This is a good explanation of the importance of humanities subjects, not that Badenoch will read it. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

This is st the end of my street. Obviously better than those flags but I still think public space should remain public and not subject to private interests of any sort.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

A fabulous new VSI on travel and mobility in Early Medieval Europe, put together by @francescatinti.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1...

It's appalling.

Appalling behaviour by the universities concerned www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Finished! Best kept a year if you can. Also, make sure the fruit are fully ripe and don't use the cheapest vodka (gin would work too but vodka is better, so save gin for the damsons)

I imagine these could be cooked for a sauce, again ditch all the seeds. NB fruit are very hard so take care when cutting!

Chop the quince into quarters, remove all seeds. Then chop again and put in a large glass jar. Add sugar (fruit is very sour so don't stint), cover with vodka. Leave in a cool place for at least four months, preferably longer.

Best harvest of Japanese quince (Chaenomeles japonica) for years! I make these into a liqueur with vodka and sugar. You must remove all seeds which contain cyanide.

Very much looking forward to reading this! Congratulations to @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social

UNLAWFUL ARREST

This woman was arrested for holding a sign with “I do not support the proscription of Palestine Action” on it, a totally lawful statement to make, even under the Labour government’s absurd new laws proscribing the direct action group.

wedonotcomply.org

“The Home Secretary told the BBC the move was not a ban on protests but "about restrictions and conditions".”

Having voted for the Labour Party for 20+ years until the last election, I’m pretty saddened to see this is the current state of affairs 👇🏾

www.bbc.com/news/article...

UK politics October 2025. A Labour Government that plans to 'crackdown' on protests from people who say things it doesn't like & doesn't want to hear. An Opposition leader who plans to deport 150,000 people a year. Doesn't care who they might be, or where they will go. Things can only get better.

Another shocking lurch to the right by the Labour government www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Over 400 arrests of protesters in London thanks to the government’s refusal to admit that their decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group has been a disaster

The Labour gov has so far arrested well over 1,000 people for holding up signs

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Zack Polanski: There is no contradiction between condemning violence against British Jews and condemning violence against Palestinian families.

The Labour Party: 🤮

Absolutely ridiculous. There was nothing academic about what Cofnas said. It’’s not academic freedom, it’s plain as day discrimination

📣 The Earlier Middle Ages seminar @ihr.bsky.social is now on Bluesky! Here's our autumn term schedule. First up is @rorynaismith.bsky.social on 8 October, giving the annual David Wilson Lecture (with @uclarchaeology.bsky.social). All welcome! Please sign up here: www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

Labour conference has passed a motion that recognises Israel’s genocide taking place in Gaza, and calls for the government to commit to a full arms embargo and end UK-Israeli military cooperation.

Our members have taken a stand against genocide; now the government must too.

New issue of Mélanges de l’École française de Rome - Moyen Âge Vol. 137, No. 1 (2025) #openaccess journals.openedition.org/mefrm/15996 @ef-rome.bsky.social @openedition.bsky.social

BBC Accused of Pro-Reform Bias as Lib Dems Launch Campaign to End ‘Wall to Wall’ Farage Coverage

They accuse the BBC of “following Farage around like a lost puppy” and have complained to Ofcom to demand fair coverage

bylinetimes.com/2025/09/09/b...

Reform UK are yelling “drill, baby, drill” 🙄 But fracking is reckless & won’t even cut bills. Time to end this nonsense. Tell Ed Miliband: BAN FRACKING permanently. Add your name:
you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/ke...

Nigel Farage is the biggest charlatan in British political history.

And here's what his constitutents in Clacton really think:

In over 10yrs of living in the UK, nobody ever raised an eyebrow at me for being German. Today I was given not just suspicious but outright hostile looks for speaking German to our bilingual daughter several times by the proud people of Severn Beach—a bungalow enclave plastered in St George’s flags.