Gill Ower

Trump in a beige v-neck merino sweater and beige chinos.

Donald Trump Jr. wearing a USA flag sport coat. The jacket tag has been left on the sleeve.

Brendan Carr and Benny Johnson. Both wearing blue suits with tan shoes. Carr's suit is mid-blue. He has paired it with blonde shoes. Johnson is wearing a navy suit with walnut colored shoes.

Matt Braynard wearing a navy suit with a white French cuff shirt and gold colored tie. He has a giant Windsor knot and a metal sports watch.

Some of the crimes I've seen in Washington DC:

— Beige sweater with beige chinos
— Jacket sleeve tag left on
— Tan shoes with navy suits
— Giant Windsor knots (triple felony with the metal sports watch paired with dark suit and French cuffs)

Halve 1000 three times.

An illustration by Aysha Awwad of two children choosing books from a book case plus the words: "Great Books Guide: Discover super summer reading"

The summer holidays can be a great opportunity to encourage a love of reading in children - and our #GreatBooksGuide is packed with 100 recommendations of great titles to try.

Explore it here 👇

www.booktrust.org.uk/book-recomme...

Year 9 recommended reading list for teens aged 13-14 Books for Year 9 - a selection of exciting titles including easy reads and more challenging novels suitable for KS3 pupils aged 13-14.

Suggested reading books for children aged 13-14 in Year 9 in KS3 including texts by Patrick Ness, Gary Paulsen, Mary Shelley and Harper Lee schoolreadinglist.co.uk/reading-list... #ukedchat #kidlit

Rightwingers warn of another blaze of summer riots in Britain – but they’re the ones striking the match | John Harris Grim predictions of ‘societal collapse’ and ‘civil war’ will hit home so long as Labour fails to address the country’s problems, says Guardian columnist John Harris

“The spectacle of politicians knowingly peddling inflammatory narratives is nauseating – and… they are starting to look like desperate people throwing matches on kindling that refuses to ignite. That is a remarkable way for self-styled patriots to behave”

Indeed.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Anas al-Sharif, prominent Al Jazeera correspondent, among five journalists killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza Israel admits deliberate attack on the journalist, known for frontline coverage, in a strike on a tent outside al-Shifa hospital

"Israel has killed 237 journalists since the war started on 7 October 2023, according to Gaza’s government media office. The Committee to Protect Journalists said at least 186 journalists have been killed in Gaza."

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

And the caps... 🤮

3 weeks to the day since contracting vestibular disease, the pup practically trotted round to visit his favourite place, my in-laws' house, otherwise known as the land of neverending treats. This is him on the return route, a little bit less trotty, but surefooted nonetheless. Progress!

Create multiple Google accounts?

That's a great explanation. Thank you! In the last class I taught, there were 25 children, with 3 sets of matching birthdays involving 7 children. Happy birthday!

Calls for a "huge nationwide wave" of protests in last 48 hours saw about 300 people attend one locally-organised protest in Nuneaton (serious charges in local case) + 19 protests range from 6 peoole (Wolverhampton) with about four more reaching 100-200 people (Altrincham,Canary Wharf)

Total < 2000

Sublime & Katya Balen soars to new heights 📖 Look up & see the upside - Letters from the Upside is out 25/9 & it’s a perfect class readaloud exploring an dysregulated child who discovers the healing power of nature. Thanks @bloomsburyed.bsky.social 🐦
checkemoutbooks.wordpress.com/2025/08/10/l...

Infographic repeating text in post

Morning lovlies. During this October half term, I'm teaching an @arvonfoundation residential writing course with Steve Voake. If you fancy getting away from distractions & turning your idea for a children's book into a reality, find out more here: www.arvon.org/writing-cour...

These people make me so angry, whipping up hatred against those who've often made harrowing journeys to get here, while they seem to move around the world effortlessly.

So many of my old favourites in there! Thanks for the heads up - I had no idea this was on.

EXCLUSIVE TO ALL NEWSPAPERS POWDER KEG UK ABOUT TO BLOW UP AS BRITAIN STANDS ON THE BRINK OF THE WHOLE NATION DESCENDING INTO CIVIL WAR by Our Apocalypse Staff HELENA HANDCART THE entire country has turned into a tinderbox, one spark and the whole thing could turn into a raging inferno of hatred and violence. All it needs is one little push - preferably from us - and this once peaceful island will explode. It may not take much, maybe an article with some badly researched facts, maybe some exaggerated and provocative hyperbole, and before we know it there'll be blood on the streets, and flames too, as millions of furious citizens attack each other, the police, and the emergency services, not to mention the armed forces should they tragically be called in to deal with the hate-filled mob rampaging through our cities, towns and villages, armed with burning torches and pitchforks, calling for justice, free speech and the immediate death of everyone they don't like. (Top journalism, Ed). Make no mistake, if Britain even exists by next week, we will run this piece again until someone sparks the tinderbox on the brink of the powderkeg that... (cont. for entire summer).

