Philippa R. Francis
@philippa.bsky.social
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If you're trying to keep your heart focused on the work that you're best-placed to do, it is, unfortunately, a great day to use this procedure @kateschapira.bsky.social and I worked on. I'm going to add a few ideas and songs that I find helpful in this process. Thanks to all who contributed ideas!
Procedure for Having to Behold
PROCEDURE FOR HAVING TO BEHOLD This is a procedure to try when you witness fresh evidence of an atrocity or injustice—not a call to action, but a piece of information where your pathway to action is ...
docs.google.com
Wise and heartening course of action:
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
And this morning the Shed is an old tale, told to children by firelight, of a shed that haunts the misty moors in search of its long-dead mistress…
January 19, 2026 at 9:40 AM
And this morning the Shed is an old tale, told to children by firelight, of a shed that haunts the misty moors in search of its long-dead mistress…
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
I follow the quiet signs—
deer tracks by the creek,
water moving forward,
small miracles underfoot.
Nature keeps reminding me that renewal is real, that light finds its way back, even after the storm.
#HopeInSmallThings #NatureAsHealer #WalkingWithAttention
Nature keeps reminding me that renewal is real, that light finds its way back, even after the storm.
#HopeInSmallThings #NatureAsHealer #WalkingWithAttention
January 18, 2026 at 12:51 AM
I follow the quiet signs—
deer tracks by the creek,
water moving forward,
small miracles underfoot.
Nature keeps reminding me that renewal is real, that light finds its way back, even after the storm.
#HopeInSmallThings #NatureAsHealer #WalkingWithAttention
Nature keeps reminding me that renewal is real, that light finds its way back, even after the storm.
#HopeInSmallThings #NatureAsHealer #WalkingWithAttention
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
January 15, 2026 at 11:56 PM
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
January 17, 2026 at 8:03 AM
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
the sun declining
a pale fire in the orchard
fly on homeward, crows
a pale fire in the orchard
fly on homeward, crows
January 17, 2026 at 10:01 PM
the sun declining
a pale fire in the orchard
fly on homeward, crows
a pale fire in the orchard
fly on homeward, crows
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
And this morning the Shed is a cardboard fort, with cannons at the ready…
January 18, 2026 at 9:42 AM
And this morning the Shed is a cardboard fort, with cannons at the ready…
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
Unsolicited writing advice, no.9:
When naming characters, it helps to consider: their age; their background; their culture; what part of the country they come from; their parents (why did they choose that name?). Same goes for non-British characters - (not all Frenchmen are called Serge :-)
When naming characters, it helps to consider: their age; their background; their culture; what part of the country they come from; their parents (why did they choose that name?). Same goes for non-British characters - (not all Frenchmen are called Serge :-)
January 18, 2026 at 1:13 PM
Unsolicited writing advice, no.9:
When naming characters, it helps to consider: their age; their background; their culture; what part of the country they come from; their parents (why did they choose that name?). Same goes for non-British characters - (not all Frenchmen are called Serge :-)
When naming characters, it helps to consider: their age; their background; their culture; what part of the country they come from; their parents (why did they choose that name?). Same goes for non-British characters - (not all Frenchmen are called Serge :-)
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
Kids loved playing with toys in #Roman times too!
Some 1,800 years ago, a child in Cologne was buried with a terracotta horse with a rider on for wheels. It was definitely a beloved toy that the kid was also meant to play with in the afterlife.
📷 Römisch-Germanisches Museum Köln
🏺 #archaeology
Some 1,800 years ago, a child in Cologne was buried with a terracotta horse with a rider on for wheels. It was definitely a beloved toy that the kid was also meant to play with in the afterlife.
📷 Römisch-Germanisches Museum Köln
🏺 #archaeology
January 18, 2026 at 8:20 AM
Kids loved playing with toys in #Roman times too!
