An educated populace bolsters the economy, are highly skilled members of the workforce, enhance innovation, increase productivity & provide services for the community. It's in a nation's interest to have an educated populous. The anti-intellectual bent of the media aids public antipathy to education

Dance like people are watching and you’re trying to make them upset

Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again. #Pinks #ProudBlue

Hating the ITV split screen advert insert mid play. I want to watch one half of a rugby game without you fucking pivoting from the action on the pitch. It interrupts the mood and diverts us away from the game. As someone who experiences sensory overload, it's a nightmare. #SixNations

Unsolicited writing advice. Write what you know is almost as misunderstood as "Show don't tell". If everyone wrote only what they "know", it'd create asinine, vanilla literature. Understand, embrace & consider what you're writing. It doesn't mean you can't write stuff. #WriteSky #WritingAdvice

Hungary has charged the Mayor of Budapest for helping organize a peaceful Pride march after it was banned. Punishing peaceful assembly threatens freedom and democracy for everyone. The EU must act. Sign and speak out. a.allout.org/s/P29lG/

"Research" procrastination is the nemesis of writers Writer - opens up laptop. Spends 20 minutes writing. Realises they don't know the construction of 16th century Scottish sheep farm outbuildings ... two hours later, come back to writing the novel Writer: That was a good days #Writing #WriteSky

Big positive list of stuff you like. Even in the darkest times, we need to celebrate the things we love. So tell me your list of stuff you love, that you're a fan of 🥳 I'll start: • Writing days - Big fan of #writing days when you can get words on the page and you're feeling creative #WriteSky

You don't like everyone you meet or meet everyone you'd like (to). The same is true for our writing, our books, our writer's voice. Find your writer's voice. Hone it and perfect it until you're ready to show it to the world. Stay unique and true to yourself. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

just as not all people are for everyone. we are all different and so are our stories.

My book of the month (and I am aware it's only the 3rd February) has to be Queer Georgians by Anthony Delaney. Entertaining, well researched and packed full of hidden queer history. You'll want to keep turning the pages, well after it's time for lights out. #Books #AmReading #Queer #LGBTQ+

James Acaster hits the nail on the head here. Funny how particular "edgy" comedians are so blasé about attacking minority communities but also incredibly touchy about criticisms of themselves. Isn't it ironic...don't you think 🤔

How i handle criticism:

Get to know me. 1 like = 1 answer Everything I say will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Unless the answer may incriminate me 😉

Normally (this time being the exception), I write hot and edit cold It's absolutely possible to #write a shitty first draft, get all the way to the end before applying the editing process to your #writing There's no one way to write. Only the way that works for you Keep bloody writing! #WriteSky

Paraphrased, but an incredibly successful author once said 'the first draft is you telling yourself the story' They're allowed to be shitty. That's what revising, rewriting, and editing are for. The author? Sir Terry Pratchett.

Your first draft is the bones of the story. It's not always pretty or poetic. It can be shitty. That's the point of editing. And of learning from experience the art and craft of writing. Even then, some WIP have shitty first drafts. Every story differs The point is to keep #Writing #WriteSky #Edit

British people have always been and always will be a people descended from immigrants from across the world. It is what makes us unique, strong and diverse. Our blend of histories, cultures, languages and colours are united by our sense of community, kindness, neighbourliness and fairness #British

The Sausage Redemption

The Council of Europe has voted to ban conversion practices. It's not been a good day for the transphobic activist organisation, Sex Matters today. GOOD! Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender et al people know who we are and can not have our identities forcibly changed. #LGBTQ+ #SexMatters

Hampstead Heath ponds are to remain inclusive. The high Court has blocked a legal challenge from the Transphobic group Sex Matters. Good. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Our safety depends on us standing together. #TransRightsAreHumanRights #TransRights #LGBTQ+

Not in our name with @goodlawproject.org is a collective of women who reject the weaponisation of our identities to justify trans discrimination. We want the media, government and other bodies to focus on the real threats that prevent women from thriving. notinourname.org.uk?utm_source=N...

If you like Patience, you'll love Astrid: Murder in Paris(stream on All 4). I think we're on series 4 or 5 now. A detective (in Paris) Raph, is helped by autistic archivist Astrid. It's a brilliant, subtle, nuanced depiction of autism. The stories are fantastic too. In French with subtitles.

