Sam A
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diegosmum.bsky.social
Sam A
@diegosmum.bsky.social
dog-lover and avid reader (mainly historical romance)
Reposted by Sam A
‘Cancel’ comes from a Latin word meaning “to make like a lattice.”

When people needed to annul or void a document, they sometimes would mark it with crosshatches

XXXXX

which resembled a lattice.

So the document became ‘canceled.’

...we hope this post doesn’t get us that.
January 2, 2026 at 4:18 PM
Reposted by Sam A
You don't know what day it is.
You're eating countless meals a day with lots of snacks in between.
You're napping throughout they day.
Either it's the time between Christmas and New Year or you're a cat.
December 27, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Reposted by Sam A
Tomorrow evening it’ll be my annual duty to vaguely shepherd the activity on the #duvetknowitschristmas hashtag and urge people to give small sums to charity. 7.30pm? Something like that?
December 23, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Reposted by Sam A
Welfare spending has held roughly steady as a share of the economy since 2007.

Find out more
⤵️
buff.ly/CZR0otG
December 16, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Reposted by Sam A
I post this on social media every year.

Even though I'm in a much better place than I was 8 years ago this is still a time of year that I endure rather than enjoy.

I'm sure I'm not alone so just be mindful that it is a tough time for a lot of people

juanmanandhisdug.wordpress.com/2017/12/13/t...
‘Tis the season to be jolly.. Or is it?
I have a wee bit of a reputation as something of a curmudgeon who isn’t slow to anger on the important issues of the day like beans on a fry up and backpack etiquette on public transpo…
juanmanandhisdug.wordpress.com
December 9, 2025 at 9:13 PM
@maryeilmicdom.bsky.social watched a great footie match yesterday. FA Cup. Sutton vs Shrewsbury… 9 yellow cards, 3 Red cards, extra time, and 3 goals (1:2 to Shrewsbury. Best match I’ve ever seen . Better than the Premier League!
December 7, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Reposted by Sam A
We still have a little way to go to meet our target of £135,000! If you’re thinking about donating to our Big Give campaign, and helping us change the lives of people with ME, any further donations would be amazing 🧡

✨Donate today: bit.ly/2025-big-give
Improving Lives and Accelerating Understanding – Big Give
We work to improve the lives of all people affected by ME – including adults, children, carers and their loved ones. We deliver services to meet the care and support needs of those affected and also ...
bit.ly
December 5, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Reposted by Sam A
By donating and sharing our Big Give campaign, you can help change this and provide hope for people affected by ME.

Donate here (your donation will be DOUBLED whilst the match-pot lasts!) 👇
bit.ly/2025-big-give
December 3, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Reposted by Sam A
"StreetLink can be used by anyone in England and Wales to send an alert about someone who is sleeping or preparing to sleep rough.

"Alerts are sent to outreach teams, who go out mostly at night to offer people sleeping rough appropriate support."

Link here: thestreetlink.org.uk/location
Where is the person sleeping rough? - StreetLink
Enter a postcode or location to find the general area where you saw the person. We need a precise location to find the person sleeping rough.
thestreetlink.org.uk
December 1, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Reposted by Sam A
'Jane Haining left Scotland for Hungary to help Jewish children and rather than save herself she tried to protect them and died in Auschwitz'

www.heraldscotland.com/news...
November 24, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Reposted by Sam A
Glasgow wins again for art. A broken ladder to Hope Street.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🎨 #glasgow #art #graffiti
November 23, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Reposted by Sam A
This world carries darkness in abundance, shadows that stretch long and cold. Joy is the medicine that mends what breaks, the balm that soothes what aches, the light that refuses to be extinguished. Seek joy in each dawn that breaks—let it be your daily practice, your ritual.
Gurdeep.ca/magazine
November 22, 2025 at 2:26 PM
@maryeilmicdom.bsky.social did you watch the Scotland vs Denmark match?
November 18, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Reposted by Sam A
Increase in productivity since 1979: 87%

Increase in hourly pay since 1979: 32%

Just so happens that ~25% of workers were unionized in 1979. Today? 10%.

As unions declined, the super-rich have taken a larger share of wealth generated by labor. We must build back union power.
November 14, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Reposted by Sam A
My great-grandad was a piano tuner from Huddersfield. He was conscripted into the army during the First World War, and had an awful time. After I found out a bit about what he went through, I wrote a short story. I thought today might be a good day to share it. richarddsmyth.com/2025/11/09/n...
New short story: ‘FP Number Two’
The sky shivers with fever and there are devils on the roofs of the public houses.
richarddsmyth.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:56 AM
Reposted by Sam A
A timeline cleanse. Two hummingbirds taking shelter from the rain inside a rose.

Good night Bluesky.🥰
October 30, 2025 at 6:30 AM
Reposted by Sam A
As if I couldn't love #MarkBonnar any more, here he is giving voice to our experiences. Do listen, even if it's just to hear him speak.
#DeptQ #Traitors #CelebrityTraitors #MECFS #pwME
October 24, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Reposted by Sam A
Today is #POTSAwarenessDay This is truly debilitating. Combined with #MECFS it's a recipe for chaos. Overreaction (or under-reaction) and paradoxical responses to normal life. It affects people differently. You lose trust in your body. There are some treatments but no cure.
October 25, 2025 at 1:09 PM
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬
October 22, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Reposted by Sam A
#ME Installation in front of the Ministry of Research, Berlin.
Body bags depicting the unseen, imprisoned lives in the tiniest, darkest spaces in which ME patients live their half lives.
Also a memorial for those that have died from this appallingly neglected illness.
October 16, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Reposted by Sam A
Not good, save the honeybees!

Really, really not good.

I've followed this a bit and extinction is a troo possibility.

The effect that that would bring to ecosystem is catastrophic.

There's a fair number of countries using unnecessary harmful pesticides which we should try & get stopped.
You might think honeybees are thriving – after all, we see hives everywhere. But their wild cousins are vanishing.

A scientist explains why unmanaged colonies are now classed as endangered across Europe. ⤵️

@eastangliabylines.co.uk
Wild honeybees now officially listed as endangered in the EU
The wild cousins of beehive honeybees are disappearing – here’s why that matters
eastangliabylines.co.uk
October 17, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Reposted by Sam A
Do please cover on
#R4Today
Moral panic doesn’t help
*anyone*.
There is no need for a moral panic about the UK's welfare system.

Far from perfect but recent discourse is nuts

Spending is controlled, not spiralling

Worklessness is near record lows

My column www.ft.com/content/ee67...
October 16, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Reposted by Sam A
Pope Leo in Dilexi te: Christians who “dismiss or ridicule charitable works, as if they were an obsession on the part of a few and not the burning heart of the Church’s mission, convinces me of the need to go back and re-read the Gospel, lest we risk replacing it with the wisdom of this world.”
October 9, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Reposted by Sam A
Alas.
Well, it's official. After our paper last year (onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....), the Slender-billed Curlew is officially declared Extinct today.

Scientists dream of describing new species, not writing their obituary and epitaph, knowing that they are gone forever #ornithology
October 10, 2025 at 12:34 PM