Joy

Long shot (mainly due to how little engagement I get on here), but I'm looking for freelance writers with an interest, or specialism in, classical music.

If you are one, or know one, please give me a shout.

Asylum seekers, housed in hotels in Manchester, are reaching out in their own words to address the concerns of the local community.

Please take a minute to read their letter, & share it with the people in your life who need to hear the truth about the people they are protesting.

a photograph of the interior of a church. Several people are visible sitting in pews. In the pew immediately in front of the photographer, a black human-sized cardboard cutout in the outline of a woman is visible, as though a shadow is sitting in the pew in front of you.

Went to a prayer service tonight at St. Mary of the Lake, where they have cardboard cutouts throughout the church representing parishioners afraid to come to Mass because of ICE.

It's an exciting appointment. And not just because of the connection to home (Crediton).

Good background beyond the Church in healthcare, universities, in science-connected thinking, thoughtful positions on key issues...

To everyone in Britain's Jewish Community: you are not alone. We will not let hate or those who spread it win. We stand with you.

On Yom Kippur many Jewish people in Britain have their phones off to mark the holy day.

As it ends at 723pm, some will hear the tragic Manchester news for the first time.

At that time, please join many of us to send a message of solidarity to British Jews.Thanks Together coalition for proposing.

Zack Polanski: “We absolutely need to stop the boats” The Greens’ Zack Polanski on facing up to Reform

"We absolutely need to stop the boats,” Polanski said, “but let’s stop the boats by offering safe and legal routes to asylum and not having people clinging on to dinghies for dear life.*

www.newstatesman.com/politics/gre...

mandatory training questions are all either "should your computer be a) 33.4cm from a heat source b) 33.5cm from a heat source c) 33.6cm from a heat source" or "if you see a fire, should you a) report the fire and get out safely b) take a video and post it on tiktok c) run into the fire"

This only happens to you once

Manchester church leaders 'saddened by asylum seeker hostility' The Cresta Court Hotel in Altrincham and the Ashley Hotel in Hale are used to house asylum seekers.

Seven local churches and their leaders sticking up for asylum seekers. ✔️

The response by the local Tories? The churches don't represent the Community. Uh huh. Yawn.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I need you to understand what this country feels like right now for those of us who look different. I'm sitting here, trying to plan for Saturday, make sure I don't even need to go to the corner shop for milk, like it's Christmas Day or lockdown. Why? Because I live near where Yaxley-Lennon will 1/

You've GOT to be kidding me!

The Conservatives - who oversaw every single thing on this list - are trying to claim that only the Conservatives would "stop the madness" - that they created...?

So incredulity aside, what about the list itself?

Let's go Debunking! 1/34

Skegness, one of your absolute finest people right here. Buy her a drink whenever you see her.

Voice of experience speaking right there!

I do however feel somewhat out of place in a group of phone scrolling parents...

Using the hour and a half sat at a children's jumping about party (technical term) as a chance to start @emilytesh.net The Incandescent. So far it's doing an excellent job helping me ignore the heat and screaming!

This is obviously satsumas. They are the best! Exceedingly annoyed when the online shop substitutes with so-called 'easy peelers'

Shows of Weakness They've got the tanks. We've got the power.

In the linked essay, I mention Nancy Mace's standard TERF question, asked most recently to Tim Walz: "What is a woman?"

My answer is simple. A woman is not a *what.* A woman is a *who.*

I want to expand a bit from the essay on what I think this matters.

www.the-reframe.com/shows-of-wea...

Impeccable Table Manners – The Guyliner

Then what you also need to look out for is @theguyliner.bsky.social commentary on them (read past ones here theguyliner.com/category/imp...)

A chart that explains what to do If You Find A Baby Songbird Out Of The Nest. Is it hurt or did a cat get it? (Cat bites & scratches cause deadly infections.) or, Has a person kept it for over a day, given it food or water, or gotten it wet? If yes, Contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator or wildlife care center near you. An online search can help. If no, what does it look like? Eyes not yet open. You have a hatchling. It's very young. Eyes open; feathers few & may be in tube-like sheaths. You have a nestling. Feathered; awkwardly hops or flutters; tail & wings short. You have a fledgling. Many sharp teeth; large claw on second toe. You have a velociraptor. If a hatchling or nestling, can you see the nest? If yes, Return it to its nest. The parents won’t care if they can smell you. If no, Make a nest from a basket & dried grass. Wire it to a tree. (Note: A few species, like Juncos, need a nest on the ground.) If a fledgling, is it in immediate danger? If yes, carefully move it to a safer spot nearby. If no, DO NOT INTERVENE! Though the bird looks awkward, it’s in a natural stage & the parents are still feeding it. If a velociraptor, has it seen you? If yes, back away slowly. Do not show fear. If no, run. Watch for others that may attack from the sides. FYI: Some babies (eg. swifts, most woodpeckers) only sit on the ground if in trouble. When in doubt, keep watch & contact a wildlife rehabilitator if needed!

