Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Philippa R. Francis @philippa.bsky.social · 6h

www.theguardian.com/business/202...
GOOD

William Hill owner says it could shut shops if Reeves raises gambling taxes

Evoke considering the plans before expected tax increases in budget, with up to 1,500 jobs potentially affected

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

sarahrubalcava.bsky.social @sarahrubalcava.bsky.social · 7h

Hogweed and some Narrow leaved Plantain in Wicklow Town #wildflowerhour

4 16

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

Big Green Books (Simon) @biggreenbooks.bsky.social · 8h

Hey gang!

Today, we went to Battle Woods (in Battle, just up the road).

We saw loads of horses. None were for sale.

Also, there were some amazing mushrooms!

We didn't see anyone for an hour while we were walking through the woods. God, it was great.

My fave mushroom of the day. It's a fat old musher, with a brown top. Sorry I can't do better descriptions.

A bunch of fungi that was wrapped around a tree. It looks a bit like a wasp's nest.

3 2 32

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

JinShei @jinshei.bsky.social · 22h

Husband put shelves up for my discworld collection. He is a very good man

Five shelves with four full of discworld books and one with room for more precious loot

24 17 410

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

Edmonds Scanner @edmondsscanner.bsky.social · 7h

If you've prepared your patch properly, by now your pumpkins should be:
- humming slightly
- levitating a little
- visited nightly by dark fairies
- sinking their vines into other plants to drain them of energy
- murmering dark incantations to the elder gods

6 54 160

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

Laura McKee @lauramckee.bsky.social · 7h

The beautiful structure of red clover. #WildflowerHour

Red clover wildflower with crown of pointed pink petals and leaves with deep green lines underneath and white chevrons on upper side.

5 38

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

Nick Tankard @nicktankard.bsky.social · 7h

A fog has rolled into the valley. I’m worried that this hand print on the scaffolding planks is going to get closer tonight 👀

Fog on a dark night, it is illuminated by a security light. Scaffolding in silhouette in the foreground. A big chimney in the fog in the distance.

Wooden planks with a dirty handprint on them. Black & white photograph.

2 11

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

TrevorTheBotanist @trevorthebotanist.bsky.social · 7h

Garden Pansy (V. × ⁠wittrockiana) seeded onto a pavement from a window box in Conwy. Love how our urban flora is shaped by very personal decisions. If Mrs Jones grows Lobelia next year, that may appear as a #PavementPlant instead #UrbanPlants #WildflowerHour www.bloomsbury.com/uk/urban-pla...

5 27

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

Rachel Deering @racheldeering.bsky.social · 7h

Goodnight.
🖼️ Laurie A Conley #31DaysofHalloween #Gothtober

One ghost pushing another ghost on a swing hung from a tree over graveyard headstones, a full moon shines overhead. Illustration.

3 47 200

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

Ian Senior @ians4ad.bsky.social · 7h

In a very boring reseeded field we found 1 small clump of Maiden pink on yesterday's Norfolk Flora group meeting. @bsbibotany.bsky.social #wildflowerhour

1 8 50

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

Dr Jill Whitelock @jillwhitelock.bsky.social · 7h

Red valerian in Ely yesterday. #WildflowerHour

Close-up photograph of bright pink flowers of Red valerian against a blurred dark green background.

9 46

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

Anna Holmes @annabookwriter.bsky.social · 13h

I have SO MANY THOUGHTS both as a poor kid who was raised in music and as a library worker facing a society that increasingly has no use for art.

Thing one: poor people can absolutely understand complex topics. The author is right there.

AND.

Our society is now such that people want to—

Fiona Maddocks @fionahmaddocks.bsky.social · 19h

observer.co.uk/news/columni...

Well worth reading this

It’s not opera that’s elitist but the idea that art is to...

