Alison Strachan
@alisonstrachan.bsky.social
Grandparent. Retired English teacher. UK/EUropean. Various interests incl environment/🦔/Antarctica🐧🐳/sport/politics/democracy/climate change/space/sci-fi/SC2 😷💉/own views
Reposted by Alison Strachan
I think it's wrong to describe the World Service as "soft power". It's actually "info power". And these days that's a very hard form of power indeed.
And another bites the dust?
The BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks. Its funding arrangement with the Foreign Office finishes at the end of March. There is no plan for what happens next.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks. Its funding arrangement with the Foreign Office finishes at the end of March. There is no plan for what happens next.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Guardian view on the BBC World Service: this is London calling | Editorial
Editorial: With just seven weeks before its funding runs out, the UK’s greatest cultural asset and most trusted international news organisation must be supported
www.theguardian.com
February 15, 2026 at 8:05 PM
I think it's wrong to describe the World Service as "soft power". It's actually "info power". And these days that's a very hard form of power indeed.
Reposted by Alison Strachan
This is the Gov looking for your input on the BBC. It takes a while to complete (15/20 mins) but it’s pretty comprehensive and covers most aspects.
Please share. I’m surprised many people haven’t seen it yet.
www.gov.uk/government/c...
Please share. I’m surprised many people haven’t seen it yet.
www.gov.uk/government/c...
Britain’s Story: The Next Chapter - BBC Royal Charter Review, Green Paper and public consultation
www.gov.uk
February 15, 2026 at 6:19 PM
This is the Gov looking for your input on the BBC. It takes a while to complete (15/20 mins) but it’s pretty comprehensive and covers most aspects.
Please share. I’m surprised many people haven’t seen it yet.
www.gov.uk/government/c...
Please share. I’m surprised many people haven’t seen it yet.
www.gov.uk/government/c...
Reposted by Alison Strachan
Weakening our trade links with the world’s largest free market, especially one made up of our nearest neighbours, has proven to be a terrible decision. We must make rejoining the single market and customs union a priority.
February 12, 2026 at 8:00 AM
Weakening our trade links with the world’s largest free market, especially one made up of our nearest neighbours, has proven to be a terrible decision. We must make rejoining the single market and customs union a priority.
February 8, 2026 at 1:53 PM
'. more obvious than ever that Brexit was supremely stupid.'
Count to one hundred. New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog reflecting on a frenetic fortnight of domestic and international news, the state of the reset, the significance of the latest calls for 'proper Brexit', and the anger suffusing our politics: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2026/02/coun...
February 6, 2026 at 7:24 PM
'. more obvious than ever that Brexit was supremely stupid.'
Reposted by Alison Strachan
Making sense of the madness. New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog. Analysis of the international and domestic implications of the ‘Greenland crisis’, including how the ‘Carney doctrine’ could offer a way forward for post-Brexit Britain: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2026/01/maki...
January 23, 2026 at 7:32 AM
Making sense of the madness. New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog. Analysis of the international and domestic implications of the ‘Greenland crisis’, including how the ‘Carney doctrine’ could offer a way forward for post-Brexit Britain: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2026/01/maki...
Reposted by Alison Strachan
The fate of the planet’s coastlines depends on how fast Antarctica’s ice sheets melt. We don’t know what’s coming
The fate of the planet’s coastlines depends on how fast Antarctica’s ice sheets melt. We don’t know what’s coming
Some regions of the continent have enough ice to push up sea levels by 15 metres if they all melt, but researchers don’t yet fully understand the consequences
www.theguardian.com
January 17, 2026 at 7:20 PM
The fate of the planet’s coastlines depends on how fast Antarctica’s ice sheets melt. We don’t know what’s coming
Reposted by Alison Strachan
Midnight whales.
December 29, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Midnight whales.
Reposted by Alison Strachan
Enemies within and without. New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog includes a look at Erasmus, the Mail's anti-emigrant campaign, the great hate at home and the threat from Trump abroad, and the government's response: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2026/01/enem...
