Bob Melling
@bobmelling.bsky.social
Low Salience, Huddersfield
Proverbs 7:7
Proverbs 7:7
Man who collected 1000 signatures demands the right to dictate policy in ongoing Keep Huddersfield Shitty campaign.
huddersfieldhub.co.uk/campaigners-...
huddersfieldhub.co.uk/campaigners-...
Campaigners say they have a six-week plan to save Huddersfield Open Market - Huddersfield Hub
Campaigners fighting to save Huddersfield Open Market have urged Kirklees Council to listen to those who know the market best
huddersfieldhub.co.uk
January 9, 2026 at 11:31 PM
Man who collected 1000 signatures demands the right to dictate policy in ongoing Keep Huddersfield Shitty campaign.
huddersfieldhub.co.uk/campaigners-...
huddersfieldhub.co.uk/campaigners-...
East Riding Dicks.
While some subscribe to the idea that the North begins at the Severn-Wash line, 78% of West Midlanders and 69% of East Midlanders consider themselves to be neither part of the North or South of England
yougov.co.uk/society/arti...
yougov.co.uk/society/arti...
January 9, 2026 at 1:10 PM
East Riding Dicks.
The bride in the centre of the photo is my grandad (TBF I don't really understand it either).
January 9, 2026 at 12:05 PM
The bride in the centre of the photo is my grandad (TBF I don't really understand it either).
Reposted by Bob Melling
Two issues being conflated here: if UK government continue to use the X platform, it becomes imperative it should insist on that platform being lawful: govt slow to notice/acknowledge X is obvs in systemic breach of its legal duties: eg abusive racial slur "paki" + nonconsensual sexual harassment
Government should stay on X despite the Grok scandal, Keir Starmer's former communications director has said
James Lyons, who worked at TikTok before serving in Downing St, told PolHome podcast The Rundown that quitting Elon Musk's platform would leave a "vacuum" for Labour's rivals to fill
James Lyons, who worked at TikTok before serving in Downing St, told PolHome podcast The Rundown that quitting Elon Musk's platform would leave a "vacuum" for Labour's rivals to fill
Government Shouldn’t Quit X Over Grok Scandal, Says Former No10 Comms Director
The government should not quit X as doing so would leave a 'vacuum' for its political rivals to fill, Keir Starmer's former communications director...
www.politicshome.com
January 8, 2026 at 9:36 PM
Two issues being conflated here: if UK government continue to use the X platform, it becomes imperative it should insist on that platform being lawful: govt slow to notice/acknowledge X is obvs in systemic breach of its legal duties: eg abusive racial slur "paki" + nonconsensual sexual harassment
Reposted by Bob Melling
Reposted by Bob Melling
Exactly. My experience as a public health specialist in the English system was that despite wanting a single 'lever' (NHS test and trace) the government fairly quickly had to get local government involved.
January 8, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Exactly. My experience as a public health specialist in the English system was that despite wanting a single 'lever' (NHS test and trace) the government fairly quickly had to get local government involved.
Reposted by Bob Melling
Contrast with the vaccine roll out which went well largely (in my opinion at least) because the NHS delegated much of the work to the most local possible unit (GPs operating in primary care network groups, who absolutely smashed it).
January 8, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Contrast with the vaccine roll out which went well largely (in my opinion at least) because the NHS delegated much of the work to the most local possible unit (GPs operating in primary care network groups, who absolutely smashed it).
Reposted by Bob Melling
Fun fact: state capacity is indeed broken and it's mainly because of well-intentioned people thinking that all decisions in this country need to be made by civil servants working in offices within 250 yards of Horseferry Road
Starmer, Farage, Badenoch et al share a strange consensus: that state capacity is broken, and the answer is a stronger prime minister in a faster, more centralised system - pulling levers like the Fat Controller and grabbing power back from agencies. Is it smart?
www.economist.com/britain/2026...
www.economist.com/britain/2026...
State capacity is the issue of the age
The Labour Party and its rivals agree on much about what is wrong with government
www.economist.com
January 8, 2026 at 6:18 PM
Fun fact: state capacity is indeed broken and it's mainly because of well-intentioned people thinking that all decisions in this country need to be made by civil servants working in offices within 250 yards of Horseferry Road
I keep trying to work out when the period of "lost central state capacity" existed. It always seems to coincide with powerful local government delivering almost everything important to the country.
Starmer, Farage, Badenoch et al share a strange consensus: that state capacity is broken, and the answer is a stronger prime minister in a faster, more centralised system - pulling levers like the Fat Controller and grabbing power back from agencies. Is it smart?
www.economist.com/britain/2026...
www.economist.com/britain/2026...
