Hester Duffy
@wordlessreader.bsky.social
She/Her
Associate Professor at Warwick. Interested in developmental psycholinguistics, neuroscience, research methods, bee-keeping, Gaeilge, vintage clothing, dressmaking. Pinko lefty woke type but not that fond of tofu.
Associate Professor at Warwick. Interested in developmental psycholinguistics, neuroscience, research methods, bee-keeping, Gaeilge, vintage clothing, dressmaking. Pinko lefty woke type but not that fond of tofu.
Pinned
This really does sound simple but also like it would work.
Dear Labour. If you want support, nationalise water, make buses and trains affordable outside London, tax billionaires, and stop-being trans and immigrant bashing arseholes.
February 9, 2026 at 6:53 PM
This really does sound simple but also like it would work.
This thread did not go where I thought it would, and is well worth a read.
Mornington Crescent: a rant.
Or: how a goofy word game about train stations is the key to how devout causes can ruin people's ability to have a conversation.
Stand clear of the closing doors, let's begin.
1/18
Or: how a goofy word game about train stations is the key to how devout causes can ruin people's ability to have a conversation.
Stand clear of the closing doors, let's begin.
1/18
February 9, 2026 at 9:09 AM
This thread did not go where I thought it would, and is well worth a read.
I have just received, and very carefully unwrapped, my very own tentacle pot, made by the incredibly talented @roseschmits.bsky.social .
I love it so much!
I love it so much!
February 7, 2026 at 10:04 AM
I have just received, and very carefully unwrapped, my very own tentacle pot, made by the incredibly talented @roseschmits.bsky.social .
I love it so much!
I love it so much!
Just received this gorgeous print from the very talented @ciaraioch.bsky.social , along with an assortment of little extras. I love it, and it will take pride of place on my office wall!
January 31, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Just received this gorgeous print from the very talented @ciaraioch.bsky.social , along with an assortment of little extras. I love it, and it will take pride of place on my office wall!
I was talking to my students just the other day about what it means to offer a balanced account. It doesn't mean treating every opinion or statement as equally valuable, it means evaluating them and determining their value.
A reminder to the news media: “conflicting accounts” is what you say BEFORE the incontrovertible video evidence appears. After that, your job is to ask why one side is lying, not to repeat the lie and pretend no one knows the truth.
January 25, 2026 at 7:30 PM
I was talking to my students just the other day about what it means to offer a balanced account. It doesn't mean treating every opinion or statement as equally valuable, it means evaluating them and determining their value.
Ooh, look, you can get rid of AI summaries in Google!
Periodic reminder: you can make an AI-free Google search your default. Here's how, for multiple devices, browsers, situations: tenbluelinks.org
(Or use other search engines.)
(Or use other search engines.)
How to Turn Off Google AI Overview and Set "Web" as Default
tenbluelinks.org
January 16, 2026 at 2:15 PM
Ooh, look, you can get rid of AI summaries in Google!
I was once on a bus in Oxford, wearing a military blouson jacket. The chap behind me asked what it was, as he didn't recognise the insignia, so I told him it was, as far as I knew, French Foreign Legion.
"Ah yes", he said, "they had the right idea, the French..."
"Ah yes", he said, "they had the right idea, the French..."
Please quote this with stories of your minor interactions with non-celebrities, e.g. “I once accidentally bumped into a man in the Wellingborough branch of Holland & Barrett”
December 30, 2025 at 2:08 PM
I was once on a bus in Oxford, wearing a military blouson jacket. The chap behind me asked what it was, as he didn't recognise the insignia, so I told him it was, as far as I knew, French Foreign Legion.
"Ah yes", he said, "they had the right idea, the French..."
"Ah yes", he said, "they had the right idea, the French..."
Which lines of poetry live rent free in your head?
More scouts than strangers,
Ghosts who'd walked abroad
Unfazed by light, to make a new beginning
And make a go of it, alive and sinning
Ourselves again, free willed again,
Not bad
More scouts than strangers,
Ghosts who'd walked abroad
Unfazed by light, to make a new beginning
And make a go of it, alive and sinning
Ourselves again, free willed again,
Not bad
Which lines of poetry live rent-free in your head?
December 7, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Which lines of poetry live rent free in your head?
