Thomas Bell
@realthomasbell.bsky.social
Getting through this with everyone else.
Reposted by Thomas Bell
This is interesting and it reflects extremely well on the civil engineering profession.
The hidden chemical attack that forced the Northern line’s extraordinary repair
www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/the...
www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/the...
The hidden chemical attack that forced the Northern line’s extraordinary repair
Thirty years ago, an entire section of the Northern line had to be replaced because it was under attack from acid, and hardly anyone noticed that it was happening.
www.ianvisits.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 12:48 PM
This is interesting and it reflects extremely well on the civil engineering profession.
I would volunteer to be in such a think tank. Just finding banal statements relevant to the topic at hand.
Sometimes wonder if what the UK needs is a thinktank that doesn't do any new research, it just repeats obviously true statements that people try to ignore because they're inconvenient.
International students cross-subsidise home students. Your pension is paid for out of general taxation.
International students cross-subsidise home students. Your pension is paid for out of general taxation.
November 25, 2025 at 1:11 PM
I would volunteer to be in such a think tank. Just finding banal statements relevant to the topic at hand.
I can’t get over about how bad this movie was. I know it can’t have been the worst Jurassic World movie because of all the others, but while I was watching it it *felt* like the worst possible movie.
Belated views of recent ish movies. Firstly, the new Jurassic World: Rebirth. Absolutely terrible. The bizarre decision to limit dinosaurs to one part of the world was a cowardly and lazy decision emblematic of the movie as a whole, which was entirely predictable and trope after trope.
November 25, 2025 at 1:08 PM
I can’t get over about how bad this movie was. I know it can’t have been the worst Jurassic World movie because of all the others, but while I was watching it it *felt* like the worst possible movie.
Reposted by Thomas Bell
Britain: funding care for the elderly by taxing houses based on what they were worth in 1991, for reasons no one can now remember.
November 25, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Britain: funding care for the elderly by taxing houses based on what they were worth in 1991, for reasons no one can now remember.
Reposted by Thomas Bell
Twenty years since I had to sit and listen to David Miliband pretending that postponing council tax revaluation was a brave political decision, rather than a cowardly mistake.
These reports the Government could revalue council tax bands F, G and H don't make sense to me. Here's what could actually be going on:
November 25, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Twenty years since I had to sit and listen to David Miliband pretending that postponing council tax revaluation was a brave political decision, rather than a cowardly mistake.
Reposted by Thomas Bell
The top two posts on my Instagram feed are from two Labour cabinet ministers and are slightly different in tone, approach, and engagement.
November 25, 2025 at 9:04 AM
The top two posts on my Instagram feed are from two Labour cabinet ministers and are slightly different in tone, approach, and engagement.
Reposted by Thomas Bell
What really turns me into a personal responsibility jackass is people complaining about the price of gas. Unless you drive God’s own cars (hybrid Honda civic hatchback or Prius), I Don’t Want To Hear It. I more than don’t want to hear it, I want $8 gas for you to suffer specifically.
Just heard a radio commercial for an app saying the average American spends $5,000 a year on gas. There’s no WAY that’s true even in our car dependent country. Average American drives ~14k miles per year. Even if only getting 20 mpg, that’s 700 gallons of gas/year. Gas doesn’t cost >$7/gal.
November 24, 2025 at 2:35 AM
What really turns me into a personal responsibility jackass is people complaining about the price of gas. Unless you drive God’s own cars (hybrid Honda civic hatchback or Prius), I Don’t Want To Hear It. I more than don’t want to hear it, I want $8 gas for you to suffer specifically.
Reposted by Thomas Bell
Basilica emerges from lake, illuminating early Church life in Turkey.
Known as the Basilica of the Holy Fathers, it marks the site of one of the early Church's most important gatherings which took place in Nicaea 12 years after the Roman Empire legalised Christianity in AD 325
u.afp.com/Sh5e
Known as the Basilica of the Holy Fathers, it marks the site of one of the early Church's most important gatherings which took place in Nicaea 12 years after the Roman Empire legalised Christianity in AD 325
u.afp.com/Sh5e
November 24, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Basilica emerges from lake, illuminating early Church life in Turkey.
