There is a real beauty in the way that my daughter has discovered the glorious fury of Alanis Morissette and plays it at volume when I am being unreasonable about tidy rooms etc, for all the world as if she’s not acting like a new, improved version of me.

Dodgy shops on your local high street? They're still paying rent. And what if they're actually *pricing out* the legitimate cafes, restaurants, thanks to the option of "simply not paying your taxes" and therefore having more budget to pay landlords. www.londoncentric.media/p/who-wants-...

Also posting this lovely photo of me and The Bloke at Alanis Morisette yesterday. First thought was “god I look middle aged” then I remembered I *am* and that’s fine. With thanks to SAMH for the shades.

Actual image of Reform councillors in Norfolk

Dr Google said that gentle exercise was good for bad backs. I chose to interpret this as including dancing for three hours at a rock gig. This may have been human error.

Musk says not a single person has died due to him axing USAID. Sadly, part of my job involves tracking aid spending. So here’s a thread with just some of the people who lost their lives because of USAID cuts

Vietnam ends maternal deaths in remote mountain communes. Vietnam has recorded zero maternal deaths over four years across 60 disadvantaged mountain communes after a $2 million programme brought culturally tailored care closer to ethnic minority women. buff.ly/JCRrcvB #ShareGoodNewsToo

Good work by Sadiq Here's a map of where you can find the water fountains: share.google/XtEOz3I0j9NH... Next step: making it compulsory for all cafes and shops to offer water refills when the temperature rises above 30 degrees

Last day of term in Scotland tomorrow. My daughter came home with this. See alt text. Massive love to all the caring teachers out there, doing their best to share the love of learning in the great- gestures widely- All This.

GP on the BBC this morning parroting the oft-heard “stay indoors between 11 and 3 because the sun is hottest then”. The sun is *most intense* then, that’s the time of day you’re most at risk of sunburn. The hottest part of the day is usually between 4-6. Thinking you’re safer at 5 is daft.

Got off a bus hotter than many saunas to stare disconsolately at my freezer, full of things that would take an oven to cook. It’s times like these that I remember that countries where this heat is common have affordable street food. And also that the people making it are clearly fireproof saints.

Such a strong showing of solidarity and community on Leith Walk today. Thank you so much to @rtie.org for organising. We will continue to build, to organise and to resist, and do everything in our power to ensure everyone is safe and welcome in our city ✊️

"Finland and Poland are both considering rewetting dried-out peatbogs to form defence barriers against a potential Russian ground invasion." #RestoreNature for #Defence www.france24.com/en/europe/20...

This.

In today’s episode of “and the words of the prophets were written on the subway walls…”- there are still things we can do. See alt text for details…

Labour won by 20 points and net immigration is down by over 80% in two years. But sure write your column again.

Happy Father’s Day to all the blokes out there doing awesome bloke role model stuff. Dads and uncles by blood and choice. And particularly to my Husband, who fixed the dishwasher with the judicious and controlled application of a swift kick last night and is currently my hero.

And yet amazingly no riots and calls for all white men to apologise for the actions of the attacker. Islamophobia is rising across the UK, stoked by political rhetoric and far right ideology. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

No, this IS professional attire.

The world needs more renaissance lion posting. Here, have a renaissance lion. It’s battling a demon. Not eating a novelty ice lolly.

Two gorgeous little hedgehogs that came to visit.

Today I am at the Edinburgh Futures Institute again Gorgeous corridor but I am categorically not coming down here on my own at night ever because I do not believe this corridor knows it is not in a spooky Victorian hospital anymore.

This account of when Italian explorer Beltrani met President Monroe by wandering into the White House - full text in alt text- is completely charming and unimaginable today. Imagine if a random Italian who had spent months wandering about with the Dakota people just rocked up in the Oval Office now.

Milan cathedral has an entry fee. It’s Sunday and I figured there was a good chance you’d struggle to see round it with mass taking place. Then it occurred to me I was raised C of E and the standing up/sitting down bits are pretty similar. So I went to mass. Thoroughly beautiful, and although…

A knight, holding the pommel of his sword. Yes, clearly. Absolutely what I thought when I walked past it earlier.

