Stephen Kirk

Work: Identity Inspired Communication Strategy, using Design // Rest: Fresh fish, beach life and snorkelling // Play: Dominoes with those who make me smile.

[Yaroslava @strategywoman]

My small reward during a temporary evacuation from the train because of drones.

This painting-like view. ❤️

We are continuing our trip. Everything is fine.

[Sama Hoole @SamaHoole]

Dartmoor's hill ponies have grazed those commons for longer than there has been a country called England. Fewer than a thousand are left, down from six thousand a generation ago. The United Nations listed them as endangered in 2023. So, naturally, the body charged with protecting nature has decided to get rid of nine in ten of the survivors.

There is a process, obviously.

Natural England's new grazing contracts now count the ponies in the same bucket as the cattle and sheep. A commoner with a fixed quota has a choice: keep a semi-wild pony worth nothing at market, or use the slot for a lamb he can sell. Guess which one survives the spreadsheet. The rest are gathered in the autumn drifts, and with nowhere to put thousands of unhandled moorland ponies, the next stop is the abattoir.

Natural England would like it noted that it has not ordered a cull. It has merely built a machine whose only output is a cull, switched it on, and handed the bolt gun to a farmer so the fingerprints land elsewhere. Very tidy.

And now the funny part. The pony is the best tool on the entire moor for eating Molinia, the coarse purple grass strangling Dartmoor into a brown monoculture. Cattle and sheep won't touch it. The ponies hoover it down and clear the ground for the orchids, the wildflowers and the insects behind them. Remove the ponies and the moor chokes into precisely the lifeless scrubland the contract was meant to prevent.

So the conservation strategy, in full: protect the habitat by deleting the animal that maintains the habitat. A masterclass.

Better still, Natural England's own Fursdon review looked at this exact question and told them, in plain English, not to lump ponies in with cattle and not to cut pony numbers. They read it, praised it, said they fully supported it, then did the precise opposite.

Four thousand years these animals have run Dartmoor with no committee and no contract. They could be gone within one, and the people who did it will write it up as a win for nature.

[Yaroslava @strategywoman]

Some beauty from Ukraine I saw the other day.

Sylianky are traditional Ukrainian handmade beaded necklaces, often worn close to the neck.

[ᗰᗩƳᖇᗩ @LePapillonBlu2]

@krassenstein Drain the swamp!

[Yaroslava @strategywoman]

During the russian attack on Kyiv, the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Studios were hit.

Ukraine’s largest and oldest costume collection was destroyed.

Around 100,000 costumes and three million items of clothing and wardrobe materials.

A part of Ukrainian cinema memory is gone.

[Yaroslava @strategywoman]

It is important to realize.

russia does not only destroy Ukrainian cultural and historical sites.

It destroys world heritage.

Yours. Mine. And the heritage of those who will come after us.

[The New York Times @nytimes]

From @TheAthleticFC: Cape Verde’s Vozinha says U.S. visa issues stopped his mother from witnessing his World Cup heroics in person. The 40-year-old goalkeeper was visibly emotional on the pitch after the game. https://t.co/754zUIylGZ

[Yaroslava @strategywoman]

Greetings from Kyiv.

I woke up and hugged life.
Five people were killed, and much damage was caused.

I am very determined to keep showing the world Ukrainian culture and history. It’s something russia is afraid of and tries to destroy.

Let’s see the Dormition Cathedral inside as I saw it undamaged:
https://t.co/QttNX6i7YH

[Feargal Sharkey @Feargal_Sharkey]

So appears I'm not liked by at least 1 senior govt adviser.

That's a badge I'll happily pick up off the floor and wear with dignity and honour. Here's a hint. Sort out the water industry, fix our rivers and you need never speak my name ever again.

Massive thank you once again to Patrick Galbraith @PaddyGalbraith and all at the @Telegraph for the coverage and support.

https://t.co/gcBOdGsxAy

[Vfynn_🥷🏼 𐙚 @Vfynn_]

🚨🗣️New: Thierry Henry reacts to the USA vs Paraguay stoppage for TV commercials:

“I’ve spent my entire life in this beautiful game — as a player at the highest level, as a fan, and now as someone who analyses it every week — and what unfolded during that USA versus Paraguay match left me deeply frustrated. The fourth official standing there on the touchline, arm raised high, instructing the referee to hold the restart… not for any injury, not for tactical reasons, and not even primarily for player hydration in that scorching heat. No. It was because the broadcast team hadn’t finished airing all their commercials. That’s not football. That’s a television show pretending to be a World Cup match.

The beautiful game is being strangled by greed. Players are out there in the heat, ready to restart, momentum building like a storm about to break — and we pause everything so the sponsors can cash in. It’s like stopping a symphony mid-crescendo because the advertisers want their jingle heard. Football didn’t conquer the world by turning into American sports with endless timeouts and ad breaks. We had rhythm, flow, emotion that flowed like a river. Now? It’s dammed up for dollars.

