Caroline Johnstone

Charlie Kirk memorial: Trump says he ‘hates’ his opponents at event attended by tens of thousands President delivers mix of eulogy and campaign speech while JD Vance calls Kirk ‘martyr for the Christian faith’

How "Christian" all this hate is, to be sure. Reminds me of the Spanish Inquisition...

Really chuffed to be shortlisted for the Wigtown Book Festival's Anne Brown prize again. I love non-fiction essays, reading them & writing them, & the award provides a rare opportunity to have a go. Good luck to everyone.

'Miracle' achievement of Bristol mum after stranger saved her life She received a devastating diagnosis in 2020 but now feels "healthy, strong and alive"

'I thought I'd never see my kids grow up - a stranger's kindness led to a miracle'

www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol...

This man will not be fired for calling for the murder of American citizens, yet multiple journalists/reporters/teachers lost their job for accurately reporting things Charlie Kirk actually said and stood for.

But it’s the “violent left” that’s the problem

Detail: Railings of The Glasgow School of Art. Charles Rennie Mackintosh. c.1907.

Marie Maynard Daly: First Black Woman PhD Chemist Who Unlocked Cholesterol’s Deadly Secrets Dr Marie Maynard Daly, the first Black woman to earn a chemistry PhD in America, discusses her groundbreaking research linking cholesterol to heart disease and her pioneering work on DNA structure.…

Marie Maynard Daly: First Black Woman PhD Chemist Who Unlocked Cholesterol's Deadly Secrets
voxmeditantis.com/2025/09/13/m...

#WomenInSTEM #STEM #Biochemistry #Cardiology #Cholesterol

"Such pictures increase in power as the years go by. The people who took us pass away, and we ourselves grow up and change, but the stones stay the same." Peter Ross tries to solve the mystery of a fuzzy childhood photograph.

If we’re serious about lifting indie lit, we need systems that work.
That’s what #PIL is.
Submit today.
#PromoteIndieLit 🔗

24 Hours, by Lolabored from the album Joy Division Covers by Scottish Artists

nice project by young Scottish artists, covers of Joy Division songs in aid of the CALM charity - please have a listen! 👍
#CALM #charity #JoyDivision #ScottishArtists #music #health
soboringband.bandcamp.com/track/24-hours

Cafe Writers September 2025 Cafe Writers featuring Amanda Dalton and Kathy Pimlott

Cafe Writers is tomorrow night - Monday 8th - and features tow excellent poets: Amanda Dalton and Kathy Pimlott - seriously not to be missed. Still time to book a free ticket! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cafe-write...

Remembering the dark period of witchcraft accusations in Ayrshire Rightly or wrongly, I’ve largely come to regard references to witchcraft as nonsense that produces films for Hammer House of Horror or, as in this case, an embarrassing and sad aspect of our …

Remembering the dark period of witchcraft accusations in Ayrshire secretscotland.wordpress.com/2025/09/05/r...

know it's not Glasgow, but I love this knitted postbox topper I came across in the village of Failford in Ayrshire yesterday.

#postboxtopper #ayrshire #streetart #yarnbombing #tractor #fieldmouse #postbox #failford

By chance, I met this ancient oak near Mauchline, Ayrshire. My hiking pole on the right gives an idea of girth.

Trees this age and size are so rare in Ireland that this would be celebrated. But in Scotland, they seem no big deal.

Irish nature is a mere shell of what it once was. Time to rewild!! 🌏

Blue tit perched on a cowrie shell, shells, walnuts in and out of shell, grapes, fly, beetles painting.

Still life with blue tit, Georg Flegel, 1629.

Today is #NationalReadABookDay which we firmly believe should be celebrated every day!

Whether you've borrowed from the #library, treated yourself to something new at a #bookshop, or have curled up on the sofa with a dog-eared favourite, happy reading!

In Hope Bowdler churchyard lies Francis Phillips (1657); his gravestone is one of the oldest in Shropshire. On the stone, it wishes for "an untroubled mold" which expresses his desire to lie in the grave undisturbed. It is an incredible piece of history and reminds us how special churchyards can be.