Some 1,800 years ago, a child in Cologne was buried with a terracotta horse with a rider on for wheels. It was definitely a beloved toy that the kid was also meant to play with in the afterlife.
📷 Römisch-Germanisches Museum Köln
🏺 #archaeology
Some 1,800 years ago, a child in Cologne was buried with a terracotta horse with a rider on for wheels. It was definitely a beloved toy that the kid was also meant to play with in the afterlife.
📷 Römisch-Germanisches Museum Köln
🏺 #archaeology
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
begin again. unfamiliar gradients & nooks that do not know you. the buzzard is a stranger & grey heron shows clean set of heels. a lochan floats rotting ice. hazel catkins figure given season: start there.
January 18, 2026 at 6:03 PM
begin again. unfamiliar gradients & nooks that do not know you. the buzzard is a stranger & grey heron shows clean set of heels. a lochan floats rotting ice. hazel catkins figure given season: start there.
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
back & forth along the lanes all afternoon (the guy runs the dump rolls his eyes & grins yr last trip of the day), pass fields of pinkfeeted geese (folded wings of slate & lime), skies glow indigo 15.00 (slide & rattle of shifting cargo)
January 17, 2026 at 8:46 PM
back & forth along the lanes all afternoon (the guy runs the dump rolls his eyes & grins yr last trip of the day), pass fields of pinkfeeted geese (folded wings of slate & lime), skies glow indigo 15.00 (slide & rattle of shifting cargo)
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
January 17, 2026 at 1:38 PM
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
A look back to August with our baby donkey foal Letty-Lou joins in the farm rush hour
January 18, 2026 at 7:37 AM
A look back to August with our baby donkey foal Letty-Lou joins in the farm rush hour
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
Trump’s behaviour both domestically and overseas, not least over Greenland is appalling. It exposes the myth of a special relationship with the United States. The UK has already paid a vast price for that illusion. Its future always was and still is, firmly European.
January 18, 2026 at 7:02 AM
Trump’s behaviour both domestically and overseas, not least over Greenland is appalling. It exposes the myth of a special relationship with the United States. The UK has already paid a vast price for that illusion. Its future always was and still is, firmly European.
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
January 18, 2026 at 6:11 AM
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
An English Bluebell seedling
The seeds are released from their pods, drop down in late summer, & germinate on the woodland floor
The roots contract to draw the maturing bulb further underground
This time of year many like this one need help, so we tuck them up in the soil
The seeds are released from their pods, drop down in late summer, & germinate on the woodland floor
The roots contract to draw the maturing bulb further underground
This time of year many like this one need help, so we tuck them up in the soil
January 17, 2026 at 10:14 AM
An English Bluebell seedling
The seeds are released from their pods, drop down in late summer, & germinate on the woodland floor
The roots contract to draw the maturing bulb further underground
This time of year many like this one need help, so we tuck them up in the soil
The seeds are released from their pods, drop down in late summer, & germinate on the woodland floor
The roots contract to draw the maturing bulb further underground
This time of year many like this one need help, so we tuck them up in the soil
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
Milking Oak - Salcey Forest, Northamptonshire
One of many 600 year old oaks, but there is only a small fragment left of the former medieval hunting forest
One of many 600 year old oaks, but there is only a small fragment left of the former medieval hunting forest
January 17, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Milking Oak - Salcey Forest, Northamptonshire
One of many 600 year old oaks, but there is only a small fragment left of the former medieval hunting forest
One of many 600 year old oaks, but there is only a small fragment left of the former medieval hunting forest
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
English Bluebells. Age since hitting our woodland floor:
2 years 6 months, 1 year 6 months & 6 months
The 1st 2 have been disturbed by badgers, the final one has only just extended its taproot
None will flower until 5 🎂
Spent the whole day tucking them in. 1,000’s of them
2 years 6 months, 1 year 6 months & 6 months
The 1st 2 have been disturbed by badgers, the final one has only just extended its taproot
None will flower until 5 🎂
Spent the whole day tucking them in. 1,000’s of them
January 17, 2026 at 8:57 PM
English Bluebells. Age since hitting our woodland floor:
2 years 6 months, 1 year 6 months & 6 months
The 1st 2 have been disturbed by badgers, the final one has only just extended its taproot
None will flower until 5 🎂
Spent the whole day tucking them in. 1,000’s of them
2 years 6 months, 1 year 6 months & 6 months
The 1st 2 have been disturbed by badgers, the final one has only just extended its taproot
None will flower until 5 🎂
Spent the whole day tucking them in. 1,000’s of them
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
Palantir is a huge security risk for the UK and is used by ICE for surveillance purposes.
