Richard Fairhurst
@richardfairhurst.bsky.social
Building the world’s best bike directions at cycle.travel
Why don’t we have a successful mittelstand like Germany, why is Britain so bad at small/medium companies which just do what they do without fuss
The Guardian: “companies which make enough money to cover their costs are zombies and must be forced out of business” www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
The Guardian: “companies which make enough money to cover their costs are zombies and must be forced out of business” www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
January 5, 2026 at 11:02 AM
Why don’t we have a successful mittelstand like Germany, why is Britain so bad at small/medium companies which just do what they do without fuss
The Guardian: “companies which make enough money to cover their costs are zombies and must be forced out of business” www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
The Guardian: “companies which make enough money to cover their costs are zombies and must be forced out of business” www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
This is amazing. A (not very large) language model that runs on a Z80. In 40k. You could run it on an Amstrad CPC. github.com/HarryR/z80ai
GitHub - HarryR/z80ai: Z80-μLM is a 2-bit quantized language model small enough to run on an 8-bit Z80 processor. Train conversational models in Python, export them as CP/M .COM binaries, and chat wit...
Z80-μLM is a 2-bit quantized language model small enough to run on an 8-bit Z80 processor. Train conversational models in Python, export them as CP/M .COM binaries, and chat with your vintage compu...
github.com
December 29, 2025 at 11:50 AM
This is amazing. A (not very large) language model that runs on a Z80. In 40k. You could run it on an Amstrad CPC. github.com/HarryR/z80ai
Bag of Christmas cheese
December 25, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Bag of Christmas cheese
Christmas Eve 4pm: Denis Bédard ‘In dulci jubilo’
6pm: John Cook ‘Divinum mysterium’
11.30pm: Dobrinka Tabakova ‘Diptych’
Christmas Day 10.30am: César Franck ‘Sortie pour Noël’
Merry Christmas!
6pm: John Cook ‘Divinum mysterium’
11.30pm: Dobrinka Tabakova ‘Diptych’
Christmas Day 10.30am: César Franck ‘Sortie pour Noël’
Merry Christmas!
December 25, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Christmas Eve 4pm: Denis Bédard ‘In dulci jubilo’
6pm: John Cook ‘Divinum mysterium’
11.30pm: Dobrinka Tabakova ‘Diptych’
Christmas Day 10.30am: César Franck ‘Sortie pour Noël’
Merry Christmas!
6pm: John Cook ‘Divinum mysterium’
11.30pm: Dobrinka Tabakova ‘Diptych’
Christmas Day 10.30am: César Franck ‘Sortie pour Noël’
Merry Christmas!
Reposted by Richard Fairhurst
cycle.travel now has a fresh new look on iPhone and Android – clearer, easier to use, and with new features such as clickable route highlights. Take a look on your app store of choice!
iPhone: apps.apple.com/app/id161963...
Android: play.google.com/store/apps/d...
iPhone: apps.apple.com/app/id161963...
Android: play.google.com/store/apps/d...
December 24, 2025 at 1:28 PM
cycle.travel now has a fresh new look on iPhone and Android – clearer, easier to use, and with new features such as clickable route highlights. Take a look on your app store of choice!
iPhone: apps.apple.com/app/id161963...
Android: play.google.com/store/apps/d...
iPhone: apps.apple.com/app/id161963...
Android: play.google.com/store/apps/d...
Reposted by Richard Fairhurst
In the past month 3 transport routes have collapsed - but they aren't roads so don't make national news. All 3 have the same root causes, climate change, and Tory austerity passing responsibility for critical infrastructure on to charities and councils. This will happen more, and people will be hurt
December 23, 2025 at 6:08 PM
In the past month 3 transport routes have collapsed - but they aren't roads so don't make national news. All 3 have the same root causes, climate change, and Tory austerity passing responsibility for critical infrastructure on to charities and councils. This will happen more, and people will be hurt
@rupertairbear.bsky.social Service bus passing a Bull special this evening. Routemaster doing a three-point turn is going to be fun!
December 14, 2025 at 5:37 PM
@rupertairbear.bsky.social Service bus passing a Bull special this evening. Routemaster doing a three-point turn is going to be fun!
First carol service of the season…
December 14, 2025 at 2:51 PM
First carol service of the season…
“Reading for displeasure” is probably the most accurate description of Ian McEwan I’ve ever heard
pp1-8: sad thing happens
pp9-263: bad consequences of sad thing are drawn out in excruciating detail
pp1-8: sad thing happens
pp9-263: bad consequences of sad thing are drawn out in excruciating detail
Ian McEwan talked recently about the statistic that the number of people reading for pleasure has dropped by 40% over the last decade. But let's not focus on the negative side and instead try to remember that over the same period the number of people reading for displeasure has almost quadrupled.
