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Patrick Galbraith

@patrickgalbraith.bsky.social
619 followers 671 following 66 posts

Author of Uncommon Ground, 2025, William Collins Columnist for The Critic & Country Life Environment Correspondent for The Telegraph

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Reposted by Patrick Galbraith
Sustainable Food Trust @susfoodtrust.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
From today's #DailyNewsDigest📰: "The broadcaster and the green energy industrialist signed a letter sent to the Government on Monday claiming that Labour had “lost its way” on environmental policy." – @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social | @telegraph.co.uk www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202...
telegraph.co.uk
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Patrick Galbraith @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Over on Substack, I wrote about going to visit a cheese maker who lives down the road open.substack.com/pub/ducktown...
open.substack.com
The cheesemaker down the road
From 'Binham blue' to 'Wells Alpine': How a Norfolk farming family, who were up against it with their dairy herd, decided to think differently
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Patrick Galbraith @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
Over on Substack I wrote about a tireless political radical who tried to introduce capercaillie to Norfolk open.substack.com/pub/ducktown...
open.substack.com
When a political radical released capercaillie in Norfolk
From abolitionism to capercaillie reintroduction, the very busy life of an 18th century brewer
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Tim Hannigan @timhannigan.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
reviewed @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social's excellent Uncommon Ground for the latest Resurgence & Ecologist. I had too much to say about this book to squeeze into 600 words, so ended up a bit incoherent. But suffice to say: highly recommended.
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Longreads @longreads.com · 22/08/2025
3. "Another Rave Review" @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social "The rules of the UK’s outdoor rave scene are simple: Keep the secret. Arrive in darkness. Don’t post on socials. Leave before the police arrive." www.the-fence.com/another-rave...
the-fence.com
Another Rave Review
Police in Helicopter
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Patrick Galbraith @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Over on substack I wrote about making toilet seats out of English walnut A worthy end for beautiful timber open.substack.com/pub/ducktown...
open.substack.com
Make a toilet seat from a walnut tree
A very involved celebration of the beauty of the wood
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Patrick Galbraith @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
Over on substack I wrote about the need to do so much more the grey partridge, and why it matters open.substack.com/pub/ducktown...
open.substack.com
The beloved English partridge
People need to do much more to save one of our most iconic farmland species
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The Fence @thefence.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Also featuring writing from Clive Martin, Jade Angeles Fitton, @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social, @williamasclarke.bsky.social, @henrywismayer.bsky.social, Tom Parker Bowles, @bronmaher.bsky.social, @franciscogarciadf.bsky.social, William Hanson and Katy Hessel.
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The Fence @thefence.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
The Pub Is Finally Open! With writing from @seamas.bsky.social, @roisinlanigan.bsky.social, @anakinsella.bsky.social, @jimmymcintosh.bsky.social, @charlotteivers.bsky.social, John Banville and @vizcomic.bsky.social. Available at all bookstores & the link below 🍺 www.penguin.co.uk/books/462310...
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Patrick Galbraith @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
“In the past 70 years, Norfolk has lost some 8000 ponds” Over on substack, I wrote about the joy or restoring centuries old ponds open.substack.com/pub/ducktown...
open.substack.com
The joy of restoring old ponds
In the past 70 years, Norfolk has lost thousands of ponds but it doesn't take all that much to bring them back to life
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Patrick Galbraith @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
Over on substack, I wrote about the best fish I ever caught “There is something about fishing that makes you move slowly and look properly — even if it’s only later that you come to really appreciate what you saw” open.substack.com/pub/ducktown...
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Patrick Galbraith @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
“They lived on the edge – they are part of that rural underclass that urban Britain cannot see.” Over on Scribehound, I wrote about the madness of Sycamore Gap www.scribehound.com/countryside/...
scribehound.com
Scribehound
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Patrick Galbraith @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
“But which field was it shot in?” Over on substack, I wrote about the immense joy of selling venison locally open.substack.com/pub/ducktown...
open.substack.com
Becoming a meat man
It all started by chance but selling venison to local customers is possibly the best thing I've ever done
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Patrick Galbraith @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
Why do people put deer heads up on the wall and are they just hippies, in a roundabout way? Head over to substack for my thoughts open.substack.com/pub/patrickg...
open.substack.com
Roebuck worship and the strangeness of putting animals' heads on the wall
Why trophy hunters might just be hippies in a roundabout way
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Aspect Forestry and Rural Management @aspectforest.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
I finished this book today and I strongly recommend that everyone with even a fraction of an interest in the countryside should either read it or listen to it as an audio book. Patrick Galbraith has covered the subject of countryside access from every conceivable angle. 🧵