Known as the Basilica of the Holy Fathers, it marks the site of one of the early Church's most important gatherings which took place in Nicaea 12 years after the Roman Empire legalised Christianity in AD 325
u.afp.com/Sh5e
Known as the Basilica of the Holy Fathers, it marks the site of one of the early Church's most important gatherings which took place in Nicaea 12 years after the Roman Empire legalised Christianity in AD 325
u.afp.com/Sh5e
Belated views of recent ish movies. Firstly, the new Jurassic World: Rebirth. Absolutely terrible. The bizarre decision to limit dinosaurs to one part of the world was a cowardly and lazy decision emblematic of the movie as a whole, which was entirely predictable and trope after trope.
November 24, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Belated views of recent ish movies. Firstly, the new Jurassic World: Rebirth. Absolutely terrible. The bizarre decision to limit dinosaurs to one part of the world was a cowardly and lazy decision emblematic of the movie as a whole, which was entirely predictable and trope after trope.
Reposted by Thomas Bell
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
The Economic Impact of Brexit
Other
siepr.stanford.edu
November 24, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
Reposted by Thomas Bell
Bodied by my eldest , frankly
November 24, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Bodied by my eldest , frankly
High house prices, the children of the rich will complain too!
I don't think this was actually deliberately published as ragebait, but the entitlement contained within is remarkable and a classic example of the sort of sentiment governments sometimes just have to face down inews.co.uk/inews-lifest...?
We were hit with a £148k inheritance tax bill when mum died at 97 - it's disgusting
Jill Lemon has labelled inheritance tax as 'cruel', 'horrible' and 'unfair'
inews.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 5:22 PM
High house prices, the children of the rich will complain too!
Reposted by Thomas Bell
I took the K-12 student certification to see how it works. Sample question.
November 24, 2025 at 12:03 PM
I took the K-12 student certification to see how it works. Sample question.
Reposted by Thomas Bell
1p on Income Tax would raise 20 times this, cost the average person around £30 a month at most, and, crucially, not risk collapsing one of our most valuable sectors.
i: Reeves to unveil £600m raid on foreign student
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
November 24, 2025 at 10:33 AM
1p on Income Tax would raise 20 times this, cost the average person around £30 a month at most, and, crucially, not risk collapsing one of our most valuable sectors.
Reposted by Thomas Bell
Amazing story, state legislator and Turning Points USA leader who crusaded against bogus voter fraud claims pleads guilty to attempted election fraud. azmirror.com/briefs/turni...
Turning Point leader, former GOP Rep pleads guilty to attempted election fraud | Arizona Mirror
Austin Smith election fraud guilty plea: Former GOP Rep admits forging 100+ signatures on ballot petitions in Arizona
azmirror.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Amazing story, state legislator and Turning Points USA leader who crusaded against bogus voter fraud claims pleads guilty to attempted election fraud. azmirror.com/briefs/turni...
Reposted by Thomas Bell
For decades, China's only electrified suburban railway was a 300km-system in Fushun, an industrial city of a little over a million in Liaoning province. I wrote a little about it: kaptrice.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
The Fushun Electric Railway - China's First Electric Railway
China is not a country well-known for legacy suburban railways. Although lately several dozen new-build lines have appeared, and several mai...
kaptrice.blogspot.com
November 18, 2025 at 8:21 PM
For decades, China's only electrified suburban railway was a 300km-system in Fushun, an industrial city of a little over a million in Liaoning province. I wrote a little about it: kaptrice.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
Reposted by Thomas Bell
Indeed. Railway nationalisation doesn't have to be like this: not every nationalised railway is 'Germany in 2025' or 'the United Kingdom in 1994', but it's wild seeing the government actively go 'British Rail in 1989, here we come baby!'
"You know how British Rail was starved of investment because governments kept prices artificially low? And how privatisation has seen ridership increase with increased ticket prices underpinning much needed investment?
Well, we've nationalised it again, so we can go back to freezing ticket prices!"
Well, we've nationalised it again, so we can go back to freezing ticket prices!"
November 23, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Indeed. Railway nationalisation doesn't have to be like this: not every nationalised railway is 'Germany in 2025' or 'the United Kingdom in 1994', but it's wild seeing the government actively go 'British Rail in 1989, here we come baby!'
