Mandalee
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mandalee.bsky.social
Mandalee
@mandalee.bsky.social
1.8K followers 280 following 2.8K posts
Archaeologist, serial immigrant, lover of dogs and coffee. Obstreperous AND unruly. Black is my happy colour.
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mandalee.bsky.social
Too white, eh
"She said the agents themselves were...saying 'What are we doing here? These aren't the sort of people we're supposed to be arresting'"
November 25, 2025 at 4:58 PM
mandalee.bsky.social
How about it @hertscc.bsky.social ... you ready to do the right thing yet? Your biases are really showing, and they're not pretty. Take the racist flags DOWN already.
"Inevitably violence has resulted in the arrest of the man who has been behind the Raise the Colours campaign in Faversham and the wave of anti-migrant demonstrations, Harry Hilden. KCC's Green Group Leader Mark Hood commented "This is what happens when the county council acts as the compliant cheerleader for these plastic patriots imposing their divisive campaign on our communities. Kent Police have been equally culpable for their permissive attitude which is contrary to the law of the land, nothing should be attached to a lamp post without prior permission. People are entitled to fly whatever flag they wish from their own property but we are talking about intimidation and division as identified by Kent Community Health NHS Trust who say that their Black and Asian staff felt deliberately intimidated, and that “It felt like the flags were creating no-go zones.” Enough is enough there is little surprise that residents are taking the flags down themselves."
November 25, 2025 at 10:17 AM
mandalee.bsky.social
A crow - shiny black bird, intelligent, gives zero fucks
November 13, 2025 at 7:12 PM
mandalee.bsky.social
View from my desk today. Yes, I'm lucky.
A green lawn leading to a gate between trees, with sunlight filtering through.
November 13, 2025 at 10:28 AM
mandalee.bsky.social
Witnessed an event today that's been happening for over 800 years - the Lord Mayor's Show (this year the Lady Mayor's Show). Terrific not just for the spectacle, but because it's a parade of all the guilds, crafts & organisations that have always been London's heart.
Marchers in what looks like 16th century uniforms, with helmets and pikes (I kid you not) The Pearly Kings and Queens, one of London's quirkiest traditions that evolved from Cockney market traders in the 19th century. Their regalia can weigh up to 30kg/66 lbs and is covered with mother of pearl buttons. Part of the Company of Butchers retinue, carrying a paper mache pigs head and dressed in their hats and aprons The Fan Makers guild, carrying (approximately) a giant fan
November 8, 2025 at 10:11 PM
mandalee.bsky.social
I recently participated in the London Zombie Walk, and along our shamble we passed a church where the bride and groom were just emerging. About 30 zombies stopped to yell congrats 😂
A buncha scary zombie folk shambling through London for charity
November 5, 2025 at 8:37 PM
mandalee.bsky.social
I took this one, I've always liked it. An incredibly photogenic building
Close up photo of the Taj Mahal - an enormous monument built of white marble. Hard to explain how impressive it is unless you've been there.
November 5, 2025 at 7:23 PM
mandalee.bsky.social
💯

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
"In the UK, Starmer’s pitch is basically: we’ll adopt the language and the flags, but deploy them with greater civility. As a response to this moment, it is morally contemptible and politically myopic."
November 5, 2025 at 7:08 PM
mandalee.bsky.social
They probably didn't intend the homage, but I imagine Janey Godley's spirit is cackling right now 😁
British comedian and all around legend Janey Godley, standing on a Trump golf course with a handmade sign that reads, "Trump is a cunt"
October 18, 2025 at 5:38 PM
mandalee.bsky.social
I've seen exactly that sign, in Krakow! I loved it too ☠️
A corroded metal sign showing a skull and crossbones with a red lightning bolt passing through it, and text in Polish with many exclamation points. I think it was warning not to touch because of a risk of electric shock.
October 13, 2025 at 8:27 AM
mandalee.bsky.social
A blue sky for Bluesky today 💙
The front of my house, a former Victorian school building in red brick with a large window on the front. The sky is a deep, clear blue.
October 6, 2025 at 4:24 PM
mandalee.bsky.social
A recent post of mine which reads "This is the only sensible solution I see. Give the bigots their own little space and let the rest of us just get on with our lives. Call them TERF toilets, just so we're clear."
