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Flora Alexander

@florainthesouth.bsky.social
213 followers 154 following 573 posts

Retired academic (English Literature), feminist, politically left. I come from the north, but I don’t live there now.

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Reposted by Flora Alexander
The English Oak Project @thekentacorn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Now that’s just showing off 🙄
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Russell England @russellengland.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
"I usually vote for whoever promises to cut the most tax"
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Louise, Prof/Dr @louiselocock.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Can you ladies just get on with it and let me read my book in peace?
A painting in which a group of women attend a new born infant (probably the virgin) while a bloke sits with a book staring out at us the viewers
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Michelle says: Be kind. Always. ❤️ @snarkysillysad.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Blue footed booby: #AGoodPlace Source: www.reddit.com/r/NatureIsFu...
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Sam and King Lucy the 1st @kinglucythe1st.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
If I was ever minded to vote for The Greens, that thought has now been completely dispelled. What a bunch of morons.
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Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
As I’ve just heard about #forestfriday here are some Redwoods I photographed in 2024 in Muir Woods National Park. My last visit to the US … maybe for some time.
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Parody Nigel Farage @parodypm.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
No wonder Tom voted for Brexit, he thinks Britain is 3,500 miles west of Europe.
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Louise, Prof/Dr @louiselocock.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Braverman is tying herself in racist knots
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World War I As It Happened (1914) @warhappened.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Some Indian nationalists, not inherently friendly to their British overlords, are still supporting the war effort: "It has taken us 100 years to teach the English how to govern us and we can’t afford the time to begin again on the Germans."
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Time for this classic again.
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Protect the Wild @protectthewild.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
An annual report reveals how criminals are getting away with torturing and killing wildlife. In 2025, there were 2,149 reports of suspected wildlife crime, but 41 convictions. The Wildlife and Countryside Link report shows a stark reality: most wildlife crimes can be committed with total impunity.
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New-Cleckit Dominie @ncdominie.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Goldfinch. 🪶
A goldfinch perching on blue railings, with sea beyond. The goldfinch has a faintly disapproving air.
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New-Cleckit Dominie @ncdominie.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Great moments in Scottish engineering history: James Watt tries to work out how his phone attaches to his selfie stick.
Statue of James Watt. In his right hand he holds a telescopic stick with a frame at the top; in his left he holds a flat object about the size of a large smartphone. He is scowling at the possibly-not-a-smartphone as if he is tempted to yeet it into the sea. On that basis, it probably _is_ a phone.
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Slnieckar @slnieckar.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
For the #BirdOfTheDay alt theme #AwkwardAvian, I offer a pile of overgrown young swallows spilling out of the nest. #birds
Three (at least) swallows are full-grown but still squeezing into the nest, and look grumpy about it.
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Kirsti, an architect - directly affected - on her MP not appearing to understand that protecting [only] care workers would mean forcing out vets, architects, chefs and many others (but perhaps unwittingly for most MPs + ministers who have not spotted this) bsky.app/profile/heri...
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SomersetWhovian 💙 🇺🇦 @clairecopperman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Ours only respond to treats being shaken/the front door opening. One of my favourite cat anecdotes is from Marge Piercy, who had multiple cats. Apparently, none of them would respond to their name, but if one was called, the others would turn & look at them, while the first one basically shrugged.
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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 25/09/2026
I have blamed The agents That hacked Your website And which You probably Reasonably thought I controlled Forgive me I am rich And unaccustomed To taking responsibility
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
*bangs head against wall forever* Apparently the way Burnham thinks we get parity of esteem is by saying vocational quals are for non-academic kids.
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Louise, Prof/Dr @louiselocock.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
More evidence that the land beneath solar panels can be used productively
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The Whimsical Muse @whimsicalmuse.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Every time that you use an Oxford comma, you're doing your part to make the world beautiful, meaningful, and understandable.
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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
These guys are protesting about 'groups of fighting age men threatening local areas'. You've got to admire the irony.
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Scottish Post-Punk @scotspostpunk.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Meanwhile in Leith Links Allotments… youtu.be/mbAyj1h9vI0?...