December 8, 2025 at 11:14 AM
“Reading for displeasure” is probably the most accurate description of Ian McEwan I’ve ever heard
pp1-8: sad thing happens
pp9-263: bad consequences of sad thing are drawn out in excruciating detail
pp1-8: sad thing happens
pp9-263: bad consequences of sad thing are drawn out in excruciating detail
The Coopers! Waterways World’s local, and a cracking pub for the post mortem on each issue when it came back from the printers. (It was better when they served Staffordshire oatcakes though.) www.thetimes.com/life-style/f...
It’s the world’s best beer town — and home to my favourite pub
The pubs, the breweries, the beers — our expert has the ultimate guide for a pilgrimage to Burton upon Trent
www.thetimes.com
December 2, 2025 at 11:24 AM
The Coopers! Waterways World’s local, and a cracking pub for the post mortem on each issue when it came back from the printers. (It was better when they served Staffordshire oatcakes though.) www.thetimes.com/life-style/f...
Impressive new official UK online railway map. Appears to be vector tiles, Maplibre JS, manual selection of stations for each zoom level, hints for label placement baked into the tiles. No authorship information that I can see, but someone deserves plaudits for this. railmap.nationalrail.co.uk
An interactive and zoomable version of the entire National Rail network in Great Britain. Showing all lines, all stations and all Train Company routes.
railmap.nationalrail.co.uk
November 30, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Impressive new official UK online railway map. Appears to be vector tiles, Maplibre JS, manual selection of stations for each zoom level, hints for label placement baked into the tiles. No authorship information that I can see, but someone deserves plaudits for this. railmap.nationalrail.co.uk
Reposted by Richard Fairhurst
"average french person arrested 3 times a year for corruption" factoid actualy just statistical error. average french person arrested 0 times per year. Corruptions Sarko, who lives in le XVIe arrondissement & has over 10k convictions a day, is an outlier adn should not have been counted
November 26, 2025 at 2:27 PM
"average french person arrested 3 times a year for corruption" factoid actualy just statistical error. average french person arrested 0 times per year. Corruptions Sarko, who lives in le XVIe arrondissement & has over 10k convictions a day, is an outlier adn should not have been counted
Reposted by Richard Fairhurst
beginning to believe I would actually vote for a dead pigeon on a stick if it just promised to restore the fuel duty escalator
November 25, 2025 at 4:40 PM
beginning to believe I would actually vote for a dead pigeon on a stick if it just promised to restore the fuel duty escalator
For at least ten years, every music recommendation engine has been telling me “you should listen to Boards of Canada”. I finally listened to them and am now wondering why I didn’t do so ten years ago www.youtube.com/watch?v=St-m...
Boards of Canada - Aquarius
YouTube video by MaxMalbi
www.youtube.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:31 PM
For at least ten years, every music recommendation engine has been telling me “you should listen to Boards of Canada”. I finally listened to them and am now wondering why I didn’t do so ten years ago www.youtube.com/watch?v=St-m...
Reposted by Richard Fairhurst
Walter de Staplecat, Simpkin IV, Teabag, Balthasar and Benny D Cat take the stage as we meet the college cats of Oxford. And, of course, Magdalen’s Ozymandias. Read on for our photo special. (Includes a cat map.) oxfordclarion.uk/college-cats...
College cats of Oxford
Once upon a time, we featured an image of Magdalen's kitten, Ozymandias, in our newsletter. We figured it might be a gentle contrast to our regular diet of planning and local politics.
The grey ball ...
oxfordclarion.uk
November 20, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Walter de Staplecat, Simpkin IV, Teabag, Balthasar and Benny D Cat take the stage as we meet the college cats of Oxford. And, of course, Magdalen’s Ozymandias. Read on for our photo special. (Includes a cat map.) oxfordclarion.uk/college-cats...
cycle.travel has a bunch of code to handle this specific elevator! (Otherwise it really wouldn’t want to route up a hill quite as steep as that…)
The Pfaffenthal Panoramic Elevator in Luxembourg City, an interesting piece of vertical public transport between the Alzette valley and the main city.
#FridayFun
#FridayFun
November 14, 2025 at 12:42 PM
cycle.travel has a bunch of code to handle this specific elevator! (Otherwise it really wouldn’t want to route up a hill quite as steep as that…)
Reposted by Richard Fairhurst
George Monbiot - "We should never underestimate the extent to which the BBC changed this country by giving endless airtime to Nigel Farage, other far right extremists and the Tufton Street junktanks, while shutting out progressive voices."
November 11, 2025 at 11:42 AM
George Monbiot - "We should never underestimate the extent to which the BBC changed this country by giving endless airtime to Nigel Farage, other far right extremists and the Tufton Street junktanks, while shutting out progressive voices."
