Ming made a huge contribution to our party, and to our country. His death is a huge loss.

Ming had a generous spirit, and on many occasions I benefitted from his wise, and nuanced, advice - on political matters and even my half-marathon training schedule. Many years after his Olympic career his passion for sport shone through.

Full of sadness to hear about the death of Sir Menzies Campbell, or Ming, as we called him. His incisive intellect made him a formidable debater, though he was unfailingly courteous and always a gentleman. He spoke with power, authority and moral clarity in opposition to the Iraq War. He was right.

Terrific, terrifying, clarity of writing in the Guardian about LA wildfires:

"something climate scientists have been warning about for decades: compound climate disasters that, when they occur simultaneously, produce much more damage than they would individually"
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Days are getting longer now!

Christmas looking lush at Hays Galleria

Crisp autumnal sunrises rock.

Indeed. And this 'political leverage' argument reeks of corruption. Probably accurate though.

And that rollercoaster of hopey despair sums up how #cop29 - and this wider moment - feels. Still lots to appreciate about the world coming together openly with lofty ambition, and also so clear the reality doesn't match up yet.

Yesterday my news feed didn't start out very promising...

Hello BlueSky! Joining in the hope of a curious, creative and kind social media space...