I’ve had a really interesting few days with this little piece of technology on my arm and I wanted to share it in case it’s helpful for others.

I had some blood tests recently and it turned out my blood sugar level is too high- in the pre diabetes range. I wasn’t hugely … 1/9 surprised- my grandma had type 2 diabetes and I can remember her pricking her finger and giving up sugar.

I booked a session with a local nutritionist, who got me to order a real-time glucose monitoring system, and I got a 2-week one for free. … 2/9

freestyle.abbott/uk-en/home.html

In April last year, I was contacted by a stranger in my DM’s. He asked if we could speak that evening. I had no idea why.

I went along with it and called- it was a man from Bath I’ve since referred to as S.

He sounded so stressed, it was clearly hard to get his words … 1/8 out and also breathe. It transpired that he lived in a new LTN in Bath. He’d come out in favour of it early, and had received a *tad* of a backlash 🤯

He’d had to come off Facebook and Nextdoor after receiving endless fury, and as the only one willing to speak out in … 2/8

It was a BIG night tonight, the launch of London Cycling’s report, “What stops women cycling?”

1000 women were surveyed about the abuse they face on bikes in the capital, and the results are astounding.

9 out of 10 women have faced aggression or abuse on the road.
🧵 1/14

“Get off the road” was the most common piece of verbal abuse (because how very DARE we think we deserve to be there?! 🙄)

The most shocking example was of men groping women out of car windows, when stopped in traffic. And … 2/14

A weird thing happened today- I tried to sell my bike on Facebook marketplace and nearly got scammed.

Please pass this example on to folks you know who might sell anything on there, these people are very persuasive, and they try and get you by rushing you.

First off, … 1/8

I’m selling my lovely Bobbin Kingfisher. I got it for Christmas last year from my parents and have the receipt plus I can give the serial number.

It’s only been ridden a handful of times as I needed something with more gears. A guy messaged me this morning and said … 2/8

Oh my CRIKEY. Did anyone else just hear that on Radio 4?! Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, speaking at the the Conservative Party Conference just said the following about 15-Minute Cities:

“What is sinister, and what we shouldn’t tolerate, is the idea that local … 1/3 councils can decide how often you go to the shops, and that they can ration who uses the roads and when, and that they police it all with CCTV.”

Are any councils deciding how often you can go to the shops? Does he really honestly believe this? Guys is this real life, … 2/3

If you’re wondering why people who live in LTN’s are often too scared to publicly say they like them, here it is.

I’m being told not to interfere in the local community. If I lived here and people knew where? I’d probably feel scared and pipe right down. @bathLTNluvvers Oh and from the same person. Look, at a public meeting, “a majority of people who attended the meeting said that they wanted the planters removed”.

This is a classic example. Did the majority of people at that meeting want the planters removed? What about in the community? /1

** Some news on my 🚲☕️ **

You might remember the thread I wrote on the train about S, who found out they weren’t the only one who liked their LTN.

They’re now happy for me to reveal that they live in Bath, and the elections have given them some fascinating insight.

🧵 /1 When we first spoke, S was in such a panic they could hardly breathe- they’d been shouted at by 8 people at a public meeting and were, they thought, “the only person who liked the scheme” and public enemy number 1.

They’ve now spoken to around 100 locals, and have … /2

We just did Maypole dancing at @MyddletonMarket, I’ve never done it before! Kind of like barn dancing, with more pole and less barn.

Here’s Ailsa from the Bowes Park Folk Club leading the way- amazing woman. … 1/3 twitter.com/i/web/status/1… “Such fun!”

And @pinholelondon were there doing great pics …

The Bowes Park Folk Club have a gig coming up for any locals …

2/3

It was “a bit wet” at the party at the Bowls and Tennis club yesterday, but luckily my dad was on hand to do some entertaining.

78 and he’s still got it! This is cigar boxes (pls don’t put sound on as we were belting out “God Save the King” very loudly for fun) ... 1/3 This was the “heading the wooden ball trick”. Sound up on this one for the full effect!

Kids have always loved this as they love to think an adult just got hurt. Evil creatures kids God love ‘em!

… 2/3

Watching our Prime Minister on the 10 o’clock news just now was bizarre - has he been locked in a cupboard all day? Does he not follow the news before he goes on it?

He said: “I’m not detecting a massive groundswell of movement towards the Labour Party” - Erm, babes, ... /1 you just lost over 1,000 seats. There’s certainly a groundswell of movement away from your lot. He also said:

“What people want us to do is focus on their priorities”

Okay this could be promising … Climate change?

