Karen Gardiner's Avatar

Karen Gardiner

@karendesuyo.bsky.social

Scottish writer based in Northern NY, via Japan and elsewhere. Work in Condé Nast Traveler, BBC, Nat Geo, Washington Post and more. https://karengardiner.contently.com

354 Followers  |  115 Following  |  42 Posts  |  Joined: 04.11.2023  |  2.1592

Latest posts by karendesuyo.bsky.social on Bluesky

Woman shouts into 2 microphones in a public space in order to protest the noise of foreigners, seemingly unaware of what irony is.

Woman shouts into 2 microphones in a public space in order to protest the noise of foreigners, seemingly unaware of what irony is.

“Against the noise.” 🤡

17.09.2025 05:55 — 👍 67    🔁 4    💬 15    📌 1
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Owen Cooper, 15, becomes the youngest male actor to win an outstanding supporting actor Emmy. How lovely to hear a young northern working class talent speaking so eloquently on the biggest stage after being given a chance in the industry

15.09.2025 07:13 — 👍 295    🔁 50    💬 7    📌 5
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If you want to dress well this fall, imagine yourself as Big Jim Collie, a Scottish crofter in the 1970s who lived alone in a bothy and rode a rickety old bicycle through the Lairig Ghru, the highest mountain pass in the highest mountain range in Britain, while sustaining himself on a bit of dram.

13.09.2025 20:10 — 👍 2015    🔁 207    💬 73    📌 39

Mads, and also Mads. Two great options.

07.09.2025 03:55 — 👍 126    🔁 10    💬 2    📌 0
Akira Kurosawa and Toshirô Mifune at the 1960 Venice Film Festival

Akira Kurosawa and Toshirô Mifune at the 1960 Venice Film Festival

Kurosawa and Mifune had that shit on

02.09.2025 01:44 — 👍 2793    🔁 503    💬 2    📌 63
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Montréal Used to Be Canada's 'Sin City.' What Happened? Montréal's red-light district once beckoned those seeking pleasure and vice. That era has passed, but the city's tourism industry still leans on its sexy spirit.

A personal bugbear is cities commodifying the aesthetics of sex work while also pushing sex workers out. I wrote about this phenomenon in Montréal where tourism marketing has the cheek to use red lights to wink at tourists while making life difficult for SWs m.sevendaysvt.com/guides/montr...

15.08.2025 18:03 — 👍 3    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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Montréal Used to Be Canada's 'Sin City.' What Happened? Montréal's red-light district once beckoned those seeking pleasure and vice. That era has passed, but the city's tourism industry still leans on its sexy spirit.

A personal bugbear is cities commodifying the aesthetics of sex work while also pushing sex workers out. I wrote about this phenomenon in Montréal where tourism marketing has the cheek to use red lights to wink at tourists while making life difficult for SWs m.sevendaysvt.com/guides/montr...

15.08.2025 18:03 — 👍 3    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

The Americans, The Leftovers, True Detective 1

01.08.2025 10:43 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
A gif featuring photos from and reviews of the new book Small Earthquakes: A Journey Through Lost British History in South America.

A gif featuring photos from and reviews of the new book Small Earthquakes: A Journey Through Lost British History in South America.

🚨Delighted to say my new book #SmallEarthquakes is published today by @hurstpublishers.bsky.social.

Blending travel writing, history & reportage, it uncovers Britain’s lost connections with South America, from the Atacama to Tierra del Fuego, Easter Island to South Georgia.

➡️ tinyurl.com/2wy8j9df

31.07.2025 08:06 — 👍 31    🔁 8    💬 4    📌 1

I loved that book!

22.07.2025 11:56 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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For Food & Wine, I write about Hurtigruten’s new culinary ambassador, Máret Ravdna Buljo, and her mission to reinvigorate and bring more visibility to Sámi food, and show that it can be eaten cross-legged on a lávvu floor, as well as seated at a table: www.foodandwine.com/hurtigruten-...

17.07.2025 19:05 — 👍 2    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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For Food & Wine, I write about Hurtigruten’s new culinary ambassador, Máret Ravdna Buljo, and her mission to reinvigorate and bring more visibility to Sámi food, and show that it can be eaten cross-legged on a lávvu floor, as well as seated at a table: www.foodandwine.com/hurtigruten-...