January 9, 2026 at 8:07 AM
Enemies within and without. New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog includes a look at Erasmus, the Mail's anti-emigrant campaign, the great hate at home and the threat from Trump abroad, and the government's response: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2026/01/enem...
Reposted by Alison Strachan
Snow-covered mountains of North Wales with Hilbre Island in the foreground. Viewed from Hoylake. #Wirral #Landscape
January 3, 2026 at 9:22 PM
Snow-covered mountains of North Wales with Hilbre Island in the foreground. Viewed from Hoylake. #Wirral #Landscape
Reposted by Alison Strachan
Reposted by Alison Strachan
2025 has been a busy old time for British Antarctic Survey. Let’s take a look back on some of the best bits:
Extreme logistics – The RRS Sir David Attenborough completed an epic operation 600km from the nearest station, collecting kit and establishing logistics ‘hubs’ in the middle of nowhere!
Extreme logistics – The RRS Sir David Attenborough completed an epic operation 600km from the nearest station, collecting kit and establishing logistics ‘hubs’ in the middle of nowhere!
December 27, 2025 at 9:00 AM
2025 has been a busy old time for British Antarctic Survey. Let’s take a look back on some of the best bits:
Extreme logistics – The RRS Sir David Attenborough completed an epic operation 600km from the nearest station, collecting kit and establishing logistics ‘hubs’ in the middle of nowhere!
Extreme logistics – The RRS Sir David Attenborough completed an epic operation 600km from the nearest station, collecting kit and establishing logistics ‘hubs’ in the middle of nowhere!
Reposted by Alison Strachan
Lichtjes op oorlogsgraven - Candles on Wargraves - Bergen op Zoom ChristmasEve 2025
December 24, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Lichtjes op oorlogsgraven - Candles on Wargraves - Bergen op Zoom ChristmasEve 2025
Reposted by Alison Strachan
Erasmus+ is back, and it opens doors far beyond universities, from schools and colleges to apprentices, teachers, youth workers and adult learners.
This is about skills, confidence and connections that flow back into communities across the UK.
This is about skills, confidence and connections that flow back into communities across the UK.
December 18, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Erasmus+ is back, and it opens doors far beyond universities, from schools and colleges to apprentices, teachers, youth workers and adult learners.
This is about skills, confidence and connections that flow back into communities across the UK.
This is about skills, confidence and connections that flow back into communities across the UK.
Reposted by Alison Strachan
Thank goodness for that. Something that shouldn’t have happened, happened. And now it’s set to unhappen. Great for students, great for research in general and great for Britain.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
UK to rejoin EU’s Erasmus student exchange programme
Exclusive: British students will be able to participate in EU-wide scheme from January 2027, sources say
www.theguardian.com
December 17, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Thank goodness for that. Something that shouldn’t have happened, happened. And now it’s set to unhappen. Great for students, great for research in general and great for Britain.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
BBC News - King Charles gives post box to Antarctic research staff - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
King Charles gives post box to Antarctic research staff
The King sends a Royal Mail post box to the remote station, where letters are seen as a
www.bbc.co.uk
December 14, 2025 at 3:03 PM
BBC News - King Charles gives post box to Antarctic research staff - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Alison Strachan
Is the tide turning? New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog. Renewed talk of a customs union may well come to nothing, but rapidly changing geo-politics mean the UK needs urgently to face up to the failure of the entire Brexit ‘strategy’: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2025/12/is-t...
December 12, 2025 at 7:23 AM
Is the tide turning? New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog. Renewed talk of a customs union may well come to nothing, but rapidly changing geo-politics mean the UK needs urgently to face up to the failure of the entire Brexit ‘strategy’: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2025/12/is-t...
Reposted by Alison Strachan
Most discussions about “misinformation” treat the problem as if people simply don’t have good enough critical-thinking skills. It sounds intuitive, but it’s not entirely accurate. The problem isn’t just individual ignorance, it’s the structure of the information environment people are placed into.
