Polly Allen
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pollyallen.bsky.social
Polly Allen
@pollyallen.bsky.social
370 followers 230 following 56 posts
Journalist and digital marketing person in Bristol. Usually found writing about culture, travel, mental health, etc. She/her.

https://linktr.ee/pollyallen
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pollyallen.bsky.social
Can’t unsee the kerning here, so I guess Asda wants us all to have a M ER RY CHRIST MAS, whatever that is.
Merry Christmas cardigan on sale in Asda store with bad kerning on the lettering seen on the back view. Due to spacing and design issues, it reads more as M ER RY CHRIST MAS.
November 28, 2025 at 10:59 PM
pollyallen.bsky.social
Bluesky has figured that my Britishness might mean I consider The Archers more of a trending topic than DOGE being disbanded (btw, I don’t listen to The Archers, and I think US politics hugely affects the rest of the world, but the fact it applied this bias did tickle me).
Screenshot from trending topics on BlueSky: ranked 4 is The Archers, a British soap opera, with 393 posts. Ranked 5 is DOGE Shutdown, with 2,900 posts. It has therefore deliberately ranked the soap opera higher.
November 24, 2025 at 10:03 PM
pollyallen.bsky.social
If there’s one thing you read over the weekend, it should be this devastating and profound essay - just don’t expect to finish it with dry eyes, or without shaking your fist at RFK Jr.

#Longreads #RecommendedReading
newyorker.com The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 7d
Tatiana Schlossberg, the daughter of Caroline Kennedy, had just given birth when she was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. She writes about her fear of adding another tragedy to her family’s life. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/LKMkhZ
A Battle with My Blood
When I was diagnosed with leukemia, my first thought was that this couldn’t be happening to me, to my family.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 23, 2025 at 12:16 AM
pollyallen.bsky.social
Catch up with @davidolusoga.bsky.social’s Empire series on BBC iPlayer if you can. He sums up the British Empire’s far-reaching exploitative consequences and complexity; thorough, harrowing, and honest. Loved the interviews with everyday people whose identities have been shaped by Empire, too.
November 21, 2025 at 10:10 PM
pollyallen.bsky.social
Commiserations with Maris on having to deal with the anti-vaxxers, but this is a great read:
November 20, 2025 at 9:11 PM
pollyallen.bsky.social
Flashback to when I crashed the Pope’s first papal balcony address in Rome (2013), and took terrible photos. I’m agnostic, but it was amazing to be in the crowd.

I was also impressed with the speed of the local traders in getting Papa Francisco-branded merchandise out.

#PopeFrancis
TV news reporter, a white man holding a microphone, at The Vatican. He is smiling at the camera. Out of focus shot of Pope Francis and other high-ranking Vatican members on the balcony of the Vatican during his first address, 2013. A large red curtain is behind them. The Pope wears white and the others wear red with red caps. Crowded streets after Pope Francis’ first address at The Vatican. People walking include nuns. Out of focus hand and camera in foreground with Vatican balcony in background.
April 22, 2025 at 3:11 PM
pollyallen.bsky.social
Lush book talk last night from Danielle Giles, discussing her debut novel, at @smallcitybookshop.bsky.social.
Mere has a beautiful cover and endpapers. The book is set in 990AD and it looks to be a great historical read. Straight to the top of my TBR pile!
@panmacmillan.bsky.social
#Books
Book cover: Mere, by Danielle Giles. Bright orange/red cover with woodcut-style illustration of a green tree with two nuns gossiping beneath it. Endpapers (inner book cover) of Mere, by Danielle Giles, with woodcut-style image of boat in marshy wet landscape with full moon and trees above.
April 11, 2025 at 3:45 PM
pollyallen.bsky.social
What They Found is a must-see documentary from Sam Mendes, using footage and testimonies from two soldiers who filmed the liberation of Bergen-Belsen.

Sobering and terrifying, but important to watch if you can - catch up on BBC iPlayer.

#WhatTheyFound
April 7, 2025 at 9:58 PM
pollyallen.bsky.social
Daisy is an integral part of Flicks, and has captured the magic of this gem in the city.
March 18, 2025 at 10:59 AM
pollyallen.bsky.social
From Dylan’s Cafe Wha? to Sabbath’s Crown pub and Keith Richards’ Cafe Baba, here’s my pick of the cafes, bars, pubs and clubs tied to rock and metal music:

www.rollingstone.co.uk/music/inside...

Written for @rollingstoneuk.bsky.social

#Music #TravelWriting
Inside the world’s most iconic clubs, cafes and bars for rock and metal music
Get ready to turn it up to 11 at some of the world's greatest rock and roll watering holes...
www.rollingstone.co.uk
February 28, 2025 at 9:17 PM
pollyallen.bsky.social
I wrote about Leicester’s Estonian diaspora and its vibrant British-Estonian community, for @leicester.news.web.brid.gy, featuring insight from @saagifletch.bsky.social and @emmaturner75.bsky.social:

www.leicester.news/flying-the-f...

#Eesti #Estonia #Leicester
Flying the flag for Leicester’s Estonian community
For some in Leicester, yesterday wasn’t just a normal day in February: it was a celebration of their heritage. 24 February is Independence Day in Estonia, and Estonians are a big part of Leicester’s v...
www.leicester.news
February 25, 2025 at 12:03 PM
pollyallen.bsky.social
Last weekend I popped up to Ullapool, in Scotland, to see one of my oldest friends get married. Here’s a glimpse of the landscapes (and the local spirits) up there.

