Mark Annand
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markannand.bsky.social
Mark Annand
@markannand.bsky.social
Born at 313ppm. If it's nearby, enjoy www.twotunnels.org.uk.

"Ghostbusters" 'cos, that clarinet on the sidewalk.
Profile photo credit @confluentious
Reposted by Mark Annand
Great to wake up and find that Maybe I'm Amazed is one of the Times' books of the year. Thanks to @cecibrowning.bsky.social for such a lovely summary
November 29, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Reposted by Mark Annand
We should nationalise the railways, I'm sure the money would pour in and all the inefficiencies go away
You know when pro-HS2 people said it was about capacity more than speed, and the West Coast Main Line was filling up? Now we have no national rail strategy, no HS2 to Manchester and this absurd stupidity. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Soon-to-be-axed 7am Manchester-London train will still run – but without passengers
Exclusive: Rail regulator pulls Avanti service from timetable from mid-December but it is needed for staff travel
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Reposted by Mark Annand
I know I rant about this all the time but the rabid - and omnipresence - anti immigrant line on BBC 6 music news is so jarring

Feels like a text book example of how an Overton window is shifted
November 29, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Reposted by Mark Annand
“If Avanti operates the service as empty coaching stock, [it] can be run more flexibly – delayed or rerouted – than a booked passenger service. This can assist with performance management and service recovery during disruption.”

Optimised to apparent absurdity…

www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Soon-to-be-axed 7am Manchester-London train will still run – but without passengers
Exclusive: Rail regulator pulls Avanti service from timetable from mid-December but it is needed for staff travel
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Reposted by Mark Annand
Just 13k more signatures and the call for a public inquiry into Russian interference has to be debate in Parliament

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
Petition: Call a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy
We are concerned about reported efforts from Russia to influence democracy in the US, UK, Europe and elsewhere. We believe we must establish the depth and breadth of possible Russian influence campaig...
petition.parliament.uk
November 28, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Reposted by Mark Annand
Kharkiv tonight ‼️
November 28, 2025 at 8:27 PM
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Who doesn’t get excited about a curved corner (and decorative brickwork)?! 🤩
Newark, Nottinghamshire.
November 28, 2025 at 2:55 PM
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✨ A few years back I stood outside Wells Cathedral for a full day and photographed the impact of the light on the front facade. I was amazed at the outcome - at how a single entity could morph and change under the changing light. 🌅 #thread
November 28, 2025 at 7:13 AM
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More on this fabulous film in our wonderful #LindsayAnderson Archive. "See Your City" in a unique and unforgettable way!
November 28, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Reposted by Mark Annand
Last night's @thinkuhi.bsky.social excellent Public Seminar by Tom Fairfax is now online. Families, Networks and Informants: The Making of Orkneyinga saga

youtu.be/r2Tgd4HBkzI
Families, Networks and Informants: The Making of Orkneyinga Saga by Tom Fairfax
YouTube video by UHI Institute for Northern Studies
youtu.be
November 28, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Reposted by Mark Annand
Can anyone recommend an online misinformation 101 explainer? For someone who is literate but doesn’t seem to have been paying attention.
I’m arguing with a home ed group admin about a post that’s clearly from a Russian bot farm or similar, that’s been shared in the group.
November 28, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Reposted by Mark Annand
This Black Friday, we're looking at the science behind compulsive shopping

go.nature.com/4pFok9N
The science of shopping addiction: what makes people buy loads of stuff?
From China to Brazil to Germany, huge numbers of people are addicted to shopping, driven in part by companies that use gaming strategies.
go.nature.com
November 28, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Reposted by Mark Annand
So, my home town is having a meltdown on social media because a 50 year old brick and concrete bus shelter is being taken down to make way for a modern replacement.

Facebook posts commenced. Several a day on the Community pages.

An online petition was started.

And now... This.
November 28, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Reposted by Mark Annand
Thank goodness it wasn’t permenantly closed for ever
November 28, 2025 at 1:16 PM
The canal in Chester: the three-rise lock flight at Northgate isn't as built and is not the work of Telford - though he would have been involved in burying the bottom two lock chambers, altering the flight from an even more impressive five rise, yes?
November 28, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Reposted by Mark Annand
Yesterday, a chance for me to take an image I've had in mind for months- Matthew and Michael in homage to Richard and Dic Bach

An incredible end to an incredible tour. Back to where it all started in Pontrhydyfen, Burton's birthplace- incredible stuff from Matthew Rhys as Burton
November 27, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Reposted by Mark Annand
I have now had a comprehensive reply from @adamhug.bsky.social for which I am grateful, and he has offered a meeting with me and @ourmoh.bsky.social which is a very welcome development.
I spent hours yesterday at the tent encampment behind the Adelphi in London and as a result have sent this open letter with a plea for a meaningful intervention to
Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk
Adam Hug @adamhug.bsky.social
@matthewpennycookmp.bsky.social
@paulabarkermp.bsky.social and Bob Blackman
November 28, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Reposted by Mark Annand
Shrewsbury tries out evening buses
www.shrewsburymoves.com/nightbus
November 28, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Reposted by Mark Annand
We need to shut down Groups of 20 Something Men On Trains until we can figure out what is happening.
November 28, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Petition to discontinue use of petrol powered leaf blowers by local authorities or education providers tbh.
November 28, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Reposted by Mark Annand
Jesus fucking Christ, BBC
November 27, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Reposted by Mark Annand
St Thomas's Church has stood out like a spiritual beacon looking down on industrial Halifax from the hilltop at Claremount since the 1860s. However, in the 1960s, it lost its spire, then its congregation, then its religious status and slowly began to fade behind the ever-spreading hillside woodland.
November 27, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Reposted by Mark Annand
This really needs emphasizing. The entirety of the UK media ecosystem is utterly fixated on a 100% fabricated "crisis".
Net migration has fallen again to 204,000, the lowest level since 2021 and is forecast to continue falling over the coming years.

Not that you would know it from the endless coverage of Britain's supposed "immigration crisis"
November 27, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Two week cycle of rubbish collections here, and that thing happened where someone mischievously puts out their big black rubbish sack the day before and three quarters of the road falls for it, putting theirs out too. Tonight, outside every door, a dark shape waits forlornly.
November 27, 2025 at 7:28 PM