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Celeste Headlee @celesteheadlee.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
So, Banksy bought a used yacht, repaired it and retrofitted it to serve as a rescue boat to save migrants in the central Mediterranean. The whole project cost the artist $860,000. Since 2020, the boat has saved more than 3,800 people. londondaily.com/banksy-funds...
londondaily.com
Banksy funds refugee rescue boat operating in Mediterranean - London Daily
Exclusive: UK artist finances bright pink motor yacht that set sail in secrecy to avoid being intercepted by authorities
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Dan Snow @thehistoryguy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
England is a made up thing. It has no basis in the ineluctable laws of nature. Its extent is defined by Edward II getting his arse handed to him. Athelstan conquering York. The Welsh of Cumbria were incorporated, the Welsh of Gwynedd were not. It is a political idea, an aspiration - not taxonomy.
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Dan Snow @thehistoryguy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
You know who else was obsessed with dancing around on the pinheads of imagined classifications based on where great grandparents were born and what they believed? The Nazis.
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Dan Snow @thehistoryguy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Those absolute head bangers have convinced themselves that Churchill, King Charles, Henry V and Brunel aren’t proper English. Robert the Bruce isn’t Scottish. They are modern phrenologists. They spend the weekend working out what George Best was.
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Ebony Oaten @writerebony.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
The ‘problem’ with UBI is that about 10% of the population will be so angry that ‘undeserving’ people will get it. They’re so fragile, the only way they can feel good is if someone is doing worse than them. UBI works. It helps the economy. It’s the rising tide that lifts all boats.
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Scott Santens @scottsantens.com · 31/12/2024
Added two more pieces of evidence today that show how good Universal Basic Income is for health and how it can save us a lot of money that's otherwise spent extremely expensively on emergency care instead of much less costly prevention. Think of UBI as a vaccine. www.scottsantens.com/universal-ba...
scottsantens.com
Universal Basic Income as the Social Vaccine of the 21st Century
Can the savings of basic income exceed the costs? > “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” — Benjamin Franklin [https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/247269-an-ounce-of-prevention-is-worth-...
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Dr Robert Bohan @robertbohan.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Some people are truly horrible in their stupidity. Loughcrew has some of the most powerful megalithic art - the vandalism is an attack on Ireland & the world Prehistoric cemetery at Loughcrew 'seriously vandalised' by blunt force and graffiti
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Prehistoric cemetery at Loughcrew 'seriously vandalised' by blunt force and graffiti
Loughcrew is one of four main passage tomb cemeteries in the country.
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Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Thousands of university jobs lost too, and barely a peep either.
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Lots of talk of growth ahead of the Budget, as if it were a baroque puzzle. Our problem is basic. It's that we no longer support the things which facilitate growth: Europe, immigration, higher education, tax simplification, policy stability. These are all choices and could stop making them anytime.
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Musicology Duck @musicologyduck.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I have not responded to the email that you sent me and which you probably spent awhile writing Forgive me it was so long and my executive functioning is completely shot
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👻 Jack Djinn Wail 🧞 @jacktindale.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Unless he’s raising an army in the Spanish Netherlands and claim the throne for himself with support of France and the Habsburg powers, this should not be leading the BBC headlines for the third day in a row. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Earl Spencer tells BBC Harry and Meghan's media treatment echoes what happened to Diana
Princess Diana's brother says she was "really brought low by all that criticism" and he saw her in "tears of despair".
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Dr Jo Kershaw @mthrjo.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
It is a bit of an indictment of Labour that Sunak is more willing to call out this poisonous rubbish for what it is than they seem to be.
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Little Green Space @lgspace.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
A single 400-year-old ancient oak produces 234,000 litres of oxygen a year while soaking up carbon dioxide, and can support more than 2,000 species of bird, insect, fungus, and lichen. Nature is amazing - we need more of it, not less. Please repost if you agree 🌳
Mature oak trees with bare branches in an autumn woodland
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Jonathan Hopkin @jonathanhopkin.eurosky.social · 18/09/2026
If Burnham can’t stand up for the best people in our society what the hell is the point of him
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Mike Melton @mikemelton.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Cedar Waxwing with a serviceberry for #BirdsWithBerries #Birdoftheday #birds #nature
A brown bird with a black eye mask holds a small pink berry in its beak while perched among leafy branches.
