Jill Rowan

Jill Rowan

@jillrowan.bsky.social

Author of The Legacy, The Dream, Angelica Died, Christmas at Killanara, and several short stories. Loves reading, learning, nature, photography, and of course writing. Lifelong socialist. No longer Labour for obvious reasons. Shropshire, UK.

1,577 Followers 686 Following 111 Posts Joined Nov 2023
3 weeks ago
Preview
‘Don’t go to the US – not with Trump in charge’: the UK tourist with a valid visa detained by ICE for six weeks Karen Newton was in America on the trip of a lifetime when she was shackled, transported and held for weeks on end. With tourism to the US under increasing strain, she says, ‘If it can happen to me, i...

Another reason not to travel to Trump's America
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

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3 weeks ago

Amazon wrote to tell me probably a year ago that I could have my novels read by a bot voice I select and released as audiobooks, and I still haven't roused enough interest to do it despite little effort being involved. It just all seems so pointless these days.

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3 weeks ago

On the off chance anyone is remotely interested, this is my author page.
www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Vivie...

Novels, short stories, poetry, essays etc. Fill your boots.

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1 month ago

Reform politicians are happy to throw insults from a distance.

But when it comes to debating their ideas? No show.

Richard Tice pulled out.
Farage won’t face me.
Now their candidate in Gorton & Denton has ducked our candidate Hannah Spencer.

Vote Green.

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1 month ago
Preview
Israel used weapons in Gaza that made thousands of Palestinians evaporate US-made thermal weapons burning at 3,500C caused 2,842 people to "evaporate" in Gaza, Al Jazeera investigation finds.

Real life horror.

aje.news/s1ry02

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1 month ago

Ooh err, what's up with BlueSky? Prompted to enter date of birth I entered when I signed up and now mega slow.

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1 month ago

Me to eye surgeon last July: Do I have macular oedema because there's a distorted area in my eye post surgery? It's been there for over a year.
ES: Certainly not, you knavish fool, you can convince yourself of anything over the internet!
Today (different surgeon): you have cystoid macular oedema. 🤷‍♀️

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1 month ago

Just watched the film 'Anniversary' on Netflix. Hard to come back to reality and think "phew, thank goodness that was just fiction", because that kind of world is getting closer and closer, and not just for the US.

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1 month ago

The largest labor strike in history is happening today in Minnesota. Yes they are suppressing the information but if enough of us talk about it off and online they can’t hide it. Tell every person you encounter about Minnesota.

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1 month ago

What we hoped would happen in Gaza: Israeli withdrawal, rebuilding by Palestinians with help from agencies. What's proposed: effectively a slave-labour camp for the Palestinians under complete surveillance and control by Israel/US. No freedom, no self-determination. Slavery.

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2 months ago

Thank you!

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2 months ago

Craven.

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2 months ago

Me to Starmer: "Do I have a big bum?"

Starmer: "Big bums are really important."

Me: "You're not going to say whether I have or haven't?"

Starmer: "I'm going to be clear that I believe in big bums. I've long been an advocate of big bums."

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2 months ago

I'm writing about the Palestine Action hunger strikers at the moment, any of whom could die at any moment, and the astonishing media and government silence surrounding them. The Establishment seems to have become even crueller than when Thatcher was PM.

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2 months ago
Preview
For the Beauty of the Earth And the tragedy of our species

My latest Substack post.
open.substack.com/pub/jillrowa...

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2 months ago

Just realized this is the first Christmas when I haven't even heard Fairytale of New York once. My favourite Christmas song, not even played on local radio when I've been driving. I'll have to seek it out just to hear it, I suppose.

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2 months ago
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Scientists baffled at mysterious ancient creature that doesn't fit on the tree of life as we know it An ancient and enormous organism called Prototaxites, initially found to be a type of fungus, may actually be an unknown branch of life, researchers say.

Prototaxites lived for 45 million years & became extinct. We don't even know for sure what kind of life it was, but no god saved it and it couldn't save itself. Humans in current form have only existed for 300,000 years. We *can* save ourselves, but won't.
www.livescience.com/animals/gian...

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3 months ago
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🎄 Clun Castle is the subject of Day 12 in our #Shropshire advent calendar. In the distance is Sowdley Wood, which is part of Black Hill. I waited a long time to get a picture of the castle in snow, and I finally managed to tick it off my to-do list a couple of years ago. 🎅

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3 months ago
Preview
The hunger strike is not being televised – nor will the last gasps of our dying freedoms Six political prisoners who targeted factories arming Israel's genocide are weeks into a hunger strike. But in contrast to the IRA's 1980s hunger strike, this one is being blanked by the media

A month is a very long time to go without food.

So has anyone heard about this hunger strike via the mainstream media?

When will it get a mention, if or when someone dies?

open.substack.com/pub/jonathan...

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3 months ago

Not enough money for a decent NHS, not enough money for decent benefits, not enough money for pothole repairs, not enough money for jury trials, but hey, we can shake that magic money tree for digital ID and facial recognition cameras.

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3 months ago

Remember the (not so) far-off days when you could just book an appointment and there was no 'triage' to stop you? Your reasons were private and there was no gatekeeping? Hard to believe now that that's how it was until fairly recently. Still is, in a decreasing number of practices.

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3 months ago
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The contorted stories we tell ourselves? Or "give your head a wobble" episode 8475743

This is well worth a read.
open.substack.com/pub/shibley/...

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4 months ago

Really though, Musk deserves massive ridicule for this.

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4 months ago
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Farage just gave the most disgraceful sermon of his entire career Farage's speech should strike fear into the hearts of ordinary people, no matter where they live or what ethnicity they are

www.thecanary.co/skwawkbox/20...

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4 months ago

If it weren't for the fact that some people are taking it seriously I'd be rolling on the floor with my legs in the air laughing over the Hobbit story. It's just so comical. Imagine our villages full of idealised tree houses instead of bungalows and new builds and Hobbits instead of commuters...

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4 months ago
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Almost nobody in the Cons Party or beyond it had noticed that the Shadow Home Secretary with two other frontbenchers and 5 backbenchers tabled a bill in May to deport 3 million people - stripping almost every pensioner, parent or nurse who did not take out citizenship of their right to live here

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4 months ago

Yum. Been waiting for them to be available.

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7 months ago

Greeted when coming on here with supposedly having to verify my age, but can't be bothered as I can guess it will involve ID at some point. I've signed the petition to repeal the Online Safety Act.

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