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The Fence @thefence.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
Issue 24 is here 🛏️ www.the-fence.com/shop With writing from @bronmaher.bsky.social, @evawiseman.bsky.social, @roisinlanigan.bsky.social, @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social, @emmafmagnus.bsky.social, Sophie Wilkinson, John Phipps, Ray Philip, Clare Considine & many more. Cover by Nishant Choksi.
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FORUM Books / the bound / The Accidental Bookshop @forumbooks.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Looking forward to @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social at FORUM Books talking #UncommonGround - vital, engaging & highly relevant to our Northumberland community 💚 we’d love to see you there! 🗓️ Mon 9 June 🎟️ www.ticketsource.co.uk/forumbooks/f...
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Dr Rebecca Wragg Sykes @lemoustier.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
🏺 I always find @rsmythfreelance.bsky.social 's perspectives on things challenging and refreshing, in the best way. There's a lot in this review for anyone interested in human relations to & engagement with land, including the archaeological (in its many senses)
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Richard Smyth @rsmythfreelance.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Last summer I reviewed 'Wild Service', an anthology/manifesto from the Right to Roam camp (who have not, let's say, responded positively to Galbraith's book). engelsbergideas.com/reviews/walk...
engelsbergideas.com
Walk on the wild side
Britain’s countryside is in a bad way, even by the standards of fraught global ecologies, but sentimental and spiritual interpretations of its plight detract from the urgency.
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Tommy's Outdoors @tommysoutdoors.com · 21/05/2025
Getting Deep into Land Access Issues with @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social. ➡️ Full episode pinned in my profile. 🎧
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Richard Smyth @rsmythfreelance.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
I reviewed @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social's magnificent new book, UNCOMMON GROUND. "No-one that I know of matches Galbraith’s rangy, restless, itinerant curiosity about what’s over that fence, who lives here, what this or that fellow thinks about things." engelsbergideas.com/reviews/coun...
engelsbergideas.com
Countryside writing's rebirth
In the writing of Patrick Galbraith, country life has won the observer and interpreter it needs.
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Tommy's Outdoors @tommysoutdoors.com · 20/05/2025
Are we being locked out of the countryside, or is land access more nuanced? How can we balance the needs of farmers, conservationists and recreational users? In his new book, 'Uncommon Ground', @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social takes on this contentious topic. 🎧➡️ pod.fo/e/2d7a91
Podcast cover art for "Tommy's Outdoors: Conservation and Science" featuring two panels against a green background with gold border. On the left, a smiling man with short brown hair wearing a cream-coloured knitted jumper appears in a video call setting. On the right, the book "Uncommon Ground" by Patrick Galbraith is displayed, with an orange vertical stripe featuring the subtitle "Rethinking our relationship with the countryside". The composition is framed by the podcast title at the top and the word "PODCAST" along the bottom, all presented in white typography.
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Engelsberg Ideas @engelsbergideas.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
In the writing of @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social, country life has won the observer and interpreter it needs. Countryside writing’s rebirth | @rsmythfreelance.bsky.social engelsbergideas.com/reviews/coun...
engelsbergideas.com
Countryside writing's rebirth
In the writing of Patrick Galbraith, country life has won the observer and interpreter it needs.
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The Folklore Podcast @folklorepod.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
I'll be hosting @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social on behalf of @thebookery.bsky.social this coming Thursday, when I'll be trying to maintain order as we discuss land access, nature and our relationship with the countryside around us. Come along and be part of it.
Poster advertising Patrick Galbraith
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Boundless Magazine @boundlessmagazine.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
Happy publication day to Patrick McCabe's Goldengrove, out now (unbound.com/products/gol...) A perfect time to revisit the brilliant piece Pat wrote for us, on the joy and terror of seeing his 1992 masterpiece, The Butcher Boy, get turned into a major film: www.boundlessmagazine.com/p/when-holly...
boundlessmagazine.com
When Hollywood puts your darlings on the block
The Irish novelist, Pat McCabe, on the joy and terror of seeing his 1992 masterpiece, The Butcher Boy, get turned into a major film
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Patrick Galbraith @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
Delighted with these reviews of my new book on land access Last weekend, the FT said that “a nuanced look at this white-hot debate and the often-unheard voices affected by it was overdue” If you haven’t bought a copy, hit up Waterstones: www.waterstones.com/book/uncommo...
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Elizabeth Briggs @elizabethlines.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
Sad because: my best half is away Happy because: half the bed empty means the WHOLE bedside table is available for NEW BOOKS 🩶 #everycloud @troopersnooks.bsky.social @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social
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Tom Cameron @ecoevoenviro.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
Review of Uncommon Ground by @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social in @financialtimes.com #access #nature www.ft.com/content/51c9...
ft.com
Uncommon Ground — Patrick Galbraith’s nuanced take on the freedom to roam debate
A pithy and passionate book looks beyond class, clichés and megaphones to scrutinise how we engage with the UK countryside
