Jan Smith
@janjancsmith.bsky.social
Wildlife, singing, books, red wine. Hedgehog rescue and rehabber, Christian, vegan. Trying to find my way round bsky.social
Reposted by Jan Smith
Just when I thought I couldn't admire the man more...
🎯 🎯 🎯 💯 💯 💯 👍 👍 👍
🎯 🎯 🎯 💯 💯 💯 👍 👍 👍
December 13, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Just when I thought I couldn't admire the man more...
🎯 🎯 🎯 💯 💯 💯 👍 👍 👍
🎯 🎯 🎯 💯 💯 💯 👍 👍 👍
Reposted by Jan Smith
Caring is an act of resistance in a system that thrives on indifference.
December 13, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Caring is an act of resistance in a system that thrives on indifference.
Reposted by Jan Smith
Striking BL staff, struggling to pay their rent, advised to consider not giving presents this year, and interim CEO, Jeremy Silver, has the nerve to tell them they ‘don’t live in a real world’. Only 17% of staff guaranteed the Living Wage (£14.80 ph) suggests acute familiarity with the ‘real world’.
British Library staff asked for a decent pay. Instead they got ‘a few money-saving present ideas’, such as ‘consider not giving presents this holiday season’. They are on strike this week. I wrote about it for @lrb.co.uk. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/de...
Anna Aslanyan | On the Picket Line
On Monday morning, more than a hundred people formed a picket line outside one of the entrances to the British Library...
www.lrb.co.uk
December 12, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Striking BL staff, struggling to pay their rent, advised to consider not giving presents this year, and interim CEO, Jeremy Silver, has the nerve to tell them they ‘don’t live in a real world’. Only 17% of staff guaranteed the Living Wage (£14.80 ph) suggests acute familiarity with the ‘real world’.
Reposted by Jan Smith
This is so sad. Robin Ince & The Infinite Monkey Cage have been a scientific institution on the BBC for nearly two decades.
Ince has chosen honour over capitulation, refusing to be cowed by the bigots and culture warriors who want to silence him, and who have thoroughly infested the BBC.
Respect.
Ince has chosen honour over capitulation, refusing to be cowed by the bigots and culture warriors who want to silence him, and who have thoroughly infested the BBC.
Respect.
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
December 13, 2025 at 8:06 AM
This is so sad. Robin Ince & The Infinite Monkey Cage have been a scientific institution on the BBC for nearly two decades.
Ince has chosen honour over capitulation, refusing to be cowed by the bigots and culture warriors who want to silence him, and who have thoroughly infested the BBC.
Respect.
Ince has chosen honour over capitulation, refusing to be cowed by the bigots and culture warriors who want to silence him, and who have thoroughly infested the BBC.
Respect.
They needn’t bother as far I’m concerned as I won’t be listening.
Robin Ince IS The Infinite Monkey Cage, you corporate mouthpiece. The only "news" is that it's over, and we already know that.
December 13, 2025 at 7:42 PM
They needn’t bother as far I’m concerned as I won’t be listening.
Reposted by Jan Smith
In the audience today at the amazing Niamos theatre in Manchester for the Christmas recording of Infinite Monkey Cage. Devastating news from @robinince.bsky.social - what must have been an incredibly difficult decision but absolutely the correct and humane one. Robin remains the best of us.
December 12, 2025 at 10:26 PM
In the audience today at the amazing Niamos theatre in Manchester for the Christmas recording of Infinite Monkey Cage. Devastating news from @robinince.bsky.social - what must have been an incredibly difficult decision but absolutely the correct and humane one. Robin remains the best of us.
Reposted by Jan Smith
Has there ever been a more Reithian show on the BBC than The Infinite Monkey Cage? In the battle between Ince and the BBC, I know who I think best expresses BBC values.
December 13, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Has there ever been a more Reithian show on the BBC than The Infinite Monkey Cage? In the battle between Ince and the BBC, I know who I think best expresses BBC values.
Reposted by Jan Smith
Same. You’re not going to replicate that chemistry. Robin was the great big beating heart of ‘The Infinite Monkey Cage’, so as far as I’m concerned it’s ended.
December 13, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Same. You’re not going to replicate that chemistry. Robin was the great big beating heart of ‘The Infinite Monkey Cage’, so as far as I’m concerned it’s ended.
Reposted by Jan Smith
The Infinite Monkey Cage/BBC resignation letter of @robinince.bsky.social has now simply got me thinking about all the people who don’t use their platform and privilege to support those lacking both… 👀
December 13, 2025 at 7:24 AM
The Infinite Monkey Cage/BBC resignation letter of @robinince.bsky.social has now simply got me thinking about all the people who don’t use their platform and privilege to support those lacking both… 👀
Reposted by Jan Smith
A reminder that when Gary Lineker was under fire a couple of years back for criticising the Conservatives while a BBC presenter, the channel said, by contrast, it was fine for Lord Sugar to repeatedly endorse the Tories because he was "free to say, as a business person, what he wants to say."
