Gemma Bristow @konallis.bsky.social · 17hThere's an eccentric older lady around town who embraces random people on the street and starts talking to them. I met her today, and in between telling me her life story, she asked very direct questions about mine: Her: You got a husband? Me: No. Her: You got a mother? Me: No. 110
Reposted by Gemma BristowTerri Windling @terriwindling.bsky.social · 23/09/2026This one goes immediately onto my Reading List. The book has a great theme (stories in honour of Ursula Le Guin), a great editor, and an sterling list of contributors. 1219
Reposted by Gemma BristowEmma Yeomans @yeomans.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Worrying scenes in the Channel today, for all interested in asylum policy and maritime tactics. A small boat from Normandy spent more than 30 hours at sea. Those on board now on their 2nd rescue vessel as Border Force forced to play cat and mouse with far-right activists who have their own boat. 1042174958
Gemma Bristow @konallis.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Recent films: The Dog Stars. Post-apocalyptic drama based on the novel by Peter Heller (which I haven't read). Likeable leads but would have benefited from a stronger plot. It included a lot of familiar PA tropes and was slow-paced for a mainstream film, while not being arty enough to work... 110
Reposted by Gemma BristowThe Guardian @theguardian.com · 20/09/2026Reαd carefully: how to spot – and avoid – a homoglyph attacktheguardian.comReαd carefully: how to spot – and avoid – a homoglyph attackScam emails are increasingly using psychological tricks, such as using near-identical URLs such as miсrosoft.com 69336
Reposted by Gemma BristowNick Harkaway @nickharkaway.com · 19/09/2026I’ve worn a grubby RNLI cap for decades. I sound London, but I was born in Truro and I was a basically feral (Gen X) kid wandering the coast path with a dog until sunset for a lot of my early life. The lifeboats are in the fabric like trawlers and farms and pasties and fish and chips. 341531329
Gemma Bristow @konallis.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Who doesn't remember where they were the day the mile-high dog attacked Pisa? 1204
Gemma Bristow @konallis.bsky.social · 18/09/2026#FridayReads Unraveller by Frances Hardinge. YA fantasy set in a world in which cursing is the most feared of crimes. As usual with Hardinge, detailed world-building and a complex plot. 110
Reposted by Gemma BristowNicola Kelly @nicolakellywrites.bsky.social · 17/09/2026I have spent weeks shadowing the RNLI and I can tell you, they do it out of nothing more than compassion. Wrote about the heroes I've met over the years in this free-to-read post. nicolakelly.substack.com/p/the-rnli-a...nicolakelly.substack.comThe RNLI aren't traitors; they're heroesI have spent weeks shadowing lifeboat crews. Here's what they do and what it's like. 341504485
Reposted by Gemma BristowThe Guardian @theguardian.com · 16/09/2026Previously unseen Tove Jansson drawings to go on show in Londontheguardian.comPreviously unseen Tove Jansson drawings to go on show in LondonExclusive: Exhibition focussing on Finnish writer and artist’s illustrations will include original art from her first Moomins book The Moomin books about lovable trolls with hippopotamus snouts who live in harmony with nature are a global publishing phenomenon, having sold up to 30m copies since the Finnish artist and writer Tove Jansson wrote and illustrated them between 1945 and 1977. Now previously unseen drawings of her eccentric characters will be among more than 100 exhibits in a major exhibition that is being staged in London 25 years after her death. Continue reading... 0367
Gemma Bristow @konallis.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Modernists: this list includes the first (and penultimate) issue of Blast. 010
Gemma Bristow @konallis.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Harriet Quimby, the first woman to fly solo across the English Channel, is probably less well known than she ought to be. What's really overlooked is that she made the journey in only two-thirds of a plane. 120
Reposted by Gemma BristowThe Guardian @theguardian.com · 14/09/2026‘The eye-gouging was very, very satisfying’: how we made cave horror classic The Descenttheguardian.com‘The eye-gouging was very, very satisfying’: how we made cave horror classic The Descent‘The child crawler whose head I crush with my boot was only 11, bless him. It was actually me stamping on a cauliflower’ 8269
