Alex
@arichards.bsky.social
Avid cartographer, part-time psephologist, amateur musician.
Rather coming to the conclusion that Bro Morgannwg shouldn't really exist at this point.
February 10, 2026 at 10:33 PM
Rather coming to the conclusion that Bro Morgannwg shouldn't really exist at this point.
It was also basically the last big piece of media before Rowling started being Transphobic in a noticable manner- IIRC it was starting to show by film 2?
Probably ties in to why the questionable later plot decisions were given so much less grace...
Probably ties in to why the questionable later plot decisions were given so much less grace...
February 10, 2026 at 7:11 PM
It was also basically the last big piece of media before Rowling started being Transphobic in a noticable manner- IIRC it was starting to show by film 2?
Probably ties in to why the questionable later plot decisions were given so much less grace...
Probably ties in to why the questionable later plot decisions were given so much less grace...
Pretty sure Bangor is a stop in a fit of 'oh better have something in Wales if it's going through... uh yeah that's far enough from Liverpool'.
February 7, 2026 at 12:08 PM
Pretty sure Bangor is a stop in a fit of 'oh better have something in Wales if it's going through... uh yeah that's far enough from Liverpool'.
Have to say, I did not have 'state funeral by proxy for Giorgio Armani as part of the Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony' on my bingo card, but you can't say it's not representative of Milan...
February 6, 2026 at 7:38 PM
Have to say, I did not have 'state funeral by proxy for Giorgio Armani as part of the Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony' on my bingo card, but you can't say it's not representative of Milan...
Pretty sure I bought this one after Generations and Colours for the Wii and... yeah bit of a downgrade in terms of the controls.
February 6, 2026 at 7:18 AM
Pretty sure I bought this one after Generations and Colours for the Wii and... yeah bit of a downgrade in terms of the controls.
This is the back story to a 'how basic police work overturned a 30 year old verdict' true crime podcast.
February 3, 2026 at 7:29 AM
This is the back story to a 'how basic police work overturned a 30 year old verdict' true crime podcast.
The star witness changes their tune 25 years later after watching a mock trial on HBO 'proving' Ray's innocence and initiates the case. The prosecuting attorney is the guy from thst televised mock trial. The star witness then falls ill and never actually testifies.
February 3, 2026 at 7:29 AM
The star witness changes their tune 25 years later after watching a mock trial on HBO 'proving' Ray's innocence and initiates the case. The prosecuting attorney is the guy from thst televised mock trial. The star witness then falls ill and never actually testifies.
I hsve literally just learned of the Jowers trial and everything about it is so sketchy that if it had been how the official answer was reached, everyone would agree it was a show trial to cover for something.
February 3, 2026 at 7:29 AM
I hsve literally just learned of the Jowers trial and everything about it is so sketchy that if it had been how the official answer was reached, everyone would agree it was a show trial to cover for something.
I reckon its because the Alamo and brief republic have offered enough of an alternative foundation to construct a state identity on, whereas the Deep South has nothing but Dixie
February 1, 2026 at 1:34 PM
I reckon its because the Alamo and brief republic have offered enough of an alternative foundation to construct a state identity on, whereas the Deep South has nothing but Dixie
It's the Themes as well of course- it *feels* correct that Shakespeare's last play is the one where the main character is a man surrendering his books and his art and abandoning the power to craft dreams and control the very heavens and the spirits. Rather than being 'that Wolsey, am I right?'
January 31, 2026 at 5:24 PM
It's the Themes as well of course- it *feels* correct that Shakespeare's last play is the one where the main character is a man surrendering his books and his art and abandoning the power to craft dreams and control the very heavens and the spirits. Rather than being 'that Wolsey, am I right?'
Also, The Tempest is the Castafiore Emerald of Shakespeare- two works that feel so perfect as a finale to a career that it's frustrating that the guy wrote more afterwards and spoiled the narrative.
January 31, 2026 at 12:08 PM
Also, The Tempest is the Castafiore Emerald of Shakespeare- two works that feel so perfect as a finale to a career that it's frustrating that the guy wrote more afterwards and spoiled the narrative.
With the obvious compare and contrast with The Tempest which has a strong 'ok so obviously *this* daughter is good and dutiful but they still have a longing to leave the nest and as a father you have to accept that' motif.
January 31, 2026 at 12:06 PM
With the obvious compare and contrast with The Tempest which has a strong 'ok so obviously *this* daughter is good and dutiful but they still have a longing to leave the nest and as a father you have to accept that' motif.
On this exact situation, Nottingham definitely feels like a City, Derby feels borderline, Leicester is more city-like but that'll partially be because its further from Notts.
January 30, 2026 at 7:35 PM
On this exact situation, Nottingham definitely feels like a City, Derby feels borderline, Leicester is more city-like but that'll partially be because its further from Notts.
