The question is do you really want out of Slough House?

Women are paying the price for ancient & contemporary gender bias in medicine & surgery

We ask what we can do about it Oct 30 at Hen & Chicken, North St, BS3

W/ Gabriel Weston Gene Feder & @elizmizon.com

time.com/6074224/gend...

#bristoltalks #women #medecine #surgery #genderequality #feminism

Not my experience with regards to the British identity even for those not in favour of independent Scotland and Wales, but no point arguing about experiences.

I don't see why it can't just be called what it is, your identity card. At the end of the day the name isn't the issue.

Anecdotally I have been told on several occasions over the past two decades by English colleagues that I am, as a Scot, "welcome to also be British". I know what they mean, but it's part of the reason why so many while identifying as both British and Scots/Welsh don't see the British as unifying.

I am not commenting on whether it should or shouldn't - just that British is currently *not* a unifying national identity, which is why the proposed name is getting much pushback. which is beyond describing it as "naff".

Whether it's justified or not, the conflation of England with Britain on a very regular basis outwith Scotland and Wales, means this seems to exclude rather than include those whose patriotic sympathies lie elsewhere in the union.

I am seeing a lot of criticism from Scots and Welsh too on the name. A lot.

@digitalfutures.bsky.social

Haggis Pakora

Reminder: The existence of these in most Scottish supermarkets and corner shops is proof that anyone shilling for the notion that multiculturalism can't work on this island is a charlatan

I've pointed this out many times on comments on London based political podcasts when they use examples from everywhere else that use forms of PR. The reply is always "but not Westminster". As if all the other elections just haven't given us enough experience. Personal ongoing bugbear.

The age verification thing is only a couple of weeks(months?) old UK requirement, but cookies verification is a long-standing EU requirement.

Awesome band.

One of my favourite, loudest and bounciest gigs of the 1990s was at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, around 1996 or so.

YouTube video by The Harp Consort & Il Corago Arvo Pärt "Fratres" (original version, 1977) performed by Hortus Musicus (1979)

What a fascinating period piece - Estonian early music ensemble Hortus Musicus perform the original version of Arvo Pärt's Fratres on Finnish television in 1979. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cruM...

Charles I:

"I cannot for the life of me understand how the Parliamentarians think this is some kind of winning political message. Yield man! Let the troops come into the House of Commons to arrest five members and show how crime can be reduced."

Bath seems to be claiming it's the drably anonymous corner, which I'm finding hilarious.

Birdsong like this is definitely something we miss since moving to England. While mostly our city centre has pigeons and gulls, there are a couple of wee blackbirds and yellow tits away from the road which have a nice call. Thanks for this reminder of home though.

I can only dream.of continental European style fast trains in the UK in my lifetime. This though.

At a similar time Scottish Labour was led by Kezia Dugdale, and Patrick Harvir co-leader of the Scottish Greens (from 2008) was the first openly bi-sexual leader of a political party in the UK.

YouTube video by Films You Forgot Why Grosse Pointe Blank Still Hits Hard

Wonderful piece on why Grosse Pointe Blank is a great movie, "a morally grey rom-com with a body count" with a protagonist "skeptical of everything, emotionally frozen, and desperate for something real." (And I'd forgotten how charming John Cusack was.)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=90My...

@digitalfutures.bsky.social did I perhaps mention this? Jeez.

This was such a rewarding gig!

It's Peter Jackson & Bryson v Weta all over again isn't it.

Always love a wee trip to Finn's when we're up in Ayrshire. Good shout.

I'm always amazed when the issue of PR is raised for Westminster elections most commentators ignore the fact that Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland have held all their elections using a form of PR for the past quarter of a century. The sky didn't fall in.

@digitalfutures.bsky.social

I always thought it was strange that monarchists in NZ kept telling me that we needed the Queen to make sure the government didn't get out of control. Bizarre ahistorical notions from people who claim to be "traditional".

Jeff Bezos found new ways to exploit labour and externalise environmental costs. Gates and Brin took advantage of a newly privatised, publicly funded technology to create new gadgets.

This thoughtless sycophancy dressed up as radical truth telling perfectly sums up why we're in such a mess

I have this pinned up in my office. I can’t remember where I first saw it. But it’s key to a lot of radical politics.