Gemma Bristow @konallis.bsky.social · 14/09/2026My (unpublished) YA historical novel, set partly in King's Lynn, mentions these merchant houses with elaborately carved columns at the door. 140
Reposted by Gemma BristowLouise, Prof/Dr @louiselocock.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Oh blimey, here we go again. Time to vote in the National Trust AGM to keep so-called 'Restore Trust' off the council. Use the quick vote to ensure we don't split the anti-Restore vote. Or.... 1/2 www.nationaltrust.org.uk/who-we-are/a...nationaltrust.org.ukAnnual General MeetingYour Annual General Meeting will take place online and in person on Saturday 7th November 2026 at the STEAM Museum, Swindon. 23314237
Reposted by Gemma BristowThe Guardian @theguardian.com · 13/09/2026The end times fascists are plotting their escape from our world. Our mission is clear | Naomi Klein and Astra Taylortheguardian.comThe end times fascists are plotting their escape from our world. Our mission is clear | Naomi Klein and Astra TaylorAn unholy alliance is working toward an apocalyptic future from which only a chosen few will emerge unscathed. It’s becoming clear how we stop them 1211759
Reposted by Gemma BristowSunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 12/09/2026The UK now needs to introduce political spending limits across a parliament, not just for election campaign years. Otherwise, its election spending rules could fall over. Current rules: parties have a limit (about £34m) for 12 months before an election - but no limits outside the 12 month period. 11443138
Reposted by Gemma BristowRobert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 12/09/2026A serious democratic society simply cannot allow this. That's £72 million from just two men. (Both, until lately, based overseas). The average UK earner (full-time) would have to work for over 1,800 years to raise that much. It's a nuclear strike on any pretence at the equality of political power 431410562
Reposted by Gemma BristowSimon Knott @simonknott.bsky.social · 12/09/2026Inside the brilliant Culture House, Sunderland, which opened this morning. Four floors of libraries, galleries, arts and science labs, screens, performance spaces, children's discovery spaces and the archive centre, not to mention cafés and a sky garden! 663259508
Reposted by Gemma BristowMark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 11/09/2026This is a really good piece.apple.newsThe Falling Man — EsquireDo you remember this photograph? In the United States, people have taken pains to banish it from the record of September 11, 2001. The story behind it, though, and the search for the man pictured in i... 3529196
Reposted by Gemma BristowMan in Business Suit Levitating @dfeldman.org · 11/09/2026Just in case you ever have impostor syndrome, remember that in 2011, workers at Los Alamos National Laboratory brought six kilograms of plutonium together to take a picture to show their management. The amount was enough to start a chain nuclear reaction if they had been slightly closer. 351149356
Gemma Bristow @konallis.bsky.social · 11/09/2026* Of course science and maths degrees are hugely valuable * Humanities and arts are hugely valuable too, not only for applied knowledge but, more broadly, for transferable skills like critical analysis * We're living in a historical moment in which the dangers of lacking the latter are plain 151
Reposted by Gemma BristowThe Guardian @theguardian.com · 10/09/2026‘That was all secret’: the ‘gay mole’ who fought the BBC to show the first queer kiss on kids’ TVtheguardian.com‘That was all secret’: the ‘gay mole’ who fought the BBC to show the first queer kiss on kids’ TVEveryone thinks Byker Grove broke the taboo in 1994, but another teen drama got there first. Here’s the astonishing story of Two of Us, which put a gay relationship on UK screens – and was the original Heartstopper 3397
Reposted by Gemma BristowBLPublishing @blpublishing.bsky.social · 10/09/2026A mouth-watering feast of crime fiction, including stories of mushroom murders, brown bread spread with bacillus botulinus, and tales in which the identity of killers is proved by a purchase of fillet steak or an inexpert knowledge of fine wines. Eat Drink and Be Murdered is out today. 2106