Found a baby songbird? Here's a newly updated chart!

A selection of late spring garden finds and my illustrations of them & their names in calligraphy alongside.

A selection of autumnal nature and botanical finds, my illustrations of them and their names alongside on a double page spread of a sketchbook. Drawing materials and other small nature finds are nearby.

Cornflowers, Nigella, sweet peas and Russian sage in shades of blue, mauve and purple on one page of a sketchbook and my illustrations of them on the opposite page, along with the fountain pen I used to draw them nearby on a wooden table.

Various spring nature and botanical finds with my pen and ink drawings and watercolours of them on pieces of sketchbook paper. A watercolour palette and fine paintbrush are nearby.

My 14 June botanical illustration & mental health w'shop's now enrolling
I'll teach you:
🌿How to break down plants into simple shapes & add shading
🧠How time spent creatively alters brain biochemistry to improve mental health.
Limited spaces,earlybird price:
workshops.emmamitchell.uk/courses/bota...

The Magicians of Caprona by @Rebecca Fraimow and Emily Tesh "Tonino wondered how he could laugh like that at something so horrible until he remembered that he had stood himself a score of times and laughed himself sick at just the same thing."  Two households...

And we're back! Starting off the 80s with a cream pie and a clown car, it's Magicians of Caprona, a joyous structural experiment in comedy and heterosexuality that is also somehow a sequel to Charmed Life

zencastr.com/z/x3fhRKxo

A series of headlines about refugees and benefit claimants getting free driving lessons

🚘 FREE DRIVING LESSONS FOR REFUGEES?!

If you've seen those headlines and felt a twinge of outrage, you're not alone.

But let's take a closer look at who's actually getting these lessons and why.

🧵
1/16

A fabulously entertaining new podcast about ancient Greece How did a myth about the consequences of poor judgment become a parable for aspiration? The question is posed by the Greek writer-actor Alex Andreou in his fabulously entertaining new podcast. His top...

Blimey! The Spectator loves Podyssey!!!

www.spectator.co.uk/article/a-fa...

NB: Browsing works because actual human librarians take the time to categorize materials so that like things live together on the shelves. It's. not. magic. it. is. professional. labor.

Hot weather reminder If you're on antidepressants or antipsychotics your body may not regulate heat as well. Remember to try and stay cool, drink plenty of water and find shade if you can.

A gentle reminder from Mind for those on antidepressants in this heat - not everyone knows this, so please spread the word and stay safe ☀️ @mindcharity.bsky.social

Superb insult

Title: SOME GRAMMATICAL VOICES FOR USE IN SCIENTIFIC WRITING ACTIVE VOICE e.g. Our team collected samples and then we tested them. CLICKBAIT VOICE e.g. We collected some samples... You won't believe what happened next! PASSIVE VOICE e.g. Samples were collected and tested. HAIKU VOICE e.g. Quiet science lab. Workers arrive with samples. The testing begins. PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE VOICE e.g. We did all the collecting and testing. No need to thank us. Just doing our job. CONSPIRACY VOICE e.g. Mysterious "Samples" were harvested and covertly "tested" by so-called scientists.

My latest @newscientist.com cartoon

Sunday School: More Equal Than Others Podcast Episode · Quiet Riot · 20/04/2025 · 59m

NEW Sunday School: More Equal Than Others

@pimlicat.bsky.social & @sturdyalex.bsky.social discuss the Supreme Court decision on the Equality Act, and Trump’s latest attempt to blackmail Ukraine.

🎧 open.spotify.com/episode/1s9P...

🍏 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/q...

7:08pm, April 12, my kindergartener uttered the words I’ve been waiting a month for:

Mommy, I think my pet worms want to go live in the wild.