Writing Time & Place in Fiction (online day school place) - thi wurd Ticket for a place at the online ‘Writing time and place in fiction’ (Day school), Sun 7th Sep, 1.30pm–5.30pm. Please see our classes page for details of this day school. No refunds on this product a...

Our in-person 'Writing Time & Place in Fiction' in Glasgow today has sold out. However, our online version tomorrow (Sun 7 Sept, 1.30-5.30pm BST) still has a couple of place. Book here: www.thi-wurd.com/product/writ...

Cover image of Close-UP by Quentin Cowdry. Background image is light shining through trees. Text: The various subjects and themes, which differentiate and unite the work, are built on close observation of the world, of nature and human experience, and how we relate to and respond to it. Review by Chris Hardy

Winner of the @hedgehogpress.co.uk first pamphlet competition 2023, 'Close-Up' is a 'carefully structured' collection that is built on 'built on close observation of the world, of nature and human experience, and how we relate to and respond to it.'

inksweatandtears.co.uk/chris-hardy-...

#Reviews

Nigel Farage (photo) Nigel Farage says 'there's every chance of general election in 2027' Reform UK leader says party needs to be ready for early election and vows to 'stop the boats' within two weeks if elected UK politics live - latest updates Rowena Mason and Ben Quinn

“Nigel Farage says….” has been the headline of the decade.
Look at what he does, ffs.
Look at his tax affairs.
Look at his grifting.
Look at his lies.
Look at his prejudice.
Look at his allies.
Look at his manifesto.
Look at his Brexit.
He is the embodiment of personal greed and national failure.

An aerial view of the St Pancras site of the British Library, showing the ship like building and piazza.

Due to planned transport strikes, on Monday 8 September – Thursday 11 September our St Pancras site will open 09:30 – 18:00.

Reading Rooms and Reader Registration will open at 10.00 and close at 17.00.

Plan your visit: bit.ly/BLPlanVisit

By @poetalicewhite.bsky.social:

I am absolutely thrilled to have five pieces published & beautifully presented on the splendid @lothlorienpoetryj.bsky.social site, edited by that great member of the #poetrycommunity @stridermarcusjones.bsky.social #poetsonbluesky #poetry #writingcommunity #booksky

The emotional significance of objects sends ripples through our lives, which is why this is often my final poem when I give a reading.

It's taken from my second full collection, Whatever You Don't, Just Don't. If you fancy a signed copy, drop me a DM and I'll sort one out for you...

You had your chance to remove and bar him from the presidency after Jan 6. And you chickened out.

Find a Retreat Writing retreats are a great way to take time for yourself and let your creative juices flow. Find your perfect writing retreat here!

Attending a writing retreat can be a great way to start or advance a project. Have you ever been on a retreat? I love looking at these listings and daydreaming a little. So many inspiring possibilities! #writingcommunity writingretreatdirectory.com/find-a-retre...

How to withdraw a book from sale at Amazon Sometimes as an indie author you need to withdraw their book from sale at Amazon.com. Maybe you’ve come up with a new cover or have rewritten the book and don’t want the older version up for sale. …

#IndieAuthor #authorsky #indiebook #indiepub #selfpublishing inventingrealityediting.com/2...

Contributions How to contribute to The Starbeck Orion

All are welcome to contribute to the non-themed October Anthology of The Starbeck Orion. Be great to see some spooky stuff, though this is not essential. Here are the contribution details:
open.substack.com/pub/the880/p...

Nigel Farage looks uncomfortable as Jamie Raskin uses his opening statement to absolutely demolish him

And now for something completely different…

Sofie Amalia Ribbing 1835 – 1894 Swedish painter of the Düsseldorf School. She specialized in portraits and genre scenes, often placed in family settings

Boys Drawing (aka Drawing Boys), 1864
Oil on canvas
91.5 cm 79 cm
Gothenburg Museum of Art

Yes. And the first recorded black community in England lived in Burgh by Sands in Cumbria 1,800 years ago. They were originally African soldiers in the Roman army, but many of them stayed on after their service. They married local women and raised families there, in what would later become England.