Guardian news website. The list reads as follows:

Sheikh Isa of Bahrain

Morocco’s foreign minister

The president of Argentina

Prime minister of Armenia

President of Azerbaijan

Prime minister of Bulgaria

Prime minsiter of Hungary

President of Indonesia

Deputy prime minister of Jordon

president of Kosovo

prime minister of Pakistan

President of Paraguay

prime minister of Qatar

foreign affair minister from Saudi Arabia

foreign affairs minister of Turkey

A representative from the UAE

The president of Uzbekistan

Prime minister of Mongolia

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 22/01/2026

Just seen the logo for this new Board of Peace. Amateurish, to put it politely - and that's just the cartography.

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 21/01/2026

Only just dawned on me today how screwed I'd be personally if things escalated to the point where US tech companies were blocked from operating in Europe*. The design software, hardware, cloud storage service, email service, web hosting service and e-commerce platforms I use are _all_ American.

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Reposted by Mike Hall

Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 28/09/2025

Been a bit quiet on the ol' shop website lately. If you're looking for an original, quality map print designed by an independent artist either for yourself or a fellow cartophile, it might be worth a look. ➡️ shop.thisismikehall.com

Detail of the area around Trafalgar Square and Whitehall from a vintage style map of London, UK

Detail of Britain and Ireland, northern France and the Low Countries from an antique style map of Europe

A display of framed retro style maps of London Boroughs, including Tower Hamlets, Newham, Greenwich and Bexley

Detail of southern Portugal and the Algarve region from a vintage style map of the railway network in Spain and Portugal

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 19/01/2026

It's wild how often I see people sharing screenshots of what nutters (usually brain-pickled, frothing American rightwingers) are saying over on X. I think it's safe to say most of us set ourselves up here to get away from that sort of thing. Please STOP IT.

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Leonardo Carella @leonardocarella.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

I'm perfectly aware this is by far not the worst thing he's done, but Trump's constant presence - day after day after day - in the lives and headspaces of hundreds of millions of people (billions?), in the US and outside, is so taxing. Every morning, we wake up and have to think about this asshole.

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Mike Hall @thisismikehall.com · 17/01/2026

I’m in Bridgwater, Somerset for a couple of days for reasons I won’t go into. Had a bit of time to kill this morning so went for a wander round the town centre. Quite charming from certain angles.

View of a statue and buildings in Bridgwater, Somerset

View of the riverfront in Bridgwater, Somerset

View of St Mary’s Church, Bridgwater, Somerset

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