A wee group of angry balaclava and mask-wearing anti-immigration guys tried to stop the good people of Glasgow showing solidarity with migrants and standing up to racism and fascism. Well, the far right are far outnumbered... #RefugeesWelcome #MigrantsWelcome #NeighboursNotStrangers #Glasgow

Thanks to @adapalmer.bsky.social ‘s brilliant book I now have enough context to enjoy the renaissance in art galleries. I am probably badly misinterpreting this but as I understand it, at some point theology started considering human dignity and artists responded by admitting babies never sit still

Saw this in Bergamo- it’s a Madonna and child, but time has worn Mary right out of the picture. At the risk of sacrilege it reminds me of everyone who when you say “how are you?” They say “oh the kids are doing great!”

It is International Outdoor Office Day, so here is a reminder that when you read dull day in the life blogs by rich businessmen they all claim they get their best ideas away from their desks, then install software to chain employees to theirs. Fresh air for everyone!

Britain’s River Wye granted legal rights in landmark move. Councils and protected-area bodies across England and Wales have endorsed a charter recognising the River Wye’s entire 209-kilometre catchment as a living ecosystem with rights. Oceanographic buff.ly/cjZTN7g #ShareGoodNewsToo

The houses of ethnic minorities in Belfast didn’t ’go on fire’ last night - as my radio has told me - they were set alight

TOM BOMBADIL, TECH SUPPORTE: Hey dol, merry dol! Floweres and starres and rayne! Turne off your machyne and wayte, then turne it on agayne!

"I know this might seem surprising coming from me, but considering that the price of bread is currently skyrocketing, Trump spending millions on a red, white, and blue drenched octagon is a real slap in the face to John Q. Plebeian."

Lovely little visitor last night. Makes all my laziness and inability to garden consistently worthwhile.

This evening I will face the wrath of the smoke detector, which really hates it when I make flatbread. The flatbread is full of the Palestinian Z’atar I bought at the Meadows Festival.

It’s D Day. Brian Bilston’s poem Queuing for an ice cream is the human memory of it, away from the posturing. Worth clicking through to. war-poetry.livejournal.com/1418288.html?

Today- swans and cygnets

Portobello beach. I love living somewhere that occasionally celebrates Pride with labyrinths.

And I was in @portybooks.bsky.social earlier and overheard Gemma Cairney talking about her new book. I did not know who she was, but from the other side of the bookshop I had to listen in because she is completely magnetic. The book sounds *awesome* and I have it on pre-order. I am also...

Oh, and I have finally started reading @ecetemelkuran.bsky.social Nation of Strangers. I'm half way through and I have cried twice. It's beautiful, there are some lovely loving rows for those of us choosing to notice this moment this late, and everyone should read it.

I don't spend enough time on here, and so it is downright cheeky of me to post this. But I have started a blog about being bad at hiking. I am not monetising it or optimising it. It covers everything from folklore to snack recipes. It's nice. secondbreakfasthiking.beehiiv.com/p/a-wizard-d...

The tick-tock of this clock is getting louder and louder - this is where it starts, it is not where it ends. Reform UK is a clear and present danger to LGBTQ+ people.

I am shocked. SHOCKED. (Your winnings, Captain Renault...) www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

It's not unlike watching current coverage of net zero or the EU prior to 2016 or Boris Johnson's ascent to power or Liz Truss taking control of the Treasury or Donald Trump etc etc. The BBC should be a bulwark against obvious propaganda & demonstrable lies, not an 'impartial' chronicler of it...

A House of Commons committee has concluded the Government should terminate NHS England's contract with Palantir, citing the company "supporting highly controversial policies & activities"

On my way home from the @robinince.bsky.social gig at the glorious @lighthousebks.bsky.social and saw this, which seems appropriate

I'm willing to bet most of your feeds lack sufficient Highland Cattle. Yes, this one is black and not ginger. That's the original colour scheme. She's gorgeous.

Nature based holiday with kids: Me: "oh look! Oystercatcher!" James: "I do not understand why you get so excited about such a mid bird. Its like an Aldi puffin." Muttermutter nothing wrong with Aldi muttermutter NOT A MID BIRD.

I come with empty hands and the desire to unbuild walls.

Took the kids to visit the beautiful St Michael's Kirk in Linlithgow and the very lovely volunteers showed the kids some historic highlights. And this model. Apparently, there isn't usually a tiny Jesus in the door and they aren't sure where he came from. Which is wonderful in its own right.