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Nicholas

@nicholasbenn.bsky.social
305 followers 146 following 1.2K posts

Yorkshireman, Verger and God-botherer bothered by God. Learning to live life One Day At a Time with love and gratitude. Unapologetically trans 🏳️‍⚧️ They/Them

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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 7h
Ipswich, and a friend becoming Vicar was utterly delightful, but my true joy was being back in London. It is hard to explain how much at home I felt. Also had the immense privilege of seeing my old boss and starting to make amends as best I can for my past - recovery continues to be surprising
Pargeting along a shopfront with a coat of arms of Charles IIReflection through a stained glass window at All Saints Kesgrave which throws multicoloured light onto nearby gravestones and churchyard A TfL Roundel marking High Street Kensington Blue skies with a hint of the orange incoming sunset, looking towards Green Park from Piccadilly
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Travel to Ipswich for the Installation and Licensing of a friend to their new parish. One of the people at the service turns out to have been on Church of England Youth Council with me back when we were both about 17 😅 CofE is far far too small, but sometimes wonderfully so
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museumsmith @museumsmith.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Biblically-accurate reading room:
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Glad to see Ely Cathedral even if only from the train in passing, and really must come back down this way soon to visit her properly. The guy on the opposite table to me is reading a book on Aquinas whilst I am doing some step work for my sponsor.
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Prof Janina Ramirez @drjaninaramirez.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I can finally reveal what I’ve been working on for over a year and a half! It’s BIG……💥💥💥💥💥
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gradientdescent @gradientdescent.net · 06/10/2026
boycott it so your trans friends don’t get a sick feeling in their stomach when they come over to your house for a party & see a stack of HP merch on your bookshelf, politely excuse themselves a bit early without saying anything, and then go home feeling just a little degraded
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
A colleague is looking at getting a second one made for us by a blacksmith friend so we don't have to keep moving ours around the building, but yes, hard to get hold of without spending a relatively large sum
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Very small world as ever!
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
What a throughly lovely day. So proud of a Vestry team who work together so well to deliver Sunday worship - we know one another so well it is easy to trust that everything has been or is being done, and to go home feeling like we helped others to worship well #tinyjoys
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Doing my testosterone shot the night before my planned leg day this morning was a terrible error 😅 0/10 would not recommend. Gym session has become chest and shoulders instead 🙃🏋‍♂️
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Steven (with a PH) @sjksalisbury.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Sat next to a crying baby for the entire flight. I don't mind though. Feel like they were the only other passenger who truly grasped the unnatural horror of our undertaking. Man does not belong to the sky. The real monsters are those who remain silent.
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Went back to the pub quiz we used to go to weekly until various changes of relationships, life, etc got in the way and honestly it was just so good to sit and chat and catch up. Came third which isn't too shabby, largely due to the knowledge of teammates!
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Whilst seeking employment post moving back to my parents during Covid I did a four day course around LEAN and all the associated acronyms in the interests of teaching us all how to be good employees. I had utterly forgotten it until now and feel like I have been activated as a sleeper cell somehow
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Robert Ramsay @robertramsay.org · 28/09/2026
I don't see how this is news.
Headline from the Fairfield story: "Men 'panicked' when they saw woman"
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I get to live in a beautiful place, I have taken part in both a funeral and a baptism within one week in ways that (hopefully) make space for others to enter into those moments. Sometimes have the remarkable privilege of leading hourly prayers or reading for services. Bafflingly Awesome
Sunset from Baile Hill on York City Walls
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Deeply satisfying weekend of just being able to plug in and get work stuff done and done well. After this month being tricky personally for various reasons it's been good to remember why I do what I do and I have so much gratitude for my team and the privilege of serving God in this way #tinyjoys
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Post payday buying train tickets for time off adventures has been incredibly satisfying - even managed to sneak in a cheeky day in my beloved London Town as I pass through ❤️ I am incredibly bad at time off historically - learning to use it well and for exciting and positive things is a joy #odaat
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I haven't checked my high school Wikipedia entry yet but I can only immediately recall Derek Ibbotson who was there alongside my grandad, Gordon Kaye, Ryan Sidebottom, and most excellently Rev'd Ronald Lancaster who made his name in pyrotechnics
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I may have to craft a cunning plan for tomorrow that may or may not involve pre-therapy appointment reading whilst acquiring items of pastry 😉
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Sometimes life is ridiculously lovely in thet you get to spend a day off sat watching the river in York, reading the new John Green book. And reflecting that the person I was in 2012 when I last read a fiction book by him would not for a second believe I get to be here doing this job in this place
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Recall trying to read it as a teenager exploring vocation knowing I was not hetero and suspecting I was trans. I got as far as the part that implies bi people are expected to form 'heterophile' relationships before I couldn't read any more. Later read the trans bits and *shudder*
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Over 700 chairs put back out ready for graduations, concerts and Advent - we are rolling through September at a very alarming pace! Also the first time I've worked for the reception of a coffin and it was a privilege to be part of it. Very much looking forward to a cup of tea when I get home ☕️
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Passing a colleague as they head to bed (night shift police) as I am heading to the gym before work feels absolutely baffling
The start of sunrise over Stonebow in York
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
When the Nationals come to town it would be rude to not go and watch section 2 and 1 right? Also making me want to pick up my cornet again after over a decade away 😅 I suspect my neighbours would disagree however...
A selection of brass instruments on an exhibitors standAn auditorium set up for brass contests
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Derbyshire carols coming out of hibernation for the season tonight - good to get back to some singing, some abysmal sightreading, and catching up with friends. Also enitre tangents ranging from Stardew Valley to Riverdale and Babylon 5 😅
