Antony Carpen
@acarpen.bsky.social
Ex-Whitehall type still with views on public policy, but now local historian in Cambridge (UK) blogging at https://lostcambridge.com/ - also writing about the future of the city on The Cambridge Town Owl.
One of the most powerful pacifist writers of her era who lost so many loved ones in that cataclysm of WWI. Here’s a rare audio recording of her voice from the BBC www.bbc.co.uk/videos/c0441...
November 11, 2025 at 2:41 AM
One of the most powerful pacifist writers of her era who lost so many loved ones in that cataclysm of WWI. Here’s a rare audio recording of her voice from the BBC www.bbc.co.uk/videos/c0441...
Reposted by Antony Carpen
Delightful detail from the Roman “unswept floor” mosaic by Heraclitus, showing a mouse nibbling a walnut.
Superb use of darker tiles for subtle shadow effect!
2nd century AD. Vatican Museums www.museivaticani.va/content/muse...
#MosaicMonday
#Archaeology
Superb use of darker tiles for subtle shadow effect!
2nd century AD. Vatican Museums www.museivaticani.va/content/muse...
#MosaicMonday
#Archaeology
November 10, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Delightful detail from the Roman “unswept floor” mosaic by Heraclitus, showing a mouse nibbling a walnut.
Superb use of darker tiles for subtle shadow effect!
2nd century AD. Vatican Museums www.museivaticani.va/content/muse...
#MosaicMonday
#Archaeology
Superb use of darker tiles for subtle shadow effect!
2nd century AD. Vatican Museums www.museivaticani.va/content/muse...
#MosaicMonday
#Archaeology
Reposted by Antony Carpen
He also called the Ukrainian resistance an “inspiring example” and emphasized that assistance to Ukraine is an investment in Sweden’s own security, as Ukraine is now effectively restraining Russian military expansion.
November 10, 2025 at 10:00 PM
He also called the Ukrainian resistance an “inspiring example” and emphasized that assistance to Ukraine is an investment in Sweden’s own security, as Ukraine is now effectively restraining Russian military expansion.
Which makes be wonder if the threat of competition from abroad is what has been egging on the chap in the White House.
"BBC Studios and BBC News today launched the first phase of a pay model for BBC[dot]com visitors in the U.S., offering its most loyal users a premium experience and a new way to enjoy even more of the BBC’s acclaimed journalism and storytelling." www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/... From June 2025. 👀
BBC Home - Breaking News, World News, US News, Sports, Business, Innovation, Climate, Culture, Travel, Video & Audio
Visit BBC for trusted reporting on the latest world and US news, sports, business, climate, innovation, culture and much more.
BBC.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Which makes be wonder if the threat of competition from abroad is what has been egging on the chap in the White House.
"BBC Studios and BBC News today launched the first phase of a pay model for BBC[dot]com visitors in the U.S., offering its most loyal users a premium experience and a new way to enjoy even more of the BBC’s acclaimed journalism and storytelling." www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/... From June 2025. 👀
BBC Home - Breaking News, World News, US News, Sports, Business, Innovation, Climate, Culture, Travel, Video & Audio
Visit BBC for trusted reporting on the latest world and US news, sports, business, climate, innovation, culture and much more.
BBC.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:40 PM
"BBC Studios and BBC News today launched the first phase of a pay model for BBC[dot]com visitors in the U.S., offering its most loyal users a premium experience and a new way to enjoy even more of the BBC’s acclaimed journalism and storytelling." www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/... From June 2025. 👀
NEW BLOGPOST: "Cambridge Transport Plan 2014" #LostCambridge Including rural cycleway loops from Sustrans, and another abandoned attempt to get a road bridge across Stourbridge Common. lostcambridge.wordpress.com/2025/11/10/c...
