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Liz Ashdowne

@lizashdowne.bsky.social
314 followers 311 following 804 posts

I know my library card number off by heart. She/her

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Reposted by Liz Ashdowne
Teaching with my eyes shut @eyesshutteacher.bsky.social · 6h
So here’s my challenge for you: Look at the environments you can influence. What can you change to make it more inclusive? Can a parent in a wheelchair visit easily? Can the lights be improved for everyone especially those with sensory processing issues? Is your floor free of trip risks?
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Richard Smyth @rsmythfreelance.bsky.social · 13h
People who describe Parkrun as a "fun run" have never seen my six-year-old when he sees a boy from his class just ahead of him.
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Liz Ashdowne @lizashdowne.bsky.social · 11h
Took less than 2 minutes to vote, using the link in my emails.
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Bethan M Jenkins @gwenynen.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Solved!! Right inuff by Tom Leonard. Well done everybody!
right inuff
ma language is disgraceful ma maw tellt mi ma teacher tellt mi thi doactir tellt mi thi priest tellt mi
ma boss tellt mi
ma landlady in carrington street tellt mi thi lassie ah tried tay get aff way in 1969 tellt mi sum wee smout thit thoat ah hudny read chomsky tellt mi a calvinist communist thit thoat ah wuz revisionist tellt mi po-faced literati grimly kerryin thi burden a thi past tellt mi po-faced literati grimly kerryin thi burden a thi future tellt mi ma wife tellt mi jist-tay-get-inty-this-poem tellt mi ma wainz came hame fray school an tellt mi jist aboot ivry book ah oapnd tellt mi
even thi introduction tay thi Scottish National Dictionary tellt mi
ach well
all livin language is sacred fuck thi lohta thim.
—Tom
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Mark Berry @boulezian.eurosky.social · 03/10/2026
Please, if you have a vote on Thursday, vote for Zack. Whatever progress ‘Labour’ has shown, ditching Starmer included, has happened not because people have suddenly found their inner conscience , but because of pressure from the left: from the Greens, PC, SNP: all of us. Don’t give up now.
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Lee Hurley @hleehurley.com · 03/10/2026
I implore all cis people to read this.
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Gef the Toking Mongoose @geftokingmongoose.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
God this shit was cool as fuck
Still from the movie Jurassic Park showing a raptor with genetic code projected onto it
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Liz Ashdowne @lizashdowne.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
This is great. Chipping Norton extension when, please?
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Louie Stowell @louiestowell.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It's friday! Time for the weekly good news thread! What's made you smile this week? What's brought some light into your life? ME? Someone sent me a video of their kid reading Loki and talking about their favourite bits! Makes all the deadline madness feel worth it. What's YOUR news?
Randomly selected illustration from Loki book five, which wasn't the book the kid was reading but I happened to have it handy. It shows Vinir the elf (in vaguely mortal form but with elf ears) blasting Loki into the air with his magic wand. Loki looks shocked. Vinir is yelling, "I TOLD YOU TO TAKE MY FATHER'S NAME OUT OF YOUR FILTHY MOUTH"
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Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 02/10/2026
Ground Effect xkcd.com/3305/
Comic. [Two people flailing high in the air. Three people on the ground running ahead of them. Arrows and a dotted line indicate that this second group is within roughly one body length of the surface.] [caption] The “ground effect” explains why sprinters can run most efficiently if they stay within roughly one body length of the surface.
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Jamie Smart @jamiesmart.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
✨A WILD HERO SLAM EXPANSION PACK APPEARS!✨ HERO SLAM: CURSE OF THE CAT DEMON is out TODAY! Includes LOADS of new heroes, new sidequests, a brand new imp, and the most TERRIBLE VILLAIN EVER FACED! ⚔️Mix your heroes together with the original game (required) and send them off on brand new adventures!
