Steve Gilbert
@ombudsmans61pc.bsky.social
Time for ombuds schemes that are: pro-people and pro-justice.
And not: pro-business.
Expelled from Twitter on Halloween 2024.
Spooky.
And not: pro-business.
Expelled from Twitter on Halloween 2024.
Spooky.
171...We've been warning since The RICS "appointed" OS:Property fiasco that there needed to be world-class transparent and accountable regulatory systems.
That would be: Good For Democracy.
Sadly Starmer-Freebie Labour aren't the party to deliver it...
That would be: Good For Democracy.
Sadly Starmer-Freebie Labour aren't the party to deliver it...
January 2, 2026 at 5:00 PM
171...We've been warning since The RICS "appointed" OS:Property fiasco that there needed to be world-class transparent and accountable regulatory systems.
That would be: Good For Democracy.
Sadly Starmer-Freebie Labour aren't the party to deliver it...
That would be: Good For Democracy.
Sadly Starmer-Freebie Labour aren't the party to deliver it...
Reposted by Steve Gilbert
This is why I love dogs
January 2, 2026 at 12:49 PM
This is why I love dogs
Reposted by Steve Gilbert
1/x
“Tables and Columns” — Tables between pillars under a portico, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
On a cool May Day, these tables…continues: gdanmitchell.com/2026/01/02/t...
#Architecture #travel #santiagodecompostela #spain #europe #streetphotography #monochrome #blackandwhite #photography
“Tables and Columns” — Tables between pillars under a portico, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
On a cool May Day, these tables…continues: gdanmitchell.com/2026/01/02/t...
#Architecture #travel #santiagodecompostela #spain #europe #streetphotography #monochrome #blackandwhite #photography
January 2, 2026 at 4:29 PM
1/x
“Tables and Columns” — Tables between pillars under a portico, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
On a cool May Day, these tables…continues: gdanmitchell.com/2026/01/02/t...
#Architecture #travel #santiagodecompostela #spain #europe #streetphotography #monochrome #blackandwhite #photography
“Tables and Columns” — Tables between pillars under a portico, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
On a cool May Day, these tables…continues: gdanmitchell.com/2026/01/02/t...
#Architecture #travel #santiagodecompostela #spain #europe #streetphotography #monochrome #blackandwhite #photography
Reposted by Steve Gilbert
youtu.be/5yJmBC7cMTM
Good morning Good Friday morning Dead people, let there be songs to fill the air, have a fantastic Friday friends, 🎹🎶🌹💀⚡️💀🌹🎶🎹😘🤗
Good morning Good Friday morning Dead people, let there be songs to fill the air, have a fantastic Friday friends, 🎹🎶🌹💀⚡️💀🌹🎶🎹😘🤗
Grateful Dead - Ripple (New York, NY 10/31/80) (Official Live Video)
YouTube video by Grateful Dead
youtu.be
January 2, 2026 at 1:21 PM
youtu.be/5yJmBC7cMTM
Good morning Good Friday morning Dead people, let there be songs to fill the air, have a fantastic Friday friends, 🎹🎶🌹💀⚡️💀🌹🎶🎹😘🤗
Good morning Good Friday morning Dead people, let there be songs to fill the air, have a fantastic Friday friends, 🎹🎶🌹💀⚡️💀🌹🎶🎹😘🤗
Reposted by Steve Gilbert
Happy New Year and happy 25th anniversary to the Jurassic Coast WHS! This #FossilFriday we're introducing a fossil of the month to celebrate the collectors who make this place what it is. We're kicking it off with this beautiful ammonite from local collector Lizzie Hingley. (1/2)
January 2, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Happy New Year and happy 25th anniversary to the Jurassic Coast WHS! This #FossilFriday we're introducing a fossil of the month to celebrate the collectors who make this place what it is. We're kicking it off with this beautiful ammonite from local collector Lizzie Hingley. (1/2)
Reposted by Steve Gilbert
This #findsfriday, we are sharing with you one of three leather shoes that were found in Avebury in 2025, concealed in a wall of a house. Wiltshire Council's Conservation & Museums Advisory Service then worked to conserve the shoes for our collection, creating bespoke mounts to stabilise the shoes.
January 2, 2026 at 12:18 PM
This #findsfriday, we are sharing with you one of three leather shoes that were found in Avebury in 2025, concealed in a wall of a house. Wiltshire Council's Conservation & Museums Advisory Service then worked to conserve the shoes for our collection, creating bespoke mounts to stabilise the shoes.
Reposted by Steve Gilbert
This is stunning - an Ancient Egyptian glass bottle in the shape of a bunch of grapes!
