Even the bins are beautiful in Marbella's old town. #Spain

Benahavis sky at night, above my temporary home.

Someone must have fitted this tap whilst the shutter was open, and now the shutter can't be shut.

Meet Otis.

This friendly Akita lives in a Spanish mountain village north of Marbella. He likes relaxing on his balcony, from which he gently howls to passers-by to attract their attention.

He's a very good old boy.

At the end of a call complaining about a technology error on a bank's App, the third person that tried to resolve the error asked what outcome I required.

Exasperate, I replied:

'I want the matter escalated, the bug fixed, an explanation, and constipation for my time and the stress caused." 😱

My Kanzan cherry blossom tree welcomed us home with a spectactular display of thick clusters of vibrant pink, double-petaled flowers.

I'm proud of this tree that equals many I saw in Japan and South Korea this time last year.

I bought it as a twig from Poundstretcher. The best £6 I've ever spent.

Hello #Dartmoor my old friend,
I've come to walk on you again.

I've never seen one before, and thought it was a jay at first. Shame my phone camera could not focus properly, before it flew off.

Jasmine should win an Oscar for that performance. Oh.

#EastEnders

Today we saw a hoopoe around Haytor (9th April, 2026)

According to RSPB, it does not breed in the UK, but as many as 100 Hoopoes can turn up in spring (mostly seen solo) as birds migrating north to Europe from Africa overshoot and land on the south coast of England.
#Birds #Devon #Dartmoor

#firstfiver | John Thompson Images of UK's wildlife will feature on the next series of banknotes, following a consultation by the Bank of England. The nature theme received the highest proportion of nominations in last year's c...

Images of UK's wildlife will feature on the next series of banknotes, following a consultation by the Bank of England.

I think relevant causes should start planning fundraising and media campaigns around the huge opportunities this presents.

#FirstFiver

www.linkedin.com/posts/john-t...

Wildlife to feature on next series of Bank of England banknotes Images of the UK’s wildlife are to feature on the next series of banknotes following a public consultation run by the Bank of England.

Images of the UK’s wildlife are to feature on the next series of banknotes following a public consultation run by the Bank of England.

I'll be donating the first wildlife-themed £5 note I get to a wildlife charity.

Will you?

www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2026/ma...

Come on Potts, we're going home

#BassetHound

'Twas the night before Christmas, when Snowdrop came to my house.

No other creatures were stirring, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

I went to the door, and my foxling was there.

My basset hound looking shocked.

Mrs Potts' disappointment that many of the parcels being delivered don't contain Christmas presents for her is palpable.

#BassetHound

Young fox.

Snowdrop the fox wants his dinner

#giftcardaidfund | John Thompson From dormant bank accounts to expired gift cards - an opportunity to significantly boost charitable donations Whilst gift cards may be a good choice of present during festive seasons and for birthda...

I think the cash value of expired gift cards should be donated by providers to charities, by default.

Charities already benefit from funds retrieved from dormant bank accounts, so why not put the cash value of expired gift cards in the pot?

#Christmas #Fundraising
www.linkedin.com/posts/john-t...

Mrs Potts made a John Lewis Christmas advert

#BassetHound
#Pets4Pets

Come on Potts, we're going home.

#Pets4Pets #BassetHound

War Horses for Causes: the twenty four First World War cavalry horses that raised the equivalent of c£16m Fundraising news, ideas and inspiration for professional charity fundraisers by professional charity fundraisers and non-profits.

War Horses for Causes: the twenty four First World War cavalry horses that raised the equivalent of c£16m

fundraising.co.uk/2014/05/19/w...

#LestWeForget

My basset hound donating to #Pets4Pets campaign.

Mrs Potts, my adorable basset hound, will be 15 on Monday, 3rd November.

She will decide over the weekend which two charities she'll be donating £15 each to, in line with her #Pets4Pets campaign.

#PetGiving #BirthdayGiving

My basset wearing purple Halloween bandana.

Mrs Potts is already preparing for Halloween, and will be dressing as The Hound of the Bassetvilles.

She is also looking forward to her 15th birthday in November, and thinking about which charities to donate her age in monetary terms to.

She's such a good little pumpkin.

#Pets4Pets
#Fundraising

Festival of basset hounds to welcome hundreds of dogs to Norfolk beach Hundreds of Basset Hounds are expected to invade Wells beach in Norfolk this month as part of an annual “festival” for the breed.

Hundreds of basset hounds are expected to invade Wells-next-the-Sea beach this month as part of an annual festival for the breed.

Potts will be going and telling her chums all about #Pets4Pets - donate your hound's age in pounds on its birthday.

#Fundraising
www.fakenhamtimes.co.uk/news/2538738...

Great footage, Ben.

Help us design our next series of banknotes Share your views by nominating a theme before 31 July – it takes less than two minutes.

If you think the new banknotes should contain a reference to giving, fundraising, and charity, today is your last chance to let The Bank of England know.

Submit your ideas now.

#SpendMeSaveMeGiveMe
www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/he...

Whatever the outcome of The Bank of England's consultation on the design of future banknotes, their release will provide a fantastic opportunity for a re-run of #FirstFiver that raised £12.5m - the campaign that keeps on giving.

fundraising.co.uk/2016/11/14/f...

#SpendMeSaveMeGiveMe

Since money such as banknotes is at the heart of charitable giving, isn’t it about time that giving was depicted on a banknote?, asks Howard Lake | John Thompson Since money such as banknotes is at the heart of charitable giving, isn’t it about time that giving was depicted on a banknote?, asks Howard Lake "We now have an opportunity to make this happen...

The Bank of England is inviting the public’s thoughts on the design of the next generation of banknotes.

Howard Lake and I have shared our thoughts on how charitable giving can be incorporated in the new designs.

www.linkedin.com/posts/john-t...

Flask Force

I formed a new community initiative this evening. Fed up with local coffee shops closing at 6pm, Flask Force encourges people to bring a flask of coffee or tea out with them, find a green space to sit in with friends, and chill.

T-shirts and badges available soon.

#FlaskForce

a man is doing yoga in a living room while a dog looks on . ALT: a man is doing yoga in a living room while a dog looks on .

Wanted: Yoga teacher
Location: Flexible
Hours: Flexible

People would bend over backwards for a job like this.

It's getting warmer by the day. Soon we'll be sleeping under wet towels, gasping for a molecule of cool air from a cobweb covered fan bought at Currys in 1999, with one leg poking out from the sheets towards an open window, wide awake as we wonder when the dog will pass out from excessive panting.