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Reposted by Liz Ashdowne
Paul Blinkhorn @paulblinkhorn.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Look peasants, just because you spent hours + £££ getting tickets doesn't mean you can see the Bayeux Tapestry. Some people FAR richer and more important are having a look. What? No, of COURSE they didn't have to queue up or buy a ticket or pay for a hotel + train fare, only oiks like you do that
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Scottish Book Trust @scottishbooktrust.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
It's the start of October so that means we've launched our new Book of the Month giveaways! We have some great titles this month, so enter now for a chance to win. www.scottishbooktrust.com/book-of-the-...
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I've been a member of the lobby for well over a decade. Not a single one of my lobby colleagues has said a word about the Conservatives banning me from their conferences, without any explanation. Contrast with the US where even Fox News stood in solidarity when Trump banned news outlets he disliked
bylinetimes.com
Kemi Badenoch's Conservatives Block Byline Times From Conference After Condemning Reform for Journalist Ban
The ban comes just weeks after the Conservative leader called Reform's barring of critical journalists from their conference an "authoritarian" attack on the free press
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Daniel Benneworth-Gray @danielgray.com · 30/09/2026
Yet another example of why search and chatbottery are, and should be, two completely different things.
sancho.bearblog.dev
When did Google get so f-ing weird?
I recently had an experience while doing a simple Google search that was so profoundly weird that it stopped me in my tracks. Understanding this Google se...
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MiMi Aye @meemalee.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
static.klipy.com
Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head
Alt: The 10th Doctor (played by David Tennant), standing in the rain, looking sad
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
It’s a mark of the corruption of our whole way of thinking about the world that trying to meet a planetary emergency is routinely described as “ideological”, while continuing to accelerate it is presented as “pragmatic” and “economic”.
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Alom Shaha @alomshaha.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
But apparently we should be digging up more coal and oil and burning then as quickly as possible. All the hype around Burnham‘s speech yesterday but no mention of climate change?
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Owen Michael @owenwmichael.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Was late this year having been in the hall but heard some great speeches Kate Osborne: Re conversion therapy: "This legislation is vital and those handing out leaflets at our conference should be ashamed of themselves for wanting to give a free pass to abuse" bsky.app/profile/labo...
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Dr Katie Twomey @k2mey.eurosky.social · 28/09/2026
This is quite cool. My university is the first organisation in the world to force Microsoft to allow us to turn off copilot summaries in Word 365, after a backlash against it from staff (including, very vocally, me). That cannot have been easy for our heroic IT people so hats very much off to them!
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Eoghan Daltun 🌍 @irishrainforest.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
A green lacewing gracing my window. Can you imagine life without wild nature? It would be dull, lifeless, empty.
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Ryan @ryanwright.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This is how I remember the order of Henry VIII’s wives.
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Andrew Sharpe 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿|🇪🇺 @andrew.sharpe.scot · 26/09/2026
The BBC is part of the problem...
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It's Pipes, Mum! Pipes is here! @scriblit.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
*blackadder theme* His head is bigger than a fence He breathes, and everything gets warmer His urge to trample represents A nation's nuclear war trauma Godzilla! Godzilla! The scourge of beast and man! Godzilla! Godzilla! He's flattening Japan!
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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
“A unique voice, tone and heart.” Everything Will Swallow You has been chosen as one of the top ten paperback releases so far of 2026 by this week’s Bookseller Magazine. Free international delivery here in case you’ve not got yours yet: blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/pro...
A round up of the year’s best paperbacks, beginning with my latest novel.
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Sara Gibbs @sararoseg.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
He imposed Shania Law
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Liz Ashdowne @lizashdowne.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This!
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Liz Ashdowne @lizashdowne.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
But Not the Hippopotamus by Sandra Boynton and It's a Little Book by Lane Smith were big favourites for us in the early days.
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Richy Craven @richycraven.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
For most of the year, I treat spiders in the house like they're a house mate's boyfriend: I'm not thrilled to have them there but I don't really care as long as they don't try get into the shower with me. Then September rolls around and every spider turns into Kramer from Seinfeld.
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Oxford Clarion @oxfordclarion.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Clarion correspondent is on a train south from Oxford and can confirm the trains are running as they normally do. That is- crowded, with unreliable WiFi, relentlessly cheery staff and someone having a loud conversation in the quiet carriage. #BacktoNormal
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Liz Ashdowne @lizashdowne.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Anakin and Padme meme:
Anakin: You've got tickets for the men's Edgbaston test next summer.