I do think this is actually turning around. Not sure whether pink and blue will fully flip genders again but the recent associations are near an end.
Maga is in meltdown over a preppy pink sweater for men. So, what exactly is the problem? | Ellie Violet Bramley
Maga is in meltdown over a preppy pink sweater for men. So, what exactly is the problem? | Ellie Violet Bramley
The outrage a J Crew jumper has provoked shows that the US right’s sense of masculinity is far more fragile than it would care to admit, says freelance writer Ellie Violet Bramley
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2025 at 9:28 AM
I do think this is actually turning around. Not sure whether pink and blue will fully flip genders again but the recent associations are near an end.
Reposted by Thomas Bell
This one is a bit more accurate tbf. Grilled cheese is a basic staple lots of people eat, that’s friends, ok, will accept this comparison
November 23, 2025 at 9:17 AM
This one is a bit more accurate tbf. Grilled cheese is a basic staple lots of people eat, that’s friends, ok, will accept this comparison
Reposted by Thomas Bell
Why did we spend so much money on testing, tracing but essentially nothing on isolation? Just built a big machine to be able to go 'wow! There's a lot of covid out there!'
November 22, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Why did we spend so much money on testing, tracing but essentially nothing on isolation? Just built a big machine to be able to go 'wow! There's a lot of covid out there!'
Reposted by Thomas Bell
There is a second political strategy imho. GM is not as robust as it looks. One or two Reform led councils could completely disrupt the entire show, which is predicated on everyone largely moving as one. This is partly intended to futureproof a collective investment strategy and its principle
November 22, 2025 at 9:18 AM
There is a second political strategy imho. GM is not as robust as it looks. One or two Reform led councils could completely disrupt the entire show, which is predicated on everyone largely moving as one. This is partly intended to futureproof a collective investment strategy and its principle
Reposted by Thomas Bell
FT investigation:
Tuna-fishing has among the worst working conditions of any fishing.
If you buy tuna from a UK supermarket, you may be buying the product of modern slavery. ig.ft.com/supermarket-...
Tuna-fishing has among the worst working conditions of any fishing.
If you buy tuna from a UK supermarket, you may be buying the product of modern slavery. ig.ft.com/supermarket-...
November 21, 2025 at 12:46 PM
FT investigation:
Tuna-fishing has among the worst working conditions of any fishing.
If you buy tuna from a UK supermarket, you may be buying the product of modern slavery. ig.ft.com/supermarket-...
Tuna-fishing has among the worst working conditions of any fishing.
If you buy tuna from a UK supermarket, you may be buying the product of modern slavery. ig.ft.com/supermarket-...
Reposted by Thomas Bell
If you like cute cats with stupidly brilliant names, photographed amongst very pretty Oxford architecture, this article from @oxfordclarion.bsky.social is for you: oxfordclarion.uk/college-cats...
College cats of Oxford
Once upon a time, we featured an image of Magdalen's kitten, Ozymandias, in our newsletter. We figured it might be a gentle contrast to our regular diet of planning and local politics.
The grey ball ...
oxfordclarion.uk
November 21, 2025 at 10:43 AM
If you like cute cats with stupidly brilliant names, photographed amongst very pretty Oxford architecture, this article from @oxfordclarion.bsky.social is for you: oxfordclarion.uk/college-cats...
What was the lower court thinking
Judge James McCourt heard that an aggrieved lawyer and his wife had recorded for 18 months what Coco the cat had got up to night and day in their newly-laid-out front garden at their Mountain View Road home in Ranelagh, Dublin.
jrnl.ie/6881470
jrnl.ie/6881470
Judge shown videos of cat defecating in south Dublin garden after neighbours brought owner to court
Michael Nugent, a leading Dublin solicitor, appeared for and represented himself and his wife.
jrnl.ie
November 21, 2025 at 5:33 AM
What was the lower court thinking
Reposted by Thomas Bell
Weird thing: the UK minimum wage has risen against inflation for years. It's now really high. Millions of people are earning more than they were as a direct result of this policy. And the impact on the vibes of the country is… entirely absent?
November 19, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Weird thing: the UK minimum wage has risen against inflation for years. It's now really high. Millions of people are earning more than they were as a direct result of this policy. And the impact on the vibes of the country is… entirely absent?