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Patrick Galbraith @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
A hugely positive and immensely perceptive review of Uncommon Ground in the FT “A nuanced look at this white-hot debate and the often-unheard voices affected by it was overdue. In Uncommon Ground, journalist Patrick Galbraith’s superb second book, we have it.” www.ft.com/content/51c9...
ft.com
Uncommon Ground — Patrick Galbraith’s nuanced take on the freedom to roam debate
A pithy and passionate book looks beyond class, clichés and megaphones to scrutinise how we engage with the UK countryside
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Ollie Douglas @olliedouglas.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
This is on, next Tuesday @themerl.bsky.social, 11.30-12.30. merl.reading.ac.uk/event/monthl...
merl.reading.ac.uk
Monthly Gallery Tours – May - The Museum of English Rural Life
The Curator of MERL Collections and a different specialist each month discuss themes on a tour of the MERL galleries.
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Tom Cameron @ecoevoenviro.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
New #book day - currently half way through @chantallyons.bsky.social Groundbreakers 🐗 and these are next #naturewriting #nature #wildlife #people @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social & Jack Hoy #Mersea
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
Storm2 @righttoroam.bsky.social doesn't like @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social book. Listen to him on Start the Week and hear what he says. Also, I'm keen to see Right to Roam's nature policy. Blog: markavery.info/2025/05/04/s...
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The London Magazine @thelondonmagazine.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
'If people really engaged with the countryside, really understood it, I think there would be fewer calls for more access.' @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social speaks to @tommygilhooly.bsky.social about his book, Uncommon Ground (@harpercollins.bsky.social). Here: thelondonmagazine.org/interview-un...
thelondonmagazine.org
Interview | Uncommon Ground: An Interview with Patrick Galbraith - The London Magazine
'I don’t think that we treat the rural working-classes well, to the extent we even recognise they exist.' Patrick Galbraith speaks to Tommy Gilhooly.
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Patrick Galbraith @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
I had a great time talking to the always-brilliant @ericawgnr.bsky.social about my new book. She really gets it open.spotify.com/episode/4qRi...
open.spotify.com
Patrick Galbraith on what the land actually means
The Boundless Podcast · Episode
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Richard Smyth @rsmythfreelance.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
Went for a walk, wrote about it. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Country diary: A fishing reel, digital noise … the grasshopper warbler is a bird for every age | Richard Smyth
Whitley Bay, North Tyneside: Denied the chance of seeing this elusive bird for centuries, we’ve had to make do with analysing its extraordinary call
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gillianfoxcroft.bsky.social @gillianfoxcroft.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Looking forward to catching up with Start the Week on BBC Radio 4 with @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social and Monica Feria Tinta discussing the rights of nature ..and anticipating #IsARiverAlive
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Ollie Douglas @olliedouglas.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Fantastic discussions on Start The Week this morning, with @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social, Monica Feria Tinta, and @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social. Nuance, complexity and breaking binaries, mixed with rights of nature and coexistence with more-than-human others.
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Richard Smyth @rsmythfreelance.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
I should say this more often and more loudly, but @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social is by far both the best and most important writer on the countryside we've had in years.
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Roger Cox @outdoorscots.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
Excellent review this, by my @scotsman.com colleague @katharinehay.bsky.social, of the new book by @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social about land access in the UK www.scotsman.com/arts-and-cul...
scotsman.com
Uncommon Ground by Patrick Galbraith review: Uncomfortable truths about 'right to roam'
Patrick Galbraith spent three years investigating rural Britain to understand what access means to people, writes Katharine Hay
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Patrick Galbraith @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social · 13/04/2025
Nice review in today’s Observer “Looks beyond the usual cliches of country life: An excellent second book, acutely observed, and often very funny” You can pre-order it here: harpercollins.co.uk/products/unc...
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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 13/04/2025
Book review: Uncommon Ground by @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social Review: markavery.info/2025/04/13/s... Mostly about access to the countryside. Chats with many people in many places. 'Highly recommended' #access #righttoroam #land #ownership #ramble @openspacessociety.bsky.social
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Patrick Galbraith @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
I’m told it’s good 🙏
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Kate ✨🐱 but spooky 🎃🍁 @magickitten.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
🚨🚨 New book alert 🚨🚨 Had the excellent good fortune to bump into pal @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social the other day and bagged an early signed copy of Uncommon Ground: Rethinking our relationship with the countryside — out 24 April 2025 uk.bookshop.org/a/1353/97800...
A hand holding a hardback book, front cover forwards. The cover design is a painting of the countryside that looks as if it’s been torn to reveal an orange background and this text:

