Tom Rank
@tomrank.bsky.social
Reflections on literature, education - and other ramblings. Was @literaryconnect in the other place 😀
http://www.literaryconnections.co.uk/
http://www.literaryconnections.co.uk/
Reposted by Tom Rank
Politicians not having a clue about the brief they’ve just been moved to is a huge issue but I think it’s a particular issue with immigration/ asylum, a system which is hugely complex and totally misunderstood by anyone with any power to change it (& anyone with any understanding has no real power)
November 29, 2025 at 9:19 AM
Politicians not having a clue about the brief they’ve just been moved to is a huge issue but I think it’s a particular issue with immigration/ asylum, a system which is hugely complex and totally misunderstood by anyone with any power to change it (& anyone with any understanding has no real power)
Reposted by Tom Rank
The Home Office’s absurd taxi bill results entirely from its insistence on forcing people to move round the country without choice or notice, & to live on the breadline so they can’t afford public transport. That Mahmood didn’t know about it till the BBC told her shows how appallingly the HO is run.
November 29, 2025 at 8:50 AM
The Home Office’s absurd taxi bill results entirely from its insistence on forcing people to move round the country without choice or notice, & to live on the breadline so they can’t afford public transport. That Mahmood didn’t know about it till the BBC told her shows how appallingly the HO is run.
Reposted by Tom Rank
And here's my own tribute to Beryl Bainbridge (and her 1973 novel The Dressmaker in particular).
She should have won the Booker "three or four times," said her friend Paul Bailey* after her death. "Hers were better than the junk that did win."
*they used to watch Corrie and compare notes by phone
She should have won the Booker "three or four times," said her friend Paul Bailey* after her death. "Hers were better than the junk that did win."
*they used to watch Corrie and compare notes by phone
The Dressmaker at 50: a novel that encapsulates Beryl Bainbridge’s idiosyncrasies | The Booker Prizes
An uncompromising and funny story of love and death, The Dressmaker was the first of five novels by Beryl Bainbridge to be shortlisted for the Booker.
thebookerprizes.com
February 22, 2025 at 6:10 PM
And here's my own tribute to Beryl Bainbridge (and her 1973 novel The Dressmaker in particular).
She should have won the Booker "three or four times," said her friend Paul Bailey* after her death. "Hers were better than the junk that did win."
*they used to watch Corrie and compare notes by phone
She should have won the Booker "three or four times," said her friend Paul Bailey* after her death. "Hers were better than the junk that did win."
*they used to watch Corrie and compare notes by phone
Reposted by Tom Rank
Most likely, based on my experience, that will have been for a specialist appointment. It also isn't helped that people are moved around so much by the Home Office that they may end up remaining registered at a GP far from them purely because of the Home Office itself.
November 29, 2025 at 8:07 AM
Most likely, based on my experience, that will have been for a specialist appointment. It also isn't helped that people are moved around so much by the Home Office that they may end up remaining registered at a GP far from them purely because of the Home Office itself.
Reposted by Tom Rank
And yes I will be contributing more as a result of this budget. Fine, I make no complaint about it.
November 28, 2025 at 7:38 PM
And yes I will be contributing more as a result of this budget. Fine, I make no complaint about it.
Reposted by Tom Rank
Europeans did not assimilate into the indigenous cultures of the Americas, they obliterated them.
November 28, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Europeans did not assimilate into the indigenous cultures of the Americas, they obliterated them.