The text for Joy to the World as sung in the village of FoolowThe music and text for Marshall, a village carol from Foolow
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Ah crap, Stephanie Cole has died.Time for her to go join Herc up where the planes always fly high and are made of gold. Cabin Pressure is going to be my gym soundtrack this weekend then
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The RBG mention made me smile, what a remarkable part of history and strong women
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Was trying to explain an interaction on social media to a colleague and had to be like 'Twitter but less Awful'
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Very much still learning to have enough self compassion to be chuffed, but it feels less terrifying each time I allow myself the chance to recognise how much work I have done so far. Leaning into a sometimes reluctant reliance on God to trust that all is held and known
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
20 year old me would not be able to fathom that they are still alive and get to live openly and authentically, they (mostly) manage living with neurodiversity and substance abuse in good ways, and they are working in the most beautiful building doing a job they love and are sometimes even good at
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
What an excellent way to introduce new ordinands to Yorkshire 😉
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
In another day of 'what a ridiculous job' this sort of Nonsense was happening this week 😅 Also Tuesday was my first Evensong since the choir got back from their summer holiday and it is always a joy to see the new probationers sing in the space for their first services
Two Vergers carrying our large screen through the North Quire Aisle towards the Nave ready for an event - it only just fits through the gatesA vast selection of candles ready for Advent being unpacked and checked, including 8 almost five foot tall blue dipped candles ready to be placed in the Advent Wreath at the end of November
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Oh they are pleasingly floofy
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Been an...interesting season for me over the last 2 weeks but I have managed to take away some positives from a tricky situation and been able to recognise and acknowledge a little bit of personal growth and the privilege of accepting the care of others. Always grateful to have been held in prayer x
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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Very nice to hear a sane voice from Piddington. Serious respect to this woman, who is apparently already being othered by more bigoted villagers.
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Thomas Sharp (he / they) 🏳️‍🌈 @thomasmsharp.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The public: "Create opportunities for us to engage with cathedrals and major churches on our own terms and within our existing cultural lexicon that enable us to benefit from and support them in ways that are meaningful to us." Also the public: "Don't do any of that." Cathedrals: 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♂️🤷 ⚓✝️
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Just passing through Mirfield on the rail replacement bus and praying for all those at College and those of you starting there 🙏
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
A couple of days back with my folks, the chance to visit a local church this morning where my grandad used to worship, and now on a rail replacement bus adventure back towards North Yorks. Such a blessing to be able to be there and be present, to reconnect with old friends, and find Joy
My mother will hate this picture. A lady in a lovely pink dress with flowers printed onto it who is smiling and laughing, sharing joy across a table with a man in a red shirt in glasses who is laughing back A selfie of Nicholas, in a blue and grey shirt and grey waistcoat, their hair in finest floof mode, having vaguely tamed their facial hair for the occasion
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
The Serenity Prayer is doing a Lot of heavy lifting today, but that's okay. Grateful for finding a few spoons at the back of the sofa to help me do the socialising thing for a few hours at a party to celebrate my parents Ruby Wedding ❤️
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
So sorry to read this Grace. Praying for you and all who loved and were loved by her x
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Visiting my parents ahead of us celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary with a party tomorrow and forgot to pack any hoodies etc (I still haven't realised it is September) Now heading to the local Tesco Express to get some more milk in a Christmas jumper. How is this my life...
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Leftback @leftback.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Really struggling with Pakistan's U19 cricket team coaches having to confirm their particulars with a Reform councillor to get him to disperse the mob gathered outside their hotel. We're in a very bad place and we're doing nothing about it.
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Tomorrow is a hard anniversary for our family, so I am spending tonight at a recovery meeting, and then with my sponsor to do some step work. I intend tomorrow evening to order pizza and eat as much ice cream as I want. Self care takes many forms and I am grateful for the ability to try to do it
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Caroline Keep @ka83k.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
This is diabolical news. PAPYRUS closing down is a massive blow, especially for young autistic people. When standard mental health services constantly misunderstand neurodivergent burnout and crisis, HOPELINE was one of the few accessible lifelines left.... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Papyrus suicide prevention charity in administration
The 3 Dads Walking, who raised £1.5m for Papyrus, say it is "very difficult to accept" its closure.
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The ten minutes before Morning Prayer when the building stands completely silent are the most remarkable ten minutes. Just me, God (and the police) before the Great East Window. What a ridiculous privilege
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Sat outside on my balcony in my pyjamas with a cup of tea listening to the rain. The temperature out here is perfect, the tea is the right amount of brewed, and nature is flipping wonderful. Reconnecting with myself and with God after a tumultuous week, and so full of gratitude for all of it ❤️
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Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I want the Prime Minister to look into a TV camera and say the RNLI are heroes, that we do not change policy by street violence in this country, and that he expects any criminal action to face the full force of the law. That's it. That's all he has to do.
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Heading home from a Muppet themed birthday party for a good friend and it was just what I needed after a hard week. Blessed by people who show me what friendship can look like and who are willing to love me until I might allow myself to like me a little.
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Nicholas @nicholasbenn.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
I am not ready for today. Unfortunately today appears to be happening regardless. Thoughts and prayers etc welcomed. All will be well, just a tricky meeting to navigate, but bringing support people with me 🤗
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