Stuart Hedges
@stuarthedges.bsky.social
Serial adopter of retired greyhounds. Retrofitted a 1970s ex-council house with solar/batteries/heat pump/EV. Keen home cook.
Pinned
I've been meaning to do a thread about our eco-home retrofit, as it all happened before I started on Bluesky. Here goes!
Our house is a 1970s-built ex-council house, mid-terrace, timber frame. All very standard and ordinary.
Our house is a 1970s-built ex-council house, mid-terrace, timber frame. All very standard and ordinary.
A Bluesky crossover event - my clean energy nerds appear in AngryPILN. Top quality content.
That’s it, I’m changing this page to Smug Couples in Local Newspapers
Couple who lost power in blackout ran their home off car battery
Tina and John were able to keep their freezer going, run lights and wi-fi, charge their phones and even get some ironing done
www.cornwalllive.com
January 20, 2026 at 8:01 PM
A Bluesky crossover event - my clean energy nerds appear in AngryPILN. Top quality content.
Reposted by Stuart Hedges
NCC One Seven Zero One
January 17, 2026 at 9:58 AM
NCC One Seven Zero One
Reposted by Stuart Hedges
I don't know a PARTICULAR reason.
Let me think.
Well, first, I hate bullies. So, fuck transphobes.
Second, all the trans people I've met were awesome. I'm sure some are awful, but I sure haven't met any like that yet.
Third, the whole idea of life is the pursuit of your truth and happiness.
1/
Let me think.
Well, first, I hate bullies. So, fuck transphobes.
Second, all the trans people I've met were awesome. I'm sure some are awful, but I sure haven't met any like that yet.
Third, the whole idea of life is the pursuit of your truth and happiness.
1/
Gail, I love you. You are specifically outspoken about this topic when so many others are quiet. I've wondered, is there some specific reason why this topic in particular is so important to you? Because so many cis people can't be arsed, and you're different.
January 14, 2026 at 8:38 PM
I don't know a PARTICULAR reason.
Let me think.
Well, first, I hate bullies. So, fuck transphobes.
Second, all the trans people I've met were awesome. I'm sure some are awful, but I sure haven't met any like that yet.
Third, the whole idea of life is the pursuit of your truth and happiness.
1/
Let me think.
Well, first, I hate bullies. So, fuck transphobes.
Second, all the trans people I've met were awesome. I'm sure some are awful, but I sure haven't met any like that yet.
Third, the whole idea of life is the pursuit of your truth and happiness.
1/
I would LOVE to see international trains running from Ashford again. Little overnight stay in Lille or Paris, yes please.
OK, this one is going to annoy some people, but it needs to be said
You should not try to re-open Ashford and Ebbsfleet for #CrossChannelRail trains concurrently, you have to choose one or the other
And it should be
ASHFORD
Explained 👇
crosschannelrail.eu/ebbsfleet-or...
You should not try to re-open Ashford and Ebbsfleet for #CrossChannelRail trains concurrently, you have to choose one or the other
And it should be
ASHFORD
Explained 👇
crosschannelrail.eu/ebbsfleet-or...
Ebbsfleet or Ashford? It has to be one or the other, not both, and it needs to be Ashford
Discussion about re-opening Kent stations on HS1 between London and the Channel Tunnel is getting more interesting. The Bring Back Euro Trains campaign has been gathering public support to re-open the...
crosschannelrail.eu
January 14, 2026 at 3:36 PM
I would LOVE to see international trains running from Ashford again. Little overnight stay in Lille or Paris, yes please.
Watching Mannequin (1987) which I remember liking as a kid but haven't seen since. It's an oddity - I can see why a kid would like it, lots of it is like a cartoon, but while there's no nudity there's a *lot* of implied sex and sex jokes that I absolutely would have missed at the time.
January 13, 2026 at 8:37 PM
Watching Mannequin (1987) which I remember liking as a kid but haven't seen since. It's an oddity - I can see why a kid would like it, lots of it is like a cartoon, but while there's no nudity there's a *lot* of implied sex and sex jokes that I absolutely would have missed at the time.
My favourite game: answering replies to Jan's posts so he doesn't have to. Sometimes they're just ill-informed and I really want to reach those people and let them know a better world is possible.
Well-installed heat pumps installed in the UK today achieve on average a 64% higher efficiency than those during the early trials 15 years ago.
It is testament to the brilliant installers and to the technology getting better. More in our recent paper:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
It is testament to the brilliant installers and to the technology getting better. More in our recent paper:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
January 7, 2026 at 7:46 PM
My favourite game: answering replies to Jan's posts so he doesn't have to. Sometimes they're just ill-informed and I really want to reach those people and let them know a better world is possible.
I don't record data to this level of detail but Owen's experience broadly matches our own. I made the changes due to concern about climate change but the bill savings are extremely welcome as well.
So now that my @octopus.energy bill for December has come in, I can crunch the numbers and understand how our replacement ASHP has performed over the past year. Last December the massively oversized & poorly fitted ASHP was removed & our local @heat-geek.bsky.social trained installer replaced it.