Finland has emerged as a global leader in countering “fake news”. Here's how they've done it
Teaching when to trust
As fake news accelerates, we need to teach our children how to think critically. Finnish schools are leading the charge
newhumanist.org.uk
December 7, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Most discussions about “misinformation” treat the problem as if people simply don’t have good enough critical-thinking skills. It sounds intuitive, but it’s not entirely accurate. The problem isn’t just individual ignorance, it’s the structure of the information environment people are placed into.
Reposted by Alison Strachan
If it were steel works we would have a government bailout plan, yet losing thousands of jobs at unis is met with a shrug. & unlike steelworks universities were profitable when they had foreign students.
You are killing the golden goose… one of our best exports…
HOW IS THIS HELPING GROWTH?!
You are killing the golden goose… one of our best exports…
HOW IS THIS HELPING GROWTH?!
Every sympathy for University of Essex (and pressures facing them) but this is very bad news for Southend.
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Essex university to cut 400 jobs as overseas student numbers plummet
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Essex university to cut 400 jobs as overseas student numbers plummet
Essex university to cut 400 jobs as overseas student numbers plummet
Roles to be lost are part of wave of redundancy programmes across UK’s higher education sector
giftarticle.ft.com
December 3, 2025 at 8:14 AM
If it were steel works we would have a government bailout plan, yet losing thousands of jobs at unis is met with a shrug. & unlike steelworks universities were profitable when they had foreign students.
You are killing the golden goose… one of our best exports…
HOW IS THIS HELPING GROWTH?!
You are killing the golden goose… one of our best exports…
HOW IS THIS HELPING GROWTH?!
Reposted by Alison Strachan
Not the Brexit deal.
Brexit.
A prejudiced moronathon that will continue to damage our country until we’re brave/sane enough to admit it, demand accountability from those who insisted upon it and then, finally, start to fix it.
Brexit.
A prejudiced moronathon that will continue to damage our country until we’re brave/sane enough to admit it, demand accountability from those who insisted upon it and then, finally, start to fix it.
The tide is turning. Even the Telegraph is now admitting the damage the Brexit deal has done to the economy.
November 29, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Not the Brexit deal.
Brexit.
A prejudiced moronathon that will continue to damage our country until we’re brave/sane enough to admit it, demand accountability from those who insisted upon it and then, finally, start to fix it.
Brexit.
A prejudiced moronathon that will continue to damage our country until we’re brave/sane enough to admit it, demand accountability from those who insisted upon it and then, finally, start to fix it.
Reposted by Alison Strachan
Brexit reminders. New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog. Brexit may not be in the headlines, but many current news stories carry reminders of it, including the Hallett Inquiry report, the Gill scandal, the Budget & the latest net migration figures: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2025/11/brex...
November 28, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Brexit reminders. New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog. Brexit may not be in the headlines, but many current news stories carry reminders of it, including the Hallett Inquiry report, the Gill scandal, the Budget & the latest net migration figures: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2025/11/brex...
Reposted by Alison Strachan
Such important context for the scrapping of the two child limit:
70% of the additional spending from removing the two-child limit will go to families who are in work. This is targeting support for low-income working households who are being priced out of a decent standard of living despite doing everything asked of them.
November 28, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Such important context for the scrapping of the two child limit:
Taking half a million children out of poverty is HUGE. Quibbling or whining about it is utterly shameful
The UK, where the day after a decision to take half a million children out of poverty, the media & political world has been full of sneering at those same children & their families, labelling them as ‘Benefits Street’, while the same people are moaning about a tax on £2m mansions. Shameful stuff.
November 27, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Taking half a million children out of poverty is HUGE. Quibbling or whining about it is utterly shameful
Reposted by Alison Strachan
Love being reminded to do this every year. It's a win/win all round
November 11, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Love being reminded to do this every year. It's a win/win all round