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Gina Neff @ginasue.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
There is something off about this NYT photo on AI development that I can't quite put my finger on.
A screenshot, all dudes.
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New-Cleckit Dominie @ncdominie.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
So are we now going to be forced to endure weird far-right reenactments of all the other Ealing comedies too? Not especially looking forward to Closed Hearts and Coronets, The Ladykillers Are All Foreigners, or The White Man In The Suit.
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Michelle says: Be kind. Always. ❤️ @snarkysillysad.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
@adam_franks shares 2 good Samaritans rescuing a stuck eagle: #AGoodPlace
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Richard Chambers @newschambers.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Breaking: Donald Trump says “I’d love to see Ireland unified…. I think it would be a great thing. How could it be bad?” Oh my word.
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 12/09/2026
This is the world JK Rowling helped create. This is what Harry Potter is funding. All the legal challenges to enforce this regime are backed by Rowling and her Harry Potter money.
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Dee Lomas @deelomas.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The RNLI volunteer has told us that donations usually run at £20,000 per day. Currently running at £100,000 per day! Bloody brilliant!
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Courtney Love Lies Bleeding 🫦 @hexadecibelle.fyi · 12/09/2026
im really hoping this is the end of the “trans man gotcha” argument. people didn’t listen to trans men when they asked us all to stop it, but this should bring the reality into sharp fucking focus.
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
"Women are TOO EMOTIONAL to be president!!!!!"
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Dan Kaszeta FRHistS @dankaszeta.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
“The pogrom had bad intelligence” is really a bad stance for a Labour MP to take
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Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Excellent by @paulnowaktuc.bsky.social on Mahmood's settlement proposals “You end up with Reform claiming a woman born in Somalia who's lived here most of her life, worked hard and contributed to our society,somehow isn’t fit to hold elected office.” www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
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Heather Stewart @guardianheather.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
“The idea that you could be here for the next 10, 15 years and you’d still have no legal right to remain in the country … how the hell do you plan?..It cuts across any effort to integrate at all.” www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
‘Fundamentally unfair’: Burnham must overhaul migration reforms, says TUC general secretary
Paul Nowak says changes to immigration rules risk overstretching social care and fuelling far-right sentiment
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Alasdair Mackenzie @alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
If a lEgiTiMaTe dEbATe aBOut iMMigRaTioN leads to people turning up with pitchforks to demand credentials from every group of young non-white men arriving in town, you’d think even Labour MPs would start asking themselves if it’s really a legitimate debate
Amanda Martin, Labour MP for Portsmouth North, called the hotel incident "deeply concerning".
She said: "It's completely unacceptable that misinformation has led to young cricketers visiting our city being wrongly targeted and mistaken for people seeking asylum.
"It's also wrong that people who work in the hotels had to deal with this.
"Those who arrived in Portsmouth on Sunday were transported outside of Hampshire for processing.
"There is a legitimate debate to be had about immigration, but it must be based on facts not misinformation or rumour."
The BBC understands the England and Wales Cricket Board has checked on wellbeing of the Pakistani under-19s team, and is reviewing security arrangements for the remainder of their tour.
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John Martin🇪🇺🔶 #FBPPR 👩‍❤️‍👨+👫🐶 Rtd🚒 #GetPRDone @itsjohnmartin.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/s... Considering many Leave voters voted to leave the EU because they wanted to stop Asians coming here. I’m not in the least bit surprised by this story.
theguardian.com
Protesters outside Portsmouth hotel confuse Pakistan U19 cricket team for asylum seekers
Anti-immigration protesters gathered outside a Portsmouth hotel were forced to cancel their demonstration after discovering the Pakistan Under-19 cricket team rather than a group of asylum seekers wer...
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