And last of all we caught up with the brilliant @etheringtonbros.bsky.social - as far as we know the only other writer/artist sibling duo? They were SO encouraging and helpful to us right from the start, there’s nothing like @thoughtbubbleuk.bsky.social for seeing old friends 🤗

Phew! What a big weekend we’ve had @thoughtbubbleuk.bsky.social with @selfmadehero.bsky.social! We’ve chatted to squillions of lovely people and enjoyed the bubbling and fizzing of creativity all around us

This was a brilliant thing to be a part of. Singing in the smoke-filled weaving shed was incredibly atmospheric. I wish I could have seen the other performers. Go buy their beautiful book if you can!

Last Saturday we took over a cotton mill, and subverted the workplace by filling it with music and art and drama - This Slavery came alive before our eyes… rickardsisters.com/news-post/tr...

“A sustained campaign of anti-migrant rhetoric is fuelling a growing cesspool of racism, including against international and ethnic minority nursing staff, without whom our health and care system would simply cease to function.” How disgraceful. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Good morning to all those people who wasted the last decade saying, "there's no point tackling climate change in the UK, because China." www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

Are you coming to @thoughtbubbleuk.bsky.social this weekend? We’d love to see you there! Come to SelfMadeHero at Comixology D14, enjoy the 1st Graphic Novel Award entries, and 10-12 each day we’ll be there to draw dogs all over your purchases 🐕

via The Pileus

Every year Mr Wilson is traumatised by fireworks. He says, PLEASE sign this petition petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73... to restrict firework displays to organised events approved by the local council. 🙏🐾

Let's stop subsidising destruction. This Govenrment need to stop standing on the side of polluters and instead tackle the cost of living crisis. Some of my thoughts on COP 30 👇🏼 bestforbritain.substack.com/p/cop30-must...

Virtually every point that @zackpolanski.bsky.social, @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social, @zarahsultana.bsky.social and @jeremycorbyn.bsky.social are making today is found illustrated in this book👇🏼 Set in 1910, it's shocking to see how so little has changed for us in 2025 rickardsisters.com/product/the-...

If they only knew how to zoom in, they might just be able to make out the red poppy too....

Not here to be disappointed. Not here to be concerned. Here to replace them - and then take on Reform. Join.greenparty.org.uk

Cheers! We don't have to agree on absolutely everything. But want lower bills? Think billionaires should pay more tax? Join.greenparty.org.uk

Fantastic to be a part of the Rickard Sisters excellent Trouble at Mill- the launch event celebrating their graphic novel adaptation of Ethel Carnie Holdsworth’s This Slavery. @swwdtp.bsky.social @unirdg-phd.bsky.social @nicola-wilson.bsky.social @simonrennie.bsky.social @rickardsisters.com

Thank you SO much to every single person who took part in or attended Trouble At Mill yesterday - everyone had an absolute riot, and every single one of you played a vital role in bringing it about

You can palpably feel the optimism, the passion and excitement @zackpolanski.bsky.social brings to the conversation. Zack will be a fantastic and exceptionally popular PM.

@zackpolanski.bsky.social is on Sky News this morning.

Have a fab time at t'mill tomorrow boomclackers * @commonerschoir.bsky.social Hope you sell loads of your lovely books @rickardsisters.com #ThisSlavery *If you know you know.

It’s all kicking off at Queen Street Mill Textile Museum Burnley, inc a huge steam engine, @commonerschoir.bsky.social, Clarion Choir, @jenniferballads.bsky.social, @jennyharper.bsky.social, Burnley Youth Theatre, Pendle Radicals and more. Tickets sold out weeks ago, but if you’ve got one flaunt it!

It’s Trouble At Mill day! We’re all ready for action, set-up went smoothly and we absolutely didn’t cause any drama or get into trouble 😬🔥 We can’t wait to see you all for a noisy riot later!