And as a bonus, here's the brief 1996-1999 period when the Unitary councils had been established but before either devolution or the tidying up of the preserved counties had occurred. 7/7
January 29, 2026 at 11:50 PM
And as a bonus, here's the brief 1996-1999 period when the Unitary councils had been established but before either devolution or the tidying up of the preserved counties had occurred. 7/7
The other interesting thing is how flexible the Welsh district have been compared to the English ones. In just this map, we have Monmouth gaining a whole parish from Newport in 1983 and another from Blaenau Gwent in 1996, along with the Caerphilly merger. 6/7
January 29, 2026 at 11:50 PM
The other interesting thing is how flexible the Welsh district have been compared to the English ones. In just this map, we have Monmouth gaining a whole parish from Newport in 1983 and another from Blaenau Gwent in 1996, along with the Caerphilly merger. 6/7
As a side note, Risca East and Risca Town are merging in probably 2027 (it's just waiting for the statutory order). Mostly because it turns out that splitting the town arbitrarily into tow communities for electoral purposes and then giving each community its own council just leads to confusion. 5/7
January 29, 2026 at 11:50 PM
As a side note, Risca East and Risca Town are merging in probably 2027 (it's just waiting for the statutory order). Mostly because it turns out that splitting the town arbitrarily into tow communities for electoral purposes and then giving each community its own council just leads to confusion. 5/7
and Islwyn - which seems to have been reluctant to acknowledge the idea that Communities could have their own council- I believe Blackwood and Argoed were created in 1996, but the only ones since then have been the two Risca councils created in 2013. 4/7
January 29, 2026 at 11:50 PM
and Islwyn - which seems to have been reluctant to acknowledge the idea that Communities could have their own council- I believe Blackwood and Argoed were created in 1996, but the only ones since then have been the two Risca councils created in 2013. 4/7
Newport - which created a bunch of new inner urban communities but didn't even create a council for Caerleon; Rhymney Valley - which split up the old Caerphilly borough and gave everywhere a community council; 3/7
January 29, 2026 at 11:50 PM
Newport - which created a bunch of new inner urban communities but didn't even create a council for Caerleon; Rhymney Valley - which split up the old Caerphilly borough and gave everywhere a community council; 3/7
You can also see the contrast between Blaenau Gwent - which split the old Ebbw Vale borough into communities gradually but didn't give them councils; Torfaen - which split Pontypool and Cwmbran but then created joint community councils; 2/7
January 29, 2026 at 11:50 PM
You can also see the contrast between Blaenau Gwent - which split the old Ebbw Vale borough into communities gradually but didn't give them councils; Torfaen - which split Pontypool and Cwmbran but then created joint community councils; 2/7
And here's Gwent in 1974. Plus Rhymney Valley from Mid Glamorgan. One of the very interesting things here is that all the old districts were converted into Communities, so we actually have the absolutely humongous community of 'Newport', which obviously didn't have its own Community Council. 1/7
January 29, 2026 at 11:50 PM
And here's Gwent in 1974. Plus Rhymney Valley from Mid Glamorgan. One of the very interesting things here is that all the old districts were converted into Communities, so we actually have the absolutely humongous community of 'Newport', which obviously didn't have its own Community Council. 1/7
Iceland technically had full domestic independence from 1918, with an 'in 1940 the agreement to share the Danish monarch and let them represent us diplomatically gets renegotiated' clause. So basically they just waited out the 3 year renogtiation period and then went 'ok, we're leaving now.'
January 25, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Iceland technically had full domestic independence from 1918, with an 'in 1940 the agreement to share the Danish monarch and let them represent us diplomatically gets renegotiated' clause. So basically they just waited out the 3 year renogtiation period and then went 'ok, we're leaving now.'
Violent revolution pretty much requires that there's people who want the system around enough to retain it. When almost nobody really believes in the regime anymore you get the rapid collapse of the Warsaw Pact instead.
January 25, 2026 at 10:47 AM
Violent revolution pretty much requires that there's people who want the system around enough to retain it. When almost nobody really believes in the regime anymore you get the rapid collapse of the Warsaw Pact instead.
Worth remembering that a third of the colonial population were commited loyalists, some of whom became reconciled to independence after the British were militarily defeated and some of whom proceeded to move to Canada or other retained colonies.
January 25, 2026 at 10:47 AM
Worth remembering that a third of the colonial population were commited loyalists, some of whom became reconciled to independence after the British were militarily defeated and some of whom proceeded to move to Canada or other retained colonies.
Have just worked out from some comments about it that the new game SubwayBuilder's UK expansion is essentially crippled because its 'made using real cenus info' ethos means you're trying to build a profitable transit network using Covid datasets...
January 23, 2026 at 12:20 AM
Have just worked out from some comments about it that the new game SubwayBuilder's UK expansion is essentially crippled because its 'made using real cenus info' ethos means you're trying to build a profitable transit network using Covid datasets...
Marquetry tabletop, probably Italian, for me.
January 17, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Marquetry tabletop, probably Italian, for me.