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James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

820 followers 640 following 1.2K posts

Drinks tea. Writes a bit. Prone to accidental hibernation. Nests with @literatelady.bsky.social & a cat.
#TheArchers
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#XR
@[email protected]

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James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

#TheArchers
Reminds me of this chat we had on Twitter with Keri Davies a decade ago!

Twitter thread starting at https://x.com/ExeterDormouse/status/563298945435463681?s=19

November 23, 2025 at 3:41 PM

James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

Exeter is anti-racist. Exeter is anti-fascist.
#ExeterIsForEveryone

November 22, 2025 at 2:19 PM

James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

#ExeterIsForEveryone

November 22, 2025 at 12:37 PM

James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

Very useful summary of yesterday's Parliamentary Debate on ME/CFS, courtesy of Polly West

Parliamentary Debate on ME/CFS – 19 November 2025
Many of you may already know about the parliamentary debate on ME/CFS that took place on 19th November 2025. For those who couldn't watch the full discussion, here’s a summary of the key points raised. I hope this helps anyone who finds long videos or transcripts difficult to manage.

1. What is ME/CFS?

ME/CFS is a serious, long-term illness affecting many body systems.

It is not just tiredness. Severe cases mean people cannot move, speak, eat, or tolerate light and sound.

There is no cure and very few effective treatments.

2. Scale of the Problem

Around 1.35 million people in the UK may have ME or ME-like symptoms (including long COVID cases).

Women are five times more likely than men to develop ME.

About 25% of patients are severely affected (bedbound or housebound).

Economic cost is estimated at £7-20 billion per year.

3. Current Issues

NHS care for severe ME is described as "non-existent".

Patients often face disbelief and stigma.

Many families provide care with little or no support.

Waiting times for NHS referrals can be 9 months or more.

Some patients die from malnutrition because hospitals do not know how to treat severe ME.

4. Government Delivery Plan (July 2025)

Promises better attitudes, research, and services.

Includes small research grants (£200k each), new service specification for mild/moderate ME, and e-learning for healthcare professionals.

Criticism: No major new funding, no clear deadlines, no accountability.

5. What MPs Called For

Funding:

UK spends about £10m over 12 years on ME research (~60p per patient per year).

Germany pledged €500m for ME and long COVID research.

MPs want ME to be a strategic research priority with ring-fenced funding.

Specialist Care:

Urgent need for specialist NHS services for severe ME.

Interim solutions needed now to prevent deaths.

Training for GPs and hospital staff is essential.

Research:

DecodeME study found genetic signals linked to ME (medical, not psychological).

MPs want long-term investment and a post-infectious disease research hub.

Support for Children & Education:

Many children miss school due to ME.

Schools often fail to provide adjustments.

MPs want Department for Education to engage fully.

Benefits & Welfare:

People with ME face systemic disbelief and repeated assessments.

Planned welfare reforms could harm ME patients (loss of ESA, changes to PIP).

MPs warn this could increase financial dependence and risk of abuse.

6. Personal Stories Shared

Patients bedbound for years, living in dark rooms.

Some cannot hug loved ones due to pain.

Families fear calling ambulances because hospitals make symptoms worse.

One young woman in hospital for 17 months, now on palliative care.

7. Minister's Response

Acknowledged failings and stigma.
Promised to continue implementing the delivery plan, improve training and awareness, explore specialised services for severe ME, and work with NHS and researchers on next steps.

Said: "We hear you; we value you; we believe you."

8. Main Takeaways

ME/CFS is serious and life-changing.
Current NHS care and research are far below what is needed.

MPs demand urgent action, proper funding, and specialist services.
Government says the plan is a starting point, not the end.

November 20, 2025 at 10:59 PM

James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

Please finish the joke.

A man walks into a police station, clutching a copy of "Five Held on Suspicion of Murder" and says...

Guardian headline: Man walks into police station days after five held on suspicion of his murder"

Mock Famous Five book cover "Five Held on Suspicion of Murder"

November 20, 2025 at 6:04 PM

James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

Forget jam-first vs jam-on-top.

This is one of the bigger questions of our time...

Cakes placed on serviette
Can anyone tell me why cafes put the cake on top of the serviette rendering it useless.

It has been happening for many years but today I broke and decided to ask for expert advice.

Too scared to ask the waitress for fear of upsetting them.

No banana for scale but there are raspberries.

M66 UK size 10.5 (shoe) looking forward to finding out the reasoning for this. Thank you.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19wmEq4Lm4/

November 20, 2025 at 4:50 PM

James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

Cold but beautiful day. Ayla is wearing her best fleece

A light-coloured, curly-coated labradoodle standing on a carpet of autumn leaves in a sunlit park. The dog is wearing a bright red fleece jacket and looks relaxed.

November 20, 2025 at 10:51 AM

James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

#TheArchers
Natasha said "I will get another tattoo one day..."

What are we thinking she's got at the moment?

(Boring answer is the matching hiraeth tattoo she and Tom got)

Woman in a field. Bridge Fresh and Summer Orchard logos on each arm plus Welsh dragon covering her back.

November 18, 2025 at 11:11 PM

James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

#TheArchers
TONY: "What a lovely chap!"

HELEN: "Yes, I can't imagine anyone would think Finlay is some kind of traitor"

November 17, 2025 at 7:13 PM

James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

Treating refugees humanely would actually save the country money and boost the economy, says a report from the LSE, commissioned by the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) and others.