January 7, 2026 at 10:18 AM
I don't record data to this level of detail but Owen's experience broadly matches our own. I made the changes due to concern about climate change but the bill savings are extremely welcome as well.
Reposted by Stuart Hedges
Happy new year! My all sky camera imaged the sky every 15 seconds and this picture shows what happened in the sky in 2025. It shows the length of the night and day with the hourglass shape, the monthly lunar cycle with the diagonal bands, the elevation of the Sun at local noon, and lots of clouds.
January 1, 2026 at 8:54 PM
Happy new year! My all sky camera imaged the sky every 15 seconds and this picture shows what happened in the sky in 2025. It shows the length of the night and day with the hourglass shape, the monthly lunar cycle with the diagonal bands, the elevation of the Sun at local noon, and lots of clouds.
Reposted by Stuart Hedges
There are MANY issues with Starmer’s messaging. But I always thought this govts best and easiest bet was to become THE government of the rules and fair play. Led by a former lawyer, lean into fairness, equality, law and order, justice for workers, respect for international law.
January 5, 2026 at 9:01 AM
There are MANY issues with Starmer’s messaging. But I always thought this govts best and easiest bet was to become THE government of the rules and fair play. Led by a former lawyer, lean into fairness, equality, law and order, justice for workers, respect for international law.
I wasn't going to make this about electrification but Madeleine mentions hoping to get off gas further down the thread so on second thoughts I will: burning potentially explosive fuel inside our homes is a really bad idea.
I understand why we got to this point but we don't need it any more.
I understand why we got to this point but we don't need it any more.
okay now that the situation is fully resolved, would you all like to hear about Chaos House Twixtmas?
I mean technically it wasn’t even OUR chaos, the gas leak was across the street
I mean technically it wasn’t even OUR chaos, the gas leak was across the street
January 4, 2026 at 2:17 PM
I wasn't going to make this about electrification but Madeleine mentions hoping to get off gas further down the thread so on second thoughts I will: burning potentially explosive fuel inside our homes is a really bad idea.
I understand why we got to this point but we don't need it any more.
I understand why we got to this point but we don't need it any more.
We watched all three Knives Out films over the last three evenings and they're brilliant. I just wish I could have seen them at the cinema, I really do think Netflix is wrong about the streaming future. Would have loved to see them as part of an audience.
January 2, 2026 at 12:45 PM
We watched all three Knives Out films over the last three evenings and they're brilliant. I just wish I could have seen them at the cinema, I really do think Netflix is wrong about the streaming future. Would have loved to see them as part of an audience.
Retrofit has different challenges (there's been healthy debate on my feed about insulation v electrification in recent days) but for new builds this is just a no brainer.
That figure on the saving lines up with our real-life experience.
That figure on the saving lines up with our real-life experience.
Housebuilders have been lobbying against the inclusion of batteries which would cost an estimated £2,000-5,000 for each new home but... savings on an average 3-bed, semi-detached home from a heat pump, solar panels and batteries would be roughly £1,350 a year.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Ministers may cut green tech mandate from new homes regulations in England
Critics say removing battery installation requirement will reduce amount homebuyers save on energy bills
www.theguardian.com
January 2, 2026 at 8:08 AM
Retrofit has different challenges (there's been healthy debate on my feed about insulation v electrification in recent days) but for new builds this is just a no brainer.
That figure on the saving lines up with our real-life experience.
That figure on the saving lines up with our real-life experience.
Sat at the next table from Steve Coogan in a restaurant. Didn't know until my friend, who was sitting opposite and could therefore see his face, told me who it had been after he left.
Please quote this with the time you didn’t interact with someone famous - eg one time I was in Cardiff the same weekend as Willem Dafoe (but I didn’t see him or even know he was there until he appeared on the telly later)
Please quote this with your major interactions with massive celebrities. eg “I was married to the pope for fifteen years”
December 30, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Sat at the next table from Steve Coogan in a restaurant. Didn't know until my friend, who was sitting opposite and could therefore see his face, told me who it had been after he left.
No matter what you think of Shamima Begum or what she did, this decision set a precedent which could lead to my mum getting deported.
Out of all the appalling things the last government did, including Brexit, it's right up there with the worst.
Out of all the appalling things the last government did, including Brexit, it's right up there with the worst.
Shamima Begum was the beginning of something in so many ways, one of which was 'the last government's inability to just do its job properly (in this case by passing legislation that would have allowed it to prosecute her here at home) and instead going 'no option but to undermine all our rights'.
There should be literally no circumstances, ever, where citizenship is can be revoked. If you literally sign up to fight for an opposing army in a war, then we should prosecute you for treason not revoke citizenship
December 29, 2025 at 10:15 PM
No matter what you think of Shamima Begum or what she did, this decision set a precedent which could lead to my mum getting deported.
Out of all the appalling things the last government did, including Brexit, it's right up there with the worst.
Out of all the appalling things the last government did, including Brexit, it's right up there with the worst.
Entirely by chance @talkingpicturestv.bsky.social showed this around the time of this episode and I finally had time to watch the film last night and listened to the pod this morning.
