Prof. Liz Laycock
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shulizl.bsky.social
Prof. Liz Laycock
@shulizl.bsky.social
94 followers 89 following 140 posts
Curious about heritage building geomaterials, various crafts and spurious facts. Geobakeoff veteran. Likes ferrets.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
workshops4gaza.bsky.social
Heba Muraisi, on day 54: “[I]can feel myself get weaker as each day passes" with "bruising on her arm and constant body ache"…is losing the ability to "form sentences, and struggling to maintain conversation".

She vows to continue until their demands are met.

www.thenational.scot/news/2572535...
Hunger strikers on day 54 of protest 'losing ability to speak and stand'
PALESTINE Action protesters on hunger strike in prison are "losing the ability to speak and stand", according to Prisoners for Palestine
www.thenational.scot
December 28, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
bookjockeyalex.bsky.social
"Academics literally cannot make genAI go away" we also can't make underage drinking go away and we're not advocating for installing bar carts in every classroom.
December 27, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
madelinart.bsky.social
I was looking for a beautiful picture to share when I found this one of a miniature I made of a museum basement. I love making miniatures because you can just take a scrap of leather and a single a4 sheet and make a book or a pebble from the garden can be made into a tiny cycladic sculpture or venus
A miniature model shows an archeologist's office or perhaps a museum basement storage area packed with artefacts from around the world.
December 23, 2025 at 9:21 AM
shulizl.bsky.social
Thought: If the Epstein files were unimportant, why have they been so heavily redacted...
December 20, 2025 at 8:40 AM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
madelinart.bsky.social
Metal bashing is good for the soul, if not neighbourly relations. I have been making lichen and brackets and am wondering if I can remain enthusiastic long enough to decorate a load of books, decorate an entire book case or create a jewellery collection. #fungilove #fungiart #coppersmithing
Hammered copper and silver lichen and bracket fungus awaiting a plan
December 18, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
harmitmalik.bsky.social
I can't believe this still needs to be said (and more loudly):

Trans rights are human rights.
December 18, 2025 at 12:54 AM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
pervocracy.bsky.social
The older I get, the more my politics mature from childish, naïve beliefs like "the world is complicated and leaders have to make hard decisions" to more serious, adult principles like "hurting people is bad and helping people is good."
December 15, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
bestforbritain.org
🚨 BREAKING NEWS🚨

Starmer orders investigation into foreign election interference.

🇷🇺 What will this mean for those persistent Russian links to our elections?

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uks-starmer-orders-probe-into-foreign-election-interference-after-ex-reform-2025-12-16/
UK's Starmer orders probe into foreign election interference after ex-Reform politician jailed, Times reports
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ordered a probe into foreign election interference after a former senior member of Reform UK was jailed for taking bribes to promote Russian interests in the Eu...
www.reuters.com
December 16, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
robinince.bsky.social
It is so weird that Labour have a huge majority and are in government but have spent the whole time acting like an opposition party on the ropes
December 9, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
robinince.bsky.social
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
This is the saddest day of my professional life. Today is not only the final recording of the latest series of The Infinite Monkey Cage, it is my last ever Monkey Cage. I never thought that I would have to leave the show. I always imagined going on until | dropped dead under the studio lights due to a brain aneurysm caused by my final attempt to understand notions of quantum gravity or the shock of being told about fly maggot infestations in the sacks of macaque monkeys. I resigned in September, after sixteen years of dedication to the show, A show that I named and helped develop over all those years. Unfortunately, my opinions outside the BBC have been considered problematic for sometime, whether it has been voicing support for the trans community, criticism of Donald Trump, numerous other outlandish opinions, including once gently criticising Stephen Fry. These things were considered to conflict with being a freelance BBC science presenter In a recent meeting where BBC Studio executives again voiced problems with me, I realised my choices. Obedience and being quieter to remain making Monkey Cage, or 'Resign and have the freedom to speak out against what I believe are injustices'. • I chose the latter. It broke my heart. I love this show and I love the audience, and it is because of the audience in particular, that this decision was so difficult to make. I kept thinking about all the extremist voices promoting hate and division. They are being given so many platforms, while voices that represent kindness, open mindedness, empathy seem to be scarcer and scarcer. I felt I couldn't pamper myself with the luxury of silence. One of my many privileges is that I am able to resign and I can speak out even if it is to the detriment of my career. I have thought a lot about my heroes, Sinead O Connor, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, and so many more. I think of Sinead's words, "the job of an artist is to be themselves at any cost". James Baldwin said prejudice was really just a word for cowardice. Audre Lorde, viewing her life, wrote that her only regrets were her silences. I think of my father as I resign, he brought me up to believe in fairness , justice and kindness. Though my heart is broken, it is also full of fire. I apologise to our incredible listeners for my departure, your love of the show means a great deal. I am so sorry to let you down. I hope that you can understand my reasoning. I have to accept that I am not what the current BBC expects of their freelance presenters. Despite this I should add that I have always worked far more than my contracted hours to try and ensure the show was always the best it could be, as well as making myself accessible and responsive to the audience wherever and whenever I met them. Every night, we have recorded, I have been filled with determination to make the best show possible. This was not "just a job" I hope that with my departure I can be a better ally to the LGBTQ community, to the neurodivergent community, to activists fighting against those who aim to brutalise society, to those currently in prison on hunger strike, and to all those who fight for a more inclusive world. From many conversations, I know there are many Monkey Cage listeners who support these communities and activists too. The strawberry is dead. Long live the strawberry. B
December 13, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
zackpolanski.bsky.social
Solidarity with the hunger strikers.

