Ellie Ashman

seconding raindrop, migrated over from Pocket (RIP) and finding it pretty great, although I'm still not really over the demise of linky dink. I use Are.na too, but a bit more curated for specific projects

I'll check my calendar in the morning but I'm keen!

Sian this sounds ace!

Check out this session I'm hosting in September 🥰

It'll be an interactive & safe space for techy folks from all sectors to share the glimmers of hope, the blockers, and dream up concrete actions we can take individually and collectively to make the world a better place 🌍

I'd love to see you there!

Well, it's happened. Eldest nibling, aged 10, now has larger feet than me. Just called me a "micro human". Must be how the kids are saying "coolest aunty" these days 🤷

English Whisky Has Arrived: 7 Must-Try Bottles Showcasing Its Bold New Identit — The Three Drinkers English whisky has been building momentum, with a focus on innovation that still pays tribute to tradition. Ever since The English Sherry Cask Matured was voted...

the excellent @systemofadram.bsky.social talking about all that English whisky has to offer (which is tons, btw - innovation, regenerative practices, deliciousness) - ideal if you're in search of a nice weekend dram #booze (hashtag for those who mute) www.thethreedrinkers.com/magazine-con...

The report calls for exactly what I and others have been arguing: media literacy must be embedded across the curriculum, starting in early years and supported by proper teacher training.

Media literacy - Committees - UK Parliament This inquiry will seek to establish a clear vision for what good media literacy would look like in the UK, and examine the barriers to achieving this vision. The committee will consider the roles and ...

The House of Lords just released a major report on media literacy. Its core message is that the UK is falling behind, and it’s putting democracy at risk.
committees.parliament.uk/work/9030/me...

We need to teach people the difference between being uncomfortable and being unsafe. Because the discomfort of the safest people is endangering the most vulnerable, all day every day.

Geoffrey Bilder (@gbilder.com‬) will be speaking at #csvconf about "Sovereign-First Scholarly Infrastructure for an Uncertain World"! Register now: http://csvconfv9.eventbrite.com

Porto just popped itself at the top of my travel list, this place is my dream

How people and government can justify this?

💔🇵🇸

There are good reasons to explore foundation models.
But exploration needs governance, not just procurement.
Otherwise, we’ll remake public institutions by default, not design.

Pilots → patterns → policy.

This is pivotal. Let’s treat it that way.

The UK govt is now working with OpenAI, Google DeepMind & Anthropic to “find use cases” for foundation models in public services.
It’s framed as exploratory, a test of productivity + citizen-facing improvements. But these partnerships go deeper than tools.

🧵

Alan Cumming on bathroom bills:

"Why on earth would a rapist go through the bother of pretending to be trans in a country that treats rapists better than trans people."

YouTube video by Nexer Digital Matt Jukes: The power, peril and privilege of working in the open

Oh the video of my #CampDigital talk is out! I won't *ever* be watching or listening to this but I think it might be quite fun!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rm8j...

YouTube video by Caribou CARIBOU - You Can Do It

TFW you find out one of your fave motivational power-hour songs has the most majestic video of all time. I forgot how great music videos can be. Anyway, DO IT. www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrPV...

A Palestinian girl cries out for food with her hands held out at a charity kitchen amid the famine in Gaza. She is surrounded by other young, anguished children. This photo was taken on Thurs July 11, 2025 after at least 10 children were killed by an Israeli strike as they queued outside a medical point. More Palestinians have now been killed just waiting for food than the number of victims killed in the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7. Photograph credit is to Ebrahim Hajjaj of Reuters

Gaza is now officially in IPC Phase 5, the final stage of hunger. Designated as 'catastrophe'.

A further 67 of the starving were killed by IDF soldiers yesterday trying to access food. Witnesses say the victims had their hands held in the air.

One day, everyone will have always been against this.

Mindblowing and beautiful.

A tabby cat sits upright on an orange velvet sofa - his green eyes are staring at the middle distance, his tabby ears half pinned back. A print on the wall in the background shows 'chaos' in wobbly letters, matching the vibe.

Someone is very not sure about Boards of Canada 😅

It's right and good that approaches are evolving to match the evolution of the needs they exist to meet *and* if we were better at talking about and designing for endings, for the composting of old & emerging of newness, we might repeat ourselves just a tiny bit less. Sigh.

Love this approach Steve

*cries into the wayback machine again*

If you're not already following the incredible volunteer collective at @adhdpathfinding.org.uk, have a little look at what they've been up to in their very first weeknote

As an aside, if you ever get that stuck-in-a-brain-rut feeling, I cannot recommend the Southwester enough. A beautiful thing, which serendipitously landed on my doorstep just as I was taking myself out for brunch

The southwestern newspaper 'for the imagination, full of stories, wisdom and creativity from those who call the south west home' sits underneath Rob Hopkins' new book, How to Fall in Love with the Future

Day off today, going to feed my imagination (whilst I have a fancy brunch). Definite South West theme is a bonus

But Mars, in this imagination, offers the ability to leave this planet and its problems behind, to start anew on a fresh surface, and to scrap that one too when it doesn't work out.
This mindset is a commitment to abandoning the things we've spoiled rather than doing hard work to repair them.

Clearly, Mars colonization is wildly unrealistic, but I think what it really represents is a commitment to disposability.
As someone on here said, we already have a planet that's perfect except for being 2° too warm, and we can't even terraform that. How can we hope to terraform Mars?

A slide from a presentation - ‘Where we started’ and ‘Where we are now’

A slide from a presentation about test and learn work in Nottingham

A slide from a presentation: “Spoiler alert: We’re still doing it and it’s making things better for children”

A slide: “Conditions we need leaders to create now, to enable Test Learn and Grow 1. Build governance that enables test and learn 2. Make space for people to lead the work whatever their level 3. Be visible in spaces where new ways of working are being tried 4. Invest in user research expertise 5. Encourage people who instinctively value this way of working to find each other”

Honestly, this Test & Learn event is joyful. There are so many examples of the real-life transformation of public institutions - quicker, more responsive, more human, more purpose-driven and fun to work in. e.g. these slides are from a brilliant example from Nottingham 1/n

We’ve launched!

When I first shared a proposal for a more joined up approach to ADHD care in the UK I wasn’t expecting much.

But what happened next surprised me.
People stepped forward. To help. To amplify. To create something better.

Now we’re a team: ADHD Pathfinding.

Proud to be part of it.