Reposted by Gemma BristowInternational Journal of Young Adult Literature @ijyalnews.bsky.social · 09/09/2026The International Journal of Young Adult Literature (IJYAL) is happy to announce that it is accepting abstracts for a special section on “The Visual Cultures of Romance: Seeing Desire, Reading Relationship” until 30 Sep 2026! For details, see ijyal.ac.uk/cfpijyal.ac.ukCall for Papers | The International Journal of Young Adult Literature 102
Reposted by Gemma BristowOpportunity Green @opportunitygreen.org · 09/09/2026✈️ €10.9bn in free carbon allowances went to European airlines between 2013 and 2025. How much did they spend on decarbonisation? Just €1bn. So where did the rest go? 🧵 154
Reposted by Gemma BristowNew Books at Project Gutenberg @new.gutenberg.org · 07/09/2026New #ebook at Project Gutenberg: Some imagist poets: 1917 by Richard Aldington and Various www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/79529 011
Reposted by Gemma BristowAlexander Martin @alexmartin.bsky.social · 07/09/2026AI has done plenty for my “politicians being daft about technology” scrapbook, but nothing will ever beat the debate in 1924 when MPs grilled the government over “the invention known as the death ray.” One MP asked: “Are the Government taking steps to prevent the use of this diabolical device?”api.parliament.ukAIR "DEATH RAY." (Hansard, 22 May 1924)AIR "DEATH RAY." (Hansard, 22 May 1924) 264
Reposted by Gemma BristowJohn Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 08/09/2026Excellent thread - liberal democracy needs unabashed defenders right now, and we are basically letting it die through social embarrassment. 15554155
Gemma Bristow @konallis.bsky.social · 07/09/2026Good response to last weekend's poorly-informed, ableist opinion piece in @telegraph.co.uk. As someone with a chronic diagnosis (thankfully in remission), the idea that I wouldn't want to feel better because illness is my 'identity' signals a basic lack of understanding of physical reality. 140
Reposted by Gemma BristowRobert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 03/09/2026If I were a party strategist, I'd keep hammering at Reform's money. This isn't some "people's army". It's a party owned and paid for by some of the richest people on the planet, which is awash with cash but can't find "British resident donors that would support us". www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXut...youtube.comUndercover: Exposing Reform's secret donations plotYouTube video by Channel 4 News 722567
Gemma Bristow @konallis.bsky.social · 03/09/2026In a triumph of geek knowledge, I was able to answer the pub quiz question 'What is the name of the edge of a flag nearest to the flagpole?' purely from having seen The Big Bang Theory. (Specifically, one of the episodes featuring Sheldon's podcast 'Fun with Flags'.) 250
Reposted by Gemma BristowAuschwitz Memorial @auschwitzmemorial.bsky.social · 03/09/20263 September 1944 | The last transport of Jews left #Westerbork camp in the German-occupied #Netherlands to the #Auschwitz camp. 1,019 people were deported, among them Anne Frank, her sister Margot and their parents Otto and Edith. #AnneFrank 12378141
Reposted by Gemma BristowPhil Brickell MP @philbrickellmp.bsky.social · 10/04/2026The Telegraph just gave a convicted criminal a two-page spread to explain why he's pumping £4 million into Reform UK. They tucked his criminal record away in the small print. So as a former financial crime specialist I’ll do their job for them👇telegraph.co.ukYou are seeing this page because our security systems have detected some unusual activity on this connection. To regain access to The Telegraph website please try the following: 361356800
Reposted by Gemma BristowKatharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 02/09/2026I am a scientist – and the answer is climate change. Yes, there is nuance. Yes, it could take a long time to identify the precise mechanisms. But there is no question why ice and snow-related disasters are on the rise. Our planet is warming at an unprecedented rate, and humans are responsible. 392327824
Gemma Bristow @konallis.bsky.social · 30/08/2026Make your favourite film sound as boring as possible: Theological debate disrupts a popular community theatre production. 110
Reposted by Gemma BristowAndrew Frayn @afrayn.bsky.social · 28/08/2026I'm organising a Remembrance Lecture on Mon 9 November at Edinburgh Napier's Craiglockhart Campus- as a War Hospital, this was where Wilfred Owen & Siegfried Sassoon met. This year David Goldie will talk about Scottish Poetry of the First World War. Register: forms.cloud.microsoft/e/MTEHXf41Mf 14325
