Sun up before 6 am, sun down after 8.30 pm. The next four months are the best of the year.

Looking good - for now. Good luck!

Graphic explains that people seeking asylum receive very little money from the government. UK asylum system support covers £9.95 weekly in hotels or £49.18 in self-catered housing.

An asylum seeker is someone who has asked for protection in the UK and is waiting for the Home Office to make a decision on their claim. A refugee is someone whose claim has been accepted because they have proven they’re at risk of serious harm in their home country.

Less than 7,000 people are seeking asylum in Scotland. People seeking asylum do not get priority access to housing or healthcare. People seeking asylum do not live in luxury hotels, they live in cramped hotel rooms with strangers.

Infographic explaining why most refugees stay in neighboring countries and the UK hosts less than 1% of the world’s refugees due to connections and language.

We've seen a lot of divisive language and misinformation about people seeking safety lately.

This is the reality of claiming asylum and being a refugee in Scotland 👇

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I'm a fan of (and subscriber to) @glasgowbell.bsky.social. It's notable how much of their excellent journalism is basically a result of simply having sufficient curiosity to run a search on Companies House. If only more of our media would #FollowTheMoney!

‘Humanity’s favourite food’: how to end the livestock industry but keep eating meat Bruce Friedrich argues the only way to tackle the world’s insatiable but damaging craving for meat is like-for-like replacements like cultivated and plant-based meat

Will humanity’s insatiable appetite for meat be met through technology or will it consume the planet?
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

What a terrific book cover! #illustration

Community Co-production for our Advancing Racial Justice Fund The Robertson Trust is seeking community members to get involved with the leadership and decision making for the upcoming Advancing Racial Justice Fund.

We are seeking community members to get involved with the leadership and decision making for our upcoming Advancing Racial Justice Fund.

The closing date for applications is 9am, 12th January 2025⤵️

www.therobertsontrust.org.uk/news/communi...

Target reached to pay for a new Screen Machine mobile cinema The cinema will serve Highlands and Islands and Argyll and Bute after a successful fundraising campaign.

Great to hear they'll be a brand new Screen Machine on the road from summer 2026. Pleased that Wm Grant Foundation was able to make a small contribution towards the cost. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Salmon return to river for first time in 170 years Salmon have returned to a river in Barrhead for the first time in 170 years.

More of this, please! www.barrheadnews.com/news/2563014...

Freedom is just another name for “a gap in the law”.

Given what we know about the emissions associated with beef production, we should be placing as much emphasis on transitioning to chicken burgers as we are to EVs!

Why climate despair is a luxury Those facing flood and fire can’t afford to lose hope. Neither should we.

"Despair’s cheerleaders offer the same message that institutions all around us do: that power resides in the few, at the top. Part of resistance must consist in refusing to believe them..." Another brilliantly motivating read from @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social www.newstatesman.com/environment/...

An open letter to Nigel Farage - Bishop Steven's Blog Bishop Steven writes an open letter in response to Nigel Farage MP's immigration policy which was launched in Oxford this week.

A courteous but very impressive rebuke to Nigel Farage from the Bishop of Oxford.

"I heard no compassion in what you said...".

"I disagree profoundly with your attempts to ... increase fear of the stranger in our communities".

Do read.
blogs.oxford.anglican.org/an-open-lett...

I feel this is a general principle that makes real change so hard to achieve. It's not so much getting the new stuff started, it's getting the old things stopped.

Coalition formed to save A-listed brutalist Bernat Klein studio The dilapidated studio of textile designer Bernat Klein in the Borders is being sold at auction.

'It is being auctioned by Savills, which describes it as in need of modernisation..' > 'modernisation' is doing some heavy lifting there, as expected to cost up to £3m. Vital that someone with the experience & ability to raise that kind of cash is successful at auction. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

‘Whatever do you do up there?’ enquire certain English infidels. The answer? ‘Lady, if ya gotta ask, ya’ll never know’: David Profumo's piece of heaven in Highland Perthshire David Profumo on the joy and wonder of the Highlands.

If you, too, reside 'beyond the Tartan Curtain' you might be spitting out your porridge when you read about the author's account of moving to his 'Highland fastness' close by the 'low-key township' of Pitlochry... www.countrylife.co.uk/travel/whate...