Uncommon Ground
Rethinking our relationship with the countryside
Patrick Galbraith
'Adventurous, intelligent, and provocative, a genuinely remarkable book'
Richard SmythA hand holding a hardback book, back cover forwards. The back cover is orange with white and black text and a barcode.

The text reads:

‘Galbraith has written a book about the countryside and its vital issues with a clarity of mind and prose possessed by few, if any. Galbraith is fair-minded (now there's a rare quality), always grounded, and has a knack of collecting interesting people to talk to'
John Lewis-Stempel

'Galbraith wades into the complexities of land access with typical courage and curiosity, venturing far beyond where most nature writers dare to tread. The result is a monumental achievement'
Peter Oborne

'This then is Britain. A perverse treat'
Jonathan Meades

'Galbraith is a remarkable writer. In Uncommon Ground he seeks out voices which usually go unheard, offering perspectives on the countryside in all its glorious, gory, often uncomfortable contradictions. Intelligent and fearless, he challenges widely-held assumptions about what would most benefit wildlife and people'
Katrina Porteous

'Come for the clear-eyed consummately researched deep dive into the perennially complex question of land access in Britain.
Stay for Galbraith's crackling wit'
Laird Hunt

‘Uncommon Ground is a genuinely revelatory text.
A beautifully-written narrative based on original research and open-minded conversation'
John Mitchinson

'An eloquently-written book that brings much-needed nuance into unfortunately fractious, binary debates around land access, and who gets to enjoy it'
Luke Turner

WILLIAMCOLLINSBOOKS.COM
ISBN 978-0-00-864440-6
53000>
9780008644406A hand holding open a hardback book so you can see the description on the front inside dust jacket flap.

The text is white on an orange background and it reads:

In January 2023, the largest land access demonstration since the 1930s took place on a bright wintery morning on Dartmoor.

The access movement demands that the countryside be thrown open. This, they argue, would help nature by giving the public the opportunity to hold farmers and wealthy landowners to account.

While people need nature, does nature need us? Would it really work for Britain's growing population to spill out across the countryside and is access quite as restricted as we are led to believe?

In Uncommon Ground, Patrick Galbraith takes us on an extraordinary tour of rural Britain, from the Hebrides to Devon, and from Anglo-Saxon England to the present day. To uncover the truth and fully understand our deep connection with the land, he meets farmers, Travellers, politicians, salmon poachers and the nation's most-hated landowners, as well as the activists calling for access to every inch of the British countryside.

In his celebrated style, Galbraith listens to those who often don't get listened to to try and explain what is actually happening in the countryside. This raking survey of our fast-changing country reveals the essence of rural Britain's soul. Uncommon Ground argues that what matters is not greater access but how we engage with the land and demands that landowners give us more opportunities to do so, while also giving endangered wildlife the right to tranquility.

£22
US $30
CAN $37
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Tom Cameron @ecoevoenviro.bsky.social · 05/04/2025
@universityofessex.bsky.social #Colchester Wivenhoe Park #campus as painted by John #Constable is the front cover of a new book on our relationship with the "countryside" - author @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social considers responsibilities, public access, wildlife, farming and more
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Boundless Magazine @boundlessmagazine.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
With Booker prize winner Orbital coming in as the second-shortest book to take the title, in the latest episode of the Boundless podcast @ericawgnr.bsky.social and @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social discuss why books seem to be getting shorter while podcasts get longer Spotify: shorturl.at/vulTd
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Boundless Magazine @boundlessmagazine.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Listen to Hannah Hayden chat to @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social about the threat of AI, the world of erotic fantasy, and enticing a readership of lumberjacks, on the latest episode of the Boundless podcast Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/19Uh... Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/h...
podcasts.apple.com
Hannah Hayden on the world of erotic fantasy fiction
Podcast Episode · The Boundless Podcast · 19/02/2025 · 36m
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Tim Hannigan @timhannigan.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Next up, a sneak preview of @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social 's UncommonGround. A few pages in & already nodding so hard in agreement I think I'll do myself a neck injury if I continue! (Also an occasional "FFS! I've got that quote, I was going to say that, in my current WIP!", but I don't really mind)
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Patrick Galbraith @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
I’m kind of out of the loop, are joke shop beards for author photos in or out currently?
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