Gill Kirk
@gillkirk.bsky.social
A constellation: pol comms strategist (restricted), playwright/screenwriter & tutor, media law & Norsk student, on/off French horn player & proud Glaswegian. Ex SW1, now Trumpton (Bath). All fab. LinkedIn 👀 https://www.linkedin.com/in/gillkirk
Reposted by Gill Kirk
Disappointingly, my boss is no longer surprised when I come out with things like "I bet you didn't know that British Rail patented a flying saucer, did you?"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British...
British Rail flying saucer - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 26, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Disappointingly, my boss is no longer surprised when I come out with things like "I bet you didn't know that British Rail patented a flying saucer, did you?"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British...
Reposted by Gill Kirk
5. HMRC penalties: the impact on the poor
Over the past five years, HMRC have issued around 600,000 late-filing penalties to people too poor to pay any tax. Far more penalties were issued to people too poor to pay tax than to those in the top income deciles:
Over the past five years, HMRC have issued around 600,000 late-filing penalties to people too poor to pay any tax. Far more penalties were issued to people too poor to pay tax than to those in the top income deciles:
November 26, 2025 at 10:54 AM
5. HMRC penalties: the impact on the poor
Over the past five years, HMRC have issued around 600,000 late-filing penalties to people too poor to pay any tax. Far more penalties were issued to people too poor to pay tax than to those in the top income deciles:
Over the past five years, HMRC have issued around 600,000 late-filing penalties to people too poor to pay any tax. Far more penalties were issued to people too poor to pay tax than to those in the top income deciles:
Reposted by Gill Kirk
Does anyone use apps or services to provide live captions or a transcript during IRL meetings/Events?
Hit me up with your recommendations, you could save me a lot of time.
Thanks in advance.
Hit me up with your recommendations, you could save me a lot of time.
Thanks in advance.
November 26, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Does anyone use apps or services to provide live captions or a transcript during IRL meetings/Events?
Hit me up with your recommendations, you could save me a lot of time.
Thanks in advance.
Hit me up with your recommendations, you could save me a lot of time.
Thanks in advance.
Reposted by Gill Kirk
Siri: Show me the #StreisandEffect
NEWS --> BBC confirms to me that they did edit a line out of historian @rutgerbregman.com's speech. It called Trump "the most openly corrupt president in US history."
BBC also confirms this was done on the advice of lawyers. So Trump's threats worked.
New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
BBC also confirms this was done on the advice of lawyers. So Trump's threats worked.
New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
Trump’s Fury at BBC Gets Unnerving Results with Pro-MAGA Edit Stunner
First, British Broadcasting Corporation execs resigned after Trump complained about a segment. Now the BBC edited out a line from a historian that was critical of Trump. Where does this end?
newrepublic.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Siri: Show me the #StreisandEffect
Reposted by Gill Kirk
Exactly. AI does not "think" or "make" or "dream" or "design."
It mimics established patterns. That's it.
It mimics established patterns. That's it.
AI (in the form of LLMs) will never be creative. It copies; it does not innovate.
A mathematical ceiling limits generative AI to amateur-level creativity
A new study argues that the algorithms driving tools like ChatGPT impose a hard limit on originality. By prioritizing probable answers, these models are structurally confined to producing amateur-leve...
www.psypost.org
November 25, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Exactly. AI does not "think" or "make" or "dream" or "design."
It mimics established patterns. That's it.
It mimics established patterns. That's it.
Reposted by Gill Kirk
Very pleased that I got to review this, after last week’s cancelled press night: #ToKillAMockingbird starring Richard Coyle, @theatreroyalbath.bsky.social til Sat.
www.bristol247.com/culture/thea...
www.bristol247.com/culture/thea...
Review: To Kill a Mockingbird, Theatre Royal Bath – ‘Richard Coyle delivers the performance of a lifetime’
Bartlett Sher directs Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s classic American novel
www.bristol247.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Very pleased that I got to review this, after last week’s cancelled press night: #ToKillAMockingbird starring Richard Coyle, @theatreroyalbath.bsky.social til Sat.
www.bristol247.com/culture/thea...
www.bristol247.com/culture/thea...