More scouts than strangers,
Ghosts who'd walked abroad
Unfazed by light, to make a new beginning
And make a go of it, alive and sinning
Ourselves again, free willed again,
Not bad
More scouts than strangers,
Ghosts who'd walked abroad
Unfazed by light, to make a new beginning
And make a go of it, alive and sinning
Ourselves again, free willed again,
Not bad
I visited "An Siopa Leabhar" in Dublin yesterday, and happened to bump into a guy who was in one of my online Irish classes. I don't think he's a regular there, and I've never been before; what are the chances?
December 5, 2025 at 3:06 PM
I visited "An Siopa Leabhar" in Dublin yesterday, and happened to bump into a guy who was in one of my online Irish classes. I don't think he's a regular there, and I've never been before; what are the chances?
Bhuel, táim beagánín bródúil asam.
December 2, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Bhuel, táim beagánín bródúil asam.
An afternoon well spent in the sewing room.
November 29, 2025 at 5:37 PM
An afternoon well spent in the sewing room.
Introduce yourself with five concerts you've seen;
The Dubliners
Alive in Chains
Avril Lavigne
Devotchka
Rufus Wainwright
(I like to think I've eclectic, but then everyone thinks they're eclectic, don't they?)
The Dubliners
Alive in Chains
Avril Lavigne
Devotchka
Rufus Wainwright
(I like to think I've eclectic, but then everyone thinks they're eclectic, don't they?)
Introduce yourself with five concerts you've seen (tricking you into thinking I'm older than I am edition)
Bikini Kill
Descendents
Sleater Kinney
Pixies
Morrissey
Bikini Kill
Descendents
Sleater Kinney
Pixies
Morrissey
This list may look a bit odd but ok here goes, also it's so hard to pick
Violent Femmes
The Offspring
Manic Street Preachers
Lady Gaga
Jethro Tull
Violent Femmes
The Offspring
Manic Street Preachers
Lady Gaga
Jethro Tull
November 28, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Introduce yourself with five concerts you've seen;
The Dubliners
Alive in Chains
Avril Lavigne
Devotchka
Rufus Wainwright
(I like to think I've eclectic, but then everyone thinks they're eclectic, don't they?)
The Dubliners
Alive in Chains
Avril Lavigne
Devotchka
Rufus Wainwright
(I like to think I've eclectic, but then everyone thinks they're eclectic, don't they?)
I thought I was being so clever but the weather is absolutely vile today and I have regrets.
SAD has got me wanting to spend all day on the sofa eating carbs and all night failing to go to bed, so not only have I ordered a SAD lamp, but I got it on local pick-up so I will have to leave the house in daylight tomorrow.
November 22, 2025 at 1:43 PM
I thought I was being so clever but the weather is absolutely vile today and I have regrets.
SAD has got me wanting to spend all day on the sofa eating carbs and all night failing to go to bed, so not only have I ordered a SAD lamp, but I got it on local pick-up so I will have to leave the house in daylight tomorrow.
November 21, 2025 at 4:15 PM
SAD has got me wanting to spend all day on the sofa eating carbs and all night failing to go to bed, so not only have I ordered a SAD lamp, but I got it on local pick-up so I will have to leave the house in daylight tomorrow.
I am watching a very bad Jason Statham movie called The Beekeeper, and I have some notes.
Firstly, that's not a bee suit and it would not keep bees out. The gloves are wrong too. Honey doesn't come out of a spinner that clean, and as for the hives, who stacked those? They're a mess.
Firstly, that's not a bee suit and it would not keep bees out. The gloves are wrong too. Honey doesn't come out of a spinner that clean, and as for the hives, who stacked those? They're a mess.
November 15, 2025 at 10:22 PM
I am watching a very bad Jason Statham movie called The Beekeeper, and I have some notes.
Firstly, that's not a bee suit and it would not keep bees out. The gloves are wrong too. Honey doesn't come out of a spinner that clean, and as for the hives, who stacked those? They're a mess.
Firstly, that's not a bee suit and it would not keep bees out. The gloves are wrong too. Honey doesn't come out of a spinner that clean, and as for the hives, who stacked those? They're a mess.
Get to know your mutuals! List 10 random things you enjoy.
