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River

@riverlorien.bsky.social

830 followers 1.2K following 3.4K posts

Happy escapee from the other place. Mix of interests inc health, welfare & disability policy, media, hospice/palliative care, the environment & animal welfare

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River

@riverlorien.bsky.social

October 4, 2025 at 11:23 AM

River

@riverlorien.bsky.social

To everyone in Britain's
Jewish Community:
You are not alone.

We will not let hate or those who spread it win.

We stand with you.

October 2, 2025 at 6:26 PM

River

@riverlorien.bsky.social

Such a good piece about Digital ID and the (highly dangerous) failure to change the toxic narrative around immigration

We have tried, again and
again, to placate anti-
immigrant forces by
accepting the premise of
their argument. We have
ruined our country in
order to satisfy them. We
have torn families apart
This government is
currently in the position
of disemboweling itself
in order to placate them.
It never works, because
the debate on
immigration is not
grounded in empiricism
but in perception.

The solution is to
challenge the nativists
right, not kneel to it. It is
to make the case for
immigration in a way
that Starmer is plainly
incapable or unwilling to
do. It is to make the case
economically, culturally,
socially and morally - to
tell a story about the
beauty and triumph of
Britain, a truly patriotic
story, which lionises our
present instead of
apologising for it.

September 26, 2025 at 12:04 PM

River

@riverlorien.bsky.social

Maybe he could also tell McFadden to stop scaring ill and disabled people (who simply can't work) with talk of more cuts to essential support... His quote yest: ''I'm not ruling anything out."

Picture of the Work and Pensions Secretary, Pat McFadden, from the BBC website, with the quote 'Welfare reform must happen, minister says'

September 23, 2025 at 9:24 AM

River

@riverlorien.bsky.social

Thanks. Such a powerful post. (I've added alt text for anyone who needs it)

Written by a doctor at St Thomas' Hospital, London after the
Tommy Robinson march on 13/9

'I was the anaesthetic consultant on call at St Thomas'
Hospital yesterday. It is on the south side of the bridge that
these racists marched over for 5 hours; right under the
windows of the hospital chanting their hateful, vitriolic,
violent slogans.
It was not lost on me that in our emergency handover
meeting of around 15 people at 8am, I was one of only two
white British members of staff. The NHS would collapse
without the remarkable work that colleagues who are
immigrants and the children of immigrants do.
This "protest" was not peaceful as we know. Many broke
through what were pretty puny barriers to get into the
hospital grounds. Security (all non-white and being
incredibly measured) had to fend them off at the main
entrance. No police. No other help. Lots of very scared non-
British workers inside the building. Lots of the staff on duty
with me were really scared about getting home safely. Many
booked rooms in the nurses' accommodation overnight
because they didn't dare leave. I drove several to nearby
stations to avoid what was by 5pm an intimidating, abusive,
drunken rabble.
Our chief exec sent a weak email on Thursday saying,
effectively, everyone is valued in our hospital. She was
nowhere to be seen on Saturday.

Colleagues and I are going to write to her to say that the
Trust's response before and on the day was wholly
inadequate but I also think NHS leaders and the government
need to denounce the overtly racist elements of the march
(i.e. most of it) and publicly support non-British NHS
workers. They must stop equivocating for fear of offending a
group of the electorate that they foolishly think might vote
for them, and take a damn stand. They are leaving a vacuum
for the radical right; either fight or step aside and let
someone else try to save the soul of the country.
I was shocked to see lots of families with their teens proudly
marching. People need to get involved and counter this
appalling rhetoric. It's completely disgusting. We need to try
to understand why they believe the far right's lies, counter
those lies and offer a genuine alternative for ordinary people
otherwise we will be in the US's shoes with Farage at the
helm. I will do whatever 1 can to help in this cause but it is
urgent. Labour are not doing anything effective. Those
groups/parties planning to provide an alternative need to
get their A's into G and start campaigning loudly. Farage
spent the summer holding weekly press conferences while
the government went on holiday.
I felt embarrassed to call myself British in front of my
incredibly brave but distressed colleagues yesterday. I'd
welcome everyone's view about the most useful steps that I
and others who are equally appalled by yesterday and the
rise of the far right here can most usefully do to fight back.
Wishing everyone a peaceful evening.

September 15, 2025 at 12:05 PM

River

@riverlorien.bsky.social

'Hospices are on the brink. Surging costs have led to many services being cut back – just as demand is rising, fast, because of our ageing population. As it stands, roughly two in five hospices are planning to make cuts this year' Guardian 12 Sep 25

#ThisIsHospiceCare

www.thisishospicecare.org.uk

September 15, 2025 at 11:53 AM

River

@riverlorien.bsky.social

@mrjamesob.bsky.social
@lbc.co.uk #lbc

From 29th July, '25

UN Under-Sec Gen for Humanitarian Aid Tom Fletcher confirmed a UK doctor's report that IDF snipers were shooting *children* in a particular part of the body each day (including the groin) as though it's a game.

September 10, 2025 at 9:38 AM

River

@riverlorien.bsky.social

We managed to get a pic of this visitor hiding an acorn in a plant pot the year before, but they likely retrieved that one

A grey squirrel holding an acorn - sitting in a pot of flowering plants

September 7, 2025 at 10:49 AM

River

@riverlorien.bsky.social

We found an oak seedling in a plant pot (of flowering plants) this year. We've seen a squirrel digging there and assume that it forgot where it had left part of its stash :)