The myth that culture has not been for the masses is debunked in a new book

observer.co.uk

2 15 56

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

Raven @ravenbranhard.bsky.social · 13h

on sunday I pause
to watch the light
settle down
there's tenderness
in the way the earth
catches
what the sky discards
if only
we could learn
to hold loss
so lightly

#Photography Maria Carvalho
@immcarvalho.bsky.social

7 21 140

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

Jenny Mattern @jengelmattern.bsky.social · 10h

pest control
an ominous crunch
beneath your feet

#DailyHaikuPrompt (crunch) #haiku

2 3 25

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

History and Heritage Yorkshire @handhyorkshire.bsky.social · 16h

fundraising in 1316, the Sheffield Outrages, and more. Seven pages of Yorkshire’s past, ready for your coffee break: payhip.com/b/Ctuiq

The Heritage Letter No2

In this second edition I look at Thomas Chippendale's work for Nostell Priory, the defence of Heptonstall during the English Civil War and recount the interesting way the Manor of Wakefield had of rai...

payhip.com

1 6

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

History and Heritage Yorkshire @handhyorkshire.bsky.social · 16h

Thank you to everyone who’s downloaded The Heritage Letter! If you’ve not yet had your Sunday read, there’s still time to enjoy this new issue from Thomas Chippendale’s craftsmanship at Nostell Priory to the defence of Heptonstall, the Manor of Wakefield’s inventive

1 3 22

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

Dave Borthwick @borthwickdave.bsky.social · 10h

afternoon deep in woods, in the patch & scatter of light & dark - goldfinches & long tailed tits, treecreepers & woodpeckers all avoiding the camera to glitch into dapple - haze to the horizon, sky above cloudless & clear

4 38

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

BookTrust @booktrust.org.uk · 9h

We've been busy celebrating #KinshipCareWeek, meeting kinship carers across the country!

We loved hearing first-hand how stories help strengthen bonds, build confidence, and create joyful moments of connection.

Discover details of our upcoming online workshops with Kinship:

https://bit.ly/4n29KHn

BookTrust staff member Adele at a Kinship event, standing behind a table with a BookTrust tablecloth on it, covered in books and packs

2 4

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

Matthew Dowd @matthewjdowd.bsky.social · 14h

happy bday Italian writer Eugenio Montale, b.1896.

"I have always knocked at the door of that wonderful and terrible enigma which is life."

4 22 140

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

Veeren Chauhan @veerenchauhan.com · 10h

Pea soup – golden canopies cradle a quiet path as autumn exhales in soft light. 🍂✨

#Autumn #Fog #GoldenHour #Leicester #iPhone16Pro #Photography #Fotographia #UrbanNature

A misty autumn scene along a tree-lined path in Leicester. Golden leaves hang densely overhead, forming a warm canopy, while fallen leaves carpet the ground. A lone figure walks into thick fog in the distance, framed by trees and a fence on the left. © Veeren Chauhan 2025.

2 2 16

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

lichtbringer @saintghost.bsky.social · 12h

For #PromptCombo #Visitor ✨

for @hool415.bsky.social

The Visitor

Each autumn night my visitor comes
tucked between the soot-black of a crow’s
glossed wing. My visitor talks in fir
and ash, my visitor taught me how
to sing. He brings me tales of war
and woe, convenes in the hallways
of princes and kings. My visitor is
both steward and ship, my visitor tells me
everything. He is a seer and a soldier, too;
he speaks in the language of flight.
My visitor chants to the deer and birds,
from the ridges where his harsh voice hides.
He tangles the brambles, the hedges,
my hair; he does not leave my side. He comes
down the chimney like a story to tell,
he flickers like candle and light. He sleeps
among white stars and moonsnore and frost,
with the dusk underneath his skin. He twirls my words
into poems and hymn, my breath is his sister
and kin. He frightens the children and sailors
alike, but I’m not afraid of his din. Even when
I’m alone in the hush of myself, in my empty
lap there’s the wind.

3 4 23

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

Claire Linney Author @clairelinney.bsky.social · 11h

Day 12 of my month of Black kids books. This is The Tunnels Below by Nadine Wild Palmer. A wonderful, slightly surreal fantasy adventure set in a hidden world beneath London. Cecilia finds herself working to save her new friends from a tyrannical overlord. Original and brilliant.

7 9

Reposted by Philippa R. Francis

John David Francis McAra @jmcara.bsky.social · 13h

Can you imagine if someone like Angela Rayner had these kind of links?

Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 14h

Maybe there's something in this Nigel Farage and Nathan Gill Russian bribes story....

Lots of stories about Nathan Gill and Russian bribes.

1 27 140

Philippa R. Francis @philippa.bsky.social · 13h

#Gothtober photopoem shared 12th October 2025

Photo shows a small stone building like an open chapel next to tiny tombstones in the gardens of a grand house. The poem reads ~ beside the hounds’ graves/ knapped flint in snakeskin layers:/ little shelter for grief

1 3