17.07.2025 19:05 — 👍 2    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

The FYF crowd certainly have a lot of feelings that they feel the need to announce.

26.05.2025 11:32 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I’m just wondering why someone would attend puppypalooza, a dog adoption event, wearing a “fuck your feelings” t-shirt.

26.05.2025 11:30 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Over 60% of people in publishing are from middle-class backgrounds, with fewer than 20% of working-class origin. And 47% of authors and writers are from the most privileged social starting points, contrasting with only 10% from working-class backgrounds.

05.05.2025 09:06 — 👍 132    🔁 24    💬 2    📌 1
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We're launching The Bee magazine today because the UK publishing and writing industries have a bit of a class problem.

05.05.2025 09:06 — 👍 1031    🔁 447    💬 33    📌 55

“All you can do, in a world of noise and vanity, is attune yourself to the world’s summonses. To those varieties of rational and sensual experience that do not wash over you, but that call you to live a fuller life. Religion does that, for many. Art does it for me.”

25.04.2025 16:54 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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A Closer Look at Pope Francis’ Favorite Painting Caravaggio was an artist of rare directness, whose naturalistic pictures brought the heavens down to earth. Our critic Jason Farago shows you what Francis may have seen in them.

Just wonderful. Give yourself 10 minutes with this www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

25.04.2025 16:51 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Just been paid for a story that I didn’t even have to invoice - or navigate some idiosyncratic onboarding platform - for! 🤯 this is way

24.04.2025 13:59 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Magnum Square Print: Susan Meiselas The star and the new girl at work. Casa del Rio, Tunbridge, Vermont, USA, 1975. © Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos This print is hand-signed by the photographer on an archival label to ensure quality an...

But do I really need this Susan Meiselas Carnival Strippers print?

23.04.2025 17:06 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I think this link is broken?

23.04.2025 12:51 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Oh no, not again!

11.04.2025 17:27 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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I had a lovely autumn trip to Nasu last year and reckon it’s as beautiful in the spring. I wrote about Nasu’s natural wonders, craft culture and food for this weekend’s Times: www.thetimes.com/travel/desti...

08.04.2025 15:50 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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How Japan’s Wajima-nuri Artisans Are Bouncing Back After the Earthquake A year after a natural disaster, the resilient artisans of Japan’s Noto Peninsula are forging ahead—with great help from the city of Kanazawa.

Creating Wajima-nuri lacquerware requires more than 100 steps. The technique builds resilience in the wood and its craftspeople, an attribute they’ve had to draw on since the city was devastated by an earthquake: www.cntraveler.com/story/how-ja...

14.03.2025 17:57 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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The ‘time to go’ drinking party at Mankusen

17.02.2025 13:52 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Looking for a match made in heaven? This Japanese city is for people seeking love If you pray for love in Izumo, there's a good chance you'll be heard. Every year, eight million gods gather in this seaside city to decide the fate of humans' relationships.

Lots of people travel to Izumo to pray for love. Personally I plan to go back to join the heavy drinking god party in November 🍶 www.bbc.com/travel/artic...

17.02.2025 13:45 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Awful.

17.02.2025 13:29 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I hope it holds out so you can get there this season! It’s such a nice atmosphere

15.02.2025 22:04 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Overcame one of my biggest fears and skated 10k along the Rideau Canal ⛸️

15.02.2025 21:24 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 2    📌 0
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Looking for a match made in heaven? This Japanese city is for people seeking love If you pray for love in Izumo, there's a good chance you'll be heard. Every year, eight million gods gather in this seaside city to decide the fate of humans' relationships.

"Unlike the West, "belief" or "disbelief" doesn't really factor into Japanese spirituality," explains @hirokoyoda.bsky.social in @karendesuyo.bsky.social's article for the BBC. "In Japan, religions are not based in dogma. They co-exist with modern society." www.bbc.com/travel/artic...

13.02.2025 23:15 — 👍 22    🔁 5    💬 0    📌 0

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