New Dynasty of Egypt, c.1200 BC
It was made by dipping a mud core in molten glass, before attaching extra lumps of glass to represent grapes
📍 Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
📸 Me
#FindsFriday #archaeology 🏺
New Dynasty of Egypt, c.1200 BC
It was made by dipping a mud core in molten glass, before attaching extra lumps of glass to represent grapes
📍 Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
📸 Me
#FindsFriday #archaeology 🏺
January 2, 2026 at 10:48 AM
This is stunning - an Ancient Egyptian glass bottle in the shape of a bunch of grapes!
New Dynasty of Egypt, c.1200 BC
It was made by dipping a mud core in molten glass, before attaching extra lumps of glass to represent grapes
📍 Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
📸 Me
#FindsFriday #archaeology 🏺
New Dynasty of Egypt, c.1200 BC
It was made by dipping a mud core in molten glass, before attaching extra lumps of glass to represent grapes
📍 Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
📸 Me
#FindsFriday #archaeology 🏺
Reposted by Steve Gilbert
"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."
Maya Angelou
#VT365
#NaturePhotography
#NewYear
#Transformation
#2026
Maya Angelou
#VT365
#NaturePhotography
#NewYear
#Transformation
#2026
January 2, 2026 at 1:16 PM
"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."
Maya Angelou
#VT365
#NaturePhotography
#NewYear
#Transformation
#2026
Maya Angelou
#VT365
#NaturePhotography
#NewYear
#Transformation
#2026
"We know too well - especially Zohran Mamdani - that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians."
Nelson Mandela 1997.
Nelson Mandela 1997.
January 2, 2026 at 3:49 PM
"We know too well - especially Zohran Mamdani - that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians."
Nelson Mandela 1997.
Nelson Mandela 1997.
"...to find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions, facing blind, deaf stone alone, with nothing to help you but your own hands and your own head."
Primo Levi.
And some hard-come-by paint...
Primo Levi.
And some hard-come-by paint...
At least 3300 years old, this painter’s palette made from a single piece of ivory, features six oval wells for paint that still contain traces of ancient pigments.
It bears the cartouche of Pharaoh Amenhotep III.
Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY
#painting #art #history #archeology
It bears the cartouche of Pharaoh Amenhotep III.
Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY
#painting #art #history #archeology
January 2, 2026 at 12:21 PM
"...to find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions, facing blind, deaf stone alone, with nothing to help you but your own hands and your own head."
Primo Levi.
And some hard-come-by paint...
Primo Levi.
And some hard-come-by paint...
Reposted by Steve Gilbert
Covid leaves lasting changes in the brain even after recovery from acute symptoms
#Medsky
scitechdaily.com/covid-19-lea...
#Medsky
scitechdaily.com/covid-19-lea...
COVID-19 Leaves Lasting Changes in the Brain, Even After Full Recovery
Summary: Advanced imaging reveals that COVID-19 may cause lasting brain changes, even in people without ongoing symptoms, pointing to hidden neurological effects that could persist long after recovery...
scitechdaily.com
January 2, 2026 at 11:16 AM
Covid leaves lasting changes in the brain even after recovery from acute symptoms
#Medsky
scitechdaily.com/covid-19-lea...
#Medsky
scitechdaily.com/covid-19-lea...
170...Rigged Market Capitalism rigs the market in Alternative Dispute Resolution eg The RICS and its ombudsman scheme: OS:Property.
Why? Because it saves its members £1000s.
And is Good For Business.
We asked Luke Pollard MP to take up the issue but he refused.
That's: Bad For Democracy.
Why? Because it saves its members £1000s.
And is Good For Business.
We asked Luke Pollard MP to take up the issue but he refused.
That's: Bad For Democracy.
The first step to fixing our economy is understanding the real problem — big money corrupting our politics and rigging the system against working people. Watch.
The 10 Biggest Myths About Our Economy
Robert Reich
youtu.be
January 2, 2026 at 11:54 AM
170...Rigged Market Capitalism rigs the market in Alternative Dispute Resolution eg The RICS and its ombudsman scheme: OS:Property.
Why? Because it saves its members £1000s.
And is Good For Business.
We asked Luke Pollard MP to take up the issue but he refused.
That's: Bad For Democracy.
Why? Because it saves its members £1000s.
And is Good For Business.
We asked Luke Pollard MP to take up the issue but he refused.
That's: Bad For Democracy.
Reposted by Steve Gilbert
Turkish delight? For me that would be a trip to Turkey. Partly that’s @barbaranadel.bsky.social's fault with her great novels @ the country, partly it’s because I love the food (no wonder, growing up in Germany) but the main reason is the goddess Hekate. #vss365
turkishmuseums.com/blog/detail/...
turkishmuseums.com/blog/detail/...