November 10, 2025 at 11:30 PM
NEW BLOGPOST: "Cambridge Transport Plan 2014" #LostCambridge Including rural cycleway loops from Sustrans, and another abandoned attempt to get a road bridge across Stourbridge Common. lostcambridge.wordpress.com/2025/11/10/c...
"What do Cambridge City Council meeting papers from 2000-2010 tell us about our city?" Including the busway's origins. lostcambridge.wordpress.com/2022/10/02/a... 👀
(Noting the busway public inquiry returns with the promoters having to defend their proposal. Which could be fun.)
(Noting the busway public inquiry returns with the promoters having to defend their proposal. Which could be fun.)
A congestion charge for Cambridge? The County Council tried it in the early 1990s. And in 2007
Some of you may have seen the politicians debating congestion charging in the news recently – such as the MP for South Cambridgeshire coming out against the proposals from the Greater Cambrid…
lostcambridge.wordpress.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:36 PM
"What do Cambridge City Council meeting papers from 2000-2010 tell us about our city?" Including the busway's origins. lostcambridge.wordpress.com/2022/10/02/a... 👀
(Noting the busway public inquiry returns with the promoters having to defend their proposal. Which could be fun.)
(Noting the busway public inquiry returns with the promoters having to defend their proposal. Which could be fun.)
"Crown Estate’s second public exhibition for North East Cambridge" cambridgetownowl.com/2025/11/03/c... First public event is on Wednesday, followed by one on Saturday.
Crown Estate’s second public exhibition for North East Cambridge
Following the first round of consultation which I wrote about here in June 2025, and following the news about Hartree / the freezing of the proposed water works relocation, Crown Estates are bringi…
cambridgetownowl.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:07 PM
"Crown Estate’s second public exhibition for North East Cambridge" cambridgetownowl.com/2025/11/03/c... First public event is on Wednesday, followed by one on Saturday.
"Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, called for [Theresa May’s former communications chief, Robbie] Gibb to be removed from the BBC’s board before the search for a new director general begins." www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n... Which means Labour have to respond one way or another. 👀
BBC board member with Tory links ‘led charge’ in systemic bias claims, say insiders
Sources say Robbie Gibb amplified criticisms of Trump, Gaza and trans rights coverage, and had ‘a lot of oxygen in the room’
www.theguardian.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:42 PM
"Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, called for [Theresa May’s former communications chief, Robbie] Gibb to be removed from the BBC’s board before the search for a new director general begins." www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n... Which means Labour have to respond one way or another. 👀
Reposted by Antony Carpen
Ghostly pallor - but a great pod. @QMUL's finest, @robertsaunders.bsky.social talking Britain going berserk. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ8q...
Nick Cohen talks to academic & author Robert Saunders about the bizarre state of UK politics
YouTube video by LowdownNickCohen
www.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Ghostly pallor - but a great pod. @QMUL's finest, @robertsaunders.bsky.social talking Britain going berserk. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ8q...
Reposted by Antony Carpen
The evidence keeps accumulating that Brexit was an astonishing self-inflicted economic policy disaster. The fact that it is a slow-moving one bodes ill for those who think that populist economic mismanagement will translate into voters punishing populists. www.nber.org/system/files...
November 10, 2025 at 4:26 PM
The evidence keeps accumulating that Brexit was an astonishing self-inflicted economic policy disaster. The fact that it is a slow-moving one bodes ill for those who think that populist economic mismanagement will translate into voters punishing populists. www.nber.org/system/files...
Reposted by Antony Carpen
SUPERB and angrily unvarnished response, by former BBC chairman, Lord Patten.
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
November 10, 2025 at 6:40 PM
SUPERB and angrily unvarnished response, by former BBC chairman, Lord Patten.
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
Reposted by Antony Carpen
🔴 The Telegraph’s Record of Climate Falsehoods
The newspaper has been scolding the BBC for its editorial failings, while issuing a string of climate corrections.
📝 @writesbright.bsky.social
The newspaper has been scolding the BBC for its editorial failings, while issuing a string of climate corrections.
