#vss365 Never #monotonous The cycle of the year Set out in hymns, collects The prescribed readings Mapped to days defined by their Relationship to calendars Constructed of particular histories. Since my faith deserted me I miss the Certainties that lurked in the appendices of the prayer book.

#vss365 Walk the Quayside with me Stare through the entry barriers at the stairs Running up to the town Locked and barred against #illicit uses Leaving only the ghosts of smugglers, sailors Waterfront traders and a Younger version of me Who made their bargains there.

#vss365 #soliloquy From your Kindle cover I cannot tell if you are reading a #Soliloquy or a Shopping and fucking novel. Sad that others might not be comforted by the cover of Ragged Trousered Philanthropists or Rubyfruit Jungle on the morning train.

The only person to come out of the SPeggie/NHS tribunal vindicated and with a completely untarnished reputation is Dr Beth Upton. Not SPeggie, Not the NHS management, Not Four Women Scotland, Not the media, Just Dr Upton.

Go Not to The Elves for Counsel got my top spot. More in my #SpotifyWrapped. www.spotify.com/wrapped-shar...

www.gofundme.com/f/fund-corys... This fabulous young poet is fundraising for top surgery - pls share/donate

#vss365 The promise of #transport to a Small town boy hoping a Furtive escape might end in delight Denies the reality that Wherever we are the Vehicle is a tool, not the Purpose, even as I settle on a winters day to Fettle the much loved hack for salt stained roads. #poetry

Microsoft, Google say their data centers create thousands of jobs. Their permit filings say otherwise https://restofworld.org/2025/data-centers-jobs-microsoft-google-chile/?utm_campaign=row-social&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_content=1763146621

"A necrophiliac politics arises. Society is no longer centred around collective life that involves the individual, but rather becomes a data problem. Moreover, the individual's experience of politics is shaped by their personal feeds..."

There's a clear trail from Peter Mandelson, through Derek Draper and Damian Mcbride, to Damian Cummings and now Morgan McSweeney, of people who sought power and influence but instead became exemplars of malignant practice within or adjacent to government. We need to reconsider how government works.

Looking towards Twm Barlwm from the north facing windows of class U11 Was I the only one tempted to weave a #myth Connecting Bran the Blessed with something, Anything less ordinary than a Bored teacher, and some half understood history he decried in monotones? I tried, dear reader, I tried. #vss365

Instead of following the tripe about whether #WesStreeting is on manouvres, read this important Guardian article about some of the people whose rights have been consistently ignored and over-ridden by the capture of the political establishment by #transphobia www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

#vss365 Read the #literature of the time, she said The books that told the stories of the Mundane untruths, the Everyday corruption that Leached away the Values we lost between the Masquerades that replaced political debate. Then quietly she whispered Read and spread the word. I tried mam, I tried.

They were soaking fruit in a bowl Ready for a seasonal ceremony while in my head Plans were made to take Manhattan. Concrete towers oppose Hedgerows rich with berries and nature Demands stories that explain our lives. #poetry

I wanted to know, aged eight, About what was busy about #business and how it Differed from work, why Business required suits but Work required overalls but Dad was too tired to explain and Already a little deaf from the noise in the Workshop. Noone ever went deaf in business. #poetry #vss365

Why would a therapeutic coach be reviewing a film about Bruce Springsteen? Read my thoughts on Deliver Me From Nowhere here coachingintheround.co.uk/f/deliver-me...

An interesting poll, but could do with some context as in 'How much do the public understand about what goes on inside gambling establishments on the high street?' and 'Do you know what aa fobtee is and how much money it can take per hour from desperate gamblers?'

Read my two letters to the #UK: 1. Protests: I call for a review of the legal framework and the reconsideration of provisions in the Crime & Policing Bill that could restrict freedom of assembly. 2. Trans people: I warn against exclusion&zero-sum approaches 👇#HumanRights www.coe.int/en/web/commi...

English democracy relies on local councillors. So why are so many facing the axe? Living as I do in a county that went through this process 18 years ago, I can only wonder why Polly didn't come out with these arguments then... www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

One of the Corbinista's inner circle popped up in my feed last night criticizing this action because the issues are "complex". Or to put it another way, senior Corbinista's think their coalition will benefit more from appeasing transphobes than from defending human rights.

Autumn is the best season for dog walking in the urban woodlands around the reclaimed colliery site where I walk the dog 🐕 #Blyth

People claim London crime is rising because it suits them, Met commander says

This article rang a bell with me - I didn't tell my dad I'd left the Labour Party and even at his funeral I felt a deep sadness about the loss of that shared relationship and talked to the present and former MPs about the party as if I still had a stake in it. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

So excited to be gearing up to speak at #Euromoot2025 this afternoon signumuniversity.org/event/euromo...