Using Trumpian logic, there are a lot of white Europeans about to be deported back to Europe by ICE since America is for Americans first... Oh sorry, of course not! He only meant brown and black skinned immigrants.

My least favourite thing to see when I'm reading is the use of lazy stereotypes/bigotry. Misogyny, racism, xenophobia, homophobia etc used as lazy character descriptions. Hate that! My favourite thing is to see characters who are unique & well written. #WriteSky #WritingCommunity #Booksky #Books

Similarly, Labour is not trying to save the UK from racist, xenophobic authoritarianism. They're trying to figure out how to hold on to power by becoming increasingly right wing & enforcing rights restricting legislation. They have thrown trans, disabled, working class and poor people under the bus.

It tells you everything you need to know that Reform are parachuting in a rent-an-extremist - this isn't about representing the people of Gorton and Denton, it's about using this place as a platform for their careers. Manchester will show him the door.

#WritingCommunity Please - if you're sharing an excerpt or snippet of your writing as an image - put the text into the ALT text for the image. If there's no ALT text, I'm a lot less likely to engage. Some people *cannot* engage if there isn't, too. Help yourself - and your community - out! <3

You know people know you well when you get surprise book related presents like this 📚 😊 #Books #BookSky #AmReading #Happy #BookJoy

More of a grammar rule because I don’t particularly know writing rules, but I don’t mind splitting infinitives because 1) it often flows better and 2) if someone calls me on it, it’s an excuse to talk about Latin 😅

At times, "nope" is universal.

Plumbers are like Johnny"think of a number" Ball when then give quotes Ist quote - £179-£229 + VAT 2nd quote - £65 + VAT I currently have no heating or hot water and my house is a balmy 14.3 degrees Thank feck this is only for one night. Think how poor Ukrainians must be feeling in sub zero temps

Each time all typos are successfully edited from a book, the entire universe is immediately replaced with a new universe containing a version of the book that has at least one typo.

Also happens with factual errors in my podcast. You have *no idea* how many times I go over those things, yet two minutes after release "I'm pretty sure you mean 1956, not 1966, don't you?"

"I will only say that of late years I have tried to write less picturesquely and more exactly. In any case I find that by the time you have perfected any style of writing, you have always outgrown it." Man that first bit hits so hard. Thanks for sharing, Aud!

Maybe wisdom comes too late. Maybe it's not understanding the value of the opportunity you wasted until it's too late. But I hope you don't beat yourself up about the things you could have done. I hope instead you take the next opportunity offered to you and grasp the fuck out of that bugger.

Zack Polanski: “Brexit has been a catastrophe: economically, socially, culturally and around the arts. It made absolutely no sense in the first place. Even with people who voted for Brexit, polling shows again and again that they now regret that decision or they can’t see a single real benefit.” 🇬🇧🇪🇺

Zack Polanski on art: "[We need] more light, peace and hope. But that can only happen if we look into the darkness, the fear and the anger. If you don’t have art occupying that space then it creates a vacuum where demagogues and narcissists can project an image of who we are that isn’t true.”

#gaza #palestine #london

This is a homegrown implosion. This is always who America was if you look at their history. Aided by poor education, the false American exceptionalism narrative, racism, xenophobia, insularism, a lack of critical thinking, a sensationalist media, blow hards, greed is good morals and individualism.

I just signed this petition calling on Prince William to end the rent on Dartmoor Prison while it remains empty and unsafe and save millions in public money. It only takes a few seconds - please add your name. you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/pr...

URGENT 🚨 We have just one week to stop Sex Matters infiltrating a vote to ban conversion therapy. We must stop them. Use our tool and tell the MPs to stand up for what's right ✊ https://goodlaw.social/945cd5

Delays in the Lords - as peers try and slow things down - could mean the Assisted Dying bill fails to be signed into law. What happens next will mean the difference between whether a law backed by MPs and supported by the majority of the public becomes reality. Sign the petition 👇 38d.gs/jrbk

The story of my life 🤣🤣

Ireland's response to the Trump Tarrifs 🤣🤣 Don't mess with the lads #TrumpTarrifs #America #Ireland #ForTheLols #Butter m.youtube.com/shorts/2H3eM...