The Goddess of Liminality: Hecate | Turkish Museums
Click here to read our article about the traces of Hecate, a goddess of Anatolian origin, found in the museums and archaeological sites in Türkiye.
turkishmuseums.com
January 2, 2026 at 2:04 AM
Turkish delight? For me that would be a trip to Turkey. Partly that’s @barbaranadel.bsky.social's fault with her great novels @ the country, partly it’s because I love the food (no wonder, growing up in Germany) but the main reason is the goddess Hekate. #vss365
turkishmuseums.com/blog/detail/...
turkishmuseums.com/blog/detail/...
169...Struggling to focus?
We asked Labour's Luke Pollard MP to focus on ombudsinjustice and how its victims were failed and abandoned by the system.
Apparently there's "little he can do."
Voters need to focus on parties and politicians who can-do. And vote for them...
We asked Labour's Luke Pollard MP to focus on ombudsinjustice and how its victims were failed and abandoned by the system.
Apparently there's "little he can do."
Voters need to focus on parties and politicians who can-do. And vote for them...
Distractions over Abd el-Fattah were running joke, says ex-Starmer adviser
Distractions over Abd el-Fattah were running joke, says ex-Starmer adviser
Paul Ovenden argues time spent discussing political prisoner was symptom of government struggling to focus
Efforts to free Alaa Abd el-Fattah regularly distracted Keir Starmer’s government from focusing on bread-and-butter domestic political issues, according to one of the prime minister’s closest former advisers.
Paul Ovenden, who stood down last year as the prime minister’s director of strategy, said the case of the British political prisoner became a “running joke” among those in government frustrated by the slow pace of change. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
January 2, 2026 at 11:45 AM
169...Struggling to focus?
We asked Labour's Luke Pollard MP to focus on ombudsinjustice and how its victims were failed and abandoned by the system.
Apparently there's "little he can do."
Voters need to focus on parties and politicians who can-do. And vote for them...
We asked Labour's Luke Pollard MP to focus on ombudsinjustice and how its victims were failed and abandoned by the system.
Apparently there's "little he can do."
Voters need to focus on parties and politicians who can-do. And vote for them...
Reposted by Steve Gilbert
First bird I saw 2026:
CAROLINA WREN!!! 📣
Wrens are sassy, they are LOUD, they are defiant. They're the biggest personality, stuffed into the tiniest bird form (tennis ball sized).
Let's get wrenning 💪😤
#birds
CAROLINA WREN!!! 📣
Wrens are sassy, they are LOUD, they are defiant. They're the biggest personality, stuffed into the tiniest bird form (tennis ball sized).
Let's get wrenning 💪😤
#birds
January 1, 2026 at 5:53 PM
First bird I saw 2026:
CAROLINA WREN!!! 📣
Wrens are sassy, they are LOUD, they are defiant. They're the biggest personality, stuffed into the tiniest bird form (tennis ball sized).
Let's get wrenning 💪😤
#birds
CAROLINA WREN!!! 📣
Wrens are sassy, they are LOUD, they are defiant. They're the biggest personality, stuffed into the tiniest bird form (tennis ball sized).
Let's get wrenning 💪😤
#birds
Reposted by Steve Gilbert
Forgot to do a year-end retrospective, but other than finding new purpose reporting on ICE flights, it’s just this.
I’ll never achieve my fantasy of being one of Leonard Cohen’s backup singers, but singing “Who by Fire?” with neighbors was just as meaningful, and real. 🖤
I’ll never achieve my fantasy of being one of Leonard Cohen’s backup singers, but singing “Who by Fire?” with neighbors was just as meaningful, and real. 🖤
January 1, 2026 at 9:26 PM
Forgot to do a year-end retrospective, but other than finding new purpose reporting on ICE flights, it’s just this.
I’ll never achieve my fantasy of being one of Leonard Cohen’s backup singers, but singing “Who by Fire?” with neighbors was just as meaningful, and real. 🖤
I’ll never achieve my fantasy of being one of Leonard Cohen’s backup singers, but singing “Who by Fire?” with neighbors was just as meaningful, and real. 🖤
168...We asked Labour MP Luke Pollard to help mend the broken ombuds-system.
OS:Property were handing out "decisions not arrived at in a logical way" DJS Research.
But apparently there's little he can do.
We need to elect "can-do" MPs...
OS:Property were handing out "decisions not arrived at in a logical way" DJS Research.
But apparently there's little he can do.
