Recently updated on our site:
Year 8 recommended reading list for children aged 12-13. 📚👍🏼
schoolreadinglist.co.uk/reading-list...
#kidlit
A selection of reading books to challenge and interest Year 8 pupils - aged 12-13 - in KS3 secondary schools. Authors include Michael Morpur...
Can we now talk about building HS2 in full, releasing capacity on the existing rail network, getting more freight and passengers on it, and electrifying it to reducing it to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels?
"As a nation, you either shape events or are shaped by them. I fear that in our handling of this crisis, we have fallen into the latter category. Britain had no affirmative role in the planning or execution of this operation. But that hasn’t protected our sovereign territory from attack, or insulated our economy from the aftershocks. We must learn the lessons of this episode."
False dichotomy and wishful thinking here from Sunak. The idea that UK involvement would have significantly changed Trump and Netanyahu's approach, or reduced the consequences for the UK, is laughable. More thoughtful than Johnson, but with the same simplistic vanity, the desire to feel in control.
move slow and repair things
Forthcoming birthday event from one of our lovely patrons!
What will taking away the security of refugee status actually mean for people's lives?
Read our brilliant campaign manager, Allan, in The Mirror:
If long-term gyre widening trends continue, we think there is a high likelihood of the centre proving unable to hold
"These narratives have been used before, from Iraq to Afghanistan to Libya. And they are always paid for with the blood of ordinary men, women and children." (#Iranian insider's story: longer than the print version)
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
a black and white British Rail poster titled "The argument for electrifying our railways, will become clearer in time." with four panels showing scenes from 1978, 1987, 1995 and 2005 with oil running out over that period
"The argument for electrifying our railways will become clearer in time."
British Rail, 1979.
In this current harsh world, let's warm a few hearts remembering the events of 7-8 March 1991, when the 90,000 people of Brindisi woke up to find 25,000 Albanians roaming the streets of their town. For perspective, that's roughly equivalent to 25k people suddenly landing in Hastings [Thread] >> 1
And guess what, you are not going to do a feckin thing about it
Yes, this surely makes the case for renewables. Not a quick answer but worth it!
All the more reason to get a heat pump.
New models keep getting ever more efficient and the BUS grant is pretty generous.
Rachel Maddow called Bill a genius of exposition. Which rings true to me. Who else finds such clear, concise, vivid ways to sum up where we are and where we could and should be?
I'm a vicar in a small rural village. I could never say this to my flock because of the outcry, but Reform are blatantly opposed to genuine Christian values and it's clear that anyone considering voting for them has not been listening to a single word I say each week
A vintage black-and-white engraved portrait of Victorian poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, shown in a three-quarter view seated in an upholstered armchair. She is a woman in her thirties or forties with large expressive dark eyes and a gentle, introspective expression as she gazes directly at the viewer. Her dark hair falls in soft, full ringlets around her face and over her shoulders, parted in the middle with a small decorative hair accessory visible. She wears a dark, long-sleeved Victorian dress with a fitted bodice buttoned down the front, wide puffed sleeves, a white lace collar and cuffs, and a voluminous skirt. In her lap rests some papers, which she holds with her left hand; her right hand holds a quill pen. Behind her is a softly rendered background with foliage and rose bushes, evoking a serene indoor or garden-like setting. The overall style is a detailed 19th-century steel engraving or lithograph, with fine shading and cross-hatching to create depth and texture.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, one of the Victorian era's most celebrated English poets, was renowned for her lyrical, passionate & intellectually rich work.
She expanded what women could write about and how seriously they were taken. She was born #OTD in 1806. #WomensHistoryMonth #poetry #literature
Ukraine offers to help defend the West from Iranian drones.
Russia helps Iran track American forces.
And the White House eases sanctions on Russian oil.
Explain that to the families of U.S. troops. My latest:
open.substack.com/pub/adamkinz...
These days I find that I can't be bothered
To argue with them, well, what's the point?
Better to take your shots and drop down dead
Then they send you home in a pine overcoat
With a letter to your mum
Saying, 'Find enclosed one son,
One medal and a note to say we won'
Spot on ⬇️
@stellacreasy.bsky.social: "The performative cruelty of repeatedly demanding that refugees prove they are still refugees – or else face deportation – cannot be understated. It is also a waste of money given that so few refugees, when retested, will change status."
“People are fleeing from war and conflict, persecution and ill-treatment, these are not things that can change in 30 months.”
Yavuz* came to the UK as an asylum seeker, now has settled status and works at Praxis. *not real name
YOUR WORTH You know the value of every article of merchandise, but if you don’t know the value of your own soul, it’s all foolishness. You’ve come to know the fortunate and the inauspicious stars, but you don’t know whether you yourself are fortunate or unlucky. This, this is the essence of all sciences— that you should know who you will be when the Day of Reckoning arrives. MATHNAWI III, 2652-2654 (translated by Kabir Helminski and Camille Helminski) The human shape is a ghost made of distraction and pain. Sometimes pure light, sometimes cruel, trying wildly to open, this image tightly held within itself. FURUZANFAR #568 (translated by John Moyne and Coleman Barks)
Wanted to share this poem by Rumi, a Persian poet from the 13th century CE. His short yet profound works have shaped Iranian/Islamic culture and influenced poetry around the world to this day. 🇮🇷
Surest way to start an argument amongst the Iranians I know is to ask if they want the last Shah's son to be in charge. Especially if there are any Kurdish Iranians in the group!
Glasman (continuing his run of being wrong abt everything) wants the monarchy back? The monarchy that murdered and imprisoned thousands of its opponents just like the current regime?
How abt we let the Iranians decide?
I like this beautiful poem from the latest @newyorker.com
Labour's asylum and immigration policies risk violating international law and are politically self-defeating, writes Daniel Sohege.
New Substack post
basaarts.substack.com/p/i-would-ha...
And that classic exchange in 'A Man For All Seasons'....
bsky.app/profile/atru...
Graphic showing how asylum policies have shifted from protection to deterrence since the 1980's
The latest announcement from the Home Secretary follows a path of previous governments in creating ever harsher and more hostile asylum policies. What were once designed to provide protection and now created to prevent people getting it. There needs to be a change, with a focus back on protection.
New from Free Movement: Statement of changes HC 1691: changes for refugees, skilled workers, children and more | Alex Piletska freemovement.org.uk/statement-of...
If ever a writer gave us guidebooks for life, it was Shakespeare. The phrase of his that keeps going through my head right now is from Macbeth — ‘blood will have blood.’
