Author | Lightnews

Nick Mayhew-Smith @nickbpp.bsky.social · 1m

Yep, Andrew's been shortlisted as Editor of the Year (Independent Magazines). Jen (the designer) deserves full credit for her work making it look so good, though I guess the cover award goes to the photographer rather than the designer. Still, team effort by a fab team!

Reposted by Nick Mayhew-Smith

International Naturist Federation @worldnaturism.bsky.social · 4h

🏆 Big news for naturism!

British Naturism magazine is shortlisted for 2 BSME awards — a first in 61 years!
👏 Hats off to Andrew Welch (68 issues), Mark Bass (iconic cover photo), Jen Gaughan, and the entire BN team for making naturism visible, celebrated, and respected.
@britnaturism.bsky.social

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Nick Mayhew-Smith @nickbpp.bsky.social · 2d

It's Orwell, but I can't figure out why it can only be him!
www.artsjournal.com/herman/2016/...

The Strange Case of Orwell’s Typewriter

My curiosity was aroused by this sentence: His manual typewriter — rather suitably, in the light of his faint anarchist leanings — was later bestowed by Sonia on the 1960s hippy-radical…

www.artsjournal.com

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Nick Mayhew-Smith @nickbpp.bsky.social · 3d

Yes, they chose the Docklands site specifically for this because it was mostly derelict post-industrial land and buildings. I think one of the first buildings to go up was Canary Wharf itself, it used to stand out a mile but now it's clearly got company!

Nick Mayhew-Smith @nickbpp.bsky.social · 4d

The first time I remember the analogy being used was Nick Clegg in 2010, and it was really concerning how little criticism or context it attracted. He used it as a smokescreen for LibDem support for austerity: "Would you ask your children to pay your credit card bill?"

Nick Mayhew-Smith @nickbpp.bsky.social · 6d

"The government must listen to its members instead of being guided by a 'narrow group of voices'."

Yes. Stop chasing imaginary Red Wall voters. No such category exists. There are ordinary people in those constituencies, no more or less important than anyone else.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Labour’s new deputy leader says party must pay more heed to its members

Exclusive: Powell, who was sacked as Commons leader by Starmer in September, says government should stop trying to ‘out-Reform Reform’

www.theguardian.com

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Anton Gerashchenko @antongerashchenko.bsky.social · 6d

A video by #Kharkiv resident Maryna Aheienko shows her little son, who is not yet three years old, recalling a drone attack on their kindergarten.

At the moment of the Russian drone strike, forty-eight children were in the shelter,all of them were evacuated to a safe location.

📹marina.aheienko

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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 7d

Why the Caerphilly by-election result shows Nigel Farage's party is much weaker than most of the coverage of Reform suggests
bylinetimes.com/2025/10/24/t...

The Reform Backlash: Caerphilly By-Election Result Shows Nigel Farage’s Party Is Much Weaker Than It Looks

Despite widespread media predictions of a Reform victory on Thursday, Farage's defeat shows his party continues to be overestimated, argues Adam Bienkov

bylinetimes.com

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Nick Mayhew-Smith @nickbpp.bsky.social · 7d

No, I don't remotely think idealism is a negative! Quite the opposite, especially when it comes to naturism. I just mean those conflicting dynamics have been part of the naturist movement from very early on. The body is always contested, and I don't think naturism can ever fully transcend that.

Nick Mayhew-Smith @nickbpp.bsky.social · 7d

Yes, that early idealism has long faded. Back in 1951 a German naturist visiting Britain complained that the Brits had lost sight of the healthy life reform ethic: "you can’t do that simply by throwing off your clothes and sitting with a pipe in your armchair!" she complained.

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Nick Mayhew-Smith @nickbpp.bsky.social · 7d

Well yes indeed, it was one of many inter-war utopian movements that sprung up, and thankfully it has proved an enduring one. But from day one it had a LOT of visual culture attached to it, photos and films, that spoke a different language and told a different story to the realities of naturism.

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International Naturist Federation @worldnaturism.bsky.social · 7d

Beyond Borders: Women, Wellness & the Future of Naturism 🌍
At EuNat & INF-FNI’s Biennial Conference, voices from 17+ countries met to shape the future of naturism.
✨ “It’s not about being without clothes, but without masks.”
by @vianaziz.bsky.social
Full article 👇
🔗 blog.inf-fni.org/reflections-...

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Reform Party UK Exposed @reformexposed.bsky.social · 7d

‘Jail is inevitable’ for former Reform politician awaiting bribery sentence

Two other MEPs joined Nathan Gill on a trip paid for by pro-Russian interests – and 6 weeks later repeated his talking points in Parliament

‘Jail is inevitable’ for former Reform politician awaitin...

