Vera Fang

yikes

yikes

yikes

A poem from WW! war poet Wilfred Owen 1893 –1918. Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind. Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; But someone still was yelling out and stumbling And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime... Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. If in some smothering dreams you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,— My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.

My own grandad talked about his time in North Africa and Italy in WW2, not with pride but with humility.
None of these people glorified combat. That's what we need to remember.

I have spoken to people who were spies, had long research chats with those who were codebreakers and I was once sent letters from the front that never made it to their loved ones. It is impossible not to be moved by the history and stories. 3/

Far too many animals were entered into warfare with zero expectation of survival. I've interviewed tommies, worked with holocaust survivors and filmed Dunkirk veterans who saw their friends die beside them. 2/

I studied war poets for A Level English and this has never, ever left me. I still find it almost unbearable to read.
But its power is unmistakable.
There is nothing glorious about war. Far too many young men lost their lives, far too many women lost their husbands, sons and brothers. 1/

Reposted every year in response to all those who fetishize remembrance

I think of this every year at this time. I studied the war poets for A level English and the heartbreak of those lines has never left me.

Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…

This is fucking brilliant, and you should read it: lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...

Yeah he went over time at a hard count to another show. They would have had the director telling them to end it. Also, I did a live with a woman who was over 100 year's old and she found the earpiece really tricky. The presenter also had to speak very loudly for the lady to hear the questions.

my daughter seems to have been inspired by him and started her guitar collecting aged 13 too... She used to be in a band but now she plays for her own enjoyment. I find it very soothing listening to someone tinker away in the background as I grew up with that sound

My dad has a collection of guitars estimated to be worth over £50,000. That doesn't include the synths, speakers, various pedals etc. He's been playing music since he was 13, sometimes in bands, sometimes alone and he says it has saved his sanity, especially when going through leukemia treatment

Europeans recognize Zohran Mamdani’s supposedly radical policies as ‘normal’ Critics of New York City’s mayor-elect have said his pledges of free bus service and universal childcare are unrealistic, but in Europe it’s a given

This perfectly encapsulates how I feel living in the US. The republican party is an insane death cult, the democratic party is 3 corporations in a trench coat, and the "socialists" are just the completely normal left-wing capitalists you'd find in any of 2 dozen European nations.

Hundreds of thousands of people, dead because of a decision made by the world's richest man

another day, another bomb falls on the British TV landscape. I fear we are selling off the family jewels to people who don't care about their beauty and craftmanship.
First the building and now the channels. Like it or not, this is part of our cultural history being ravaged.
#ITV

Good to know he shops in B&M Bargains too

don't threaten me with a good time, John

No one in the media has paid for a poppy. There are boxes of them in every newsroom/green room/dressing room. I suspect it is the same in parliament. The whole thing is performative and makes me rage. My grandad never wore a poppy but he fought in N. Africa and Italy against actual Nazis.

Isn't it? I hope someone near to her is pointing this out. All of us need to be pulled up on our bullshit if we start spouting it - publicly or privately.

amazing - such collective joy

please someone scream this at the absolute shower in the Labour comms team

great thread

What We Lost When Condé Nast Unceremoniously Shuttered Teen Vogue This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news...

if you want to know what happened to Teen Vogue yesterday, my work wife @allegrak.bsky.social — who ran our politics section for 6 years until this past June — said it all in this.

can't even pull out a favorite part til I sign my separation letter lol, just read the whole thing.

If your search for John Lewis on here there's an equal split between Brits either loving/hating/sobbing at the John Lewis Christmas ad and Americans urging people to vote. I miss the John Lewis in Canada dealing with randoms moaning at him on twitter cos they think he's the shop.

proper laughed

well, you know what they say about little hands...

little heart
little soul
little empathy
little intellect
little twat

This man would not have THE BALLS to show up in my town and spout this bullshit.

What a monumental loser. All the money in the world, no positive relationships, no great family life and slime for brains.

"One day at a time man"

a good man

Yep. Spot on. They are worth every penny

And to think they have tried to remove all staff from all these jobs.... Train driver and signal guys station staff... 8 minutes from call to arrest. I'd say that was a pretty dam good job. Well done #BTP #NATIONALRAILSTAFF and #Emergency services 👏👏👏