John Chenery (@lightstraw) header
John Chenery (@lightstraw) profile picture

Making clear sense of telecommunications history, of the Post Office/RM/BT. Delving into its organisation, corporate identities and long forgotten technologies.

UK
Joined February 2012
Photo by John Chenery (@lightstraw)Photo by John Chenery (@lightstraw)Photo by John Chenery (@lightstraw)Photo by John Chenery (@lightstraw)Photo by John Chenery (@lightstraw)Photo by John Chenery (@lightstraw)Photo by John Chenery (@lightstraw)Photo by John Chenery (@lightstraw)Photo by John Chenery (@lightstraw)
My report makes six key recommendations: Fix the broken understanding of how the gas market works. Policymakers should recognise that British gas production is not sold on global markets at a global price. The GB gas market uses marginal pricing and additional domestic production displaces more expensive LNG imports, thereby reducing British gas prices. The report argues that claims that additional UK production cannot affect domestic prices are simply wrong. Increase UK Continental Shelf gas production. Domestic gas should be preferred to imports wherever possible. UKCS gas is both cheaper and cleaner than imported LNG and provides a secure source of supply directly connected to the British gas network. Reduce reliance on electricity imports. Britain is increasingly depending on electricity imports during periods of low domestic renewable generation. However, highly correlated weather patterns mean low wind generation in Britain can coincide with shortages elsewhere. The report warns that Norway and France cannot be assumed to provide unlimited electricity to their neighbours during periods of stress. Model gas and electricity security together. The gas grid transports far more energy than the electricity network. Electrifying heating will take decades while gas-fired generation will remain critical to electricity security for years to come. The report argues that planning should recognise the interdependencies of gas and electricity to a greater extent. Focus on cheap energy. Rapidly rising network costs are overtaking fuel costs as the main driver of energy bills. The report calls for tighter control of network expenditure and for the suspension of the Connect & Manage regime, arguing that consumers should not be required to fund expensive infrastructure whose output is frequently constrained or wasted. Treat energy security as national security. The government should subject energy policy to an explicit national-security test, prioritising resilience, diversity of supply, sufficient domestic energy capacity and the preservation of strategically important industrial capability alongside affordability and sustainability. watt-logic.com/wp-content/up…
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John Chenery retweeted
Netflix has over 8,000 titles in its library. Your homepage shows you roughly 200–300 of them on any given night. That means 95% of Netflix's catalog is invisible to you hidden behind an algorithm that decides what you see based on what it thinks you'll click. A former Netflix product manager who spent 3 years working on content discovery told me: "Netflix has over 2,200 internal genre categories. Your homepage shows maybe 30–40 of them. The algorithm surfaces the categories it thinks will keep you scrolling not the categories that would help you find something you'd love. There are micro-genres in the system so specific they'll match any mood you've ever been in 'Understated Romantic Dramas,' 'Visually Striking Mind-Bending Movies,' 'Deep Sea Horror,' 'Gentle British Reality TV.' These categories exist. The content is there. Netflix just doesn't show them to you." "But every category has a numeric code. And anyone can type that code into a URL and bypass the algorithm entirely." Here are the Netflix secret category codes how they work, why they exist, and the specific codes that unlock the content the algorithm will never show you: 🧵
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Nostalgia moment. A couple of snaps taken on this day 20 years ago. Two architectural treasures now lost forever. 'Mondial House' and 'The Porters Lodge', the only pub in the City of London capable of withstanding a nuclear blast...
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David Turver (@7Kiwi) has written a new report setting out the impact AR7 will have on bills And it's a lot Per year, AR7 will add (in 2025 money) £79 subsidy payments £400 extra balancing costs £134 grid expa costs Total = £613 per household per year And for what? Wind that works around 30% of the time and solar just 10% When will someone in @UKLabour stand up to @Ed_Miliband and his attack on British households and British businesses?? @ClaireCoutinho @AndrewBowie_MP @griffitha @NJ_Timothy @DavidGHFrost @cmackinlay @mattwridley @Iromg @AllisonPearson @MerrynSW @EdConwaySky @afneil @mattotele @jonathan_leake thegwpf.org/content/uploads/…
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New Rememberance Day postbox topper has been installed outside @bletchleypark / @tnmoc if you're visiting either. You can even press the drum to hear the noise!! I love this, remembering all the WRNS who served running the Bombe machines. Superb work Clare Reeves & Amanda Vines
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Cymru Calling: Telephone Exchange Buildings in Wales [online] Wednesday 12 November 2025 at 6.30pm secure.c20society.org.uk/Def… A richly illustrated talk about the architectural history and evolution of telephone exchange buildings in the United Kingdom...
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Wind = super cheap, green power. So it's totally nuts that the UK wastes billions by turning wind farms off when it's windy. But we can help fix the system - with regional pricing.
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In other news, I'm out tonight doing my final talk of the year. This time it is on British Rail Engineering Limited in conjunction with my recent book. A company which could have been a British success story but was never able to fulfil its potential... #BritishRail #History
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A nice block of @BeltonCheese 20% off in @waitrose with its new 'Cheese Thursday' promotion. Thank you!
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1M27 departing Shieldmuir RMT beginning it’s southbound departure
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ON THIS DAY: 22 years ago, Transport Minister John Spellar turned off the turbines at Lots Road Power Station, ending 97 years of electricity generation for London Transport. All images from Hugh Robertson taken in 1997 @ltmuseum
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John Chenery retweeted
Delighted to have received my copy of the latest book from ⁦@lightstraw⁩ #telecoms #heritage #telephone #gpo
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Teddy Bear Codebreakers reporting for duty!🧸 From Tuesday 23 July, you can pick up our new FREE family Teddy Bear Trail to see if you can find all the bears and break the code. Inspired by Alan Turing’s very own Teddy, Porgy, this is a lovely way to explore Bletchley Park, with puzzles and games suited for younger and older children (and adults might enjoy it too!). 📷Send us your teddy bear selfies using #BletchleyParkTeddyBearTrail!
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Pictures of the Charles III postbox! #BBCBreakfast #postbox #postboxsaturday
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Replying to @tele_exchange
@tele_exchange I got a few pix of Mill House, Ilford today. Big buildings are always so difficult to get the optimum angles.
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