We need to elect "can-do" MPs...
“The billionaire class has sought to convince those making $30-an-hour that their enemies are those earning $20-an-hour. They want the people to fight amongst ourselves so that we remain distracted from the work of remaking a long, broken system.”
-Zohran Mamdani
-Zohran Mamdani
January 2, 2026 at 10:22 AM
168...We asked Labour MP Luke Pollard to help mend the broken ombuds-system.
OS:Property were handing out "decisions not arrived at in a logical way" DJS Research.
But apparently there's little he can do.
We need to elect "can-do" MPs...
OS:Property were handing out "decisions not arrived at in a logical way" DJS Research.
But apparently there's little he can do.
We need to elect "can-do" MPs...
"There no strangers here, just friends you haven't yet met."
Racial and religious hate crime on UK public transport is growing, data shows.
Nurtured by Reform, Tories and Starmer's "Island of Strangers" speech. Scapegoating minorities for economic/political failures.
Without immigration, UK economy can't function.
Nurtured by Reform, Tories and Starmer's "Island of Strangers" speech. Scapegoating minorities for economic/political failures.
Without immigration, UK economy can't function.
Racial and religious hate crime on UK public transport is growing, data shows
Anti-racism groups warn some people are avoiding public transport or limiting their use of it for fear of abuse
www.theguardian.com
January 2, 2026 at 10:05 AM
"There no strangers here, just friends you haven't yet met."
Reposted by Steve Gilbert
Portuguese installation artist Joana Vasconcelos wrapped a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar in a cotton crochet pattern #WomensArt
January 2, 2026 at 7:53 AM
Portuguese installation artist Joana Vasconcelos wrapped a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar in a cotton crochet pattern #WomensArt
Reposted by Steve Gilbert
#OtD 2 Jan 1920 the start of the second Palmer Raids, an attempt by the US Department of Justice to arrest and deport radical workers and leftists, especially anarchists. Some 6000 were arrested and held without trial and over 500 deported stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9188...
January 2, 2026 at 7:25 AM
#OtD 2 Jan 1920 the start of the second Palmer Raids, an attempt by the US Department of Justice to arrest and deport radical workers and leftists, especially anarchists. Some 6000 were arrested and held without trial and over 500 deported stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9188...
Reposted by Steve Gilbert
NYU law professor Ryan Goodman and his nonpartisan team compiled a review that found more than 35 federal judges had explicitly stated that the Trump’s Justice Department lawyers were providing false, highly misleading, or intentionally inaccurate information in cases.
January 1, 2026 at 9:28 PM
NYU law professor Ryan Goodman and his nonpartisan team compiled a review that found more than 35 federal judges had explicitly stated that the Trump’s Justice Department lawyers were providing false, highly misleading, or intentionally inaccurate information in cases.
Reposted by Steve Gilbert
A #kingSwallowtail #butterflyshot whilst resting on some leaves. This #striking#insectis the largest in #north#America.Shot on #lcationby an #awardwinning#photographerfrom the #UK.See more #imagesat www.darrensmith.org.uk #insectphotography#macro#photography
January 1, 2026 at 9:00 AM
A #kingSwallowtail #butterflyshot whilst resting on some leaves. This #striking#insectis the largest in #north#America.Shot on #lcationby an #awardwinning#photographerfrom the #UK.See more #imagesat www.darrensmith.org.uk #insectphotography#macro#photography
Reposted by Steve Gilbert
Thus have I heard: 'The Four Noble Truths' An abridged version of the 'Saccavibhanga sutta'. wp.me/pFy3u-O1.
The Four Noble Truths
And what is the ariyan truth of the arising of anguish? Whatever craving is connected with again-becoming, accompanied by delight and attachment, finding delight in this and that, namely the crav…
wp.me
January 1, 2026 at 10:23 PM
Thus have I heard: 'The Four Noble Truths' An abridged version of the 'Saccavibhanga sutta'. wp.me/pFy3u-O1.
Acts 4: 32-35.
January 1, 2026 at 10:23 PM
Acts 4: 32-35.
Reposted by Steve Gilbert
#OtD 1 Jan 1804 Haiti became an independent republic, the culmination of the Haitian revolution abolishing slavery and freeing itself from French rule. It began as a rebellion of the enslaved in 1791. Learn more about this and other Black revolts here: shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/a-h...
January 1, 2026 at 2:10 PM
#OtD 1 Jan 1804 Haiti became an independent republic, the culmination of the Haitian revolution abolishing slavery and freeing itself from French rule. It began as a rebellion of the enslaved in 1791. Learn more about this and other Black revolts here: shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/a-h...