As US nuclear weapons return to Britain, we re-affirm the commitment to nuclear disarmament rooted in our faith. We join hundreds of groups in calling for measures to prevent nuclear war, and redirect military spending to peacekeeping, climate action, and meeting human needs.

I thought of my short denim jacket, One size too small teeshirts, Shrink fitted 501s as the #Escutcheon of the tribe I Wished to join, the Family that might Embrace me but instead, I felt less real, less Authentic as if Cosplaying some medieval Fantasy of masculinity. I wish I'd known. #vss365

This #nightmare Was not a grey horse Calling at the door to Enforce and reinforce community But the absence of any Sense of belonging that helped me understand the #MariLwyd and my fear that we have lost our way #vss365

Youth unemployment, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1981, photo by Tish Murtha.

Here’s a poem called ‘English Roundabouts’.

This beautiful and elegaic memory of Ricky Hatton is a plangent reminder that the death toll of boxing is often heard a long way from the bright lights and the ring www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/s...

OK I confess - when I invoked Peter Mandelson's past in trying to understand Angela Rayners troubles I didn't expect Peter M to come back centre stage, demanding friends hold his beer as he shows Rayner how this kind of fuck up is really done

Look what the postman brought - a great book whose title I've pinched for my talk at #Euromoot in three weeks time when I try to mash up #Tolkien #Dragons and #Welshness

Have spent a lot of time iat work this week with just one piece of poetry in my mind - Linton Kwesi Johnson had it right "Fashist an di attack Noh baddah worry 'bout dat Fashist an di attack Wi wi' fite dem back Fashist an di attack Den wi countah-attack Fashist an di attack Den wi drive dem back "

Let's start with the obvious - the NHS Trust league tables compare apples and pears - the top ranked trusts are specialist hospitals before we reach Northumbria, a hodge podge of specialist units (Acute / emergency care) &small district &rural hospitals across one of England's largest counties.

For those who despise the middle English tweeness of post box toppers here's a wonderful alternative that is almost enough to make me take up crochet

It's not by chance that I'm re-reading one of James Lee Burke's Robicheaux novels - he's the literary representative of an America it's possible to love and empathize with and by chance I found this article crimereads.com/james-lee-bu...

Got to admit, if asked I wouldn't have placed a bet on Angela Rayner being the Peter 'Dodgy Mortgage' Mandelson of this iteration of #CargoCultBlairism but it's funny how, as in Mandelson's case, some very specific details were quickly at the heart of the story - as if she'd been leaked against.

What a good week for the government to reveal that its new communications advisor is <checks notes> a former trustee of the notoriously transphobic 'charity' Sex Matters... www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Yup, despite 20mph headwinds on the return leg this was a good day to be out and about on the bike...

@vss365hq.bsky.social He tried so hard to explain That crimes like this lacked the #Pungent stench of Corruption & instead remained Hidden under the citrus and alcohol scent of Cheap deodorant allied to Spin doctored words of Politicians pursuing the private good Not a public service #vss365

www.theguardian.com/society/2025... Is anyone truly surprised by this piece of research?

One of the few benefits of the current #flagageddon is that we now know what Straight Pride would look like - and it ant pretty as angry middle aged men sneak out at night to paint roads and cable tie flags to lampposts.

The spotlight prismatically Bounced off the mirrored pickguardnof his Precision #bass As the most beautiful black man I'd ever Fantasized about sang the weepy eyed blues of Still In Love With You and Unaware me realized for the first time that I Wished he'd left her for me #Vss365

The speech coach asked me to feel the #bass Undertones of my voice in my diaphragm to Masculinize my voice and I was Back in the schoolhouse with the church youth club and a Teenage band playing Rebel Rebel with the Muddy tones of a copy Ebo bass Resonating through my chest. #vss365

‘Section 28 2.0’: New “transphobic” curriculum restricts teachers from encouraging Trans+ pupils to understand their identity 👇 https://www.wearequeeraf.com/section-28-2-0-new-transphobic-curriculum-restricts-teachers-from-encouraging-trans-pupils-to-understand-their-identity/

Day two of the @pinktherapy.bsky.social conference as we all try to get into a conference frame of mind

It's a small field, but this is probably the best thing written about public toilets this year www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Police arrest 474 people at protest over Palestine Action ban in London - driving home last night I heard BBC radio 5 falsely claim that Palestine Action has targeted RAF fighter jets, and I wondered how we ever came to this. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

When I stop doing this I'll miss it but not as much as I miss racing #cycling #testing #racinginthestreet #raceoftruth

Labour LIst has a poll suggesting the Labour Party is split 50/50 on the Trans issue - given that it's a poll of Labour members only, many of whom prize loyalty to the project above principles or human rights, it's an astonishing result labourlist.org/2025/08/labo...