Very pleased that I got to review this, after last week’s cancelled press night: #ToKillAMockingbird starring Richard Coyle, @theatreroyalbath.bsky.social til Sat.
www.bristol247.com/culture/thea...
www.bristol247.com/culture/thea...
Review: To Kill a Mockingbird, Theatre Royal Bath – ‘Richard Coyle delivers the performance of a lifetime’
Bartlett Sher directs Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s classic American novel
www.bristol247.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Very pleased that I got to review this, after last week’s cancelled press night: #ToKillAMockingbird starring Richard Coyle, @theatreroyalbath.bsky.social til Sat.
www.bristol247.com/culture/thea...
www.bristol247.com/culture/thea...
What a delight. I Was Monty’s Double. Total classic, making the residents 14-year old gasp. (And here is Sid James at the start, with John Mills). It’s on BBC iplayer, if you fancy joining in.
November 16, 2025 at 6:26 PM
What a delight. I Was Monty’s Double. Total classic, making the residents 14-year old gasp. (And here is Sid James at the start, with John Mills). It’s on BBC iplayer, if you fancy joining in.
Oh my bloody goodness- what a satisfying read. Zoë Apostolides has a glorious voice. Huge thanks to @saltpublishing.com - if one of you hadn’t followed me here, I’d never have bought this. #Superb #Eerie #NewFiction
Happy publication day to our author Zoë Apostolides 🎉 Her debut novel THE HOMECOMING is a quietly disturbing part mystery, part ghost story, about isolation, memory, spirits and secrets, intergenerational friendship and motherhood. Published by @saltpublishing.com
November 15, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Oh my bloody goodness- what a satisfying read. Zoë Apostolides has a glorious voice. Huge thanks to @saltpublishing.com - if one of you hadn’t followed me here, I’d never have bought this. #Superb #Eerie #NewFiction
“Everyone else thinks…” But the possibility that this isn’t true (even tho’ you’re convinced of it) is rising – as is the chance that you’re being manipulated. #CollectiveIllusions. #melrobbins
www.audible.co.uk/pd/B0FRXL8G4...
www.audible.co.uk/pd/B0FRXL8G4...
Audible
Try Audible free for 30 days! Start listening to best-selling audiobooks, exclusive Originals, and free podcasts with the Audible app.
www.audible.co.uk
November 4, 2025 at 4:09 PM
“Everyone else thinks…” But the possibility that this isn’t true (even tho’ you’re convinced of it) is rising – as is the chance that you’re being manipulated. #CollectiveIllusions. #melrobbins
www.audible.co.uk/pd/B0FRXL8G4...
www.audible.co.uk/pd/B0FRXL8G4...
Reposted by Gill Kirk
The White House is asking people not to share pictures of the East Wing because it’s even worse today.
October 21, 2025 at 10:54 PM
The White House is asking people not to share pictures of the East Wing because it’s even worse today.
Reposted by Gill Kirk
Today’s Short Story Festival Deadline (Oct. 9th): HISTORY Short Story Contest
documentaryshortfilmfestival.com/history-shor...
History is a narrative that describes, analyzes, and questions past events, and examines the patterns of cause and effect.
documentaryshortfilmfestival.com/history-shor...
History is a narrative that describes, analyzes, and questions past events, and examines the patterns of cause and effect.
October 9, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Today’s Short Story Festival Deadline (Oct. 9th): HISTORY Short Story Contest
documentaryshortfilmfestival.com/history-shor...
History is a narrative that describes, analyzes, and questions past events, and examines the patterns of cause and effect.
documentaryshortfilmfestival.com/history-shor...
History is a narrative that describes, analyzes, and questions past events, and examines the patterns of cause and effect.
Reposted by Gill Kirk
As Halloween nears, here’s a taster for the spooky season.
A dark tale from the ever inventive mind of celticman
Rust and Dust 4 is today’s Pick of the Day.
Do start at the beginning!
www.abctales.com/story/celtic...
Please share if you can.
A dark tale from the ever inventive mind of celticman
Rust and Dust 4 is today’s Pick of the Day.
Do start at the beginning!
www.abctales.com/story/celtic...
