---

Word(s) of the day: “scréachóg reilige” - ‘screecher of the cemetery’; Irish name for the barn owl. Also “cailleach-oidhche gheal” (white old woman of the night, Gaelic) & “Schleiereule” (veil-owl, German).
To mark publication, today, of Owl Sense by @MimDarling pic.twitter.com/iDQjZVmVXl

— Robert Macfarlane (@RobGMacfarlane) February 8, 2018

Word of the day: "clinkerbell" - icicle (Somerset; archaic). Other regional names for icicles include "aquabob" (Kent), "ickle" (Yorkshire), "tankle" (Durham), "shuckle" (Cumbria) & "conkerbill" (Newfoundland).

---

Cornish dialect: Conkerbell, Cockabell or Cockerbell………….. An icicle
according to The Ancient Language, and the Dialect of Cornwall, with an Enlarged Glossary By Frederick W. P. Jago

Cornish language: 

English Words

kleghi

Word of the day: “Eisvogel” - German for kingfisher, literally
“ice-bird”; in Russian Зимородок, lit. “winter-born”. Names possibly
given because kingfishers appear in new territories when their
established fishing grounds freeze in winter.
Robert Macfarlane

Cherry blossom over, daffs turning. Hawthorn bud-burst.

Horse chestnuts, swallows, blackthorn (sloe).

Wild garlic, dog violets, sycamore bud-burst. A cuckoo calling.

Ribwort plantain, common bugle, bird's foot trefoil.

Nettles, yellow archangel. Rabbits.

Arum (cuckoo pint, lords and ladies, bobbin joan) - spadix first formation. Ash trees in flower.

Ground ivy, purslane. Beeches in full leaf. Hornbeams first flower.

Celandine, cuckoo flower, meadow buttercup.

Avens, dog's mercury, harebells, vetch. Otter spoor by the river.

Herb Robert, Bracken unfurling. Snakeshead fritillaries.

Ground ivy (hedge banks). Ash flowers.

Milkwort, cranesbill. Pedunculate oaks - first flower tassels.

Garlic mustard. Brimstone butterflies. Crab apples in bud.

Lady's bedstraw, sorrel, bee orchid. Ash bud-burst.

Borage, self-heal, first wild clematis flowers (old man's beard, traveller's joy).

Brambles. Showers wind from the south-east.

Meadow foxtail; first inflorescence.

Speedwell, ragged robin, meadow saxifrage (rare) One early foxglove.

#PopSov1867 sample of women's suffrage petition presented #onthisday 1884 https://t.co/j7Xjl7rKDt pic.twitter.com/ERr8YobYp5

— Vote 100 (@UKVote100) November 3, 2017

A thousand acres of London's super-prime real estate is owned by 5 aristocratic families, the Crown & the Church

Who owns central London? – Who owns England? https://whoownsengland.org/2017/10/28/who-owns-central-london/

In 1925, the radical journalist W.B. Northrup published a postcard
depicting a giant octopus, labelled ‘landlordism’, spreading its
tentacles across London. Each tentacle curled around the boundaries of
one of the Great Estates in possession of central London, listing their
acreage and yearly rents. (You can see it pictured above.)

Time once more for an old, old favourite: ‘apricity’ is the warmth of the sun on a chilly day.

---

Time once more for an old, old favourite: ‘apricity’ is the warmth of the sun on a chilly day.

— Susie Dent (@susie_dent) October 30, 2017

Yes, apparently so: Apricity: "noun stemmed from the Latin apricus representing a sunny day" So, let's apricate! https://t.co/PYEQ6anv4n

The best pumpkin lifeboat? -

She’s the best pumpkin lifeboat in the @RNLI fleet #IvanEllen #17-36 #ThatsOurGirl #Halloween2017 #PumpkinRivalry #RNLIFamily

This Winter Palace clock was stopped 100yrs ago when Bolsheviks seized power.Yesterday @State_Hermitage director Piotrovsky started it again pic.twitter.com/fc7hpx00EU

— Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) October 27, 2017

via https://twitter.com/paleofuture/status/898585002169966592

"May the shadow of the moon fall on a world at peace." ABC News report from February 26, 1979 about the world of August 21, 2017 pic.twitter.com/oRK0mwAoLm

— Matt Novak (@paleofuture) August 18, 2017

via https://twitter.com/paleofuture/status/898585002169966592