Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough 🥹 plus Datchet

🐦🐦🪻🪻

Christian Ilbury@christianilbury.bsky.social · 10h ago

We're excited to announce the programme for LavLang32, 2-4 September at the University of Edinburgh. It's (potentially?!) the biggest LavLang yet! - 5 Keynotes - 140 attendees - 95 papers The programme showcases the breadth and diversity of queer linguistics research: shorturl.at/6nKn7

Lib Dems talking about the single market again - so here's a reminder of the flaws in that plan

UK in a Changing Europe@ukandeu.bsky.social · 10h ago

"But good politics does not necessarily make good policy. At first glance, the single market might seem like the perfect compromise... But there are good reasons to think that – were a govt. to seriously pursue it – they might quickly discover numerous downsides." 🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/no-eea-sy-op...

The principle of the tube, explained. (Plus an airplane photo bomb)

I can't work out whether or not at this point Waitrose have gone into full-on self parody mode.

OOk gerelateerd aan het absurde debat in de Belgische media de voorbije week, waarin klimaatactivisten de schuld kregen van wat we deze zomer zien, want zij zouden de focus alleen maar op mitigatie leggen waardoor er geen aandacht zou zijn voor adaptatie (wat een gevalletje DARVO manipulatie was).

I will like you on any platform.

The principle of the tube, explained. (Plus an airplane photo bomb)

The slow realisation that instead of getting an English Literature degree I could have saved £27,000 and gone to a book club instead.

Saw a presumed iNfLuEnCeR cycling in this neighbourhood while filming herself on her phone and well, I may have felt a pang of disdain

Lieven Vandelanotte@lieven.bsky.social · yesterday

Rather delightful country church right in the (now) super posh area of London. More about its history here: www.christchurchkensington.com/about-us/his...

History - Christ Church Kensington

Christ Church is often described as the “country church in Kensington”. Its design is reminiscent of an English village church while its beautiful garden adds to the rural feel. When it was consecrate...

christchurchkensington.com

Lieven Vandelanotte@lieven.bsky.social · yesterday

Featuring Christ Church Kensington

Well the eggs chase the bacon round the fryin' pan and the whinin' dog pidgeons by the steeple bell rope and the dogs tipped the garbage pails over last night and there's always construction work bothering you In the neighborhood In the neighborhood In the neighborhood #Kensington (Mini thread)

Still no rain

De Metafoor, Leuven 🇧🇪 a favourite bar in Belgium. Cheers!

Once I am sure there’s nothing going on I step inside, letting the door thud shut. Another church: matting, seats, and stone, And little books; sprawlings of flowers, cut For Sunday, brownish now; some brass and stuff Up at the holy end; the small neat organ; And a tense, musty, unignorable silence

Lieven Vandelanotte@lieven.bsky.social · 3d ago

Church going, the Welsh edition: St Baglan's in Llanfaglan, looked after by the 'friends of friendless churches': friendsoffriendlesschurches.org.uk/church/st-ba...

Noted diarist, part-time lexicographer and lesbian Ann Lister (of Gentleman Jack fame) was from Halifax. Depicted in this mural, right by the minster in which she was buried

Rail reviews are not unanimously positive but Andy can turn things around

Yes I acknowledge it makes sense in context but “I need my car to meet criminals” is now my favourite basis for an attempted exceptional hardship plea. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Lovely pictures accompanying this piece about Battle of Hastings reenactments Get your fix of 1066 - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FT

Get your fix of 1066

If you missed out on tickets to see the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum, go one better and watch the Battle of Hastings play out live

giftarticle.ft.com

The United Kingdom regularly runs trains at 170% of their capacity. Now there's not going to be a proper HS2 this will get far worse. I felt sad reading about people hoping it might get better. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

A rail nightmare: what it’s like on England’s busiest commuter-only train

This evening service from London to Crewe is hot, sweaty and heaving with people, many having to stand or sit in the gangways

theguardian.com

The Bangor kids are alright

Lieven Vandelanotte@lieven.bsky.social · 2d ago

Does my ice cream look big in this?

The walk towards Church Island (from the Menai suspension bridge) is along the Belgian Promenade, built by Belgian refugees from Mechelen in the first world war. Belgium mentioned 🥹🥰🇧🇪

Lieven Vandelanotte@lieven.bsky.social · yesterday

A serious house on serious earth it is, In whose blent air all our compulsions meet, Are recognised, and robed as destinies. ... And gravitating with it to this ground, Which, he once heard, was proper to grow wise in, If only that so many dead lie round.

In that state, you need distinctiveness and a function. Go to X if you want to meet Nazis. Go to Truth Social is you want to suck up to the Mango Manbaby. Go to Facebook for the best in fake news. What do you go to Bluesky for? To find the Bluesky community. 3/4

Paul on point as usual. I’ve seen this over and over since I got online in 1991. A conferencing platform/blog site/social medium turns away from trying to serve its users and decides to get a different user base instead and then, presto hey, the goose bleeds out.

Paul Bernal@paulbernal.bsky.social · 2d ago

The new CEO of Bluesky wants to change Bluesky from being a leftist bubble. The thing is, there’s nothing wrong with being a leftist bubble: the idea that everything has to be all-encompassing and suitable for everyone is a trap. 🧵 1/4

Don't think I've ever seen a trestle table for altar before (Bangor cathedral). Very taken with these contemporary Caravaggio pastiches by someone called John Granville Greggory

Once I am sure there’s nothing going on I step inside, letting the door thud shut. Another church: matting, seats, and stone, And little books; sprawlings of flowers, cut For Sunday, brownish now; some brass and stuff Up at the holy end; the small neat organ; And a tense, musty, unignorable silence

Lieven Vandelanotte@lieven.bsky.social · 3d ago

Church going, the Welsh edition: St Baglan's in Llanfaglan, looked after by the 'friends of friendless churches': friendsoffriendlesschurches.org.uk/church/st-ba...

Even the people who liked him can't say so wholeheartedly. No clearer way to say that someone was only rarely nice than the phrase "capable of genuine warmth"

there are definitely downsides to the nuclear block but the reason I keep coming back to it as necessary and good is that it completely ruined the whole MAGA engagement model to the point that they prefer to mock us from the nazi bar rather than come here to troll us directly

John Scalzi@scalzi.com · 2d ago

Bluesky oldheads will remember that brief period of time when the conservative trolls tried to storm the place and were flummoxed by the idea they would have to organically grow an audience and that someone who didn't want to talk to them could nuke every interaction they ever had from orbit

Many EU leaders are collapsing under a moment’s pressure on Ceuta but the hypocrisy of Meloni is particularly sickening. All those demands that Europe help Italy out on Lampedusa, and no-one asked for Italy to be excluded from Schengen. But as soon as a Social Democrat faces problems….