Dear GOD if you want to save money in the asylum system 1. LET ASYLUM SEEKERS WORK 2. FAST TRACK STATUS FOR EVERYONE FROM CLEARLY UNDAFE COUNTRIES like Sudan, Syria, etc 3. Run an asylum accommodation system that is NOT FOR PROFIT #r4today

Yes. The next GE is a long time away, and people are beginning to get a taste of the reality of Reform in local government. It’s helpful to remember that most people are not hateful, most people are kind and helpful given the opportunity. Let’s make sure there *is* an opportunity ✊

Yes, what Mamdani has shown is people want left wing policies to vote for - personality matters (and Polanski is communicating well) but policies matter the most

Today we’re journeying North to our ancestral homelands…

Hehe Jip is the OG good dog! He supports the workers, growls at police oppression and comforts the sad. And he’s very good off the lead

If only the evil capitalist mill owners would pay decent wages, Jip could have all the Bonios

It’s *so good* to see to hopeful news from America, having become used to waking up to new horrors every morning. Democracy, civil connectedness and voters can defeat fascism. The future hasn’t been decided yet, we can change course by taking action 👏

@rickardsisters.com Received my copy of The Slavery this morning. What a beautiful and important book. I shall add it to my growing collection of Rickard Sister books 😍 Thank you so much. Al

But there can only be one winner! Congratulations to @Sean_prentice of Instagram, who submitted a guess of 188 horses! That is within 4 nags of the correct number of horses in This Slavery (184) and the signed & illustrated copy is yours, Sean - DM us your address, you are a #HowManyHorses champion

Three people have guessed within 25 horses of the correct number, and one of you is the closest: on Instagram @clairejspear, @Sean_prentice and on Bluesky @mrwent.bsky.social #HowManyHorses

The lowest estimate was @Isaac_ofcourse on TikTok with a philosophical 29, and the highest was @Farmgang6 on Instagram with a whopping 1065. That would be 2.9 horses per page and the book isn’t even about horses, and quite a lot of it takes place indoors.

Before we announce the winner of #HowManyHorses, we need to honour some wonderful runners and riders…

And page four - all of which was commissioned by and originally appeared in @leftcultures.bsky.social

Page three of four…

Page two of four…

Here’s a four-pager to explain…

Happy 65th anniversary of our grandpa getting into trouble with his boss…

As of 9 this morning we had loads entries across BlueSky, TikTok and Instagram. Here you can see a wide distribution of #HowManyHorses suggestions ranging from 29 to 1065. Next slide please…

You have until midnight tonight (Saturday) to submit a number and be in with a chance to win the only copy with four EXTRA horses! #HowManyHorses

If we look at #HowManyHorses guesses we can see that TikTok users tend to estimate low (126 and below) and Instagram users go high (everything 300+ came from there) Read into this what you will - it’s only a measure of what other people have suggested and there is only one right answer...

Final day of voting for our #HowManyHorses giveaway! There’s still time to enter your estimate and WIN a signed & illustrated copy of This Slavery. Follow us, share & tell us #HowManyHorses you think Scarlett drew - the closest guess submitted by midnight tonight wins!

If you are trying to work out #HowManyHorses there might be in This Slavery, you may remember we played this game years ago, with The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. The answer for that book was 87 - but this time could there be more?

Guess #HowManyHorses in This Slavery graphic novel to WIN a signed & illustrated copy! Just follow us, share & tell us how many horses you think Scarlett might have squeezed into 368 pages of the book - the closest guess wins!

You have until this Saturday to guess #HowManyHorses there are in This Slavery graphic novel to WIN a signed & illustrated copy! Just follow us, share & give us a number - the closest guess wins!

I know we’ve been counting horses all week for #HowManyHorses, but let’s take a moment to appreciate the *real* main character of This Slavery - the scene stealer Jip, the collie-cross

Have you sent in your guess yet? Tell us #HowManyHorses there are in This Slavery graphic novel to WIN this signed & illustrated copy! Just follow us, share & submit your estimate - the closest guess wins!

The same is true of comics (fun fact: eye tracking studies show that, as people become more adept comic readers, they move from focusing on speech bubbles to mainly reading visually - sometimes starting to skip speech bubbles entirely!).

All of which should alone, make the case for comics in education. That studies show that comics really engage with neurodiverse students, at a time when we’re starting to better understand neurodiversity makes it vital. On top of all that, we know that reading prose prose isn’t natural to us.

Right, I’m trying to cohere my thoughts here, because I think it’s finally making something click that I’ve struggled to find the right words for ages: Repeated studies have indicated that reading comics increases engagement, reading for pleasure rates, information retention and comprehension