(Don't do politics on social media! Don't, Andy, don't!) Oh dammit...! stoptrump.org.uk/petition-bbc/

Regardez!

This is a lie. There are many criticisms you might sensibly and truthfully make of the Sentencing Council and the Sentencing Guidelines. I’ve been making them for years. But this is an outright lie. Pure fabrication. A fraud on the public.

In a world where it is hard to find political heroes, @philippesands.bsky.social is one of mine… www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Quelqu’un?

Siobhan Moorton, 37, from Gawsworth, has honed the art of feigning total ignorance about specialist subjects she’s spent years learning about – in an attempt to come off as “normal” to her colleagues.

Next Weekend: the European Writers Salon in Belgium. I'll be hosting a coaching workshop looking at how to use your writer's self-doubt to power self-belief. There is lots more going on in Brussels and elsewhere. EWS is a an exciting, growing community. Find out more from @saloneurope.bsky.social

Anthropic Agrees to Pay $1.5 Billion to Settle Lawsuit With Book Authors www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/t...

I'm still confused though because there's so much emphasis on gas and dust, but as we all know, most dust comes from human skin, so...? www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

Ursula von der Leyen: "Tonight, our @EU_Commission buildings glow in the colours of bravery. The Ukrainian flag is the symbol of Ukraine's resistance and it's unshakeable belief in a better future. A future of a free and independent Ukraine, inside our Union. Slava Ukraini!"

"This battle partly involves the ongoing use of AI to produce books of an even lower quality than books written by humans..." app.the-tls.com/213462/conte...

Well done Donald! Really managed to pull the bag out of the bag there... www.nytimes.com/live/2025/08...

Tapestry’s coming home… 🎵🎶 on.ft.com/4fvRqV2 How the Bayeux Tapestry became a tool of soft power

According to the NYT Europe is ‘anguished’ again. According to the @nytimes.com Europe is always anguished or troubled, perplexed, divided or conflicted. We’re a continent of fractious worriers. “Behind Europe’s Anguished Words on Gaza, a Flurry of Hard Diplomacy” www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/w...

Was hoping for a bath this evening, but looks like I'll just have to move house instead.

There‘s only one honest sincere and authentic response to the current shit state of the world and that’s the extended version of Richie Havens’ ‘Freedom’. Clap your hands. open.spotify.com/track/1oM7gT...

Austin band The Feathers had a lot of success in the 2010s, but I always felt it was down-played. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feather...

Guess which prize-winning literary crime novel is currently half-price on Amazon? I'll give you a clue: www.amazon.co.uk/Crow-Court-A...

A Dictionary of Roland. www.the-tls.com/philosophy/h...

“Does anyone honestly believe this sounds like Donald Trump?” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

All booked up for September Salon with @saloneurope.bsky.social, where I'll be hosting a session on how to come home to your own writing, transforming your self-doubt into compassion and better direction. And I'm very much hoping to cross the channel with SailLink! www.saillink.co.uk

Only 8 places left for our Annual Salon in September—this year in Brussels🍻 Full programme available now🕺🏻 Get ‘em while they’re hot!

"Complex moral universe" Yes of course. It's nice to have a little laugh in the morning. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/b...

Perhaps confusingly, this is a statistical cognitive study that appears to be predicated on a misunderstanding of the phrase 'It's not rocket science.' And, I mean, that's not hard to understand is it? www.bmj.com/content/375/...

Yes. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Hachette are addressing the reading crisis among children, but I have a question for authors of Bsky; how many times recently have your heard adults say they have stopped reading - they just don't read books anymore? Sound familiar? www.thebookseller.com/news/michael...

Love this... "When Ms. [name] planned to finally clean out her garage, she was so paralyzed by the prospect that she adopted a dog instead." www.nytimes.com/2025/06/10/w...

Doctor doctor, I seem to have an analogy! Oh yeah, what's that like?

Old fashioned Left-wing v right wing politics have gone haven’t they? It’s now more like ‘rabid-squirrel’ vs ‘broken pair of scissors’.

Question: Does anyone in the UK understand their utility bill? I’ve been billed £x hundred, I’ve paid £y hundred and apparently I’m £z hundred in credit. Why does a ‘king electricity middleman have half my life-savings?

Thanks so much for having me again, @thedailytism.com I have so much fun cackling at my own jokes in public while I’m writing these.

How much longer now until the scammers and spammers cotton on to the fact that NO-ONE phones unannounced any more. A call I'm not expecting is spam.

Donald Trump silences Voice of America, the station that was established to combat Nazi misinformation. Sort of stands to reason. www.politico.com/news/2025/05...

French Theory.

Compare Vonnegut buying an envelope with this tech bro running from his life

Ah.. you have to read this in context to fully appreciate it. Very witty. "You could say it had a top note of idealised masculinity, but you couldn’t call it toxic." www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

I'm very happy - and relieved - to announce that All My Worldly Joy will published on 4 September in the UK and on 6 January 2026 in the US and Canada. (1/3)

I'm excited to have received this from Wiley Books, 'Marseille 1940' by @uwewittstock.bsky.social Looking forward to reading this soon!

EWS is dedicated to creating opportunities for writers to meet, learn and develop their writing and writing life. The more people can attend, the more interesting our events will be, creating greater opportunity to connect and learn. We work hard to make EWS as sustainable and available as possible

1/4 When ravens help each other They have studied third-party interventions among Austrian ravens, i.e. when a raven decides to intervene in the interaction between others. Sometimes they do so to help others (paper) https://buff.ly/3UUgHPE

I don't understand. Why is he called St. Upid?

There's a gag in here somewhere.... www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/u...

open.substack.com/pub/emmadarw...? Sage advice from @emmadarwinwriter.bsky.social as always: on Canaries and Turkeys and how avoid killing the messenger.

Starter pack for #literaryfiction writers to find each other! Comment/repost and I'll add you go.bsky.app/FsRTjvt

I'd like to post a photo of the fabulous Lamb Tagine I cooked for Easter Sunday... But we just ate it.