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Lesley Watts

@ljwattswales.bsky.social

1.2K followers 1.1K following 1K posts

Retired librarian with 27 years in the rip-roaring world of libraries (last 13 years in a school library) Books, films, gardens, nature and fretting about climate emergency. https://mrswatts101.edublogs.org/

mrswatts101.edublogs.org

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Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · Nov 17

As the UK School Librarians starter pack has grown, I thought I would repost. For those with school library experience working in the UK. Let me know if you have school library connections and would like to be added
go.bsky.app/5zhmETr

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Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · 17h

Hahaha! I never noticed this, but whatever their other challenges, I’m glad they’re getting their five a day.

Reposted by Lesley Watts

Big Bearded Spookteller @bigbeardybooks.bsky.social · 1d

Let's hear from the illustrator/artists, tell us a little bit about yourself, what projects you've on the go, what you've drawn, any events in the near future, or just drop your bio and links and follow and support each other

#IllustratorTuesday #BookSky 📚💙 #Artists #Illustrator

alt text please

The cover of "The Bewitching of Aveline Jones" by Phil Hickes, this was illustrated by Keith Robinson and shows a young girl with short black hair and wearing glasses in a circle of standing stones at night with crows above her and she is reading from a book that is glowing

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Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · 1d

Characters recounting their dreams is a tired and overused device and the only instance of it that works is the opening line of ‘Rebecca’.

Reposted by Lesley Watts

bleary @bleary.off-the-records.com · 1d

If anyone needs me I will be in the museum, lying down next to the bog bodies.

Did people really memorize phone numbers before cell phones, or is that just a movie thing?
2? Questions
I was watching some old shows from the 90s and noticed people would just dial numbers from memory - like they'd call their friends or family without looking anything up.
Made me wonder if that was actually normal back then? Did people genuinely have all their important numbers memorized, or did most folks keep a little address book or written list nearby?

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Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · 1d

Nice! It reminds me that my youngest son does that wrist cracking thing too 😄

Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · 2d

This is the ‘post you from a different decade’ thread but original has been deleted.

Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · 2d

When just thinking about the Civil War puts you in a mood

Woman in denim jacket looking pretentiously moody whilst leaning against monument marking the Battle of Marston Moor in the English Civil War.

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Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · 2d

Also, get an excellent narrator rather than going for a well known actor. I’ve listened to brilliant audio books read by people I haven’t heard of, looked them up and found they specialise in narration.

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Reposted by Lesley Watts

Trish Greenhalgh @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social · 2d

I need a Tommy Flowers Was Robbed t-shirt. Great piece!
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Move over, Alan Turing: meet the working-class hero of Bletchley Park you didn’t see in the movies

The Oxbridge-educated boffin is feted as the codebreaking genius who helped Britain win the war. But should a little-known Post Office engineer named Tommy Flowers be seen as the real father of comput...

www.theguardian.com

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Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · 3d

Assassination of JFK
First moon landing
Aberfan disaster
The severe winter of 1963
The hits of The Beatles

Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 3d

What five events defined your childhood?

The first moon landing
Thatcher stealing my milk
Vietnam war
Star Wars
The Clash

Dragonrider Sue #fbpe #ktto 🐠🐟 she/her 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @topsyscatmum.bsky.social · 3d

What five events defined your childhood?

Poll tax riots
Brixton riots
Fall of the Berlin wall
Sex Pistols
Jaws/Grease/Poltergeist

Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · 3d

My Six on Saturday #SixOnSaturday #BloomScrolling

Clockwise from top left: Dahlia 'American Dawn', Helianthus 'Lemon Queen', Perovskia 'Blue Steel', Epilobium 'Western Hills', Potentilla 'Abbotswood', Salvia 'Hot Lips'.

Reposted by Lesley Watts

Marianne Doherty @mariannedoherty.bsky.social · 4d

Happy #BookshopDay!

I’ve been keeping a list of all the wonderful indie bookshops I’ve discovered on here so far. Anyone I’m missing?

#KidLitUK #UKKidLit

bsky.app/profile/did:...

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Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · 4d

Heartened, that when an elderly woman fell over on the pavement just now and her husband had trouble giving her a hand, everyone converged in seconds including homeless person who’d been sitting on pavement, two youths, someone who had been a nurse (and me).

Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · 5d

I’ve read the book, enjoyed the film (the 1988 Stephen Frears one), so I think I need to complete the set

www.whatsonstage.com/news/les-lia...

Lesley Manville and Aidan Turner in forthcoming Dangerous Liaisons

Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · 5d

Here are some I’ve enjoyed, aimed at teenagers #KidsBooksFriday

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Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · 5d

Oats and dark chocolate - full of nutrients (and calories 😀)

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Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · 5d

I made some oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies because we really need the calories *sarcasm emoji*

Six oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies on a cooling rack on a white embroidered cloth.

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Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · 6d

Sorry, not a book, but I love Preppy Kitchen on YouTube. His recipes always work youtube.com/@preppykitch...

Preppy Kitchen

Hi and welcome to Preppy Kitchen! This channel is for people who love food and enjoy learning new recipes and techniques so you can make delicious dishes to share with your family and friends! You'll ...

youtube.com

Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · 6d

Not sure where to start with this 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 6d

What’s the word where you’re from that, when pronounced exactly as it looks, identifies a tourist immediately?

Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · 7d

Timeline cleanse. No music or voiceover, just a farmer, his lamb and her rock

youtu.be/7l89lPnSAk4?...

Lamb And Her Rock

YouTube video by Lee Walters

youtu.be

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Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · 8d

When I achieve world domination this is one of the first changes I’m introducing. I have to go through my receipts with a highlighter and mark the date before I do anything else.

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Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · 8d

I thought it would be too late for my dahlias to bloom this year due to the drought, but first one out today - American Dawn! (Maybe it’s an omen)

Close up of a pinky-purply dahlia flower

Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · 8d

I once forgot to take my keys to work when my husband went on a business trip & had to break into house by smashing a back window, climbing in, then boarding up the pane with the back off my spice rack. Spent nervous night waiting for burglars. Neighbours heard nothing.

Lesley Watts @ljwattswales.bsky.social · 8d

Oh yes! That’s the one I didn’t re-read. There’s a very dodgy scene in Octavia too. Think Prudence and Imogen were my favourites.

Reposted by Lesley Watts

Backlisted Podcast @backlisted.bsky.social · 9d

And here is that episode, on Imogen by Jilly Cooper, with guests Daisy Buchanan and Ian Patterson. In Jilly’s own words, “it was all such terrific fun”. RIP. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/84-...

Miller on the Threshold @iammilliam.bsky.social · 9d

RIP lovely Jilly Cooper, the only subject of a @backlisted.bsky.social episode to write us all thank you letters afterwards. ❤️

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 9d

Jilly Cooper, author of Rivals and Riders, dies aged 88

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