I wrote this, on the sad, sorry sight of Keir Starmer putting away the dog-whistle, and picking up the megaphone. www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle-co...
Séamas O'Reilly: 'Downing St finally put down its racist dog-whistle, and unholstered a racist megaphone'
'Immigrants contribute more to the British economy than they withdraw'
irishexaminer.com
Our next winner is Len Pennie, taking home the Book of the Year: Discover award for poyums (Canongate) ✒️ “Reading this is an experience that transcends sexuality, race and gender,” said one judge #Nibbies #BritishBookAwards
The winner of Book of the Year: Non-Fiction Narrative is Alexei Navalny's Patriot, translated by Arch Tait and Stephen Dalziel (The Bodley Head) ✒️ “Publishing this book was a huge feat,” said one judge #Nibbies #BritishBookAwards
72 books. 12 shortlists. One unforgettable celebration of storytelling in all its forms🤩 Revisit the Book of the Year shortlists before we get into the awards 👉 www.thebookseller.com/the-british-... #Nibbies #BritishBookAwards
I cannot stress this strongly enough: Support your local theatre, café, bookstore, bakery, and library. We breathe life into these places when we support them. They need us, and more importantly, we need them.
“I am still alive then. That may come in useful.” ― Samuel Beckett, Molloy
We want to say happy #NationalLibrarianDay to all our Library friends and colleagues! We think that Gladstone's hope that his Library would "bring together readers who had no books and books who had no readers" gives a nice overview of the work that our Reading Room team do every day.
The race is on! 📢 Six BTO Cuckoos have touched down in Europe! 🌍 So where are our frontrunners and who will be the first to reach the UK? 👇 www.bto.org/cuckoos #Ornithology #Birds
Celebrating reading Shirley Jackson's singularly strange novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle by listening to this 2017 episode of @backlisted.bsky.social featuring @andrewmale.bsky.social "Merricat, said Connie, would you like a cup of tea?" etc. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/52-...
52. Shirley Jackson - We Have always lived in the castle — Backlisted
For our annual Halloween episode John and Andy are joined on the Backlisted podcast by Fiona Wilson and Andrew Male to discuss Shirley Jackson's final novel We Have Always Lived In The Castle , o...
backlisted.fm
Today is #GlobalRecyclingDay so we're recycling this post from Twitter/X about how libraries are great at recycling. And by recycling this post we have saved valuable energy because it has saved us from having to think up something new. ♻️ Share resources. Borrow books. #LoveLibraries. ♻️
Initially, ‘grammar’ wasn’t restricted to language, but described learning in general. This included magic/astrology. The Scots altered it to ‘glamer’ to mean “magic spell/enchantment.” Now, it means “a mysterious/exciting attractiveness."
Somewhere “Whitey on the Moon” continues to play, unironically. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Nasa drops plan to land first woman and first person of color on the moon
Promise was central plank to space agency’s Artemis program, which is scheduled to return humans to the lunar surface in 2027
theguardian.com
UK Prime Minister Starmer hugs Zelensky as he welcomes him to 10 Downing Street. This is how you welcome the leader of the free world.
We've had a fantastic day of talks so far at our Annual Conference, including unravelling the decline of Nightingales, insights from monitoring waterbirds and celebrating 30 years of @bto-gbw.bsky.social! #BTOConference2025
Absolute perfection. A completely unique voice. Fragile and strong. Not leaning on a single jazz, blues or gospel mannerism or cliché. The enunciation of firsT Time is just sublime, as is the composition, the arrangement, the whole thing. www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqW-...
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
YouTube video by Roberta Flack - Topic
youtube.com
Good morning. After a rough few days, this week's Blind Date was perfectly timed to fill you with joy. Couldn't wipe the smile off my face. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Blind date: ‘I was hoping to meet a total babe. She was a total babe’
Gráinne, 31, a software engineer and musician, meets Alexander, 34, a civil servant
theguardian.com
Couldn’t agree more with @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social on this. Let’s invest in libraries for children this year, as we mark the 175th anniversary of the Public Libraries Act. #Librarieschangelives www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Children facing a ‘happiness recession’ says laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Author will highlight the ‘enormous disadvantage’ handed to children without access to books, and call on government to improve early-years literacy
theguardian.com
A poem for tonight because I cannot handle the smiles of politicians' who have been aiding this devastation for so long, now acting like they give a crap
Biden: "I want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern. That's the dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra wealthy people and the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked. Today, an oligarchy is taking shape"
I wrote about Neil Gaiman, and the women accusing him of sexual coercion, assault and abuse. www.vulture.com/article/neil...
There Is No Safe Word
How the best-selling fantasy author Neil Gaiman hid the darkest parts of himself for decades.
vulture.com
It is a total honour to be hailed a champion of indie bookshops! Thanks @bookshop-org.bsky.social and thanks to all those who run the most luscious bookshops all over the wide world
Bookshop.org UK@bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social · 2y agoIndie Champions Awards Winners 🎉 Recognising those that have contributed the most to the Bookshop.org mission of supporting indie bookshops in 2024. Congratulations! @holliemcnish.bsky.social @ledbydonkeys.org @noreenmasud.bsky.social Leena Norms @rashmiwriting.bsky.social 📚 bit.ly/winners_bso
Elon Musk is a monster bully on the loose, but he can only get his way if we let him | Martin Kettle
Elon Musk is a monster bully on the loose, but he can only get his way if we let him | Martin Kettle
The democratic order has faced down tyrants and megalomaniacs before. The name of the game for liberals for 2025 and beyond must be survival They can smell the fear. And they are thrilled by what they can smell. Fanned by a mesmerised media at home and…
theguardian.com
10K+ historical images in the public domain images available. This is great. Easy to use, some helpful browsing options. Images come from 200+ libraries, archives, museums, galleries. Best to check out the FAQ on commercial use, quality of images, etc.
The Public Domain Review@publicdomainrev.bsky.social · 2y ago🥁 Announcing the Public Domain Image Archive! 🥁 We are v excited to share our new sister-project, the Public Domain Image Archive (PDIA), a curated collection of 10k+ out-of-copyright historical images, all free to explore and reuse: pdimagearchive.org @pdimagearchive
Have written about Starmer's speech- his best moment yet as PM. He implicitly identified what sits at the heart of this story: the emergence of a common UK/US online right, headed by the radicalised Musk. It is making extremist, until recently fringe politics mainstream in British conservatism.
Starmer's best moment as PM
And the Powellisation of conservative thought
open.substack.com
10 years of the long read: a selection of great stories
10 years of the long read: a selection of great stories
From food to Freud to football, 10 lists for 10 years Continue reading...
theguardian.com
ICYMI this is excellent. Well worth an hour of your time... Mark Steel : Desert Island Discs www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Desert Island Discs - Mark Steel, comedian - BBC Sounds
Mark Steel, comedian, shares the soundrack of his life with Lauren Laverne.
bbc.co.uk
