Ian Sowman
@iansowman.bsky.social
I actually think many of these steps are sensible, but the problem with this approach is that 106 deaths over five years just doesn't sound many. It represents about 0.2 per cent of deaths that will occur in this five year period.
We've joined with 15 local and national organisations, setting out 10 practical steps to address the city's road safety emergency and prevent needless deaths on our city's roads.
Will you join us by co-signing the asks in 2 minutes?: betterstreetsforbirmingham....
Will you join us by co-signing the asks in 2 minutes?: betterstreetsforbirmingham....
December 27, 2025 at 6:14 PM
I actually think many of these steps are sensible, but the problem with this approach is that 106 deaths over five years just doesn't sound many. It represents about 0.2 per cent of deaths that will occur in this five year period.
It was a wonderful opening night for It's a Wonderful Life at
Highbury Theatre.
🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
Highbury Theatre.
🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
It's a Wonderful Life
Highbury Theatre Centre 🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔
open.substack.com
December 2, 2025 at 11:10 PM
It was a wonderful opening night for It's a Wonderful Life at
Highbury Theatre.
🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
Highbury Theatre.
🔔🔔🔔🔔🔔
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
The Grange Playhouse in Walsall is staging a gripping production of Anthony Horowitz's dark thriller, Mindgame. See my ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review here.
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
Mindgame
The Grange Playhouse ⭐⭐⭐⭐
open.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:06 PM
The Grange Playhouse in Walsall is staging a gripping production of Anthony Horowitz's dark thriller, Mindgame. See my ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review here.
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
A seven-mile walk from Lichfield, incorporating the new McClean Way.
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
McClean sweep
A seven-mile circular walk featuring an old railway
open.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:23 PM
A seven-mile walk from Lichfield, incorporating the new McClean Way.
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
Almost all of Birmingham's 40mph maximum roads have seen the limit slashed to 30mph, but how thorough was the City Council's evidence to support the change, and does it really make much difference to motorists anyway?
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
Thirty is the new forty
There's limited evidence for Birmingham's speed limit change, but does it really matter?
open.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Almost all of Birmingham's 40mph maximum roads have seen the limit slashed to 30mph, but how thorough was the City Council's evidence to support the change, and does it really make much difference to motorists anyway?
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
Haunting Julia at @SuttonArts is well worth a look but hurry, as there are only three performances remaining.
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
Haunting Julia
Sutton Arts Theatre ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
open.substack.com
October 29, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Haunting Julia at @SuttonArts is well worth a look but hurry, as there are only three performances remaining.
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
Reposted by Ian Sowman
Midweek Ruffian! ianleslie.substack.com/p/why-are-ll...
Why Are LLMs Fixated On the Number 7?
When Randomness Isn't Random
ianleslie.substack.com
October 21, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Midweek Ruffian! ianleslie.substack.com/p/why-are-ll...
Hedda Gabler is a deliciously detestable character at the centre of a tight two-hour play that represents the best of theatre.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
Hedda Gabler
The Crescent Theatre ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
open.substack.com
October 21, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Hedda Gabler is a deliciously detestable character at the centre of a tight two-hour play that represents the best of theatre.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
Nine ways to survive and thrive as an audit trainee
Getting through the first year or two
open.substack.com
October 6, 2025 at 7:38 PM
My five star review of Jack Absolute Flies Again, an hilarious comedy at The Crescent Theatre until Saturday.
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
Jack Absolute Flies Again
The Crescent Theatre ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
open.substack.com
October 1, 2025 at 8:44 PM
My five star review of Jack Absolute Flies Again, an hilarious comedy at The Crescent Theatre until Saturday.
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
Excellent production of Witness for the Prosecution at Sutton Arts Theatre this evening.
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
Witness for the Prosecution
Sutton Arts Theatre ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
open.substack.com
September 11, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Excellent production of Witness for the Prosecution at Sutton Arts Theatre this evening.
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
Reposted by Ian Sowman
Something really striking about the energy transition in the UK is that, despite having halved our emissions since 1990, very few people are aware of this success - only a quarter of the public think we've made a meaningful difference to cutting our emissions
June 23, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Something really striking about the energy transition in the UK is that, despite having halved our emissions since 1990, very few people are aware of this success - only a quarter of the public think we've made a meaningful difference to cutting our emissions
Reposted by Ian Sowman
Palestine Action to be banned after break in at RAF base, Sky News understands
Palestine Action to be banned after break in at RAF base, Sky News understands
The home secretary is planning to proscribe the Palestine Action group, effectively branding them as a terrorist organisation, Sky News understands.
news.sky.com
June 20, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Palestine Action to be banned after break in at RAF base, Sky News understands
Road casualty numbers not falling, but not growing either. Not ideal that the statistics are flat, but equally they don't necessarily support "emergency" action.
If more people followed the Highway Code, there would be an improvement.
If more people followed the Highway Code, there would be an improvement.
Provisional estimates for road casualties in GB in 2024 released today.
1,633 fatalities (over 30 people a week)
29,537 killed or seriously injured (around 80 people a day)
Couldn't be clearer that a new approach to road danger reduction is needed in the UK's promised road safety strategy.
1,633 fatalities (over 30 people a week)
29,537 killed or seriously injured (around 80 people a day)
Couldn't be clearer that a new approach to road danger reduction is needed in the UK's promised road safety strategy.