📝 @writesbright.bsky.social
The Telegraph’s Record of Climate Falsehoods
The Telegraph, which has accused the BBC of bias and a lack of editorial rigour, has been forced to amend a swathe of climate inaccuracies. The BBC’s director-general and CEO resigned this weekend aft...
www.desmog.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:13 PM
🔴 The Telegraph’s Record of Climate Falsehoods
The newspaper has been scolding the BBC for its editorial failings, while issuing a string of climate corrections.
📝 @writesbright.bsky.social
The newspaper has been scolding the BBC for its editorial failings, while issuing a string of climate corrections.
📝 @writesbright.bsky.social
Reposted by Antony Carpen
Conversely, if the BBC had been producing straight news for the last twenty years, Nigel Farage would have been history ages ago.
Nigel Farage says if the BBC doesn't produce straight news then it has no future
Of course the BBC have been producing straight news for years, it is why its one of the most reliable and trustworthy news outlets globally
Of course the BBC have been producing straight news for years, it is why its one of the most reliable and trustworthy news outlets globally
November 10, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Conversely, if the BBC had been producing straight news for the last twenty years, Nigel Farage would have been history ages ago.
“It takes a sapling 30 years on average to become carbon neutral. The older a tree gets, the more carbon it can store and the more water it can drink. ...If the government is serious about the creation of forests, then it needs to start by protecting the mature trees we already have."
While we welcome the recognition that restoring nature is essential to tackling the climate and biodiversity crises, we reject the idea that this can go hand-in-hand with the large-scale development that Labour has planned for our region.
cambridge.greenparty.org.uk/2025/11/gree...
cambridge.greenparty.org.uk/2025/11/gree...
GREENS CALL GREENWASHING ON LABOUR’S ANNOUNCEMENT OF A NEW NATIONAL FOREST - Cambridge & South Cambridgeshire Green Party
Image: Kathryn Fisher, Green Party activist, tree planting in Histon, Cambridgeshire Tree protection and planting is vital to mitigate climate change, but a new national forest is not achievable along...
cambridge.greenparty.org.uk
November 10, 2025 at 5:33 PM
“It takes a sapling 30 years on average to become carbon neutral. The older a tree gets, the more carbon it can store and the more water it can drink. ...If the government is serious about the creation of forests, then it needs to start by protecting the mature trees we already have."
"The market for buying Britishness isn't just helping Adam's tutoring business, it's given rise to businesses such as Laura Windsor's Etiquette Academy." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Wonder what some in the royal blue party and TeamNigel would make of this apparently booming market...
Tutor sought for £180k job to teach baby to become a 'gentleman'
The advert seeks
www.bbc.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 5:26 PM
"The market for buying Britishness isn't just helping Adam's tutoring business, it's given rise to businesses such as Laura Windsor's Etiquette Academy." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Wonder what some in the royal blue party and TeamNigel would make of this apparently booming market...
NEW BLOGPOST: "Combined authority confirms narrow focus of adult skills is set by Whitehall" cambridgetownowl.com/2025/11/10/c... Following today's CPCA Skills Committee meeting and their response to my PQ on retraining adults in areas we have chronic skills shortages.
Combined authority confirms narrow focus of adult skills is set by Whitehall
Which indicates that far from being independent institutions responding to local need, or innovative institutions able to come up with new solutions to chronic problems, combined authorities remain…
cambridgetownowl.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:35 PM
NEW BLOGPOST: "Combined authority confirms narrow focus of adult skills is set by Whitehall" cambridgetownowl.com/2025/11/10/c... Following today's CPCA Skills Committee meeting and their response to my PQ on retraining adults in areas we have chronic skills shortages.
Can't help but feel sorry for those people who put their faith (and cash) into this only to have those at the top make a complete hash of it all. (The significant sums of money reflect that a lot of people contributed). This contrasts with the Greens who are getting lots of media air time.
