Robert Forster

Author of well received non-fiction "The Northumbrian Kiap" and novel "Crown Lane". Was horse rider. Still rugby fan & farm sector commentator.

[Robert Forster @RobertForster3]

@DAaronovitch It was always going to be a minefield.

[Robert Forster @RobertForster3]

@grahamscheper To "latch on" in Norther dialect English means "to join on to" or "connect".

[Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600]

I always enjoy these type of size comparison maps…

[Robert Forster @RobertForster3]

@neheritagelib Oh. That's a pity.

[Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600]

This chart might look political, but it’s really about data science. The UK can rank great or poorly depending on the KPIs you choose. Our choice of data decides how we view reality.

[Robert Forster @RobertForster3]

@AlfieTobutt Sun is so good at front page headlines.

[Robert Forster @RobertForster3]

@Hendrover If you were hungry enough you'd eat me.

[Fraser Nelson @FraserNelson]

In 1995, households paid 94p for a pint of milk (in today's money). Now it's 65p.

I miss milkmen, but nostaglia has to be balanced with how supermarket advances have lowered food and clothing prices over the decades.

[Robert Forster @RobertForster3]

@lmharpin He was always going to survive. We have just watched most of the mewdia and a great many politicans have a lot of fun.

[Robert Forster @RobertForster3]

The day after it was felled I heard many local people asking why there was so much fuss about a weed.

[Alex Burton-Hargreaves @AlBuHarg]

Ironically Sycamore is not native to the UK, having been introduced by the Romans, it is considered a ‘weed’ by land managers, especially conservationists, as it reproduces rapidly, brings few benefits to native species, and its roots damage ancient monuments

[Robert Forster @RobertForster3]

@NE5westend "They haven't got a pot to piss in." In the days when tanners bought fresh piss every morning the poor would collect it in a pot and sell it on a daily basis. However there was a group of super-poor who hadnt a pot to collect it in. And that's the origin of the opening sentence.

[Moorland Association @MoorlandAssoc]

Over 200 species could face extinction in the UK by 2050 - and the merlin is among them. But on managed grouse moors, this falcon is telling a very different story.

🐦 Where gamekeeping continues, merlins are not just surviving. They are thriving. In the Yorkshire Dales, managed estates routinely host successful nests. Keepers recently found a clutch at over 1,500 feet above sea level.

🌿 What makes managed moors work for merlins:

- Keepers leave patches of older, taller heather - ideal sheltered nest sites
- Legal predator control gives ground-nesting chicks a fighting chance against foxes and stoats
- Gamekeepers actively monitor nests and support licensed ringing programmes

�� Where traditional management has stopped, the contrast is severe. Without predator control and habitat maintenance, ground-nesting birds are quickly overwhelmed and the skies fall silent.

The merlin does not need a rescue plan written from a desk. It needs the daily, dedicated work already happening on our moors.

[Robert Forster @RobertForster3]

@NE5westend Piss was used to tan hides too. Hexham's tanners would buy fresh supplies each morning. They were mixed with dog shit and hides soaked in the mess. The stink must have been unbearable - especiallly for those who stood in the vats and trod their contents in.

[Robert Forster @RobertForster3]

"He's evil and demented."
Can't argue with that,

[ᗰᗩƳᖇᗩ @LePapillonBlu2]

Listen to what this psychologist has to say:

"Trump has the most severe personality disorder a human being can have.”

“The world is in a hell lot of trouble, because the most powerful man in the world is both evil and demented."

[Robert Forster @RobertForster3]

Well. There we go. There really are too many badgers! Even Tony Juniper says so.

[Tony Juniper @TonyJuniper]

If we are to halt & reverse decline of the Curlew then difficult subjects must be tackled, including the high density of predators we have across the country - including foxes, crows & badgers. All wonderful creatures as well, but too many is a big issue for ground nesting birds.

[Radosław Iwański @iwanski_rados]

Amerykański pionier w produkcji mięsa roślinnego ciągle na kursie kolizyjnym. Czy roztrzaska się tak samo, jak Titanic?
@fleroy1974 @JulianMellentin mają zdanie w tej sprawie. Rolnicy, hodowcy, to jest bardzo dobry news.

[A. R. Peters & Son @sussexfarming]

Long distance filming so as not to disturb but why have we got 3 pairs of lapwings on this field? The truths no one wants.
No walkers, lots of cows and predator control! This field isn’t even managed specifically for them but they choose it as a safe reliable spot with food

[Robert Forster @RobertForster3]

@terrierview Have watched the badger population soar for seventy years. Saw my first live one in 1963. Then saw more dead ones on roads. From 2000 began to see the first setts on heath land & heather. There's no stopping them & their voracious appetite for eggs, young mammals & birds either.

[Robert Forster @RobertForster3]

@sussexfarming Cattle attract birds. Which means they attract insects too.