Reposted by Gemma BristowPeter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 27/08/2026🔴 UK politics is bankrolled by the super rich. Andy Burnham promised to restore trust in politics - so why is he is ditching plans to cap mega donors? My latest on why the PM's timidity is bad retail politics *and* bad for British democracy democracyforsale.substack.com/p/burnham-is...democracyforsale.substack.comBurnham is failing his first big test as PMThe prime minister has the chance to end the power of the super-rich in British politics – he’s not taking it 43432216
Reposted by Gemma BristowJosiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 27/08/2026 I've written a big-ish piece on the rollout of plug-in solar in Britain, and some important facts being left out of nearly all coverage (I couldn't resist, sorry...) bylinetimes.com/2026/08/27/t...bylinetimes.comThe Small Print Ministers Left Out of the Plug-In Solar AnnouncementA single company currently holds a monopoly on compliant devices, and planning restrictions, renter protections and grid registration rules have barely been mentioned 11259123
Reposted by Gemma BristowSam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 27/08/2026New immigration stats show that the numbers of asylum seekers in hotels is down to 16k - falling 50% in a year. Small boat crossings down 23% in the year to June. Numbers waiting for initial decision down from almost 180k to 40k. 771328545
Reposted by Gemma BristowKatharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 26/08/2026Glaciers in the Himalayas are rapidly retreating under climate change, leading to widespread formation and expansion of glacial lakes and increasing the risk of glacial lake outburst floods. To date, more than 388 GLOF events have been documented in the region 😰 Source ⬇️nature.comGlacial lakes and GLOFs in a warming Himalaya-Karakoram region: current understanding, challenges, and the way forward - npj Natural Hazardsnpj Natural Hazards - Glacial lakes and GLOFs in a warming Himalaya-Karakoram region: current understanding, challenges, and the way forward 26919509
Reposted by Gemma BristowGuardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com · 27/08/2026What caused the catastrophic flash flood in Nepal and Tibet – and how does a glacier collapse?theguardian.comWhat caused the catastrophic flash flood in Nepal and Tibet – and how does a glacier collapse?Did a massive glacial collapse in the Himalayas trigger the disaster and is climate change involved? Flash floods that swept through the Nepal-Tibet border region on Wednesday have left scores dead and more than 1000 people missing. Here’s what we know so far, and what likely caused the disaster. – with Reuters and Associated Press Continue reading... 32514
Reposted by Gemma BristowFrances Hardinge @franceshardinge.bsky.social · 27/08/2026TRAITORS' NEST has now been released into the wild! Teleporting castles, mysterious ancient entities, strange beasts, betrayal and revolution await! www.hive.co.uk/product/fran... www.amazon.co.uk/Traitors-Nes... www.waterstones.com/book/traitor...hive.co.uk 23115
Reposted by Gemma BristowSunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 26/08/2026One key to British politics is that one quarter of the public are distinctly more likely than others to think most people agree with them (while often/mostly being a vocal minority) 1111533
Reposted by Gemma BristowIan Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 26/08/2026If you worry alot about AI, China's Robot Olympics is here to reassure you that things are going to be OK. 9145493
Reposted by Gemma BristowJC @sonofhicks.bsky.social · 25/08/2026I just signed the campaign calling on the Government to save Freeview TV from being scrapped - will you join me? 38d.gs/2bjo38d.gsSave Our Freeview TVUnbelievable. The Government is threatening to switch off Freeview TV, forcing millions to pay for expensive broadband just to keep their telly. We have just days to force them to back down. Sign the petition and keep free TV free: 266
Gemma Bristow @konallis.bsky.social · 26/08/2026Fantasy Masterworks in the local book swap box! I enjoyed Powers' other entry in the series, the time paradox historical-literary fantasy The Anubis Gates. 010
Reposted by Gemma BristowBLPublishing @blpublishing.bsky.social · 26/08/2026Win Weird! See below for your chance to win some Tales of the Weird books (& checkout an excellent podcast/website - they have Sapphire & Steel T-shirts!) 1158