A beloved British hero, a masked German, a super-weapon, and... a time-travelling 1980s New York executive? We're watching the ultimate crime against literature and cinema: the Biggles movie. With @wallaceme.bsky.social of Total Politics, who was scarred for life by this film.
pod.fo/e/3564bb
pod.fo/e/3564bb
December 26, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Entirely by chance @talkingpicturestv.bsky.social showed this around the time of this episode and I finally had time to watch the film last night and listened to the pod this morning.
We made the changes to the house for environmental reasons but if you're arguing with someone who doesn't believe in climate change just show them my annual electricity bill.
We have an EV so don't forget this figure includes fuel for the car.
We have an EV so don't forget this figure includes fuel for the car.
2025: £683.47
Our bills run from the 15th of the month so I'm not cheating by posting this before the end of the year, it is like-with-like on the previous years' numbers.
We haven't changed anything in the house or our behaviour, it was a sunnier summer and Octopus are paying more for export now.
Our bills run from the 15th of the month so I'm not cheating by posting this before the end of the year, it is like-with-like on the previous years' numbers.
We haven't changed anything in the house or our behaviour, it was a sunnier summer and Octopus are paying more for export now.
December 22, 2025 at 12:22 PM
We made the changes to the house for environmental reasons but if you're arguing with someone who doesn't believe in climate change just show them my annual electricity bill.
We have an EV so don't forget this figure includes fuel for the car.
We have an EV so don't forget this figure includes fuel for the car.
Reposted by Stuart Hedges
Spooner's career as a continuity announcer was short-lived
December 22, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Spooner's career as a continuity announcer was short-lived
They've pulled it out of the hat again.
This is fantastic.
This is fantastic.
December 21, 2025 at 2:30 PM
They've pulled it out of the hat again.
This is fantastic.
This is fantastic.
This is an excellent article. It doesn't mention the BUS grant - I assume deliberately, that's not the focus of the article - so I would just add that you'll get £7.5k off the cost of installation.
December 21, 2025 at 2:24 PM
This is an excellent article. It doesn't mention the BUS grant - I assume deliberately, that's not the focus of the article - so I would just add that you'll get £7.5k off the cost of installation.
Great thread about what is, let's be honest, my absolute favourite film.
December 21, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Great thread about what is, let's be honest, my absolute favourite film.
Believe it or not I have stayed in this building and I loved every second of it. It's an incredible place... Crowdfunder anyone?
search.savills.com/property-det...
search.savills.com/property-det...
Kinloch Castle, Isle of Rum, PH43 4RR | Property for sale | Savills
Property details for Kinloch Castle. One of many properties for sale in Isle of Rum, PH43 4RR from Savills, world leading estate agents.
search.savills.com
December 19, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Believe it or not I have stayed in this building and I loved every second of it. It's an incredible place... Crowdfunder anyone?
search.savills.com/property-det...
search.savills.com/property-det...
Watching Amélie and there's a line which is rendered in the subtitles as "I've known lots of boys, they're interested until they discover chestnuts and snowballs" - I can only assume this is a French idiom that I don't know, which doesn't work in English.
This is an absolutely terrible idea. Today I learned about the French joke of asking an English speaker, "where is Brian?" It's about a language textbook, rather like "la plume de ma tante est dans le jardin". How do you get from Brian to pens in gardens? THAT'S the job of a translator.
Hard no to this: French publisher Harlequin has told translators that their work will now be done by AI. They can ‘revise’ AI translations at much lower rate. It’s a subsidiary of Harper Collins so treat this as a test for rollout elsewhere
December 19, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Watching Amélie and there's a line which is rendered in the subtitles as "I've known lots of boys, they're interested until they discover chestnuts and snowballs" - I can only assume this is a French idiom that I don't know, which doesn't work in English.
I was really sad to hear that Brighton Retired Greyhounds are having to close their doors after nearly 50 years of rehoming these gentle dogs.
If you're in the area and thinking of getting a dog they're great pets. #Greyhound
www.brightonrgt.org.uk
If you're in the area and thinking of getting a dog they're great pets. #Greyhound
www.brightonrgt.org.uk
Brighton Retired Greyhounds
Brighton Retired Greyhounds
www.brightonrgt.org.uk
December 10, 2025 at 6:26 PM
I was really sad to hear that Brighton Retired Greyhounds are having to close their doors after nearly 50 years of rehoming these gentle dogs.
If you're in the area and thinking of getting a dog they're great pets. #Greyhound
www.brightonrgt.org.uk
If you're in the area and thinking of getting a dog they're great pets. #Greyhound
www.brightonrgt.org.uk
Watching The Sea Devils and I was struck by Pertwee's impeccable radio procedure, which reminded me that any actor his age would have seen war service. Quite an incredible career.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Per...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Per...
Jon Pertwee - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
December 8, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Watching The Sea Devils and I was struck by Pertwee's impeccable radio procedure, which reminded me that any actor his age would have seen war service. Quite an incredible career.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Per...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Per...