December 13, 2025 at 4:40 PM
A reminder that when Gary Lineker was under fire a couple of years back for criticising the Conservatives while a BBC presenter, the channel said, by contrast, it was fine for Lord Sugar to repeatedly endorse the Tories because he was "free to say, as a business person, what he wants to say."
Reposted by Jan Smith
The fact is no presenter has ever had to leave the BBC for expressing conservative views, or even explicitly endorsing a right-wing party.
Was never a problem for Jeremy Clarkson. Was never a problem for Andrew Neil. Was never a problem for Alan Sugar
Was never a problem for Jeremy Clarkson. Was never a problem for Andrew Neil. Was never a problem for Alan Sugar
Robin Ince reveals to last night’s audience at a recording of Infinite Monkey Cage that the BBC has forced him to resign over his support of trans people
December 13, 2025 at 4:36 PM
The fact is no presenter has ever had to leave the BBC for expressing conservative views, or even explicitly endorsing a right-wing party.
Was never a problem for Jeremy Clarkson. Was never a problem for Andrew Neil. Was never a problem for Alan Sugar
Was never a problem for Jeremy Clarkson. Was never a problem for Andrew Neil. Was never a problem for Alan Sugar
Reposted by Jan Smith
GB News grilled me apparently?
Only problem with this is I've never been on their nonsense channel.
They lie - obsessively.
Help us grow an alternative to all the bollocks:
Join.greenparty.org.uk
Only problem with this is I've never been on their nonsense channel.
They lie - obsessively.
Help us grow an alternative to all the bollocks:
Join.greenparty.org.uk
December 13, 2025 at 7:20 PM
GB News grilled me apparently?
Only problem with this is I've never been on their nonsense channel.
They lie - obsessively.
Help us grow an alternative to all the bollocks:
Join.greenparty.org.uk
Only problem with this is I've never been on their nonsense channel.
They lie - obsessively.
Help us grow an alternative to all the bollocks:
Join.greenparty.org.uk
Reposted by Jan Smith
Just yesterday I was watching the actual newsreel of the launch of the Queen Mary, and today I discovered this/...
youtube.com/watch?v=15wL...
youtube.com/watch?v=15wL...
STANLEY BAXTER - LAUNCH OF THE QUEEN MARY
YouTube video by Gary Carter
youtube.com
December 13, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Just yesterday I was watching the actual newsreel of the launch of the Queen Mary, and today I discovered this/...
youtube.com/watch?v=15wL...
youtube.com/watch?v=15wL...
Ritz Carlton: out of the Maasai Mara now action.eko.org/a/ritz-carlt...
Ritz-Carlton: out of the Maasai Mara now
In a spectacular, remote corner of the Maasai Mara reserve, something extraordinary happens every year: millions of wildebeest, zebra and other animals cross the plain as part of the Great Migration.
action.eko.org
December 13, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Ritz Carlton: out of the Maasai Mara now action.eko.org/a/ritz-carlt...
Reposted by Jan Smith
More countries are now supporting a global moratorium and the momentum is finally shifting. Together we can protect the deep before the industry even begins.
👉 Click the link to help defend one of the most fragile places on Earth: go.wemove.eu/DeepSeaMinin...
👉 Click the link to help defend one of the most fragile places on Earth: go.wemove.eu/DeepSeaMinin...
go.wemove.eu
December 13, 2025 at 8:30 AM
More countries are now supporting a global moratorium and the momentum is finally shifting. Together we can protect the deep before the industry even begins.
👉 Click the link to help defend one of the most fragile places on Earth: go.wemove.eu/DeepSeaMinin...
👉 Click the link to help defend one of the most fragile places on Earth: go.wemove.eu/DeepSeaMinin...
Reposted by Jan Smith
Despite their green pledges, #Volvo and #Daimler continue investing in diesel trucks that harm our health, climate, and economies.
#IdleGiants #ElectricTrucks
#IdleGiants #ElectricTrucks
December 11, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Despite their green pledges, #Volvo and #Daimler continue investing in diesel trucks that harm our health, climate, and economies.
#IdleGiants #ElectricTrucks
#IdleGiants #ElectricTrucks
Reposted by Jan Smith
I've spent three days in Calais & it's horrendous.
People living in disgusting conditions. Our Government is spending £476m on the militarisation of the border.
We must divert that money to a humanitarian response that treats people with basic dignity.
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
People living in disgusting conditions. Our Government is spending £476m on the militarisation of the border.
We must divert that money to a humanitarian response that treats people with basic dignity.
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
Zack Polanski: Allow small boat migrants in and let them work
Green Party leader accuses Sir Keir Starmer of following Nigel Farage in ‘pushing racist rhetoric’ and calls JK Rowling’s stance on single-sex spaces ‘hateful’
www.thetimes.com
December 12, 2025 at 8:42 PM
I've spent three days in Calais & it's horrendous.
People living in disgusting conditions. Our Government is spending £476m on the militarisation of the border.
We must divert that money to a humanitarian response that treats people with basic dignity.