#Scotland
Seven Crofts gin bottle with ribbed glass. Seen in shop window. Mountains overlooking Ullapool in Scotland, with a box of daffodils in the foreground and blue sky in background Reservoir architecture in Scottish loch seen from car window with grey cloudy sky above Lochside walkway and promenade at Ullapool with mountains and hills behind
February 21, 2025 at 5:27 PM
pollyallen.bsky.social
#IMM2025 in numbers:

18 appointments with travel PRs.
4 cups of coffee (and counting).
2 amazing pairs of leopard print loafers spotted.
Countless potential story ideas sourced.

@travmedia.bsky.social
February 18, 2025 at 4:13 PM
pollyallen.bsky.social
Looking forward to #IMM2025 next week, with the chance to meet plenty of tourist boards and travel companies to talk about potential feature angles.

Living outside the London bubble means I don’t always make it to events, but this one is always worth it!
@travmedia.bsky.social
February 14, 2025 at 12:39 PM
pollyallen.bsky.social
The new issue of Breathe magazine has my seven-page feature on art and craft travel in Estonia - printmaking and street art in Tartu, sustainable fashion and design in Tallinn, etc.

@visittallinn.bsky.social @mfaestonia.bsky.social

#Estonia #TravelWriters
February 11, 2025 at 5:03 PM
pollyallen.bsky.social
Just accidentally caught a party political broadcast from Nigel Farage (urgh) for Reform UK (double urgh) where Nige said Britain has the world’s oldest parliamentary democracy.

The Alþingi, or Althing, in Iceland - founded in 930AD - would like a word.
#Politics
a close up of a woman 's face with her eyes closed .
Alt: a close up of a woman (Zendaya)’s face with her eyes rolling in disgust.
media.tenor.com
January 30, 2025 at 7:07 PM
pollyallen.bsky.social
This is well worth a read - despite the rise in unisex clothing and toiletries, there’s still gender politics at play when it comes to packing for travel.

I’d argue that thin privilege and health privilege are also factors (travelling as a plus-size woman with a shedload of medication here).
sharonodea.com Sharon O'Dea @sharonodea.com · Jan 24
Packing light isn’t just a skill. It’s privilege. For women, societal pressures to look polished and youthful make carry-on-only travel much harder than it seems.

In this blog-rant, I unpack the gender politics of hand luggage 🧳

www.linkedin.com/pulse/packin...
Packing light and male privilege: the gender politics of hand luggage
Every so often, a self-proclaimed travel minimalist pops up on LinkedIn or Twitter, proudly boasting about how they can travel for a month with just a carry-on. More often than not, this traveller is ...
www.linkedin.com
January 29, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Reposted by Polly Allen
wangleberry.bsky.social
Also these 'home working isn't real working' bulkshit articles never touch on how much flexible working helps disabled people to get and keep a job. Funny, that.
rantyhighwayman.bsky.social The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · Jan 20
Lord Rose can shove his opinion up his [redacted] until he sees stars.

I completed a set of drawings for a project yesterday while very much sat at my desk at home. That's apparently not real work.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Working from home is 'not proper work', says ex-Asda boss
Lord Rose says it harms productivity but expert says hybrid work can be as good as full-time in the office.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 20, 2025 at 11:01 AM
pollyallen.bsky.social
Yet again proving my argument that rock and metal acts do the most for fan mental health.
January 20, 2025 at 11:45 AM
pollyallen.bsky.social
You’ve got until tomorrow to catch my feature on European culture hotspots for 2025 in @theneweuropean.bsky.social, including Alpes-Maritimes, Leuven, Tallinn, and Zaragoza.

#Travel
Newspaper page open, showing a small section of a feature called ‘Right place, right time’, about European cultural destinations for 2025. The paper is placed on a coffee shop table with a teapot and cups beside it. Customers and tables in the background. Partial cover of The New European newspaper showing Elon Musk holding up a Donald Trump puppet. Newspaper placed on a coffee shop table with teapot behind.
January 7, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Reposted by Polly Allen
ciaraioch.bsky.social
Probably good and fine that independent artists and makers of all flavours have to largely depend on a social media ecosystem that is increasingly comically evil
January 7, 2025 at 9:10 PM
pollyallen.bsky.social
I’ve got a stinking cold and I’ve been left to fend for myself today, but I’m excited to start this travel book later. Anyone else got some literary escapism to enjoy?
#JoinIn
Book cover: black and white sand dunes with text overlay reading ‘Writers’ Journeys that Shaped Our World’ by Travis Elborough. Names of various writers dotted around the border of the cover.
December 25, 2024 at 4:36 PM
Reposted by Polly Allen
20thcflicks.bsky.social
Christmas Films That Never Were… (card courtesy of the inestimable @pollyallen.bsky.social)
December 10, 2024 at 4:53 PM
pollyallen.bsky.social
Accidentally found the greatest Christmas gift that I want to keep for myself: a Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian home model in children’s building blocks.
It’s designed by James Paulius; I’m thrilled to be in the correct age category to use it (6+).

www.areaware.com/products/blo...

#Architecture
Wooden building blocks in the shape of Frank Lloyd Wright architectural design for a Usonian house: very angular and geometric, with red accents and panels. Trees and bushes added as well.
December 8, 2024 at 11:22 AM