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Reposted by Karen Shipway

The Author, Séamas O'Reilly @seamas.bsky.social · 20h

I write full time largely because of one thread about getting high with the Irish president. As cringe as it is to admit, my entire life has been massively enhanced by Twitter and ketamine over precisely the same time that those two things have proven less beneficial for Elon Musk.

Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · 1d

Has anything great happened in your life because of social media?

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Sooz Kempner @soozuk.bsky.social · 3d

RIP JILLY COOPER! A queen who wrote THE most readable books in existence. People saw my thread of epic Jilly quotes and decided I was saying the books are shite. You COULDN'T be more wrong. Go and watch Rivals today.

Sooz Kempner @soozuk.bsky.social · Oct 18

🧵Some real Jilly Cooper quotes from her Rutshire Chronicles, the series of books that Rivals is from.

1) "Her breasts swayed like party balloons when the front door opens"

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Janine Gibson @janinegibson.ft.com · 3d

It's hard to know how best to mark the death of Jilly Cooper - there is no Concorde to bonk on and I don't have a horse to go and pour out my feelings to in the stables while being groped by an aristo. Perhaps just a glass of fizz and a bracing walk with an unusually sensitive dog.

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Karen Shipway @karenshipway.bsky.social · 3d

As I try to get undressed and into bed without stepping on or falling over Lyly I'm absolutely certain that the cause of death on my death certificate will simply say 'cat'.

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Dr Delyth Badder @folklorewales.com · 4d

Six weeks ago, I picked up a year-old tawny owl with a broken leg off the main road near our home and dropped him off at our nearest vet.

After a few days, I received one of the most bizarre phone calls I’ve ever had, asking “So when are you coming to pick up your owl?” 🧵

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Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 4d

British politics is basically a doom spiral of increasingly unhinged hostile policies.

Reform says something unhinged
⬇️
Labour counters with their own unhinged policy
⬇️
Tories shout from back they'll be even more unhinged
⬇️
Reform announces different unhinged proposal in response
⬇️
And repeat...🔁

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Karen Shipway @karenshipway.bsky.social · 4d

Yhis is exactly what they did when policing the 2010 student protests, it was mad and diaproportionate then and now.

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Karen Shipway @karenshipway.bsky.social · 5d

On #Caturday I am pleased to report that the indoor cat grass has been tasted and passed muster, its only taken two weeks.

A black and white cat, with green eyes, stares at the camera. She is standing in front of a book case filled with books, next to a clump of cat grass.

The black and white cat is sniffing the grass, some blades are bent and broken, and the tips of others are shorn.

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Karen Shipway @karenshipway.bsky.social · 5d

Every time I think things can't become any more insane....

Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 5d

Tommy Robinson invited to Israel by Amichai Chikli the Minister of Diaspora Affairs.

In the wake of the horrific Manchester terrorist
attack, Israel and the Jewish people stand firmly
with our allies in the United Kingdom.

On behalf of the State of Israel, I am proud to
host British patriot @TRobinsonNewEra who will
visit Israel in mid-October.

Tommy is a courageous leader on the front line
against radical Islam.

At a time when Jews across Europe face rising
antisemitism, it is vital to strengthen bonds with
allies who refuse to be silent.

He has proven himself a true friend of Israel and
the Jewish people, unafraid to speak the truth
and confront hate.

Israel will always stand with the Jewish
community and our allies worldwide. Together
with friends like Tommy Robinson, we will build
stronger bridges of solidarity, fight terror,

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Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 6d

Inevitable I suppose that the headlines reporting the sad news of Patricia Routledge's death describe her as "Keeping Up Appearances star". For me she will always be Kitty from Victoria Wood On TV, and Mrs Schofield in Alan Bennett's precursor to Talking Heads, A Woman Of No Importance. A sad loss.

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Karen Shipway @karenshipway.bsky.social · 6d

The Richard Littlejohn quote prominently displayed on the front page of tomorrow's Daily Mail is disgraceful, hateful and completely irresponsible.

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Karen Shipway @karenshipway.bsky.social · 7d

This. Absolutely this. Sending so much love to the families and friends of those caught up in this horrific attack.

Sarcophagus Gibbs @sararoseg.bsky.social · 7d

You don’t actually have to both sides this. The Jewish community in the UK is not the Israeli government. You can just condemn the murder of two British Jews killed in their place of worship and you don’t have to say a single other thing.

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Dr Rachel Clarke @drrachelclarke.com · 8d

Here I am in 2020 in the flimsiest, most pitful PPE - like so many other NHS staff, some of whom died from the Covid they caught in their hospitals.

