Plashing Vole
@plashingvole.bsky.social
Mild-mannered lecturer by day…mild-mannered lecturer by night. Welsh lit, politicians’ fictions. Fencer, cyclist, UCU. Dysgwr Cymraeg; tá gaeilge agam. Barnau fy hun.
Read books; join unions; block cookies.
University of Mordor.
Read books; join unions; block cookies.
University of Mordor.
So soon after Logan and Raworth’s books about how to cope culturally and socially with fairly distributing resources on a finite, struggling planet/ship, my next read was Becky Chambers’ Record of a Spaceborn Few, set on a generational ship crewed by people wondering what to do next.
January 20, 2026 at 12:45 PM
So soon after Logan and Raworth’s books about how to cope culturally and socially with fairly distributing resources on a finite, struggling planet/ship, my next read was Becky Chambers’ Record of a Spaceborn Few, set on a generational ship crewed by people wondering what to do next.
When I read Chris Beckett’s America City, about a short war with and annexations Canada by the US I thought it was well-written but far-fetched catastrophising.
I now realise that the only erroneous element was a US that believed in climate change. The real one just wants lebensraum.
I now realise that the only erroneous element was a US that believed in climate change. The real one just wants lebensraum.
January 19, 2026 at 4:30 PM
When I read Chris Beckett’s America City, about a short war with and annexations Canada by the US I thought it was well-written but far-fetched catastrophising.
I now realise that the only erroneous element was a US that believed in climate change. The real one just wants lebensraum.
I now realise that the only erroneous element was a US that believed in climate change. The real one just wants lebensraum.
What on earth? How does a year-old Mac run out of application memory, and how does Pages the word-processor use 208 Gbs?
January 19, 2026 at 1:04 PM
What on earth? How does a year-old Mac run out of application memory, and how does Pages the word-processor use 208 Gbs?
Next up: The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan (2016). A YA cli-fi novel but of a superior kind. Doesn’t do the disaster of sea level rise: instead it’s interested in the long cultural and social effects of living in this changed world. Lots going on, including gender and sexual fluidity…
January 17, 2026 at 10:26 AM
Next up: The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan (2016). A YA cli-fi novel but of a superior kind. Doesn’t do the disaster of sea level rise: instead it’s interested in the long cultural and social effects of living in this changed world. Lots going on, including gender and sexual fluidity…
Went non-fiction for my next book: Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics (2017). Very convincing explanation of why economics has led us all astray, and how it can be repurposed for a sustainable egalitarian future. Weaker on culture and now looks over-optimistic politically and on blockchain etc.
January 16, 2026 at 10:33 AM
Went non-fiction for my next book: Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics (2017). Very convincing explanation of why economics has led us all astray, and how it can be repurposed for a sustainable egalitarian future. Weaker on culture and now looks over-optimistic politically and on blockchain etc.
It’s not always the same car, or the same driver, but it’s always Heavenly Desserts people blocking the cycle path, @wolvescouncil.bsky.social, @yplac.bsky.social
January 15, 2026 at 7:53 AM
It’s not always the same car, or the same driver, but it’s always Heavenly Desserts people blocking the cycle path, @wolvescouncil.bsky.social, @yplac.bsky.social
At least @daisyeblack.bsky.social has given me something cheery to read.
January 13, 2026 at 10:45 AM
At least @daisyeblack.bsky.social has given me something cheery to read.
2000 or so Americans named after a character in a hit 1990-2000s sitcom share my name. Almost nobody before or since.
January 12, 2026 at 9:55 PM
2000 or so Americans named after a character in a hit 1990-2000s sitcom share my name. Almost nobody before or since.
Today’s book post: Liam Harrington’s The Hill in the Dark Grove (not sure how that works, topologically) and the April 1930 issue of The Studio for its pieces on Gwasg Gregynog and Eric Gill (not then known to be a monster).
January 12, 2026 at 5:10 PM
Today’s book post: Liam Harrington’s The Hill in the Dark Grove (not sure how that works, topologically) and the April 1930 issue of The Studio for its pieces on Gwasg Gregynog and Eric Gill (not then known to be a monster).
Not sure who the original artist is, but this is a colleague’s summary of what it’s like at work at the moment.
January 9, 2026 at 3:43 PM
Not sure who the original artist is, but this is a colleague’s summary of what it’s like at work at the moment.
On my way to and from the Long Mynd I read Megan Hunter’s The End We Start from - a stream-of-consciousness piece of climate fiction about a new mother and her baby from London who become flood refugees. Nicely done, though I found giving single letters to characters instead of names very irritating
January 5, 2026 at 3:39 PM
On my way to and from the Long Mynd I read Megan Hunter’s The End We Start from - a stream-of-consciousness piece of climate fiction about a new mother and her baby from London who become flood refugees. Nicely done, though I found giving single letters to characters instead of names very irritating
Went for a walk today. More photos when I get home and edit what’s on the property camera. Slightly dicy walk up but wonderful at the top of the Long Mynd: deep snow, wild ponies and silence.
January 5, 2026 at 1:34 PM
Went for a walk today. More photos when I get home and edit what’s on the property camera. Slightly dicy walk up but wonderful at the top of the Long Mynd: deep snow, wild ponies and silence.
Next up was Karen Joy Fowler’s The Jane Austen Book Club - in which a group of upper middle-class women and one man work out their own mild marital and personal issues in 2004 LA while meeting to discuss Austen’s similar novels. Good fun and some perceptive readings of her works.
January 5, 2026 at 8:19 AM
Next up was Karen Joy Fowler’s The Jane Austen Book Club - in which a group of upper middle-class women and one man work out their own mild marital and personal issues in 2004 LA while meeting to discuss Austen’s similar novels. Good fun and some perceptive readings of her works.
…hyper-articulate, presumably also deliberately. A very interesting read. Takes adolescent girls’ inner lives very seriously but lacks any sense that they can also be funny and lighthearted. Bonus points for the theatre ticket bookmark.
December 28, 2025 at 9:46 AM
…hyper-articulate, presumably also deliberately. A very interesting read. Takes adolescent girls’ inner lives very seriously but lacks any sense that they can also be funny and lighthearted. Bonus points for the theatre ticket bookmark.
In return, the same scene from July when it was unbearably hot for a cold-blooded creature like me.
December 25, 2025 at 3:34 PM
In return, the same scene from July when it was unbearably hot for a cold-blooded creature like me.
Jekyll, my PhD student’s excellent cat, roosting in a Christmas tree.
December 23, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Jekyll, my PhD student’s excellent cat, roosting in a Christmas tree.
It’s not just humans that want artificial friends it seems.
December 23, 2025 at 12:53 PM
It’s not just humans that want artificial friends it seems.
Forgot the Private Eye bits.
December 21, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Forgot the Private Eye bits.
Wow. This guy has actively chosen not to use the designations on-road parking space, but to block the new ‘protected’ bike lane instead. Fine work, @therealyplac.bsky.social
December 19, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Wow. This guy has actively chosen not to use the designations on-road parking space, but to block the new ‘protected’ bike lane instead. Fine work, @therealyplac.bsky.social