Listen to The Other Side by Public Service Broadcasting on Qobuz open.qobuz.com/track/259554...

An orange metal sign stand in a street. There is a bicycle locked to a bike stand. There are photos on the sign in black and white police officers on penny farthings, a distinguished Victorian man and some shop fronts. CHANGING PASTS Halfords The Story of Leicester want to discover more about Leicester's 2,000 year history? Look out for the heritage panels all over the city: Each chapter in the city history in colour code more on www.storyofleicester.info

Close up of panel text CHANGING PASTS Halfords A Royal Name Halfords, the well-known retailer of motoring and cycling products and services, takes its name from Leicester's Halford Street. The street commemorates Sir Henry Halford (1766 - 1844) from. Wistow in south Leicestershire; who was physician extraordinary to King George'll, then physician in ordinary to his three successors. George V, William.JV, and Queen Victoria. The company was founded by Frederick Rusheliffe, an ironmonger trom Birmingham. In 1902, he opened a branch at 9 Halford Street in Leicester, calling it the Halford Cycle Stop, an extension of his own recreational interest in cycling. This proved so successful, that, by 1906. he also transformed his nine existing shops in Birmingham into cycling shops. He called his new business Hallords Leicester - A Cycle Hub The Industral Revolution made the mass production of bicycles possible by merging the traditional skills. of blacksmiths, with the new mechanical techniques of ironworkers. Cycling became extremely popular in the Victorian period for trayel, recreation, and for sport. Races around Abbey Park and Vicioria Park attracted huge crowds. Making bicycles was big business in Leicester. Henry Curry, the founder of electronics retailer Currys, started his company in 1884 making and selling bicycles in Halford Streef, near to where the Curve Theatre now stands, Walter E Sturgess started the Sturgess Motor Group in 1897 by manufacturing bicycles, including a unique "recumbent bicycle", at his shop in Cranmer Street, off the Narborough Boad. Legacy Halfords expanded rapidly growing to 100 stpres by 1931, and 300, stores. by 1968. Although the company subsequently changed ownership a number of times, it's retained its original name right up to today. in 2024 the chain runs over 400 stores, and 250 Halfords Autocentrés, across the UK and Ireland. These Autocentres provide vehicle servicing and maintenance, MOTs, and car ropairs. The Story of Leicester …

On physicians and nomenclature. I spotted this in Halford Street, Leicester a year ago. Turns out it is named after the Old Queen’s medic, not to mention three old kings.

News-Pride in Place programme to start in Spennymoor - Durham County Council Regeneration of a County Durham town has been given the green light, as funding is released to start investment.

www.durham.gov.uk/article/3526...

Wythenshawe amputee, 72, using bus pass to travel from John O'Groats to Land's End for charity Barry Mackleston is attempting to get from John O Groats to Land's End using just his bus pass.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
What a great idea, good luck to him!
Can hardly believe the bastards targeting him while he's out supporting the community, though...

'The surging number of redundancies in UK higher education could undermine entire research fields as networks of collaborators disappear, according to an academic whose project fell through when a colleague’s job at another institution was put at risk.' 1/2

''Five minutes after selfie with running mates I was dying' Fitness instructor Grant Williams's heart stopped for eight minutes before he was revived.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Anyway, there's nothing like a war in the Middle East to remind us why we need renewable energy. More solar, wind, tidal and wave power please!

Durham University staff start industrial action in workload row Durham University says the action, which could last for six months, is

Solidarity with colleagues at Durham

Durham University staff start industrial action in workload row - BBC News share.google/dFdh9caLfjIN...

REGULATIONS = PROTECTIONS FOR AMERICANS, HUMANS, EARTH

DEREGULATIONS = ALLOWING CORPORATIONS TO HARM AMERICANS, HUMANS, EARTH

When It Happens Our 14th most-read article of 2025. - - -It’s been so long, you sometimes forget that eventually, IT will HAPPEN. It’s impossible to say when IT w...

www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/whe...

One of those captcha things. This one says ‘select all images with bicycles. Click verify once there are none left’. There are 9 squares - 4 contain photos of bicycle seats, with the remaining 5 showing the beautiful head and face of a grey greyhound with a white stripe going from the top of their head to the tip of their nose.

Hats off to whoever did this (and the beautiful model).

This cartoon I drew the other day sold, so I've made prints available for you. Just search the title I'm Not Mad At You. Please remember that part of the proceeds of all my art goes towards social justice people and organizations.

David Squires on … the magic of the Cup as Macclesfield dethrone Crystal Palace Our cartoonist looks back on a glorious day for the non-league side as they knocked out the FA Cup holders

The always excellent David Squires - with a laudable ending to this week's offering.
www.theguardian.com/football/pic...

Pretty sure that was exactly his point:
"feelings that might otherwise have to go elsewhere"
Meaning the states are missing that football.
Aware they do have sport, but seems it's largely soulless franchises that move around, not community-based.

#BoycottFIFA2026
It's time. The USA is a rogue nation and it's not safe any anyone to travel to. The footballing world needs to take a principled stand and not send their teams to play.

Ohio - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (Music And Song Courtesy:Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) YouTube video by peaceandfreedom2011

"Ohio" (1971) - written by Neil Young in reaction to the Kent State shootings of May 4, 1970. Performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. 🗃️

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN_9...

It takes an enormous amount of courage to stand there, keep filming, and scream "What the fuck, you asshole" at someone wearing a badge who just shot and killed one of your neighbors in cold blood.

hey remember when a bunch of middle-aged drunk korean lawmakers climbed the locked gates to the national assembly to hold an emergency session after the president gave illegal orders to the military, all of which ended with said president being sentenced to prison

Dear Liberals,

I strongly encourage you to check what other "he would never!" <shocked opossum meme> thoughts you had, and to start acting as if yes, he may well.

Now.

This does seem just a little bit bad! Idk the sort of thing you’d think politicians might distance themselves from or something!

Title: New year's resolution A man sits at a table with a coffee writing in a notebook: “This year i will devote myself completely to reading serious, improving literature, forsaking easy pleasures and tirelessly seeking out truth and profundity in the work of the greatest writers.” He looks at it Says: Hmm... then “Scratch Scratch Scratch scratch” scribbles out words until the text reads: “This year I will read for Fun”

Happy New Year, everyone!

This is a @theguardian.com books cartoon from a few years ago.

there is no spoon

Zack Polanski: spend £400m on kindness to channel migrants.

The Telegraph highlighting - yet missing - two vital points here.

1) We're not calling for £476m to be spent. It already is - this is about diverting it to actually helping.

2) Why "cruelty" in question? The £476m we're spending is part of an operation tear gassing babies.

What sad news to read just as I am, indeed, Driving Home For Christmas.
The Northeast may not miss me for a few days, but it will certainly miss Chris Rea.
#Teesside #classic

Singing at school shouldn't just be for Christmas, teachers say New data suggests singing is much more common in primary and private schools than in state secondaries.

Indeed
www.bbc.com/news/article...

As we look fwd to Christmas dinner, remember the migrant workforce who make it all possible on our farms, picking & processing our food🎄

These workers should be protected from exploitation but restrictive visa conditions make them vulnerable-
@focusonlabour.bsky.social looks at solutions:

Tish Murtha & Kuba Ryniewicz - Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art

Excited to see Baltic is planning a Tish Murtha exhibition for 2026 -

baltic.art/whats-on/XqK...

FIFA peace prize

Person who actually deserves a trophy is the artist who made the FIFA peace prize trophy look like everyone in the entire world holding their head in their hands out of secondhand embarrassment