Tory peer Michelle Mone - who today lost her legal case & must repay the govt £122m - dares to claim she’s been ‘scapegoated’.

What, Michelle? 🧵

Rachel wearing very flimsy looking apron, mask and visor in NHS setting

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Karen Shipway @karenshipway.bsky.social · 10d

Slightly surprised its only seven out of ten....
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

Seven out of 10 women in creative industries experience bullying and harassment, survey finds

Exclusive: Only half of victims report incidents – and of those who do, 42% say response was insufficient

www.theguardian.com

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Zoe Gardner @zoejardiniere.bsky.social · 13d

Ok. They’ve pissed me off.

I’m back to tell you 3 things about ID cards:

1. Migrants ALREADY HAVE biometric ID cards & govts have been trying to digitise them for years w repeated fuckups & failures causing complete chaos - they don’t work, you do not want that system for you.

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Karen Shipway @karenshipway.bsky.social · 15d

I'm sorry @theguardian.com I heard the speech, it was rambling and incoherent, as far from fiery as you can get.

Text reads:

Your countries are going to hell’: Trump attacks European leaders and United Nations in fiery general assembly speech – live

US president lambasts UN for lack of help in peace deals; Trump also scolds European migration and US allies that are supporting Palestinian statehood

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Karen Shipway @karenshipway.bsky.social · 16d

This is Vlad, who is demanding constant head rubs as the price of my working at the kitchen table.

A brown tabby cat with brown/orange eyes stares demandingly into the camera.

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Karen Shipway @karenshipway.bsky.social · 17d

Of course not isn't Farage's Clacton-house owning current partner a French National settled in the UK....

Screenshot from The Guardian reporting of the Reform press conference

EU nationals in UK with settled status won't be affected by plan to scrap indefinite leave to remain, Reform says

During the press conference, Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s head of policy and head of government efficiency, said that the plan to revoked indefinite leave to remain would not cover EU citizens who are allowed to remain in the UK permanently under the settled status scheme agreed after Brexit.

When asked if they would be covered, Yusuf said:

The answer is no, in terms of EU settled status.

But there is a caveat, There are a lot of EU nationals in this country you who are drawing on universal credit. So you can expect Nigel [Farage’s] government to open negotiations with the European Union specifically about the welfare aspect.

But, as Nigel has said time and again, the big issue we’re talking about here is the non-EU numbers.

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Karen Shipway @karenshipway.bsky.social · 19d

#Caturday! Yes the belly is a trap. Excuse the mess it’s also sorting out and tidy up day!

A fluffy black and white cat is sleeping on her side. Her fluffy white belly is slightly on display to trap the unwary.

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Dale Ryder @kryton3298.bsky.social · 20d

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Karen Shipway @karenshipway.bsky.social · 20d

This, from Colbert, is superb

youtu.be/HMGD1KCYFOw?...

Disney’s Message To Employees: Shut Your Trap

YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

youtu.be

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Jesse Sheidlower @jessesword.com · 23d

I can't remember the details, and can't find them now, for my favorite Robert Redford anecdote, but: When Indecent Proposal was being discussed, someone asked a film critic if she would sleep with Robert Redford for $1 million, and she replied, "Yes, but where would I get the money?"

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Karen Shipway @karenshipway.bsky.social · 29d

The fact that you're not answering leads me to believe you're either (a) not at home, (b) home but don't want to talk to me, or (c) home, desperately want to talk to me, but trapped under something heavy. If it's either (a) or (c), please call me back.

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Karen Shipway @karenshipway.bsky.social · 29d

Whenever I around someone who's excited about something I really have to hold back from saying 'I'll have what she's having'.

If I get someone's voicemail, if I know they know, I say this...

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Tom Roberts @tpgroberts.bsky.social · Sep 4

Just for a second, take a step back, and remember that these are the actions of a 56 year old man towards a 17 year old girl.

He and Brooks met at a Battle of Ideas conference on 19 October when the scriptwriter “approached her with his phone, recording her and calling her a groomer, and asking how many she had groomed”, the prosecution said.

Brooks subsequently called out to Linehan outside the venue and asked him why he had called her a “domestic terrorist”.

Julia Faure Walker, for the prosecution, said: “At this point Mr Linehan could’ve explained why he had called her a domestic terrorist, if indeed he had an explanation, or even ignored her … rather he responded in a way which is indicative of his extreme personal animosity towards her.

“He said ‘go away groomer’, ‘go away you disgusting incel’. He called her a ‘sissy porn-watching scumbag’… He deliberately whacked the phone out of Ms Brooks’s hand.”

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