Fran Heathcote, PCS general secretary said:

"The government’s latest plans to decimate the safety we offer to people fleeing war and persecution are not just morally reprehensible, they are also inconsistent with their aim of achieving economic growth, which continues to flatline. This report proves that there is an economic value to compassion. This country is currently lumbered with an asylum system that is unnecessarily costly and cruel. A more humane system would improve the working conditions of our members, save the taxpayer money and boost the economy, benefiting the government’s growth agenda."
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2025/nov/17/immigration-asylum-keir-starmer-labour-shabana-mahmood-uk-politics-live-news-updates

November 17, 2025 at 5:53 PM

James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

Criticisms of the Home Secretary's proposals to limit leave to remain

The Work Rights Centre, the London-based social mobility and employment charity for disadvantaged Britons and migrants, said the plans would be a “gift to traffickers and exploiters”.

Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol, CEO of Work Rights Centre said:

"It is very difficult for people with time-limited leave to secure good work, as most employers look for certainty. Shutting refugees out of sustainable, secure work only pushes them closer to precarious roles where they can be exploited for profit.

How does the government expect people without the right to work or access to benefits to support themselves? Without the basic safety net of housing and financial support, asylum seekers – who are not allowed to work for the most part – will see no way to survive but by taking up dangerous work on the black market, where they risk exploitation and trafficking. This is not a deterrent to dangerous crossings, it is a new low in the history of hostility to migrants that actively creates the conditions for modern slavery."

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2025/nov/17/immigration-asylum-keir-starmer-labour-shabana-mahmood-uk-politics-live-news-updates

November 17, 2025 at 5:50 PM

James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

The insensitivity of this Labour Government to history still has the power to shock, and that's even after the Prime Minister deployed the phrase "island of strangers"

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, has joined those criticising the government for saying the government saying it might take jewellery from asylum seekers to help cover the costs of processing their applications. He said:

"This proposal has deeply troubling echoes of some of the worst treatment of refugees in history. The government is losing sight of the fact that we are talking about real people who have fled unimaginable horrors in places like Sudan and Afghanistan and arrived here with almost nothing. To take away the few precious belongings they still have would be cruel."

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2025/nov/17/immigration-asylum-keir-starmer-labour-shabana-mahmood-uk-politics-live-news-updates

Archive photo of jewellery confiscated from prisoners by German guards at the Buchenwald concentration camp and later found by soldiers of the Third US Army after the liberation of the camp. Buchenwald, Germany, after April 1945.
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/gallery/buchenwald-photographs

November 17, 2025 at 3:35 PM

James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

Exebridges snarls up a lot, but it's not helped by drivers who don't think yellow box rules apply to them.

They held up not just the bus full of passengers, and not just every car heading into the centre, but also possibly themselves by making it hard for gridlock to disperse. 🙄

Two cars stuck in a yellow box, preventing a bus from continuing on its way

November 6, 2025 at 3:45 PM

James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

Peaceful day on Exeter quay

This photo captures a calm riverside scene on an overcast day. A cobblestone walkway runs along the left side of the river, bordered by black metal posts connected with chains. A few people are walking along the path, dressed in coats suitable for cool weather.

On the left, trees with autumnal leaves — shades of green, yellow, and orange — line the walkway, while classic-style black streetlamps add a quaint touch. The river on the right reflects the muted grey-blue sky, and across the water are industrial-looking buildings and warehouses, hinting at a dock or quay area.

The overall mood is quiet and reflective, with soft lighting filtered through the cloud cover, giving the scene a serene, almost nostalgic atmosphere.

November 6, 2025 at 12:07 PM

James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

#TheArchers
CHRIS: "Can I press you to some jelly?"

CARLY: (coyly) "Ooh you can definitely do that, Chris..."

November 5, 2025 at 7:21 PM

James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

What is it with these Little Englanders?!

It doesn't matter if the story is crime, health, housing, the roads or even the weather, somehow for the loons it's always about hating immigrants. 🤪

Devon Live news story: "Avoid Devon beaches' as treacherous weather looms"

Comment "I love the sea like this plus the rougher the better will stop any illegal crossings"

November 4, 2025 at 3:27 PM

James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

In a generous gift to future historians, while the US government shutdown causes millions of Americans ongoing food poverty and lost healthcare, President Trump and his MAGA henchmen at a Gatsby-themed Mar-a-Lago party toast the White House receiving a gold and marble makeover and a new ballroom.

Akilah Hughes @AkilahObviously posts on X:

"People who didn't read The Great Gatsby."

in response to a post by Danny Kemp @dannyctkemp showing a lavish party with the caption:

"Trump and Rubio at the Mar-a-Lago Halloween Party, on day 31 of the shutdown. Official theme iS Gatsby and 'a little party never killed nobody', we're told."

1:14 PM. Nov 1,2025

A lavish, indoor party, with a "Roaring Twenties" or Great Gatsby-style theme.

U.S. President Donald Trump is seated at the centre, smiling smugly with his eyes closed.

November 1, 2025 at 10:42 PM

James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

Just bought a new kettle. There are no instructions about connecting it to the WiFi, so how on earth is it going to update its firmware to the latest version?!

Talkie Toaster from "Red Dwarf" season 4

November 1, 2025 at 2:36 PM

James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

#TheArchers

October 29, 2025 at 7:20 PM

James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

#TheArchers
Did someone say rogue Holstein heifer?!

October 29, 2025 at 7:11 PM

James A

@exeterdormouse.bsky.social

Seeing Prunella Scales and Timothy West create electric tension in "Long Day’s Journey Into Night" at Bristol Old Vic in 1991 was an intense theatre memory that has stayed with me all these years.