The starkest difference between Britain and Ireland is surely the culture around death and mourning. They don't know what a month's mind is, we don't know why they have cartoons of Paddington Bear walking into the rain with a recently deceased public figure.

They have ran some spectacularly bad takes in my life time and yet she still stands out. Impressive really.

Just gonna keep reminding myself that I am an expert in human rights and she is an expert in bad opinions.

In Ireland, more properties were bought this year by landlords than by people hoping to live in them. Mostly large landlords, not the sainted mom and pops of it all. People who already own tens or hundreds of properties bought even more of them. They're not fleeing the market, they're destroying it.

That's your "I inherited a house" or "I owned and then moved in with a partner" type scenario and the RTB's own data shows that that is *not* the majority of rental scenarios. The majority is landlords owning 3+ properties and often a great many more than that. LET THEM LEAVE.

Just makes living here very special on a day-to-day level. It is lovely for a walk, and to bring people when they visit, but the real magic is the impact outside the fence.

I thought when we moved here that people were exaggerating the increase in birdlife, but now we really see it ourselves.

If they try and do the same terrible things again, it might stop them from doing new terrible things?

Also shouting at me to remind me to check my rat traps because this effort actually requires sustained community support and involvement.

Hope is something I am really trying to work on right now, and on days when that seems impossible, the fact that I live in a city with a rapidly increasing biodiversity is a balm.

It is like they are shouting at me to remind me to be hopeful.

@cbmuk.bsky.social