Three people who’d be expected to be Your Party bigwigs have largely walked away from Corbyn’s project: former NE mayor Jamie Driscoll, former Labour MP Beth Winter, and former ANC MP Andrew Feinstein.
I have some new intel on the fall-out, if you’re interested in that sort of thing… 🧵
I have some new intel on the fall-out, if you’re interested in that sort of thing… 🧵
November 10, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Can't help but feel sorry for those people who put their faith (and cash) into this only to have those at the top make a complete hash of it all. (The significant sums of money reflect that a lot of people contributed). This contrasts with the Greens who are getting lots of media air time.
Reposted by Antony Carpen
I think if we adopted international accounting standards we would do this, I was told. But, Treasury brain.
November 10, 2025 at 3:55 PM
I think if we adopted international accounting standards we would do this, I was told. But, Treasury brain.
Reposted by Antony Carpen
What a day for the Government to reveal this potentially v positive news
NEW: Rachel Reeves signals she intends to remove the two-child cap *in full*
"I don't think a child should be penalised because they're in a bigger family through no fault of their own," she tells BBC.
"I don't think a child should be penalised because they're in a bigger family through no fault of their own," she tells BBC.
November 10, 2025 at 3:17 PM
What a day for the Government to reveal this potentially v positive news
"Between 2010 and 2023, 1,243 council-run youth centres were closed in England and Wales, according to UNISON — more than two-thirds of the total." @redbrickblog.bsky.social redbrickblog.co.uk/2025/11/how-... Consequences of #Localgov austerity.
Britain is losing the spaces that hold us together. Housing can provide the spaces we so urgently need - Red Brick
Owen Jarvis, Chief Executive of the UK Cohousing Network, sets out how community led housing can revitalise our neighbourhoods after years of neglect
redbrickblog.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 3:11 PM
"Between 2010 and 2023, 1,243 council-run youth centres were closed in England and Wales, according to UNISON — more than two-thirds of the total." @redbrickblog.bsky.social redbrickblog.co.uk/2025/11/how-... Consequences of #Localgov austerity.
Reposted by Antony Carpen
You can catch me on Radio 4 - The Week in Westminster talking about the rapid rise of the Green Party.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
The Week in Westminster - 08/11/2025 - BBC Sounds
Caroline Wheeler reports on the latest developments at Westminster.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 2:12 PM
You can catch me on Radio 4 - The Week in Westminster talking about the rapid rise of the Green Party.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Reposted by Antony Carpen
Great “station domination” work by @badvertising.bsky.social calling on the Mayor of London to get TfL to ditch fossil fuel adverts.
Use their template letter in thread below. 👇
Use their template letter in thread below. 👇
November 10, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Great “station domination” work by @badvertising.bsky.social calling on the Mayor of London to get TfL to ditch fossil fuel adverts.
Use their template letter in thread below. 👇
Use their template letter in thread below. 👇
Reposted by Antony Carpen
Maybe Keir should demand the heads of major US news networks any time they imply Britain is on the brink of civil war or that we live under sharia law. Or does it not work both ways?
November 10, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Maybe Keir should demand the heads of major US news networks any time they imply Britain is on the brink of civil war or that we live under sharia law. Or does it not work both ways?
Reposted by Antony Carpen
Once every 20 years or so, the director-general of the BBC is forced to resign for being insufficiently rightwing. Alastair Milne in 1987. Greg Dyke in 2004. Tim Davie in 2025. The great irony is that the BBC was in all cases profoundly biased towards established power. But just not biased enough …
November 10, 2025 at 5:44 AM
Once every 20 years or so, the director-general of the BBC is forced to resign for being insufficiently rightwing. Alastair Milne in 1987. Greg Dyke in 2004. Tim Davie in 2025. The great irony is that the BBC was in all cases profoundly biased towards established power. But just not biased enough …