No one sums up the utter shamelessness of the British press and the ugly politics of Farage quite like Private Eye.

A photo of a man and a child sharing a book called Nighty Night, plus circles with stats in them: 86% lack confidence reading with their child, 85% feel that books are not for them, 89% lack time, 83% lack of access to children's books at home

What's preventing families from reading more?

We asked #BookTrustStorytime librarians - and this is how many of them agreed that these barriers have an impact.

BookTrust Storytime aims to help families get reading through fun library experiences 👇

www.booktrust.org.uk/how-we-help/...

Reflections from an MoJ volunteer • Give a Book ‘Recently, I had the opportunity to volunteer at [a prison Family Day] with Give a...

'Seeing the children’s excitement as they received their books, and the emotional reactions of parents, was incredibly moving.' 💙

Amreeta from the MoJ volunteered with Give a Book at a prison Family Day and shared her reflections.

Read more: giveabook.org.uk/2025/08/06/r...

#FamilyDays #Volunteer

Hunt for the Golden scarab on a kindle against a back drop of hyroglyphs.

Holiday Readers!

Hunt for the Golden Scarab is a 99p Kindle deal for the month of August!

www.amazon.co.uk/Hunt-Golden-...

Dispelling harmful misinformation about M&S 'trans' bra fitting row Dangerous misinformation over an M&S 'trans' bra fitting story is spreading online; here's what we actually know.

The moment I saw that "trans bra" M & S story I sensed it was nonsense.

Seconds later, having read the Telegraph piece I knew it was worse than that. It was deliberate hate mongering completely devoid of evidence, names and facts.

Superb job of debunking it here
www.thepinknews.com/2025/08/06/m...

📚 Alternate reads to Mr Stink 📚
You don’t need Walliams when you have these incredible books. If you know a child who is reading #MrStink then here’s some alternate reads they could read next to explore poverty and/or homelessness. Which other books would you recommend? #kidlituk

#@wainwrightprize.bsky.social I'm so happy to see Ettie and the Midnight Pool on this shortlist. Thank you! Nurturing a love of the natural world is very dear to my heart #storiesthatconnect #wainwrightprize

It’s been great seeing all the DW conversations lately on Insta so after last summer’s posters, I’ve been inspired to start creating more so instead of Demon Dentist, here are some incredible reads which feature young carers #kidlituk

One Woman, Two Protests, Zero Postcodes in Common: Tommy Robinson associate claims to be ‘concerned local resident’ Yesterday, former academic turned Reform UK cheerleader, Matt Goodwin tweeted a clip from the recent anti-migrant protest at the Barbican in London.  “Why are you...

“This is my local community. I’m worried about my children.”

That’s what a woman told GB News at the anti-migrant protest at the Barbican in London.

Problem is, she said the same thing at a protest in Epping days earlier. 🤦 ❌

hopenothate.org.uk/2025/08/05/o...

I'm repeating my online 'Building a Classroom Reading Culture' session on Monday 11th August at 10:00am. There's no fixed price for tickets as all donations will go directly to Medical Aid for Palestinians (www.map.org.uk). Please share!

www.justgiving.com/page/jonatha...

Here are the latest book reviews for this week, many of which are on our updated recommended book lists. Thank you to all our reviewers this week:
justimagine.co.uk/childrens-bo...

This is amongst the most impactful two minutes of broadcasting I’ve ever seen.

By Emma Murphy, International Editor, ITV News. #Gaza

Completed jigsaw of a flower market

Completed jigsaw of a cupboard crammed full of all sorts of stuff

Completed jigsaw of a village marketplace

Brown and grey dog lying on his blanket because he finds his bed's a bit wobbly for his unsteady legs

Into my third week at home with a slowly recovering Lucky, I've become a bit addicted to jigsaws, which the charity shop round the corner sells for a pound.

Hardback and Paperback copies of Baby's Breath on my desk

Crikey, it's getting real now - the proof copies in hardback and paperback just arrived. Am properly excited!

Read the first chapter, and sign up to be notified when it's published on 1 Sept
www.babysbreath.co.uk

#BookSky
#BabysBreath
#ComingSoon

As for what the public currently thinks: It’s no surprise the “social fabric” is in the state it’s in, given what this new YouGov polling shows about public attitudes and awareness of immigration. Almost half of Brits (47 percent) believe immigration to the U.K. is primarily illegal rather than legal, when the reality is that irregular or illegal migration accounted for just 4 percent of overall immigration in the year to March. Forty-five percent support ending all immigration and forcing recent migrants to leave. Then again: The scale might be overestimated — but the reality remains that Brits (and now even some officials at the OBR, of all places) think legal and illegal migration is too high. And no politician is going to be bold enough to tell voters they’re wrong in “small boats week.”

Large parts of our media and politicians bear responsibility for the misconceptions voters have about migration. Via Politico