State capacity is the issue of the age
The Labour Party and its rivals agree on much about what is wrong with government
www.economist.com
January 8, 2026 at 5:29 PM
I keep trying to work out when the period of "lost central state capacity" existed. It always seems to coincide with powerful local government delivering almost everything important to the country.
Reposted by Bob Melling
I call on my party and my government to remove themselves entirely from X and communicate with the public where they actually participate online and can be protected from such illegality.
January 8, 2026 at 12:31 PM
I call on my party and my government to remove themselves entirely from X and communicate with the public where they actually participate online and can be protected from such illegality.
This short thread has once again sent me on another fruitless search to find the source of Betjemen's alleged description of Golcar as like a "Provence of the North".
Inspired by Barnsley’s claim to
Tuscan hill town status.
Marsden.
Tuscan hill town status.
Marsden.
January 8, 2026 at 1:33 PM
This short thread has once again sent me on another fruitless search to find the source of Betjemen's alleged description of Golcar as like a "Provence of the North".
Reposted by Bob Melling
One of these countries is scarier than the other
January 8, 2026 at 10:49 AM
One of these countries is scarier than the other
Reposted by Bob Melling
The renaissance in local news is an exciting trend driven by online platforms. And one of the largest of these, @millmedia.bsky.social, was founded by @joshih.bsky.social in Manchester in 2020. It has now expanded to over 200,000 people subscribed across its 6 cities; over 13,000 of these pay.
1/6
1/6
January 8, 2026 at 9:02 AM
The renaissance in local news is an exciting trend driven by online platforms. And one of the largest of these, @millmedia.bsky.social, was founded by @joshih.bsky.social in Manchester in 2020. It has now expanded to over 200,000 people subscribed across its 6 cities; over 13,000 of these pay.
1/6
1/6
Reposted by Bob Melling
The Bradford Pennine Gateway has been named as one of Condé Nast Traveller's Seven Wonders of the World for 2026.
Its green expanses, wild heathland and striking views showcase some of the best natural heritage West Yorkshire has to offer.
www.bradford.gov.uk/environment/...
Its green expanses, wild heathland and striking views showcase some of the best natural heritage West Yorkshire has to offer.
www.bradford.gov.uk/environment/...
January 8, 2026 at 9:31 AM
The Bradford Pennine Gateway has been named as one of Condé Nast Traveller's Seven Wonders of the World for 2026.
Its green expanses, wild heathland and striking views showcase some of the best natural heritage West Yorkshire has to offer.
www.bradford.gov.uk/environment/...
Its green expanses, wild heathland and striking views showcase some of the best natural heritage West Yorkshire has to offer.
www.bradford.gov.uk/environment/...
Reposted by Bob Melling
Speaking of newspaper typos, for some reason the Huddersfield Examiner kept printing the surname of John Ashall (one of the 1852 flood victims) as "Ashole" 😳
January 7, 2026 at 3:20 PM
Speaking of newspaper typos, for some reason the Huddersfield Examiner kept printing the surname of John Ashall (one of the 1852 flood victims) as "Ashole" 😳
Smiley's people. Crushing levels of ambivalence.
Given that apparently the Stranger Things finale was meh (idk, didn't watch it, just the scuttlebutt) and we're not that far removed from the disastrous GOT finale that retroactively made everyone have never cared about the show:
What's the *best* ending to a show you've ever seen? Quote/reply etc
What's the *best* ending to a show you've ever seen? Quote/reply etc
January 7, 2026 at 12:03 AM
Smiley's people. Crushing levels of ambivalence.
huddersfieldhub.co.uk/plans-for-ne...
All good ideas, the Railway station needs a 2nd entry point with lots of safe parking which would hopefully provide the impetus to develop the warehouse. The list of uses looks a bit random (food growing labs, curator training) but whatever ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
All good ideas, the Railway station needs a 2nd entry point with lots of safe parking which would hopefully provide the impetus to develop the warehouse. The list of uses looks a bit random (food growing labs, curator training) but whatever ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Plans for new entrance at Huddersfield Station could open up re-development of St George's Warehouse - Huddersfield Hub
New plans have been revealed for the re-development of a historic warehouse next to Huddersfield Railway Station
huddersfieldhub.co.uk
January 6, 2026 at 10:33 PM
huddersfieldhub.co.uk/plans-for-ne...