Padme (laughing): For days 1-3, right?
Anakin: *smirks*
Padme (concerned): For days 1-3, right?
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Reposted by Liz Ashdowne
Chaucer Doth Tweet @levostregc.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
It ys tyme for Tulip skeptics to face some difficulte trouthes. Tulips are the waye of the future. Yf you do not invest yn Tulips you are way behinde. Yf you do not teache your children about Tulips thei will not be able to compete on the jobbe market. Onlye Luddites dislyke Tulips.
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Liz Ashdowne @lizashdowne.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
What scene makes you emotional no matter how many times you see it?
static.klipy.com
Disney Moana: The Call Is Inside Me
Alt: Moana singing "And the call isn't out there at all it's inside me" as a fleet of ghostly ships sail past her.
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Rory Blank @roryblank.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Embedded in any kind of claim that the future of art is AI generated work and you'll be left behind if you don't get onboard with it, is the idea that at some point in time there will only be one acceptable medium and aesthetic that audiences will be interested in, which has never been true before
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John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 09/09/2026
Also, why is this basically written up as "quirky crowd make an embarrassing mistake" and not "violent racists form mob because Asian people use hotel"?
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Charles Fourier @charlesfourier.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Bill Bryson’s words seem appropriate to post right now
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Liz Ashdowne @lizashdowne.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I've donated! And also bought some lovely Christmas cards from the RNLI online shop. shop.rnli.org/collections/...
shop.rnli.org
Christmas Cards | RNLI Shop
Every purchase of our charity Christmas cards from the RNLI makes a lifesaving difference. The profits will help to prevent tragedies at sea for years to come.
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Reposted by Liz Ashdowne
Rhodri Marsden @rhodri.biz · 08/09/2026
It won’t stop these reprehensible, cowardly pieces of shit attacking the RNLI, but here is a handy link to donate rnli.org/support-us/g...
rnli.org
Donate to the RNLI and help save lives at sea
Your donations really make a difference. We depend on your generosity to educate people to stay safe and prevent tragedies on and offshore. Donate here.
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Political Cartoon Gallery @politicalcartoon.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Ben Jennings @BJennings90 on the far-right disturbances in Dover and Portsmouth @Guardian – political cartoon gallery in London original-political-cartoon.com
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Bevis Musson @bevismusson.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
RT if you've never had a tab of ChatGPT open, period.
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soleil 🌷🌻🪻 @soleilplaysgames.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
a zoomed out version of the first pic to really show just how GIANT this quilt is!! Carol St. Clair Johnson, you will be written about in my diary today!
Carol St. Clair Johnson's NM State Fair ribbon quilt hanging in the Smithsonian. Screenshot from a 2025 article on KOB4 by Griffin Rushton
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Bionic Laura @bioniclaura.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Funny this thread came up today as I had to drop everything and go to the school to get a sick kid. But because I don't 'work' I could do that.
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Damon Young @damonyoung.com.au · 04/09/2026
This Finnish guy has been teaching himself Sumerian, and sent a cuneiform tablet to the British Museum to check his progress. They just emailed him that they've sent him something in the post. I'm now thrilled and excited for a total stranger! Clay tablet mail! www.reddit.com/r/Cuneiform/...
a photo of a hand holding a cuneiform tablet
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Goodnews @goodnews.computer · 04/09/2026
Take a break from being depressed that everything you love is being destroyed by slop for a moment and let me tell you about the beautiful symbiotic relationship between graffiti writers, train yard workers, and model train enthusiasts.
A hand holding a model train with a replica of the same graffiti on the full scale train car behind it.A model train with two graffiti pieces on opposite sides.
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sianushka.bsky.social @sianushka.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
“Protecting our women” This footage is genuinely distressing
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Richard Smyth @rsmythfreelance.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
In June 1934 the British Union of Fascists - the Blackshirts - staged a rally at the Olympia in London. One protestor after another was singled out and beaten up by the crowd. Here's how Ronald Blythe described it.