It is an egregious violation for them to be held on remand - without trial or conviction.

All for protesting against a genocide. Shameful.
December 11, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
volcanojess.com
Someone asked me if the footage of 1,000ft lava fountains on Kīlauea was AI.

PLANET EARTH IS INFINITELY SUPERIOR TO ANYTHING THAT SOULLESS ENVIRONMENT-KILLER COULD EVER CONJURE FROM PILLAGING REAL ART.

Ahem. No, it's not AI. Volcanoes are just that incredible.
December 9, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
crazycanloon.bsky.social
December 8, 2025 at 1:08 AM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
goodlawproject.bsky.social
Girl Guiding and the Women’s Institute have announced that they will now exclude trans women and girls after legal threats – but organisations can and should remain inclusive:
https://goodlaw.social/cpfx
Excluding trans people won’t stop you getting sued | Good Law Project
Girl Guiding and the Women’s Institute have announced that they will now exclude trans women and girls after legal threats – but organisations can and should remain inclusive.
goodlaw.social
December 3, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
ancestralenq.bsky.social
Rest in Peace, Kathleen Roberts of Sheffield the first "Women of Steel" campaigner who worked in the steelworks in WW2 has died age 103. Thank you for your service. 👇
BBC News - First Sheffield 'Women of Steel' campaigner dies aged 103 - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
First Sheffield 'Women of Steel' campaigner dies aged 103
Kathleen Roberts campaigned for women who worked in the steelworks during the war to be recognised.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
dorotheevplessis.bsky.social
November 24, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
hetanshah.bsky.social
We are calling on the UK Government to not introduce a levy on higher education provider income from international students, reduce visa costs to attract global talent, and to review higher education funding to create a sustainable model
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/58...
• Discontinue the idea of introducing a levy on higher education provider income from international students. • Reduce visa costs to ensure they are at least as competitive in cost as other leading science nations, and preferably have a target to become the mos competitive in the G7. • Provide immediate clarity that the current time length for Indefinite Leave to Remain is kept in place for current and future Global Talent visa holders and their dependents.
July 10, 2025 at 8:54 AM
shulizl.bsky.social
According to the Torygraph (Telegraph)universities have "gold plated" pension schemes. In which case much of the rest of academia could probably be described as gold-ish coloured/ chipped/ tarnished...
November 24, 2025 at 3:26 AM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
lemoustier.bsky.social
Fifteen years of ideological choices to strangle & gut the public realm - NHS to schools to social services to local museums - is what underlies the anger "tearing our country apart"; immigration is simply the scapegoat that the far right are pushing people toward.
Why can't Labour just say this?
November 18, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
georgemonbiot.bsky.social
What a shocking waste of opportunity this government has proved to be.
It has squandered its time and attention on ridiculous fiscal rules, persecuting refugees and trashing ecosystems in the name of growth, while failing to deliver what we so desperately want.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
NHS failing to cut waiting times as promised in recovery plan, report warns
Public accounts committee finds Labour’s progress ‘appears to have stalled’ despite billions of pounds in investment
www.theguardian.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:26 AM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
timewalkproject.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 4:57 PM
shulizl.bsky.social
Belated wedding gift finished. Hairnets for a re-enactor friend.(the pointy bit in the centre of the net is an artefact of making these on a toe loop and not a cushion, and dissappears in use)
A pair of hand made hair net. One made of linen thread, one of silk. Based approximately on museum of London finds. There is a separate silk finger braided edge band for each
November 17, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
UCU - Mass strikes to hit University of Sheffield & Sheffield Hallam in November and December over job cuts www.ucu.org.uk/article/1423...
Mass strikes to hit University of Sheffield & Sheffield Hallam in November and December over job cuts
A combined 28 days of strike action will hit the city of Sheffield over the next two months in rows over job cuts at Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam universities, UCU announced today.
www.ucu.org.uk
November 14, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
ucuhallam.bsky.social
📢 Day Three: Our Momentum Remains Unbroken!

Three days strong, our resolve remains unshakeable. We're standing united, fighting for our future.

The message is loud and clear: we won't be silenced. Our solidarity grows stronger with each passing day.

#SaveSheffieldHallam
Day 3 picket line
November 13, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Reposted by Prof. Liz Laycock
ucuhallam.bsky.social
Strike Day 2:
Pickets at Owen building & HoTC, 8-11am every strike day
Dispute info here: ucuhallam.org
The fight is against compulsory redundancies & poor governance
#SaveSheffieldHallam
November 12, 2025 at 8:47 AM