Please share if you can.
October 9, 2025 at 8:23 PM
As Halloween nears, here’s a taster for the spooky season.
A dark tale from the ever inventive mind of celticman
Rust and Dust 4 is today’s Pick of the Day.
Do start at the beginning!
www.abctales.com/story/celtic...
Please share if you can.
A dark tale from the ever inventive mind of celticman
Rust and Dust 4 is today’s Pick of the Day.
Do start at the beginning!
www.abctales.com/story/celtic...
Please share if you can.
Alignment of the planets this morning. Popped into ever marvellous
@indiespiritbath.bsky.social for a little Xmas planning – with a wish list. Let’s say there was a pretty big gasp - & an even bigger one when I heard there’d just been an extra special delivery 40 minutes earlier! Say no more…
@indiespiritbath.bsky.social for a little Xmas planning – with a wish list. Let’s say there was a pretty big gasp - & an even bigger one when I heard there’d just been an extra special delivery 40 minutes earlier! Say no more…
a man in a suit and tie is smiling and says " our secret "
Alt: Mr Bean in a suit and tie is winking and says "our secret "
media.tenor.com
October 9, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Alignment of the planets this morning. Popped into ever marvellous
@indiespiritbath.bsky.social for a little Xmas planning – with a wish list. Let’s say there was a pretty big gasp - & an even bigger one when I heard there’d just been an extra special delivery 40 minutes earlier! Say no more…
@indiespiritbath.bsky.social for a little Xmas planning – with a wish list. Let’s say there was a pretty big gasp - & an even bigger one when I heard there’d just been an extra special delivery 40 minutes earlier! Say no more…
Reposted by Gill Kirk
Help Salt take its publishing to the next level!
Donate to Keep Independent Publishing Alive – Support Salt Books 2026, organized by Christopher Hamilton-Emery
Help Salt Publish Brilliant New Books in 2026
For twenty-… Christopher Hamilton-Emery needs your support for Keep Independent Publishing Alive – Support Salt Books 2026
gofund.me
October 7, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Help Salt take its publishing to the next level!
Reposted by Gill Kirk
Northern Lights theorkneynews.scot/2025/10/03/n...
Northern Lights
By Bernie Bell. Tuesday night…..about 9.30…..across the hill at the back of our house….Northern Lights….. Please insert pics The last pic. isn’t The Mother Ship come to collect us – it’s our neighb…
theorkneynews.scot
October 3, 2025 at 6:02 AM
Northern Lights theorkneynews.scot/2025/10/03/n...
Reposted by Gill Kirk
The French military has now boarded the Russian ship linked to the Danish drone incidents.
Just nu
Senaste nytt från TV4 Nyheterna
www.tv4.se
October 1, 2025 at 4:37 PM
The French military has now boarded the Russian ship linked to the Danish drone incidents.
Reposted by Gill Kirk
The US government shut down much of its operations on October 1 as deep partisan divisions prevented Congress and the White House from reaching a funding deal, setting off what could be a standoff that could lead to the loss of thousands of federal jobs reut.rs/4nvyxF9
US government shutdown begins as partisan division rules Washington
The U.S. government shut down much of its operations on Wednesday as deep partisan divisions prevented Congress and the White House from reaching a funding deal, setting off what could be a long, grueling standoff that could lead to the loss of thousands of federal jobs.
reut.rs
October 1, 2025 at 4:17 AM
The US government shut down much of its operations on October 1 as deep partisan divisions prevented Congress and the White House from reaching a funding deal, setting off what could be a standoff that could lead to the loss of thousands of federal jobs reut.rs/4nvyxF9
Reposted by Gill Kirk
It's newsletter day! Have you got it? Have you read it? Are you motherfucken zen, bitches? Wang us your finest gif right in this very place.
(And if you're a newb get yourself signed up right here for weekly writing pep and prompts writershq.co.uk/flash-face-o...)
(And if you're a newb get yourself signed up right here for weekly writing pep and prompts writershq.co.uk/flash-face-o...)
September 26, 2025 at 8:45 AM
It's newsletter day! Have you got it? Have you read it? Are you motherfucken zen, bitches? Wang us your finest gif right in this very place.