Reposted by Richard Fairhurst
I really like the Oxford Clarion which doesn’t get enough mentions when people write about local news startups.
Oxfordshire County Council has clarified that the Ghostbusters hearse would not be exempt from the city’s Congestion Charge. A spokesperson told us “It’s not as simple as buying a hearse. In order to qualify for a permit, you must also be a funeral care business.”
November 11, 2025 at 2:15 PM
I really like the Oxford Clarion which doesn’t get enough mentions when people write about local news startups.
Pshaw. It’s biased in favour of a deeply regressive set of small-C social conservative views. It doesn’t have the imagination or the coherence to be either left-wing or right-wing.
New YouGov poll: Is BBC News politically biased? 50% of Britons say yes.
Biased in favour of left-wing views: 31%
Biased in favour of right-wing views: 19%
Not biased: 19%
Belief in bias by party
Reform: 73% biased to left / 4% biased to right
Con: 52% / 5%
Lib Dem: 19% / 22%
Labour: 16% / 31%
Biased in favour of left-wing views: 31%
Biased in favour of right-wing views: 19%
Not biased: 19%
Belief in bias by party
Reform: 73% biased to left / 4% biased to right
Con: 52% / 5%
Lib Dem: 19% / 22%
Labour: 16% / 31%
November 10, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Pshaw. It’s biased in favour of a deeply regressive set of small-C social conservative views. It doesn’t have the imagination or the coherence to be either left-wing or right-wing.
Reposted by Richard Fairhurst
Everything good that's happened in UK rail in my lifetime has been stuff that's occurred despite the resistance of the Department for Roads, and the thing that the GBR structure does is to consolidate total power over rail in the hands of those bastards
November 8, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Everything good that's happened in UK rail in my lifetime has been stuff that's occurred despite the resistance of the Department for Roads, and the thing that the GBR structure does is to consolidate total power over rail in the hands of those bastards
Very sorry to hear of the death of Terry Darlington, the endearing nutcase who took his narrowboat across the Channel (and various other entirely unsuitable places) as chronicled in ‘Narrow Dog to Carcassonne’.
November 9, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Very sorry to hear of the death of Terry Darlington, the endearing nutcase who took his narrowboat across the Channel (and various other entirely unsuitable places) as chronicled in ‘Narrow Dog to Carcassonne’.
Another thoughtful piece about Adventure Cycling’s travails in the bikepacking age. Some suggestions in the comments that “it’s a bit more complex than that” but the core is: long-distance TransAm cycling is a rapidly ageing market. theradavist.com/whats-next-f...
What’s Next for Adventure Cycling Association? – Hailey Moore
If you've been following the trajectory of Adventure Cycling Association, it's no secret that the non-profit has been facing challenges, including significant membership decline, underfunding, and a m...
theradavist.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Another thoughtful piece about Adventure Cycling’s travails in the bikepacking age. Some suggestions in the comments that “it’s a bit more complex than that” but the core is: long-distance TransAm cycling is a rapidly ageing market. theradavist.com/whats-next-f...
Welp. Turns out the kid I used to sit next to at school aged 10 is actually Lord Voldemort collider.com/harry-potter...
Harry Potter’s New Voldemort Actor Speaks Out on Taking on the Iconic Role
Harry Potter's new Voldemort actor, Matthew Macfadyen, speaks out on what it's been like taking on such an iconic role.
collider.com
November 5, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Welp. Turns out the kid I used to sit next to at school aged 10 is actually Lord Voldemort collider.com/harry-potter...
Reposted by Richard Fairhurst
Absolute scenes in Oxfordshire. LABOUR voting WITH TORIES and the car brained IOA to remove a traffic intervention designed to speed up buses, and was recommended by 74% in the citizens assembly THEY ASKED FOR, AND that has already been praised by the BUS companies, after SIX days.
The vote on Oxford’s Congestion Charge is taken and goes broadly along party lines.
For removing the charge: 22 (Con, Lab, Ind)
Against removing the charge: 36 (LibDem, Green, Henley)
Abstain: 2 (Will Boucher-Giles, LibDem for Chesterton; Emma Markham, Green for Shrivenham)
For removing the charge: 22 (Con, Lab, Ind)
Against removing the charge: 36 (LibDem, Green, Henley)
Abstain: 2 (Will Boucher-Giles, LibDem for Chesterton; Emma Markham, Green for Shrivenham)
November 4, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Absolute scenes in Oxfordshire. LABOUR voting WITH TORIES and the car brained IOA to remove a traffic intervention designed to speed up buses, and was recommended by 74% in the citizens assembly THEY ASKED FOR, AND that has already been praised by the BUS companies, after SIX days.