Description of the BUF Olympia rally, at which a series of hecklers were violently attacked by Blackshirts. The sadism, Blythe writes, reached "an erotic intensity". Stanley Baldwin's private secretary expressed shock and dismay: "It was a deeply shocking scene for an Englishman to see in London."
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Stéphanie says… 🏴‍☠️🦈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @stephaniejane.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Well @unison.org.uk , it looks like you’re prepared to ‘talk the talk’, but not ‘walk the walk’. Less than 3 months ago, you were professing your ‘commitment’ to trans people and their rights, but have now capitulated the moment that ‘commitment’ was tested. Doesn’t take much, does it? Bravo 👏👏👏
UNISON
UNISON @unison.org.uk
UNISON commits to defending trans rights and trans workers
Conference hears how the impact of the draft
EHRC guidance is already being felt by trans workers. #ulgc26
unison.org.uk/news/2026/06...
Vote
ALT
15:32 • 15 Jun 2026 89 Some people can replyUNISON commits to defending trans rights and trans workers
Date posted: 15 June 2026
Written by
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UNISON editorial team
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Delegates at UNISON's local government conference passed a landmark motion titled 'defending trans, non-binary and gender diverse rights in local government workplaces, with passionate speeches drawing repeated applause from the conference floor and not a single vote cast against the motion.
The debate came amid growing concern over the impact of recent Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) guidance and what many delegates described as a broader political attack on trans rights and equality protections.
Speakers warned that if the EHRC's proposals become embedded in law, the consequences for trans and gender diverse workers across local government could be profound. "If this guidance is allowed to harden into law, the consequences for our members will be severe," delegates heard.
The impact of the draft guidance is already being felt by trans workers.
"We're already seeing issues on whether trans people can safely access facilities they've been using for years, without any issue," one speaker said. "It means having to out yourself every time you need to use the loo. It means fear. Work is already difficult enough.
Like us, they face high workloads, poor pay and stress. But now they're being politically targeted in the workplace."UNISON
The conference heard repeated arguments that the debate extends far beyond questions of facilities and access.
"These attacks are never really about toilets, are they?" said one speaker. "They are about policing bodies. They're about rolling back equality rights!"
Delegates warned that any weakening of protections for trans people would ultimately threaten rights for wider groups of workers.
Several speakers delivered fierce criticisms of the
EHRC guidance itself, describing it as an unprecedented rollback of rights. One delegate characterised the proposals as "institutionalised transphobia across public institutions", highlighting that they would exclude trans women from spaces and services available to others, while legitimising intrusive questioning about a person's sex.
"We are more than our bodies. Cis women aren't defined by their wombs any more than anybody else, or by their ability to give birth.!"
The speaker argued that the issue formed part of a wider assault on equality protections. "This attack isn't really an attack on our sexual identity. It's part of a wider war. It's an attack on all our equalities. As a cis woman, my rights aren't undermined by my trans colleagues. They're undermined by the politicians who closed down the nurseries, by the bosses who maintain the gender pay gap, and by the far-right bigots who try to divide us.!"
The debate concluded with a call for employers to move beyond minimum legal compliance and actively defend trans, non-binary and gender diverse workers.
"Trans people should not have to fight for their right to exist peacefully when they clock in," conference heard.
The policy was carried unanimously, with no delegates voting against it.
Opposing the EHRC guidance: we need your voice
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Alan Stedman @alanjstedman.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Can't remember a graphic having such a visual impact as this one with regard to speed of change in public health that has been managed by a politician You might have to go back to changes in water supply in the 19th Century and vaccinations will have had similar impact, but this is pure politics
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Dave @davejnick.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
It's arrived today! @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social
My copy of 'Curious Events Lately Occurring In This Neighbourhood' by the brilliant Tom Cox, which the postie delivered today.
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Liz Ashdowne @lizashdowne.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
This is the sort of thing that I would have been all over if I'd spotted it as a child in the Jorvik gift shop. As it is, I've pre-ordered it from Amberley Press (link in quoted post).
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