Winter Sun. #Art 2020. © Candida Stevens

I’ll be volunteering to help with an Adult & Child Reading Challenge from Monday at my local library - because we need to support, however we can, the love of reading #r4today

Leaving stems and seed heads in gardens and green spaces can help insects survive in cold weather by giving them a safe place to shelter. Birds eat the seeds too! So wait until spring before cutting dead plants down 🐞 More ways to help winter wildlife: littlegreenspace.org.uk/features/win...

We are seeing a global shift where citizenship is being transformed from a secure right into a conditional citizenship depending on your heritage. This creates a two-tier system where the security of your passport depends entirely on your heritage or ethnicity. We should be really concerned.

Poverty, disablity, abuse and inadequate social care and palliative care are facts. . Denying inequalities and the vulnerability of people arguing for #AssistedDying illustrates why it should not be passed. #r4today

💀 Park rangers in #Honduras 🇭🇳 #SouthAmerica risk their lives every day to protect animals 🐒 #indigenous peoples and #rainforests from #palmoil plantations. Their fight is real. Resist when u shop! 💪 #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect wp.me/pcFhgU-8YV

Bury St Edmunds cathedral is oddly under-rated. That tower, for example, is a homily to Canterbury: the design is literally the bottom half of Canterbury's, & that fan vaulting is a reference to that in Canterbury. The tower was paid for by....the National Lottery charity distributor!!! Love that.

. We need overseas workers in many sectors of the economy - and Mr Farage the NHS would fold without them. #r4today #bbcbreakfast #bbcpm #C4News #toriesgone540 . www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

I’m very grateful to all the foreign born staff that cared for us when we recently spent a night in A&E - from the triage nurses to the nurses that took bloods and did ECGs and the Doctor. The NHS exists because of our wonderful migrant workers/expats!

European Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia): This white bird gets its name from its remarkably shaped bill. It is native to Europe, North Africa and Asia all the way east to Japan. Photo taken by Brian Hardy at Abberton, Essex, UK #spoonbill #bird #birds #wildlife #abberton #essex #nature

#MorningPrayer Save us, Lord, from the ways of self-centredness and megalomania which ordered the massacre of the holy innocents in Bethlehem. Wherever self aggrandisement and arrogance arises, in us or in others, help us reject it, and lead us instead to choose your way of love.

campuses have learning opportunities, social space, entertainment, and universities ARE healthcare. multigenerational access is net social good.

Martin Griffiths brings us a poem of light for the winter solstice | Martin Griffiths

St Mary's Church, Huntingfield, Suffolk, UK. The ceiling is considered a masterpiece of Victorian decoration and was created by largely unrecognised artist Mildred Holland in 1859-60, the wife of the church rector #WomensArt

December 27, 2025

The ‘calling birds’ of Christmas were once ‘colly birds’ – blackbirds whose vivid yellow beaks and rich songs brighten UK gardens year-round | Leslie Cater

Mutual free movement’ for UK and EU citizens supported by 84% of Brits, in stunning new poll Omnisis poll suggests opposition to free movement was based on lack of awareness and the UK government failing to enforce the rules yorkshirebylines.co.uk/news/brexit/...

The untold tale behind the Carol of the Bells How the Christmas classic got its start as a cry of Ukranian liberty and defiance | Tetiana Toma @kentandsurreybylines.co.uk

On the third day of Christmas… Three French hens From folk rhyme to free-ranging flocks, living the ancient cycle of light, instinct and life. Katayoun Dowlatshahi shares her love of hens

Totally agree with this. I have given quite a few lectures in the last couple of years specifically on adaptation and disaster management. More will be needed! www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

“You want to have some bright people work through scenarios of how [AMOC collapse] could interact & cascade across society... we’re only just starting to, with minimal trust foundation kind of financial support, no public money... which is a bit odd.” - Prof. Tim Lenton @gsiexeter.bsky.social

While cutting greenhouse gas emissions is a relief for the whole planet, continued fossil consumption means adaptations all over the world & in all sectors: food, water, energy, health, security, transport, investment, recreation, nature, manufacture, defense, ... www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

Casual reminder that the myth of “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” is a cruel hoax designed to convince poor people from all walks of life that the injustices they face are a result of their own actions, rather than an oppressive system rigged against them.