October 2, 2025 at 12:21 PM
mandalee.bsky.social
What the actual fuck, @theguardian.com? Normalising the idea of a complete breakdown of the US Constitution is not what I expect from you. Get it straight or GTFO. #NoKings #NoDictators
"Next time the [Ryder] Cup crosses the Atlantic, at Hazeltine in 2029, whether during Trump’s third term or not, the hosts will have a choice to make about what kind of event they want to run – and what kind of country they want it to reflect.
September 29, 2025 at 1:14 PM
mandalee.bsky.social
Brilliant writing here by @nesrinemalik.bsky.social. She couldn't be more correct.
"The result is that the announcement of the intent to recognise a Palestinian state had already been weakened by its bizarre conceptualisation, framed as it has been around certain conditions that Israel must meet, including a ceasefire and permitting aid into Gaza, to head off the recognition. Palestinians either have an inalienable right to statehood and self-determination or they do not, and linking that right to the compliance of their occupier maintained a wildly unrealistic, if not fantastical, notion that Israel has any interest at all in pursuing a two-state solution when it is hurtling persistently in the other direction. It is clear now, two years into a genocide, that the Israeli government is not one that can be threatened, urged or scolded into ceasing its violation of Palestinian human and political rights."
September 22, 2025 at 9:47 AM
mandalee.bsky.social
Mine is telling me he is LITERALLY starving to death (his dinner is 25 minutes late)
A black furry dog face giving me the big eyes, clearly about to perish of hunger
September 21, 2025 at 4:26 PM
mandalee.bsky.social
Just posted on another account about the living dinosaurs that are cassowaries. Couldn't upload video there, but here it is. I particularly like the guy who calmly decides the other side of the picnic table is much better, thank you 😂
September 1, 2025 at 6:32 PM
mandalee.bsky.social
They are 100% living dinosaurs and no mistake. We got a closer look than we really intended in QLD one summer. They call to one another in almost subsonic rumbles. It's utterly intimidating.
Cassowary on the road. He has brilliant blue and pink on his neck and a bony crest. His visible foot is huge and scaly and unmistakably that of an ancient creature. Close up from the car. He's walking like he owns the place (and he does) Face close up. The crest and the eyes are very dinosaur. That's as close as he got. I have video, but Bsky won't let me upload for some reason
September 1, 2025 at 6:28 PM
mandalee.bsky.social
We do fish on Mondays in this house (cause that's when the fishmonger comes)
Pan-fried bream in garlic butter with linguine, tenderstem broccoli and spinach
September 1, 2025 at 5:07 PM
mandalee.bsky.social
Ooh ooh, may I piggyback on this post pretty please? This stunner showed up in our bathroom last night, I'd love to know what he/she is...
A beautiful moth with black and white stripes like a zebra
July 29, 2025 at 4:51 PM
mandalee.bsky.social
A completely enchanted-looking view from the top of Glastonbury Tor at sunrise. The ground below is misty and the sky is peach and rose. The photo was taken from inside the church, looking out through an arched window. It's a stunning image, and I've had it as my lock screen for quite some time now. 📸 Michelle Cowbourne
July 28, 2025 at 2:00 PM
mandalee.bsky.social
😂

Was thinking of you lot on the weekend when I was admiring this lovely example at the Welwyn Roman Baths. I bet if I asked @noviodunum.bsky.social reeeeeally nicely, I might be able to stand in this one 😁😉
Stacks of pilae (flat tiles used to support the floor over a hypocaust) at the Welwyn Roman Baths. SOME people are reportedly very protective of their hypocausts. No idea why 😁😁
July 27, 2025 at 9:27 PM
mandalee.bsky.social
Dude, same.
Photo of an octopus underwater with the caption, "Octopuses sometimes punch fish seemingly without reason, possibly just out of annoyance."
July 22, 2025 at 9:04 PM
mandalee.bsky.social
OI
Black dog on a beach, looking slightly offended
July 19, 2025 at 11:01 AM
mandalee.bsky.social
69% goth, 69% nerd. Let the sniggering commence 😄
A results matrix for the "Jock-Nerd/Prep-Goth Test". I scored 69.1% goth, 69.1% nerd. Not surprising, but amusing in a juvenile way.
July 8, 2025 at 3:38 PM
mandalee.bsky.social
The image in my mind:
A fossil in what I have only just learned is called the 'opisthotonic death pose' - with its head arched far back over its spine
June 23, 2025 at 8:45 PM