Fascinating bit of Southside Glasgow history. First woman to hold a helicopter licence? Commuting from Ayrshire to Cathcart by chopper... In the 1930s? It's all here ⬇️

Maybe we could find ways of illustrating deadly weather events that put huge strain on public services, affect education, reduce productivity and endanger workers without images of ice creams, deckchairs and kids frolicking in fountains?
www.climatevisuals.org/how-do-you-p...

Cartoon by Stephen Collins for the Guardian, here's the script: [SCENE: THERE ARE TWO TALKING COCKROACHES, THEY ARE BBC BREAKFAST PRESENTERS] DAVE COCKROACH: Good morning! It’s Wednesday May, 76,000,002,018 AD You’re watching BBC Breakfast with me, Dave Cockroach SELINA COCKROACH: And me, Selina Cockroach DAVE COCKROACH: Well, today is set to be the hottest day ever recorded in Britain, as the sun swallows the Earth SELINA COCKROACH: What a scorcher! DAVE COCKROACH: Here to tell us More is Matt who’s down in sunny Brighton. Hi Matt! MATT COCKROACH [REPORTING FROM WHAT REMAINS OF BRIGHTON]: Morning Dave! Well, the sea is long since evaporated down here… But that hasn’t stopped every cockroach coming out to enjoy the glorious blood-red sun hovering ten feet above the ground. Great news for Ian Cockroach here, who sells ice creams How’s business Ian? IAN COCKROACH. LEANING OUT OF AN ICE CREAM VAN: I’m on fire [IAN COCKROACH CATCHES FIRE] DAVE COCKROACH: Ha ha! Oh dear I think Ian is - [DAVE COCKROACH CATCHES ON FIRE] [THE STUDIO IS ENGULFED IN FIRE]

hottest day of the year

Latest edition of this annual report on UK grant-making. Loads of data to play with and some helpful analyses by contributors from different perspectives. Draws on data published on 360 Giving's platform AND additional research to create the most comprehensive & up to date picture we have.

'Ocean of Stars' Whole Piece YouTube video by Drake Music Scotland

Had the privilege of visiting Drake Music Scotland yesterday, meeting staff & some of the artists they work with. Supported by Wm Grant Foundation through our Scottish Culture & Heritage strand. This lovely piece for digital harp & cello = a great way to start your day: youtu.be/Y3MCMPxlusc?...

Projects index · Local Energy Scotland Learn about renewable energy projects in Scotland that are either community and locally owned, have community benefits or shared ownership.

Had a couple of conversations this week about the distribution of renewable community benefit funds in Scotland. Here's a directory (with map). Info on each fund is variable but contains links to fund managers and reports where available: localenergy.scot/projects-ove...

Magic Spad Theory, the Axis of Anecdotes and the Pyramid of Indifference. Why has it taken me so long to discover this Policy 101 note from Giles Wilkes?
www.civilservant.org.uk/library/Wilk...

‘Spiral of silence’: climate action is very popular, so why don’t people realise it? Researchers find 89% of people around the world want more to be done, but mistakenly assume their peers do not

Across the globe, a significant majority of people want their governments to take more action on climate change and for countries to work together to tackle it.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

What happened to all the clothing donated during the LA wildfires? Due to the sheer volume and different needs of fire victims, a lot of it ended up either in landfills or being shipped abroad.

In a humanitarian crisis, give money, not stuff. laist.com/news/what-ha...

OK Go - Love (Official Video) YouTube video by OK Go

Another one-take tour de force by the brilliant OK Go.
youtu.be/gz9BRl7DVSM?...

“Er, my question is really in two parts…”

From the new Private Eye, out now.

(1/3) ☀️We are hiring: Festival Manager

Enthusiastic about events? Ready to make a mark on Glasgow's cultural heritage scene? Glasgow Doors Open Days wants YOU as our new Festival Manager!

Angus winds topple one of Scotland’s most important Pictish relics The centuries old Aberlemno cross slab, near Forfar, has been snapped at its base. It is considered by many to be one of Scotland's most significant Pictish stones.

I'd been worrying about our heritage trees being felled by increasingly severe winter storms. But our heritage stones?! www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/5194...