All good ideas, the Railway station needs a 2nd entry point with lots of safe parking which would hopefully provide the impetus to develop the warehouse. The list of uses looks a bit random (food growing labs, curator training) but whatever ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
All good ideas, the Railway station needs a 2nd entry point with lots of safe parking which would hopefully provide the impetus to develop the warehouse. The list of uses looks a bit random (food growing labs, curator training) but whatever ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Who’s who at X, the deepfake porn site formerly known as Twitter - www.ft.com/content/ad94... via @FT
Who’s who at X, the deepfake porn site formerly known as Twitter
A look inside Elon Musk’s big tent
www.ft.com
January 6, 2026 at 6:18 PM
Who’s who at X, the deepfake porn site formerly known as Twitter - www.ft.com/content/ad94... via @FT
Reposted by Bob Melling
A Mancunian #FilmNoir classic capturing a lost city. An excellent article by Manchester Mill about Val Guest’s #BritNoir Hell is a City (1960) : manchestermill.co.uk/a-mancunian-...
A Mancunian noir classic capturing a lost city
In 1960, Hell is a City set the bar for neo-noir. Now it's a window into a past long demolished
manchestermill.co.uk
January 5, 2026 at 7:57 AM
A Mancunian #FilmNoir classic capturing a lost city. An excellent article by Manchester Mill about Val Guest’s #BritNoir Hell is a City (1960) : manchestermill.co.uk/a-mancunian-...
I reckon this will be one of the best Dewsbury set films this year.
January 6, 2026 at 9:42 AM
I reckon this will be one of the best Dewsbury set films this year.
Reposted by Bob Melling
6th Jan 1979 - Kevin Cummins took photos of Joy Division in a wintry Manchester.
I loved investigating the story davehaslam.substack.com/p/ian-curtis...
From a Wimpy Bar in Bradford, then to a wedding, a club called the ‘Glory Hole’, a sculpture called Alice, and an old mill near a river.
I loved investigating the story davehaslam.substack.com/p/ian-curtis...
From a Wimpy Bar in Bradford, then to a wedding, a club called the ‘Glory Hole’, a sculpture called Alice, and an old mill near a river.
Ian Curtis & David Hockney – the story of a connection
From a well-lit boutique to the River Aire
davehaslam.substack.com
January 6, 2026 at 8:40 AM
6th Jan 1979 - Kevin Cummins took photos of Joy Division in a wintry Manchester.
I loved investigating the story davehaslam.substack.com/p/ian-curtis...
From a Wimpy Bar in Bradford, then to a wedding, a club called the ‘Glory Hole’, a sculpture called Alice, and an old mill near a river.
I loved investigating the story davehaslam.substack.com/p/ian-curtis...
From a Wimpy Bar in Bradford, then to a wedding, a club called the ‘Glory Hole’, a sculpture called Alice, and an old mill near a river.
Photos just threw this up in an attempt at making me nostalgic for 2019. Nice that in a chaotic world some things are unchanging.
January 5, 2026 at 9:58 PM
Photos just threw this up in an attempt at making me nostalgic for 2019. Nice that in a chaotic world some things are unchanging.
Reposted by Bob Melling
I have a hunch that if you or I were running a website doing this the "urgent contact" would involve door rams and handcuffs so I struggle to see why it can't be slightly more pugnacious than this.
Ofcom, which enforces the UK's Online Safety Act, says it is aware of "serious concerns" about Grok undressing people including children on X
“We have made urgent contact with X and xAI to understand what steps they have taken to comply with their legal duties to protect users in the UK," it says
“We have made urgent contact with X and xAI to understand what steps they have taken to comply with their legal duties to protect users in the UK," it says
January 5, 2026 at 2:57 PM
I have a hunch that if you or I were running a website doing this the "urgent contact" would involve door rams and handcuffs so I struggle to see why it can't be slightly more pugnacious than this.
Rereading Robert Reid's Land of Lost Content and it's amazing how it reads like a content rich 1970s or 80s TV narration.
January 3, 2026 at 11:27 AM
Rereading Robert Reid's Land of Lost Content and it's amazing how it reads like a content rich 1970s or 80s TV narration.
Reposted by Bob Melling
The Government coming off X is the bare minimum and realistically at this point I think we should seriously be looking at taking enforcement action against the company, in line with the Online Safety Act and VAWG Strategy. I will be pressing the Government on this when Parliament returns next week.
January 2, 2026 at 9:26 PM
The Government coming off X is the bare minimum and realistically at this point I think we should seriously be looking at taking enforcement action against the company, in line with the Online Safety Act and VAWG Strategy. I will be pressing the Government on this when Parliament returns next week.