Beekeeping
Gaeilge
Dressing like Miss Marple
Sad boys with guitars
Baking without a recipe
A nice notebook
Neolithic sites
Angry girl singers
Cosy murder mystery
Malbec
Beekeeping
Gaeilge
Dressing like Miss Marple
Sad boys with guitars
Baking without a recipe
A nice notebook
Neolithic sites
Angry girl singers
Cosy murder mystery
Malbec
Get to know your mutuals! list 10 random things you like #promosky
knitting
Peter Cushing
lomo digital and analogue photography
hot water bottles
nineteenth century sensation fiction
Boulet Brothers
Kneecap
film noir
skulls
robins
knitting
Peter Cushing
lomo digital and analogue photography
hot water bottles
nineteenth century sensation fiction
Boulet Brothers
Kneecap
film noir
skulls
robins
Get to know your mutuals! list 10 random things you like #promosky
Milk
Brokenwood Mysteries
Nina Simone
Garlic
Nanny Ogg
Vivienne Westwood
Beardy Silver Fox Pierce Brosnan
AIP Corman/Price/Poe movies
Zubat
Dogs with inside out ears
Milk
Brokenwood Mysteries
Nina Simone
Garlic
Nanny Ogg
Vivienne Westwood
Beardy Silver Fox Pierce Brosnan
AIP Corman/Price/Poe movies
Zubat
Dogs with inside out ears
November 11, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Get to know your mutuals! List 10 random things you enjoy.
Beekeeping
Gaeilge
Dressing like Miss Marple
Sad boys with guitars
Baking without a recipe
A nice notebook
Neolithic sites
Angry girl singers
Cosy murder mystery
Malbec
Beekeeping
Gaeilge
Dressing like Miss Marple
Sad boys with guitars
Baking without a recipe
A nice notebook
Neolithic sites
Angry girl singers
Cosy murder mystery
Malbec
This applies equally well in the UK as in the US; gotta laugh so as not to cry...
I've noticed the opposing team's fans only cheer when the opponents score on us. To win those fans over, I recommend we score on ourselves repeatedly; that will surely make them so happy they'll start supporting us. And I'm sure all our fans will keep cheering for us—who else is there to cheer for?
November 11, 2025 at 8:58 AM
This applies equally well in the UK as in the US; gotta laugh so as not to cry...
Watching #GameOfWool and I'm honestly confused; we're told these are some of UK's most talented knitters but half of seem to be pretty much beginners. Also, knitting and crochet are two separate things.
November 9, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Watching #GameOfWool and I'm honestly confused; we're told these are some of UK's most talented knitters but half of seem to be pretty much beginners. Also, knitting and crochet are two separate things.
BlueSkyers, please tell me your most niche and specialist joke. Mine, which I dreamt during my PhD;
Why are rhotic accents cool?
They just rrrr.
Why are rhotic accents cool?
They just rrrr.
November 4, 2025 at 6:49 PM
BlueSkyers, please tell me your most niche and specialist joke. Mine, which I dreamt during my PhD;
Why are rhotic accents cool?
They just rrrr.
Why are rhotic accents cool?
They just rrrr.
Literally no-one asked for this. (I have now disabled the AI settings, but it should never have been opt out!)
October 31, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Literally no-one asked for this. (I have now disabled the AI settings, but it should never have been opt out!)
I'm considering making báirín breac for the first time this weekend, but I have a dilemma; the internet seems divided on whether it should include yeast or just baking soda/powder. #speirgorm, cad a gceapann sibh?
October 31, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I'm considering making báirín breac for the first time this weekend, but I have a dilemma; the internet seems divided on whether it should include yeast or just baking soda/powder. #speirgorm, cad a gceapann sibh?
It's Halloween, and my roses are still in bloom. It's lovely but it also feels wrong; a beautiful portent of doom.
October 31, 2025 at 9:18 AM
It's Halloween, and my roses are still in bloom. It's lovely but it also feels wrong; a beautiful portent of doom.
Excellent thread here, and there are some bonus recipes in amongst the passionate condemnations!
a second day of the same discourse? no. no thank you.
instead I need you to name your least favorite pasta shape
instead I need you to name your least favorite pasta shape
October 22, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Excellent thread here, and there are some bonus recipes in amongst the passionate condemnations!
Good thread!
I was at my old high school today, for the first time in over twenty years, to talk to the teachers about how their curriculum can better support students. AI came up, and so many teachers were saying "Well it's a tool, they have to know how to use it, it's the future so we have to accept it!"
October 16, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Good thread!