This is NOT just america. This is happening here. Local coverage of it, if you can bear the pop up ads.... www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/2548259... #UKKidlit #Edusky

Membership of the Green Party of England and Wales has 'surged' past 75,000. I'm told there was a huge rise yesterday... Leader Zack Polanski: "Hitting 75,000 members is more than just a milestone; it’s proof that people are hungry for bold politics...We're only just getting started."

Louise Vincent, Addict Who Led Harm Reduction Movement, Dies at 49 f the nyt gift link

What's wild about this: railing against the social gospel is — I kid you not — a more than *century-long campaign* by conservative evangelicals. Some theological debates never get old, it seems.

An important moment in history

Proud to contribute frontline testimony to tonight's enraging @itvx.com documentary "The Covid Contracts: Follow the Money". Boris Johnson's govt squandered £8.7 billion on unusable PPE, while grifters like Michelle Mone made millions. Tonight, 10.15pm, ITV1. www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

I also hope Channel 4 will broadcast the protests planned in both central London & Windsor on Wednesday (details from @ukstoptrump.bsky.social) as I doubt any other msm will do so. The thought of the Felon47 being in Windsor just 30 miles away from where we live fills me with utter revulsion.

Currently reading this, amongst about 15 other books!!

Does teaching about sex—and how to make sex safer—lead to more sex? Who should teach young people and sex? Where? And when? By the 1980s, this debate crystallized into a political, religious, legal, and educational firestorm that not many know about.

Many American politicians are learning from Vienna, which is combatting housing scarcity+climate change-- all at the same time. This group from Portland is another example. To go on a podcast jaunt and read more about Vienna's green social housing, check out our feature from June on @npr.org 📻🎧🌍

Warsaw opens metro station ‘express’ library to get commuters off their phones. Metroteka aims to encourage people to read more in country that lost majority of libraries in Second World War www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

"Trout, incidentally, had written a book about a money tree. It had twenty-dollar bills for leaves... Its fruit was diamonds. It attracted human beings who killed each other around the roots and made very good fertilizer. So it goes." —Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut #BookWormSat

Book Cover of the Day:

The Little Hedgehog, Molly Brett, 1966.

Coloured glass by Debbie Copley

He massively admires Tommy Robinson... He was with Tommy Robinson the previous evening... Tommy Robinson gave him the flags... But this is a grassroots movement apparently

Hilma af Klint, Altarbild, nr 1, grupp X, Altarbilder, 1915 one of first Western abstract artists whose work predates Kandinsky's #womensart

You couldn't script this stuff. The flag fanatics are defacing war memorials now it seems www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwal...

At least 15 Reform councillors have been suspended, expelled, or have quit since being elected earlier this year, with at least five facing criminal investigations, @bylinetimes.bsky.social can report bylinetimes.com/2025/09/02/s...

“there’s an expectation that if you’ve done well, in entertainment particularly, you know… “which college did you go to?” – meaning which college in Oxford. I’ve had that a few times. I enjoy saying “Woodham Comprehensive School”. thebeemagazine.com/mark-gatiss-...

Therapeutic drum circle, South Manchester, UK. Monthly heart & soul gathering. Both at The Dandelion Community, Oatlands Rd, Manchester M22 1AH. Inclusive, welcoming community space, church and community hub. People of all walks of life, genders, and cultures welcome!

Colin Talbot, an emeritus professor of politics at the University of Manchester: “I went through Reform’s national policy statements and they had no policies whatsoever on local government. Nothing at all." https://bit.ly/4p6QHy8

A bit of weekend creativity!

"I thought I would be understood without words." Vincent van Gogh - Letter to Theo van Gogh (1882) Van Gogh's skies #art

Workshop at Table at Greenbelt festival on poverty, shame, & stigma with facilitators Helen & Al. Great to have about 75 people take part & 12 tablecloths gone to London, Cornwall, Devon, Midlands & beyond! Glitterball danced, pop up choir sung, tiredness & joy shared.

The Peace Museum, UK, offering space for their closing exhibition In Common. @peacemuseumuk.bsky.social

The Corrymeela Community in N.Ireland are offering this online course. Theology and solidarity and experience.

We stand w/ 200+ orgs rejecting weaponising violence against women & girls for anti-migrant agendas. Govt & media fuel racist narratives pitting survivors & migrants against each other. Falsehoods like these don’t keep women safe, they distract from tackling gender-based violence. t.co/50I5sp1kCI

Rochdale Canal, Manchester, by William Ralph Turner (1920-2013). Born in Chorlton-on-Medlock, largely self-taught painter and teacher. #NorthernArt

US artist Elizabeth Catlett's 1946 print honours Phyllis Wheatley (1753-1784), who was sold into slavery at the age of seven and later became the first published African-American female poet #womensart

Sad to hear of the death of my colleague Revd Dr Peter Cruchley. He was from The United Reformed Church in Wales and worked for reparations through the churches, anti colonial anti racist practices of care with courage. Prayers for Lena and all who knew and loved him.

The democratic reform movement suffered a severe setback in the short term, but Peterloo’s legacy helped pave way for the Reform Act 1832, which enfranchised Manchester, Salford, Bury, Bolton, Rochdale, Oldham, Ashton and Warrington, increasing Lancashire's MPs from 14 to 27.

Peterloo Massacre happened #OTD 1819, estimated 15-18 people killed. Came during turbulent period of explosive population growth, food shortages caused by climatic disruption after a volcano erupted in Indonesia, aftermath of war, stresses of urbanisation and industrialisation.

Race to save 'incredibly precious' hidden mosaics in Chorlton, Manchester. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Three Graces, 1999 by Niki De Saint Phalle, #womensart #summer #august

Musician and painter Joni Mitchell (with artist David Hockney) #WomensArt

Excited to be facilitating a workshop Friday at Greenbelt festival at 11.30am at Table (Trussell & United Reformed Church venue) on poverty, stigma and how churches as institutions can become more human. @greenbeltfestival.bsky.social

"What began as a modest effort by a few members of a small congregation to reach out to migrants would evolve into a deep experiment in solidarity..." our new issue of @hammerandhope.bsky.social is out! today I want to highlight this article by Benji Hart hammerandhope.org/article/chic...

Really looking forward to getting into these over the next couple of weeks during some much needed downtime @lamornaash.bsky.social is speaking at @greenbeltfestival.bsky.social and @chloedalton.bsky.social was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize non-fiction.

Before people could have multiple windows open on their computer...

Apple harvest! 10 apples from my tiny tiny tree!

For the UK context: things are difficult for so many people right now. Here are some contact details. Please share if you are in the UK.

Online Book Club for September! Not the End of the World by Hannah Ritchie. You are welcome if the time zone works for you!

'The 3 Graces' on the River Adur' stained glass and driftwood sculptures by UK artist Louise V Durham #WomensArt

Pachisi, a game originating from India (4thC AD). The Western equivalent is Ludo. It is played on a cross shaped surface which is hand sewn with embroidered designs in the squares #WomensArt

this is only a fraction of the hummingbirds we get normally

Are you a PhD student using the Library for your research, or interested in doing so? Join one of our Doctoral Open Days for a deep dive into the areas of our collection which might be relevant to your research, as well as top tips on using the Library 👇 bit.ly/BLPhDOpenDays

The ICC warns of ongoing atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region, where civilians face famine, violence, and forced displacement. +522,000 children have died in Sudan since 2023 due to war-driven famine and malnutrition. One of the worst child death tolls in recent history and the world barely notices.