Two other MEPs joined Nathan Gill on a trip paid for by pro-Russian interests – and 6 weeks later repeated his talking points in Parliament

observer.co.uk

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Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 11d

🚨These cuts are staggering - a 60% reduction from £7.5K to just £3K per child for some of the most vulnerable children & young adults in England.

Please help spread the word and support @asgsfprotest.bsky.social
by signing their open letter

asgsfprotest.com/add-your-sig...

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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 14d

“Having called Putin the leader he most admired and with his close associate, former Reform Leader in Wales.. taking bribes to praise Russia, Nigel Farage is now panicking and desperately trying to backtrack”
@annaturley.bsky.social calls it exactly as it is.
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/nigel-...

Nigel Farage Has Once Again Blamed The West For Putin's Invasion Of Ukraine

Although he has conceded that the Russian president is "a bad dude".

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk

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Byline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 14d

🔴What Nathan Did Next: A Kremlin-Backed Forum on How to Subvert Western Democracy

The former Reform UK Welsh Leader Nathan Gill was due to give a talk on cryptocurrencies at a Kremlin-backed convention in Moscow when he was arrested, reports @peterjukes.bsky.social
bylinetimes.com/2025/10/17/w...

What Nathan Did Next: A Kremlin-Backed Forum on How to Subvert Western Democracy

The former Reform UK Welsh Leader Nathan Gill was due to give a talk on cryptocurrencies at a Kremlin-backed convention in Moscow when he was arrested

bylinetimes.com

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Nick Mayhew-Smith @nickbpp.bsky.social · 14d

This is the number one political news story of 2025, and the media can hardly be bothered to mention it. Astonishing.

Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 14d

Nigel Farage now says that any suggestion he's been soft on Putin is "just nonsense".

Here's a quick reminder of what he's said in the past

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Nick Mayhew-Smith @nickbpp.bsky.social · 15d

Complained to The Graun about this article by its travel editor, who clearly has strong personal antipathy towards naturists. Repulsive, pot-bellied, middle-aged men is his summary of our community. I can laugh at myself, yes... but this is just hatred of a group
www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/...

The South West Coast Path’s ‘forgotten section’: the quiet pleasures of south-east Cornwall

The Rame peninsula, just west of Plymouth, is often bypassed by tourists these days, which makes its hidden coves and fine walking even more appealing

www.theguardian.com

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Nick Mayhew-Smith @nickbpp.bsky.social · 15d

Ah, front row seats for the Brits!
Just seen the slides from the amazing presentation by @vianaziz.bsky.social, which was part of the conference. Hope that work will be widely disseminated.

Reposted by Nick Mayhew-Smith

LaindonFeminist: 10 Year Keir @viviane49.bsky.social · 15d

FarRage wants us to get bored asking who funded his house.

I’m not getting bored I’m getting angrier. Our media are hopeless (not news but worth saying again). FarRage smirks his way through Russian betrayal and dodgy house deals.

He is a Traitor.

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Nick Mayhew-Smith @nickbpp.bsky.social · 18d

So Fairlight Glen is next to Hastings, which is about 35 miles away from Brighton. The beach in Brighton opened with great fanfare, I remember seeing it on the news myself, whereas I think Fairlight just got nodded through at a council meeting. Brighton is the one everyone remembers!

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Nick Mayhew-Smith @nickbpp.bsky.social · 18d

It was a year before Brighton; BN's website confirms it was in 1978: www.bn.org.uk/activities/p... From memory its designation took place in the autumn or winter of 1978, but I might be wrong on that.

And Brighton was 9 August 1979: www.theargus.co.uk/news/2371235...

www.bn.org.uk

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Nick Mayhew-Smith @nickbpp.bsky.social · 19d

Excellent summary, good to read.

It was actually Fairlight Glen near Hastings in East Sussex that was the first 'officially sanctioned' nude beach in the UK, a few months before Brighton's nude beach.

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Tom Hunter @onelifestand87.bsky.social · 21d

It is embarassing not to see the BBC pulling up Reform leaders claiming that Nathan Gill was just some fan who got photos taken with Farage - he was an MEP for them & their leader in Wales while taking cash from Russia to act against the UK! Literally the very basics of your job to point this out

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Nick Mayhew-Smith @nickbpp.bsky.social · 22d

Oh I see. There isn't enough information about the influencer's post to pick that up, but I'm not surprised they highlight the same aspects, because naked travel is so visible and measurable. But just because something is easier to measure doesn't make it more important, I agree with your point.

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