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Helen Barrett

@helenbarrett

Features journalist - NYTimes, Financial Times, Telegraph. On a book break. https://rcwlitagency.com/clients/helen-barrett

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Latest posts by Helen Barrett @helenbarrett

It may have been better without the resolve.

07.03.2026 08:13 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, great one.

Really hard. The second guessing starts to drive you mad.

07.03.2026 08:12 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Oh yes, excellent one. And chucking Girlfriend in a Coma into the mix.

07.03.2026 07:41 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Oh, the greatest example.

My Ship is Coming In - the slurrings of a pub-drunk boyfriend.

07.03.2026 07:30 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Tony Blackburn is playing Ode to Billie Joe. More pop songs should have unreliable narrators.

07.03.2026 07:14 πŸ‘ 18 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0

Murder on the Dancefloor. The glossy, jaded emptiness of it. I'm sure it's a failing in me.

07.03.2026 07:08 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Cover design still looks like the future.

07.03.2026 06:49 πŸ‘ 36 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
The Sexologist Who Unlocked the Female Orgasm Fifty years ago, a controversial writer named Shere Hite taught us how to talk about sex and pleasure, selling books by the millions. Why do so few people know her name today?

In the 1980s, the sexologist Shere Hite was on TV a lot, uttering words seldom heard there before: β€œorgasm,” β€œmasturbation,” β€œclitoris.” newyorkermag.visitlink.me/B5rEs5

06.03.2026 15:00 πŸ‘ 38 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 2

Imagine getting upset about women's bags.

06.03.2026 14:45 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Oh wld love to see.

06.03.2026 14:29 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
The Quantity Theory of Morality is very much apiece with that mania. The book is a coruscating satire about a group of metropolitan sophisticates trapped in an endless round of backbiting, gossip, infidelity and self-loathing. The accoutrements and trappings of middle-class bourgeois life - their eating and drinking habits, interior decoration foibles, villa holidays in La Spezia, and "those canvas FjΓ€llrΓ€ven backpacks some middle-class women inadvisably adopt as a handbag, although it makes them look like very, very mature students" - are all viciously savaged.

The Quantity Theory of Morality is very much apiece with that mania. The book is a coruscating satire about a group of metropolitan sophisticates trapped in an endless round of backbiting, gossip, infidelity and self-loathing. The accoutrements and trappings of middle-class bourgeois life - their eating and drinking habits, interior decoration foibles, villa holidays in La Spezia, and "those canvas FjΓ€llrΓ€ven backpacks some middle-class women inadvisably adopt as a handbag, although it makes them look like very, very mature students" - are all viciously savaged.

When you're an enfant terrible in your sixties.

06.03.2026 14:28 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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This untitled collage by Boty belonged to Derek Boshier. After his death in 2024 it was shown briefly at Frieze before disappearing into a private collection.

It's the one Boty shows Peter Blake in Pop Goes the Easel.

06.03.2026 13:46 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Heading in newspaper clip: David Frost chooses...

Heading in newspaper clip: David Frost chooses...

... My Ideal Girl - Pauline Boty

... My Ideal Girl - Pauline Boty

Today would have been Pauline Boty's 88th birthday. David Frost was a fan.

06.03.2026 13:41 πŸ‘ 20 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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The church of St Decumanus is one of only a handful of surviving buildings in Rhoscrowther, with much of the medieval village consumed by this church’s overwhelmingly large industrial neighbour.

1/7

06.03.2026 08:01 πŸ‘ 57 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I think it was Orwell who once said: "MAGA gonna MAGA."

06.03.2026 07:24 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
A photo realistic close-up of a mixed selection of biscuits, including chocolate fingers, chocolate digestives, and a lemon puff

A photo realistic close-up of a mixed selection of biscuits, including chocolate fingers, chocolate digestives, and a lemon puff

The mastery of artist Harry Wingfield.
β€˜Biscuits ’
(Yes, it is a painting - from First Picture Book, 1970)

04.03.2026 20:26 πŸ‘ 456 πŸ” 69 πŸ’¬ 11 πŸ“Œ 6
South Dakota's "Meth. We're on it" campaign

South Dakota's "Meth. We're on it" campaign

I'll always remember Kristi Noem for the "Meth. We're on it." campaign.

05.03.2026 20:32 πŸ‘ 7025 πŸ” 1220 πŸ’¬ 90 πŸ“Œ 91

Secretary Kristi Noem

@Sec_Noem
Thank you 
@POTUS
 Trump for appointing me as the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. 
@SecRubio
 and 
@SecWar
 are incredible leaders and I look forward to working with them closely to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren.

The Western Hemisphere is absolutely critical for U.S. security. In this new role, I will be able to build on the partnerships and national security expertise, I forged over the last 13 months as Secretary of Homeland Security. 