May 29, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Road casualty numbers not falling, but not growing either. Not ideal that the statistics are flat, but equally they don't necessarily support "emergency" action.
If more people followed the Highway Code, there would be an improvement.
If more people followed the Highway Code, there would be an improvement.
Reposted by Ian Sowman
The case for using "global majority" by institutions should be rejected unless + until it can be shown
- most people understand what it means (most don't)
- most people it is about would like it used (most don't)
I find it a deeply incoherent fiction + a highly regressive term in some many ways
- most people understand what it means (most don't)
- most people it is about would like it used (most don't)
I find it a deeply incoherent fiction + a highly regressive term in some many ways
May 28, 2025 at 10:58 AM
The case for using "global majority" by institutions should be rejected unless + until it can be shown
- most people understand what it means (most don't)
- most people it is about would like it used (most don't)
I find it a deeply incoherent fiction + a highly regressive term in some many ways
- most people understand what it means (most don't)
- most people it is about would like it used (most don't)
I find it a deeply incoherent fiction + a highly regressive term in some many ways
Reposted by Ian Sowman
Blue Sky’s active user base is shrinking, not growing, and given the reaction anyone not fully Ideologically Pure gets when they join changing that’s gonna be hard.
But…at some point scale and revenue are gonna be needed to sustain the place. It’s not viable as it is!
But…at some point scale and revenue are gonna be needed to sustain the place. It’s not viable as it is!
(It’s also probably an issue that we’ve gone from 1.8 to 1.3 million users in like two months if you’re trying to take the long view on setting up an account)
May 26, 2025 at 7:42 AM
Blue Sky’s active user base is shrinking, not growing, and given the reaction anyone not fully Ideologically Pure gets when they join changing that’s gonna be hard.
But…at some point scale and revenue are gonna be needed to sustain the place. It’s not viable as it is!
But…at some point scale and revenue are gonna be needed to sustain the place. It’s not viable as it is!
Read about my trip to Bishopscourt last weekend, a visit that means I have - for the second time - watched racing at every UK and Ireland club racing venue.
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
Bishopscourt
Completing the set of UK and Ireland circuits (again)
open.substack.com
May 23, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Read about my trip to Bishopscourt last weekend, a visit that means I have - for the second time - watched racing at every UK and Ireland club racing venue.
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
It's snow joke - On The Piste at Sutton Arts Theatre sadly only gets ⭐⭐ from me.
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
On the Piste
Sutton Arts Theatre ⭐⭐
open.substack.com
May 3, 2025 at 11:12 PM
It's snow joke - On The Piste at Sutton Arts Theatre sadly only gets ⭐⭐ from me.
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
It literally is the law, always was.
Anyone who is still taking advice from Stonewall really ought to stop.
Anyone who is still taking advice from Stonewall really ought to stop.
May 1, 2025 at 6:35 PM
It literally is the law, always was.
Anyone who is still taking advice from Stonewall really ought to stop.
Anyone who is still taking advice from Stonewall really ought to stop.
Reposted by Ian Sowman
This week's Substack: I travelled to leafy Wendover to understand how a dispute over a farm track could delay parts of HS2 and cost taxpayers tens of millions of pounds.
I visited Britain's most expensive farm track
A dispute over a farm track in Buckinghamshire could cost taxpayers 'tens of millions' in delays to HS2 after local NIMBYs blocked a minor upgrade. I went to see that the fuss was about.
martinrobbins.substack.com
April 28, 2025 at 6:23 AM
This week's Substack: I travelled to leafy Wendover to understand how a dispute over a farm track could delay parts of HS2 and cost taxpayers tens of millions of pounds.
The response of LGBTQ+ organisations to the Supreme Court ruling shows where their priorities lie, is sadly unsurprising, and probably unwise.
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
The transparent priorities of LGBTQ+ organisations
Groups focusing on the TQ+ and sidelining some LGB people may need a strategic reset
open.substack.com
April 22, 2025 at 10:48 PM
The response of LGBTQ+ organisations to the Supreme Court ruling shows where their priorities lie, is sadly unsurprising, and probably unwise.
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
Reposted by Ian Sowman
What a difference a day makes. Who would have thought The Guardian would ever publish a reasoned and honest piece on this subject, such as this?
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
At last, a moment of clarity – the UK supreme court has upheld the rights of women | Susanna Rustin
It is vital that we give credit to the tireless campaigners who brought us to this point, says Guardian writer Susanna Rustin
www.theguardian.com
April 17, 2025 at 6:00 PM
What a difference a day makes. Who would have thought The Guardian would ever publish a reasoned and honest piece on this subject, such as this?
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Is it right that unions put the needs of a small number of adversely impacted workers ahead of those of hundreds of thousands of Birmingham residents?
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
April 15, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Is it right that unions put the needs of a small number of adversely impacted workers ahead of those of hundreds of thousands of Birmingham residents?
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
My review of the Crescent Theatre production of Murder on the Nile. It's the plot that limits this to ⭐⭐⭐.
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
Murder on the Nile
Crescent Theatre ⭐⭐⭐
open.substack.com
April 12, 2025 at 9:35 AM
My review of the Crescent Theatre production of Murder on the Nile. It's the plot that limits this to ⭐⭐⭐.
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...
open.substack.com/pub/iansowma...