TIL that “May the 4th” for English speakers doesn’t generally refer to the 五四运动, but some sort of lame Star Wars joke. I feel stupid.

Great day for London. Nasty, divisive culture-wars politics comprehensively rejected. And the swifts are back.

Rentier Capitalism by Brett Christophers: an unputdownable read

Part of a book cover, reading "Rentier Capitalism - Who Owns the Economy and Who Pays for It?"(Book by Brett Christophers)

Bubble tea in Stratford

A line of people waiting at a bubble tea kiosk in front of a large glass window, seating pods in the background, with a 70s airport feel, Westfield logo visible on a building beyond the glass

My hometown: dancing under the overpass

Couples dance together under a concrete flyover, decorated with red swooshes, people sitting on benches look on. Terry Spinks Place, Canning Town, East London

Drift down to the beach

A paraglider descends towards the beach over the sea, with the sun setting behind the shoulder of a mountain in the background

A community event in Custom House (from some years ago)

A red poster advertising a community event fixed to a dilapidated metal fence, behind which is dessicated overgrown grass and weeds.

Surprise to see this coot here on the pavement at Poplar Marina

A coots sits on the pavement beside a pigeon who is eating seeds, there's a metal fence in the background, and the water of a marina

There’s a colony of wagtails at Westfield in Stratford. They’ve bounced back since the pandemic.

A wagtail against a background of paving stones An annotated illustration of a wagtail colony, their roots and their poop, on the decorative bronze frontage of a shopping complex

Critters

A group of friendly cows blocking the road