2025: A Green year in the House of Lords Being a peer involves a great deal more than working on legislation and questioning the government By Natalie Bennett @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social

When we step into a forest or out onto a windswept moor, something inside us relaxes, as if remembering who we are | Oak Bear

The Martyrdom of #SaintStephen, 1607-11, engraved by Jacques Callot after #LaviniaFontana (Italian, 1552-1614). Held by @metmuseum.org, www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti... #StStephensDay #artherstory #womenartists #FeastofStStephen

The words of The Sussex Carol date back to 1684 when Irish bishop Luke Wadding published A Small Garland of Pious and Godly Songs. In the early 1900s, Vaughan Williams heard a tune on a visit to the hamlet of Monk's Gate, which he matched to Wadding's text, creating the carol.

'From Earth to Sky' painting by Christi Belcourt, Métis visual artist, inspired by Métis and First Nations historical beadwork #WomensArt

From Christmas symbol to an endangered migrant – the turtle dove’s numbers have fallen 98% – but renewed habitat work will help it endure | Kate Moore

Emma Haworth, contemporary UK painter #WomensArt #BoxingDay

Gígja Einarsdóttir, photographer who was born and raised around Icelandic horses #WomensArt

Kathy Klien, US artist known for her intricate flower mandalas created with petals #womensart

King Charles III has urged people to focus on kindness instead of conflict in his annual Christmas address.

The Express will keep doing this. Churning out anger and division. They don’t take a day off, even on Christmas Day. But this Christmas I’m inviting you to choose something different: Humanity. Kindness. Hope.

🔥 THIS IS HUGE! Horizon is the world’s science programme, hosted by the EU. It just got bigger. Other non-European countries associated to the programme (ie paying in) include Korea, New Zealand, Canada.

Greetings from Kyiv! Just wanted to remind the world that this city (oh, this country) stands. Filmed earlier today, filmed by a local

The Metropolitan police have been using powers they no longer have related to “cumulative disruption” to crack down on pro-Palestine protests, according to legal experts - inc quote from Raj Chada of @hjacriminaldefence.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

UK society is divided by misinformation in the press and wealth inequality; unity is possible through organised local communities | Cleisthenes' Disciple

At 15.03 today comes the Winter Solstice Elana Katz celebrates this magic time - the start of the transition from darkness to light...

In Liverpool, like most of the UK’s big cities, dozens of rough sleepers sit on the cold ground as people rush by to pick up their final Christmas shopping I spoke to some of them about spending Christmas sleeping rough and whether they have any faith in the government’s plan to tackle this crisis

Attacks on feminism are similar to attacks on vaccines. We begin to take for granted a world where women have rights and most children live to see adulthood, and then, over time, we begin to forget, neglect, and (now) reject the movements and innovations that brought us here.

We are deeply concerned for the health of Qesser Zuhrah, who has been on hunger strike for 46 days. We join those calling on the government to act now, and address the serious concerns raised by lawyers acting for the prisoners.

The White House has been caught. The administration inserted a photo of Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross into the Epstein files and falsely implied it showed them with victims. In reality, it’s a publicly available fundraiser photo featuring Jackson and Ross’s own children.

The 19 December is the anniversary of the Penlee lifeboat disaster of 1981. We remember the courage of the crew of the Solomon Browne in attempting to rescue the crew and passengers of the stricken Union Star. We never forget the courage of the crew and the 16 lives lost that night. RIP.

Remember: you can disagree with #PalestineAction and still believe that they, like everyone, have the right to a fair trial. They should not be imprisoned on remand for months or years before trial. Remember that the #hungerstrikers have not been convicted of *any crime at all*.

When you feel like despairing the human race remember people like these. Many are volunteers.

The Employment Rights Bill receiving royal assent calls for festive celebrations for working Brits all around! 🥳🥳 It is vital we all read up on how these protections can help us: www.jacobbarclayevans.com/why-the-pass... #UKPolitics #EmploymentRights

The House of Lords fought hard to dilute parts of Labour’s Employment Rights Bill – but the core reforms survived. From sick pay to fire-and-rehire, here's how the landscape is about to change dramatically ⤵️ @eastangliabylines.co.uk @stephenmcnair.bsky.social