Palantir was a warning sign.
Keir Starmer choosing to hand our data and security to US tech companies is an outrageous failure of judgment.
All in the name of "investment." What about national security?
Keir Starmer choosing to hand our data and security to US tech companies is an outrageous failure of judgment.
All in the name of "investment." What about national security?
January 18, 2026 at 7:14 AM
Palantir is a huge security risk for the UK and is used by ICE for surveillance purposes.
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
Unhook ourselves from oil and gas and we unhook ourselves from dependency on dictators, autocrats and expansionist regimes all over the planet.
Renewables and other low-carbon energy sources are not just good climate sense. They are also good political sense.
Renewables and other low-carbon energy sources are not just good climate sense. They are also good political sense.
January 6, 2026 at 5:04 PM
Unhook ourselves from oil and gas and we unhook ourselves from dependency on dictators, autocrats and expansionist regimes all over the planet.
Renewables and other low-carbon energy sources are not just good climate sense. They are also good political sense.
Renewables and other low-carbon energy sources are not just good climate sense. They are also good political sense.
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
Four thirty and still light! Soon be winter
January 17, 2026 at 4:28 PM
Four thirty and still light! Soon be winter
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
2026 is the National Year of Reading and here is the first in my ONE MINUTE INTERVIEW series to introduce books through their creators, and give a flavour for each book and its interesting creation process!
This week you’ll meet incomparable author and illustrator @louiestowell.bsky.social ❤️
This week you’ll meet incomparable author and illustrator @louiestowell.bsky.social ❤️
January 16, 2026 at 11:32 PM
2026 is the National Year of Reading and here is the first in my ONE MINUTE INTERVIEW series to introduce books through their creators, and give a flavour for each book and its interesting creation process!
This week you’ll meet incomparable author and illustrator @louiestowell.bsky.social ❤️
This week you’ll meet incomparable author and illustrator @louiestowell.bsky.social ❤️
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
moonlight rasp on scarp;
midwinter night, sharpened to
the utmost cruelty
midwinter night, sharpened to
the utmost cruelty
thin edge of the moon
the long ridge above the town
a sharpening stone
the long ridge above the town
a sharpening stone
January 16, 2026 at 1:25 PM
moonlight rasp on scarp;
midwinter night, sharpened to
the utmost cruelty
midwinter night, sharpened to
the utmost cruelty
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
Which makes it so infuriating when celebs decide to just dip into being a children's author, as if it's something anyone can do really. Not that I'm biased by spousal connections or anything...
January 17, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Which makes it so infuriating when celebs decide to just dip into being a children's author, as if it's something anyone can do really. Not that I'm biased by spousal connections or anything...
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
Unsolicited writing advice, no. 2165:
Writing well for children is no easier than writing well for adults. You don't start off in one area and then move on to "proper" books.
Writing well for children is no easier than writing well for adults. You don't start off in one area and then move on to "proper" books.
January 17, 2026 at 2:02 PM
Unsolicited writing advice, no. 2165:
Writing well for children is no easier than writing well for adults. You don't start off in one area and then move on to "proper" books.
Writing well for children is no easier than writing well for adults. You don't start off in one area and then move on to "proper" books.