This isn’t about hydration or player welfare anymore — it’s a slippery slope where the soul of the game is sold piece by piece. Fans deserve better. Players deserve better. The referee on that pitch looked like a puppet on strings controlled from some broadcast truck. Enough is enough. We need to protect what made this sport the greatest on Earth before it disappears completely.”

The World Cup should be football’s cathedral. Instead, we’re turning it into a shopping mall with a pitch in the middle.

And here’s the question nobody wants to answer: if the fourth official is waiting for commercials, then who is really running the game? FIFA? The referee? Or the broadcasters?

Because the moment football starts asking advertisers for permission before asking the players, you’ve crossed a line.

The World Cup is supposed to be the showcase of football. Not the showcase of who paid the most for airtime.”

[Yaroslava @strategywoman]

💔
Fires were confirmed on the territory of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra during tonight’s attack.

It is one of Ukraine’s most important historic and sacred sites.

I was there on Friday and filmed the Dormition Cathedral.

Look at what russians target.

[Yaroslava @strategywoman]

Kyiv.
Friday.
Sharing a moment of beauty from today.

Because life for me is more than warnings, threats, and waiting for it all to end.
I live it.
I breathe it.
I see it.

[Yaroslava @strategywoman]

Take a look at these.
Both have been worn in the Ukrainian Carpathians.

On the left: keptar, a traditional sleeveless sheepskin vest.

On the right: serdak, a traditional wool outer garment.

[Olena Rohoza @OlenaRohoza]

🧐🤔YOU WANTED A WALL, TRUMP? YOU’LL HAVE ONE.
Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, responded to Trump’s threats:
“So you voted to build a wall.
Well then, dear Americans — even if geography isn’t your strong suit, and you see America as a country rather than a continent — you should know that on the other side of that wall stand 7 billion people.
And if the word ‘people’ doesn’t resonate with you, let’s call them ‘consumers.’
Those 7 billion consumers can switch from iPhone to Samsung or Huawei in less than two days.
They can trade Levi’s for Zara or Massimo Dutti, and within six months replace Ford and Chevrolet with Toyota, KIA, Mazda, Honda, Hyundai, Volvo, Subaru, Renault, or BMW — brands that are already more popular in many places.
They can cancel DirecTV.
And even if they choose not to, they can stop watching Hollywood films and turn instead to higher-quality productions from Latin America or Europe — with richer storytelling and better filmmaking.
Believe it or not, people can skip Disney and visit the Xcaret resort in Cancún instead — or explore destinations across Mexico, Canada, or South America.
Even in Mexico, you can find better burgers than McDonald’s — with higher nutritional value.
Have you ever seen pyramids in the United States?
Egypt, Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, and Sudan have ancient wonders — none of them in the U.S.
If they were, Trump would probably have bought and resold them by now.
We know Nike isn’t the only sneaker brand. There’s Adidas — and even Mexican brands like Panama.
We understand economics better than you think.
And we also know that when those 7 billion consumers stop buying American products, unemployment will rise, and your economy — trapped behind its own self-imposed wall — will begin to collapse to the point where you’ll be begging for help.
We didn’t want to do this.
But you wanted a wall?
Well.
You’ve got one.”
Her approval rating has reached a historic level — according to a recent poll, it stands at 85%.

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

Villagers and environmental activists in Albania are protesting a luxury resort project linked to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, warning it threatens a protected coastal ecosystem and accusing authorities of putting wealthy investors ahead of local communities.

[Yaroslava @strategywoman]

Kyiv.
A calm scene by the Dnipro River an hour ago.

An air raid alert now.
One or more drones over the city.

[Yaroslava @strategywoman]

In Kherson, the museum held 156 paintings and drawings by Oleksii Shovkunenko.

russians stole 147.
Only nine remained.

I saw them in Kyiv and wrote about how they survived — and why the story of the stolen collection is not over.
https://t.co/vYW9PRpBhy

[We Own It @We_OwnIt]

Public ownership of water is hugely popular. In a democracy this should count for something. But the government continues to undemocratically protect private water profiteers.

Baroness Jenny Jones helped deliver a letter to the Environment Secretary, asking her to tell the truth about water public ownership.

[Yaroslava @strategywoman]

Kazymyr Malevych is one more Ukrainian name hidden under the russian label.

His rare early work, Head of a Peasant (1911), will be offered at Sotheby’s on June 24.

Estimate: £1-1.5 million (about $1.35-2 million).

I want the world to see where these names come from.

[We Own It @We_OwnIt]

90% of countries in the world can own their water but not us. People in England want their water back. But the government is protecting private water profiteers.

It’s time to give the public a say. @Feargal_Sharkey wants you stand up and be counted. Sign the petition: https://t.co/NdwoKq7k3o