Brutkey

Wen
@Wen@mastodon.scot

I am a climber, runner (with a Collie), cyclist and swimmer. I was running a small (but perfectly formed) analytics company now employee owned to mark my retirement. Commute between the Highlands and The Borders, campaign for Scottish independence, bake bread and occasionally dabble in bad art.

I winge about a lot - the environment, bad governance and stupidity but do try to provide a wee bit of evidence and highlight good news.

Languages : English, German, Gaelic, Pashtu, Spanish, Italian


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Wen
@Wen@mastodon.scot

Working with the weather. The old adage 'no bad weather just bad clothing (or fur coat in the dug's case' held true on the morning run over Ruberslaw.

#running #ScottishBorders #Collie #DogsofMastodon

The trig point on Ruberslaw in the Scottish Borders. A braw day for a run.
Wen
@Wen@mastodon.scot

He does have a jacket - not so much for bad weather (although it has helped during Highland winter)s, but more as a large fluorescent reflector. He is very very good on the road and very traffic aware and will not chase anything, people or animals or vehicles on the road. He generally never has a lead (except for a few running events with other dogs where a waist lead is mandatory)
The vest we use has a removable lining - which he never wears. (3/3)

Wen
@Wen@mastodon.scot

@Sunny@universeodon.com A good question and no. His pads are very tough. We fun a mix of trails and asphalt every day and he generally gets at least 8-12 of them on pavement. I pay attention to them of ourselves but he has been doing this since a very young dog and his paws have just toughened as a result. He also never need claws trimmed (except occasionally a dew claw). (1/3)

Wen
@Wen@mastodon.scot

He does have booties - for the snow as one problem he does get is packed and frozen snow in them during the winter, we have a couple of sets of these

https://ruffwear.co.uk/products/hi-light-shoes… (2/3)

Wen
@Wen@mastodon.scot

Evening run

It has cooled down, so the dug and I got out for our usual 8.5k circuit, and it was quick.

#Running #ScottishBorders #BorderCollie #DogsOfMastodon

The night sky views over the bales of straw following the harvest under a blue sky with white clouds surrounded by a grown of trees A Border Collie catches up after going sniffing in the bushes
Wen
@Wen@mastodon.scot

Remembrance swim 30 of 61

The Tweed by Yair

A little different from pur last swim here. Water lower, but on the positive side much much warmer (there was snow on the banks last time). The run was a 12k round trip on the Southern Upland Way - very enjoyable and not too hot as I decided to get out early (late afternooon and it is 29C here)

Photos today and November 27 last year

31 to go
#Running #Swimming #ScottishBorders #BorderCollie #DogsOfMastodon #Tweed

A wee bit of snow on the banks for our last swim
Wen
@Wen@mastodon.scot

Hmm - bringing in staff dfrom a fossil fuel company and an arms company into the Foreign Office to ‘help’ with policy and strategy. What could go wrong (other than some bungs to the Labour Party)? It is as though the Tories never went away.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/aug/12/david-lammy-faces-possible-legal-action-over-foreign-office-secondments

#Lobbying #Insiders #Corruption #FossilFuels #Transparency #Labour #Corruption

Wen
@Wen@mastodon.scot

Israel’s other war in Gaza

Palestinian reporters killed, international reporters banned – Israel’s other Gaza war is over narrative

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/11/palestinian-reporters-killed-and-foreigners-barred-in-israels-battle-for-gaza-narrative

#Israel #Gaza #WarCrimes #Media

Cartoon - Netanyahu stands over a body with as Press jacket next to a video camera. Text reads ‘Nothing to see here’
Wen
@Wen@mastodon.scot

Employee Ownership

Great to have some good news. We took our company into employee ownership relatively recently, complicated by the fact that the company moved to Germany post Brexshit, even if more than half the employees are Scottish. Much legal shenanigans, including the attempt by three early partners to sell to a private equity company and make them obscenely rich rather than just rich.

#GoodNews #EmployeeOwnership

Photograph od company founder, Gary Grant with text The Entertainer's founder puts toy retailer in hands of employees Gary Grant and his family will transfer shares in UK's biggest toy seller to trust so that 1,900 staff can share profits in John Lewis-style deal
Wen
@Wen@mastodon.scot

Identification of Terrorists Guideines by Peter Schrank

#Palestine #Action #Starmer #Cooper #RightToProtest #Schrank #Cartoon #Labour #PoliceState

A photo line up with a number of people - granny, young man with crow bar, woman in dungarees, man holding automatic weapon, nurse, clergyman and the caption ‘Identify a Terrorist’ Starmer and Cooper standing in front, Starmer says ‘All of them’
Wen
@Wen@mastodon.scot

The Metropolitan Police said it faced “entirely unrealistic” challenges in policing a protest in support of Palestine Action at which more than 500 people were arrest

But will #Cooper and the #Labour #maladministration admit a mistake (and hand back the hundreds of thousands of pounds they have received in #bribes, whoops support from groups linked to the #Israeli government? Probaly not.

http://archive.today/2025.08.10-212645/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/palestine-action-arrested-protesters-ban-cvwjhxgbk (archive)

#PalestineAction #Policing #Defiance #RightToProtest #Authoritarian

Police carry away a protestor at the PA demos
Wen
@Wen@mastodon.scot

A grass fire s currently being fought on Arthur’s Seat

This follows extensive large fires across Scotland over the summer, many started by people, deliberately or by ‘accident’.

#Fire #ArthursSeat #Edinburgh

Flames and smoke are Sean on Arthur’s seat, Sunday August 10