We have made historic accomplishments at the Department of Homeland Security to make America safe again: we delivered the MOST secure border in American history, 3 million illegal aliens have left the U.S., we have located 145,000 children, FEMA delivered disaster relief at a 100% faster rate, we ushered in the golden age of travel, saved the American taxpayer $13 billion and revitalized the U.S. Coast Guard.

Secretary Kristi Noem @Sec_Noem Thank you @POTUS Trump for appointing me as the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. @SecRubio and @SecWar are incredible leaders and I look forward to working with them closely to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren. The Western Hemisphere is absolutely critical for U.S. security. In this new role, I will be able to build on the partnerships and national security expertise, I forged over the last 13 months as Secretary of Homeland Security. We have made historic accomplishments at the Department of Homeland Security to make America safe again: we delivered the MOST secure border in American history, 3 million illegal aliens have left the U.S., we have located 145,000 children, FEMA delivered disaster relief at a 100% faster rate, we ushered in the golden age of travel, saved the American taxpayer $13 billion and revitalized the U.S. Coast Guard.

oh my goodness she seems to think Special Envoy for the Shield is a real job

05.03.2026 19:59 πŸ‘ 6523 πŸ” 1201 πŸ’¬ 1149 πŸ“Œ 340

Watching a TikTok-er explain how the Beatles biopics are being filmed in "downtown Liverpool" this week.

05.03.2026 20:03 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

You can tell it's AI because it's not raining.

05.03.2026 11:19 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Salford's Shelagh Delaney outside Wyndham's Theatre, London, where her play 'A Taste of Honey' is running, in 1959. Photo by Howell Evans.

05.03.2026 08:30 πŸ‘ 87 πŸ” 17 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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FT comments section this morning - saying what everyone else is thinking, right?

05.03.2026 07:15 πŸ‘ 17098 πŸ” 5966 πŸ’¬ 513 πŸ“Œ 493
Preview
Untold histories β€” the reality of LGBT+ life in 20th-century Britain β€˜The Log Books’ delves into a poignant archive of helpline calls, while β€˜Tales of the Suburbs’ peeks behind those net curtains to revealing effect

'Focused and zippy' - ace review for @grindrod.bsky.social 'Tales of the Suburbs' here.

www.ft.com/content/e7d5...

05.03.2026 07:20 πŸ‘ 12 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Book: High-Tech Britain - Buildings of the space age by Geraint Franklin

Book: High-Tech Britain - Buildings of the space age by Geraint Franklin

East Croydon station in glorious sunshine

East Croydon station in glorious sunshine

Inmos, Newport

Inmos, Newport

At last! A book dedicated to the bristling silhouettes of Britain's High-Tech architecture - possibly our greatest export. Congratulations to @geraintfranklin.bsky.social

With all-original photography by John East. Especially love East Croydon looking heroic in bright sunshine.

04.03.2026 21:41 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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This is how to answer that toxic question (With slightly different wording if you’re not actually the governor of Minnesota)

04.03.2026 18:04 πŸ‘ 197 πŸ” 34 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 1
At the same time, she conceded that the apron’s four-figure price tag complicated things. β€œIfΒ an apron becomes an object that only aΒ few can access, it naturally shifts from being a tool into a symbol. And that raises an interesting tension: does it still belong toΒ the act of working, or does it become something that represents work?” (Miu Miu’s aprons are handwash-only.)Β 

At the same time, she conceded that the apron’s four-figure price tag complicated things. β€œIfΒ an apron becomes an object that only aΒ few can access, it naturally shifts from being a tool into a symbol. And that raises an interesting tension: does it still belong toΒ the act of working, or does it become something that represents work?” (Miu Miu’s aprons are handwash-only.)Β 

Luxury apron anxieties:

04.03.2026 11:07 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

AND WHO'S FAULT IS THAT MARCO
WHO'S SUPPOSED TO PLAN FOR THAT MARCO

03.03.2026 20:48 πŸ‘ 381 πŸ” 86 πŸ’¬ 17 πŸ“Œ 2

Certainly a lot of 'Where else?'-type features.

04.03.2026 09:31 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Iceland freezes decade-long legal battle with Iceland UK supermarket abandons trademark dispute with island nation after third legal loss

Country defeats supermarket chain. Inspiring news for those of us contemplating similar actions www.ft.com/content/329f...

04.03.2026 08:18 πŸ‘ 52 πŸ” 11 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 1
'David Bowie afternoon tea' promotional photo, part of an advertising campaign by a London hotel, featuring sandwiches and garish cakes on a stand, next to a teapot.

'David Bowie afternoon tea' promotional photo, part of an advertising campaign by a London hotel, featuring sandwiches and garish cakes on a stand, next to a teapot.

"Oddi-tea"

04.03.2026 08:19 πŸ‘ 16 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0