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
People living in disgusting conditions. Our Government is spending £476m on the militarisation of the border.
We must divert that money to a humanitarian response that treats people with basic dignity.
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
Reposted by Jan Smith
There is a recording coming so you can see images of ‘the world’s most beautiful front garden’ in due course and my tribute to friends and colleagues Kathy Galloway, Keith Hammond, Peter Matheson, Refaat Alareer and the tenacity of those dissenting in dark times 2/
December 13, 2025 at 7:36 AM
There is a recording coming so you can see images of ‘the world’s most beautiful front garden’ in due course and my tribute to friends and colleagues Kathy Galloway, Keith Hammond, Peter Matheson, Refaat Alareer and the tenacity of those dissenting in dark times 2/
Reposted by Jan Smith
NEW: Two former first ministers have given their support to pro-Palestine protesters on hunger strike ⬇️
Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf back call to support Palestine hunger strikers
www.thenational.scot
December 12, 2025 at 3:48 PM
NEW: Two former first ministers have given their support to pro-Palestine protesters on hunger strike ⬇️
Reposted by Jan Smith
While some slept in their comfy beds overnight, several hundred citizens of Gaza Strip stood all night in calf-high floodwaters, probably holding their children at same time.
IDF is blocking delivery of 'waterproof' tents, tent poles & any tool or machine with a double purpose.
Sanitation zero.
IDF is blocking delivery of 'waterproof' tents, tent poles & any tool or machine with a double purpose.
Sanitation zero.
December 13, 2025 at 3:47 AM
While some slept in their comfy beds overnight, several hundred citizens of Gaza Strip stood all night in calf-high floodwaters, probably holding their children at same time.
IDF is blocking delivery of 'waterproof' tents, tent poles & any tool or machine with a double purpose.
Sanitation zero.
IDF is blocking delivery of 'waterproof' tents, tent poles & any tool or machine with a double purpose.
Sanitation zero.
Reposted by Jan Smith
And you can read about the amazing life and writings of Naomi Mitchison here - from refugees to Botswana, through a deep commitment to socialism, ecology, permanent agriculture and socialism her words dance and make worlds of fantasy and justice come alive. End/
December 13, 2025 at 8:34 AM
And you can read about the amazing life and writings of Naomi Mitchison here - from refugees to Botswana, through a deep commitment to socialism, ecology, permanent agriculture and socialism her words dance and make worlds of fantasy and justice come alive. End/
Reposted by Jan Smith
Thanks to all the lovely people who came to my @scottishpen.bsky.social Naomi Mitchison lecture on a dark December night, in dark times, after another dark year in intimate, resistant relationship to genocide, to be ‘menaced by hope’ as the late Peter Matheson put it. 1/
December 13, 2025 at 7:33 AM
Thanks to all the lovely people who came to my @scottishpen.bsky.social Naomi Mitchison lecture on a dark December night, in dark times, after another dark year in intimate, resistant relationship to genocide, to be ‘menaced by hope’ as the late Peter Matheson put it. 1/
Reposted by Jan Smith
"You respond to an emergency with genuine action"
Powerful and honest message from the recent National Emergency Briefing @nebriefing.bsky.social by Prof Hugh Montgomery
This should be on national TV
#ClimateEmergency #ClimateAction
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaUM...
Powerful and honest message from the recent National Emergency Briefing @nebriefing.bsky.social by Prof Hugh Montgomery
This should be on national TV
#ClimateEmergency #ClimateAction
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaUM...
Health - Prof Hugh Montgomery OBE | National Emergency Briefing
YouTube video by The National Emergency Briefing
www.youtube.com
December 13, 2025 at 7:44 AM
"You respond to an emergency with genuine action"
Powerful and honest message from the recent National Emergency Briefing @nebriefing.bsky.social by Prof Hugh Montgomery
This should be on national TV
#ClimateEmergency #ClimateAction
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaUM...
Powerful and honest message from the recent National Emergency Briefing @nebriefing.bsky.social by Prof Hugh Montgomery
This should be on national TV
#ClimateEmergency #ClimateAction
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaUM...
Reposted by Jan Smith
He was old and partially sighted when he fell in 4 days ago scared by a truck.
It wasn't the easiest rescue as the water is filthy with sewage there and he was biting a lot out of fear.
The little old guy is in our hospital now. Weak but nothing unfixable ♥️
It wasn't the easiest rescue as the water is filthy with sewage there and he was biting a lot out of fear.
The little old guy is in our hospital now. Weak but nothing unfixable ♥️
December 13, 2025 at 11:52 AM
He was old and partially sighted when he fell in 4 days ago scared by a truck.
It wasn't the easiest rescue as the water is filthy with sewage there and he was biting a lot out of fear.
The little old guy is in our hospital now. Weak but nothing unfixable ♥️
It wasn't the easiest rescue as the water is filthy with sewage there and he was biting a lot out of fear.
The little old guy is in our hospital now. Weak but nothing unfixable ♥️