“Halving inflation, growing the economy”

He’s .. /2

We just had such a “this could only happen on the 5th May 2023” experience!

Cycling and scooting through the neighbourhood to drop off tickets for the King’s Coronation party tomorrow, thinking of all the good election news today … 🤩🤩 … 1/3 It was a beautiful evening here- we popped in on a neighbour and saw her lovely flowers, and then saw a pink house with pink blossom …

2/3

I was interviewed by @PeterGuest at @WIRED about my run-in with conspiracy theorists when discussing #15minutecities …

You can read his great piece, hot-off the press here:

wired.com/story/15-minut… Weird how the stuff we chat about here has somehow become news …

I’ve worked out what the big conspiracy is!

#15minutecities have been designed by the makers of trivial pursuit …! I KNEW something was afoot.

Apparently you have to answer a question correctly of the right colour, before entering that zone. … 1/2 Hope I never have to visit someone in the “Sports and Leisure” category. I could never get those right! … 2/2

News from the highly controversial world of a #15minutecity, where most amenities are near to where you live.

I walked with my daughter to visit my dad, and we saw some amazing blossom on the trees (it’s always early here for some reason!) … 1/4 We’d just been to a cafe a 5 minute walk from my dads … we bumped into two friends and another local while walking, and stopped 3 times for chats with people. The walk took 15 rather than 5 due to lots of gossiping. Arranged a play date for this afternoon … 2/4

These are some of the points I made on Radio 4, for anyone short of time!

I’m yet to meet someone who’d welcome more cars on their street. We all want fewer cars in my experience - the question is how exactly we go about having less … 1/6 It’s recognised pretty much universally that we need to reduce congestion- even the RAC mentions this- it says on their website to “avoid unnecessary journeys where possible” …

The term “15 minute city” was coined by @CarlosMorenoFr … 2/6

Talking about LTN’s and 15 minute cities on #BBCAntiSocial, Radio 4 today with presenter @adamfleming - the podcast should be out in an hour or two if you missed it. It got quite heated with @alanvibe 😳😳😳

We agreed at the end to go for a coffee! ☕️ … 1/3 Shout out to the wonderful human who booked me, @justoctavia who’s amazing … 2/3

Just off to the #Radio4 studio to talk about 15 minute cities at midday - on the show #BbcAntisocial. Exciting!

I’ve got a notebook full of scribbles and a head full of anecdotes- do tune in if you can! It’s very important to wear your best gladrags and accessories even for radio I’ve decided! Here- blazer with red collars

Oh! Gentleman Saucepot alert!! 🚨🔥🚲🚲

I met Tom today, and we started chatting, and it turns out he’s one of our tweet friends … @ChinaRockman!

And just CHECK OUT how smart he looks when he rides!

Beige Mac ✅ Brogue boots ✅ Flat cap ✅ Snazzy bike ✅ … 1/3 So we happened to be cycling along near each other at one point, and I said “oh I do like this bike of yours, so smooth and understated!” (Just like me of course 😉😆)

He said- “oh are you Carla”, and it turned out we’d chatted on Twitter, and that he lives in the … 2/3

Let me show you the looks on the faces of people who live in #15minutecities

All of Dad’s table-tennis teammates live nearby. There’s about 6 of them- they meet twice a week and go for coffee after. One of them is Sue here. After playing a nice game and having a chat ... 1/5 she might pootle over to her allotment 5-minutes walk away. On this day she’d grown rhubarb and Brussels sprouts which she was going to cook for dinner.

It’s a lovely space here where Sue knows everyone - has a lovely gossip while getting some fresh air … 2/5

Some thoughts on living in #15minutecities from the perspective of a 78-year old, my dad Colin.

Dad used to live a 30-minute drive away, but after lockdown, we encouraged him to sell up and buy a place near us, in Bounds Green. He hasn’t had a car in 10 years, but … 1/6 living here, he has everything he needs within a 15-minute walking distance. Shops, cafes, the doctors, the tube.

He plays table tennis with a group of retired folks twice a week- it’s a 5-minute walk away. If ever he gets bored of a bit lonely in the week he can pop … 2/6

Most of the drivers I come across are extremely polite and safe and thoughtful of me on my little bike. But this morning something happened that left my 7 yo son and I extremely shaken.

We were walking across this zebra crossing on a small road near the school. A driver … 1/8 had stopped at the zebra crossing.

She looked like she was talking to someone. She then decided to carry on driving without looking up. She literally didn’t look in front of her at all, just carried on looking sideways, but with her foot on the accelerator. My son and I … 2/8