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Just arrived in the Netherlands for a long weekend in the Hague to visit some friends - this is definitely a trip that makes more sense by train, Eurostar to Rotterdam and a couple of local trains (would have been just 1 but some works are going on atm).

I've been wondering for years why Royal Mail don't use cargo bikes when they're so common for mail delivery elsewhere - good news, they're now introducing them in a few cities (London, Brighton and Cambridge) www.timeout.com/london/news/...

You’ll soon see these next-gen Royal Mail delivery bikes all over LondonThese futuristic vehicles are coming to the capital.www.timeout.com

Found the first thing the new lime bike is worse at - a bit hard to tell in the pics but a standard cabin suitcase doesn't feel as secure in the new buckets (also, why aren't they ever designed to just fit these? It's only just too big for the bucket and is such a standard thing to transport)

Great piece from @danihpayne.bsky.social on today's announcement ⬇️

This August children across England will have access to free bus travel. The policy was inspired by a scheme in WECA - we invited Ingrid Skeels, from a Hartcliffe (south Bristol) based charity to talk about the history of the policy and the importance of accessible travel for young people ⤵️

Free bus travel for children – a transformative policy for children's mobility and life chances - Social Market Foundation.Affordable buses are crucial for children's mobility. Ingrid Skeels shares the story behind this summer's national free buses for kids schemewww.smf.co.uk

A few quick thoughts re Burnham's vocational announcement today - first, the focus is good, even if it's been building for a while now - having the PM say that vocational and academic routes should be on par with one another (and making videos like the below) does really matter...

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A type of cloud has been generated by France's wildfires, which has only ever been documented in Australia, the US, Canada and a small number of other locations - never in France. It generates lightning and downdrafts, worsening the fires. This is climate change. www.wired.com/story/france...

France Records Its First-Ever Pyrocumulonimbus Cloud Amid Record-Smashing FiresExtreme fire conditions on the ground have created unprecedented conditions in the atmosphere.www.wired.com

Interested in a board level opportunity at one of Britain's leading think tanks? We're looking to appoint up to two trustees with fundraising/philanthropy experience at the @smfthinktank.bsky.social Do share in your networks/happy to answer any Qs 🙂 www.smf.co.uk/new-opportun...

New opportunity: Trustee – Fundraising and Philanthropy - Social Market Foundation.SMF is seeking two trustees, with a focus on fundraising from high net-worth individuals, philanthropic foundations, and major donors.www.smf.co.uk

Important to remember in debates on the costs of net zero. The slower we tackle climate change - the higher the costs of adaptation Wildfires particularly terrify me. More than 200,000 people now evacuated across Spain and France (including the suburbs of Bordeaux). www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c5...

Firefighters battle to contain France and Spain wildfires as thousands more evacuated near BordeauxA blaze near Madrid is "beyond the capacity" of firefighters to contain, Spanish officials say, as more than 60,000 people have been evacuated.www.bbc.co.uk

Missed this the other day re the bus far cap, but Burnham has also said he would back/provide funding for a Bristol and Bath mass transit system www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol...

Prime Minister WILL fund Bristol and Bath mass transit system"A city like Bristol should have a mass transit system"www.bristolpost.co.uk

Never thought the day would come (I'm on Plan 1/had 3k fees so is actually possible to pay off..)

Georgia Gould and Jackie Smith so far confirmed to be continuing in DfE (which is great from a continuity POV)

Burnham's cabinet is, private school wise, a fair bit less representative than Starmer's (which had the lowest % privately educated ever - although Burnham's is still fairly low vs all other cabinets) - at 24% it's several times higher than in the gen pop (7%) and higher than all Labour MPs (15%)

As well as previously holding the shadow education brief Lucy Powell was also a shadow minister for childcare and early education, backing universal provision from 1 - school age back in 2017 (and wrote on it for the SMF at the time) labourlist.org/2017/09/lucy...

Lucy Powell: The Tories' childcare failures are leading to a lost generation of kids - LabourListIf Theresa May was so keen on tackling the burning injustices facing Britain she’d be prioritising early years…labourlist.org

No it's not about Andy Burnham's new cabinet, but given you're on bluesky anyway... We're looking for case studies! Do you know a care/residential home or NHS trust which goes above and beyond when it comes to training and progression for their staff? (particularly new hires) - if so get in touch

Our Chief Economist @gideonsalutin.bsky.social on one of the proven ways to radically reduce the rates of rough sleeping -

Wayne Rooney on the halftime show "I like a lot of those acts but it was crap"

Obviously lots of great acts but the half time show feels so random, like what is the theme?

Obviously I now think the bronze final is absolutely a real and important thing and not at all pointless