(And if you're a newb get yourself signed up right here for weekly writing pep and prompts writershq.co.uk/flash-face-o...)
(And if you're a newb get yourself signed up right here for weekly writing pep and prompts writershq.co.uk/flash-face-o...)
Reposted by Gill Kirk
This sounds like the beginning of a proper friendship & makes me feel much the same as when the Blind Date couples actually fancy each other (ps for those who don’t know, DATD introduces people who disagree strongly about something to each other)
Dining across the divide: ‘There he was with his goatee, shaved head, tattoos – but never judge a book by its cover’
Dining across the divide: ‘There he was with his goatee, shaved head, tattoos – but never judge a book by its cover’
A leftwing voting skeptic and tribal Tory party member struggle to agree on nationalism and the role of the state. Can they find any common ground over social media?
www.theguardian.com
September 28, 2025 at 12:12 PM
This sounds like the beginning of a proper friendship & makes me feel much the same as when the Blind Date couples actually fancy each other (ps for those who don’t know, DATD introduces people who disagree strongly about something to each other)
Reposted by Gill Kirk
September 28, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Reposted by Gill Kirk
Eric Pickles (remember him?) ended the Local Government Pension Scheme for new Councillors in 2014.
Now, 11 years later, at the Labour Party conference, Steve Reed MP has just announced that he is reversing this decision in recognition of the huge contribution of local councillors! 🎉
Now, 11 years later, at the Labour Party conference, Steve Reed MP has just announced that he is reversing this decision in recognition of the huge contribution of local councillors! 🎉
September 28, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Eric Pickles (remember him?) ended the Local Government Pension Scheme for new Councillors in 2014.
Now, 11 years later, at the Labour Party conference, Steve Reed MP has just announced that he is reversing this decision in recognition of the huge contribution of local councillors! 🎉
Now, 11 years later, at the Labour Party conference, Steve Reed MP has just announced that he is reversing this decision in recognition of the huge contribution of local councillors! 🎉
Reposted by Gill Kirk
Does your pet look good in a horsehair wig? Do they deserve to be seen and admired by thousands? Why not dress them up as a lawyer and submit their photo for inclusion in this year’s Law Paw Calendar (www.lawpawcalendar.com)? All proceeds will go to @savechildrenuk.bsky.social
Law Paw Calendar
www.lawpawcalendar.com
September 26, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Does your pet look good in a horsehair wig? Do they deserve to be seen and admired by thousands? Why not dress them up as a lawyer and submit their photo for inclusion in this year’s Law Paw Calendar (www.lawpawcalendar.com)? All proceeds will go to @savechildrenuk.bsky.social
Reposted by Gill Kirk
I often find people who like to think is doesn’t happen here…that money in politics is harmless. I have news for you:
Ex-Reform politician admits Russia-linked bribery charges www.bbc.com/news/article...
Ex-Reform politician admits Russia-linked bribery charges www.bbc.com/news/article...
Ex-Reform UK Wales leader Nathan Gill pleads guilty to bribery charges
Nathan Gill admits eight charges of bribery while being a Member of the European Parliament.
www.bbc.com
September 26, 2025 at 12:47 PM
I often find people who like to think is doesn’t happen here…that money in politics is harmless. I have news for you:
Ex-Reform politician admits Russia-linked bribery charges www.bbc.com/news/article...
Ex-Reform politician admits Russia-linked bribery charges www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Gill Kirk
The Bath Film Festival runs 17–26 October. 2025’s programme includes previews of Die, My Love (Jennifer Lawrence & Robert Pattinson), and Bugonia (Emma Stone, dir. Yorgos Lanthimos). Plus films including The Invisible Woman and Nouvelle Vague. See bathboxoffice.org.uk/theme/bath-f...
September 26, 2025 at 12:57 PM
The Bath Film Festival runs 17–26 October. 2025’s programme includes previews of Die, My Love (Jennifer Lawrence & Robert Pattinson), and Bugonia (Emma Stone, dir. Yorgos Lanthimos). Plus films including The Invisible Woman and Nouvelle Vague. See bathboxoffice.org.uk/theme/bath-f...