Josephine Grahl
@woodscolt79.bsky.social
Spinsterdom, socialism, sunsets.
Pinned
Josephine Grahl
@woodscolt79.bsky.social
· Aug 19
Boycotting Israeli bulbs
Where do our flower bulbs come from? In June, Instagram poster Vicky Burns Bellman shared her correspondence with bulb supplier Farmer Gracy, and there was a social media flurry when they confirmed…
belledelondres.wordpress.com
I thought I'd investigate where my spring bulbs come from, in order to avoid buying Israeli plants: belledelondres.wordpress.com/2025/08/19/b...
Reposted by Josephine Grahl
Sadiq, please tell Forhad Hussain and Mehmood Mirza in Newham! @sadiqkhanlondon.bsky.social @metecoban92.bsky.social @sebdance.bsky.social @ellybakeram.bsky.social
newham65.wordpress.com/2026/01/22/f...
newham65.wordpress.com/2026/01/22/f...
Another example of us doing what is right for Londoners:
More liveable neighbourhoods
Healthier communities
Fewer Collisions
Fewer deaths and serious injuries
Change isn’t easy, but I’m willing to make tough choices to make our city safer.
More liveable neighbourhoods
Healthier communities
Fewer Collisions
Fewer deaths and serious injuries
Change isn’t easy, but I’m willing to make tough choices to make our city safer.
East London residents win sensational victory in fight to save low-traffic schemes
London-wide implications for LTNs as Court of Appeal rules that Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman acted unlawfully in trying to ignore Sadiq Khan’s transport masterplan
www.standard.co.uk
January 22, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Sadiq, please tell Forhad Hussain and Mehmood Mirza in Newham! @sadiqkhanlondon.bsky.social @metecoban92.bsky.social @sebdance.bsky.social @ellybakeram.bsky.social
newham65.wordpress.com/2026/01/22/f...
newham65.wordpress.com/2026/01/22/f...
Reposted by Josephine Grahl
The march of progress?
...and the political hokey cokey around cars
open.substack.com
January 22, 2026 at 2:01 PM
Reposted by Josephine Grahl
Ooh, ooh, I thought of a "smallest hill I would die on": 12 noon is 12 noon, it is not 12pm (it IS the meridian it BY DEFINITION cannot be either ante or post meridian)
thank you and what is yours?
thank you and what is yours?
January 21, 2026 at 11:15 PM
Ooh, ooh, I thought of a "smallest hill I would die on": 12 noon is 12 noon, it is not 12pm (it IS the meridian it BY DEFINITION cannot be either ante or post meridian)
thank you and what is yours?
thank you and what is yours?
Reposted by Josephine Grahl
Beavers are back in London 🦫
Here's how (and why) we did it ⬇️
Here's how (and why) we did it ⬇️
January 21, 2026 at 7:18 AM
Beavers are back in London 🦫
Here's how (and why) we did it ⬇️
Here's how (and why) we did it ⬇️
Reposted by Josephine Grahl
Liza Minnelli, in Cabaret (1972)
January 13, 2026 at 5:50 AM
Liza Minnelli, in Cabaret (1972)
Reposted by Josephine Grahl
This irrefutable evidence didn't come from professional journalists, but from citizens who showed up & recorded what our government would prefer remain unseen.
From Gaza to Minneapolis, this is why video documentation is treated as a threat: it makes their lies and cover-ups far harder to sustain.
From Gaza to Minneapolis, this is why video documentation is treated as a threat: it makes their lies and cover-ups far harder to sustain.
Forensic analysis of objective video evidence. This is how you serve readers searching for clarity.
January 8, 2026 at 2:13 PM
This irrefutable evidence didn't come from professional journalists, but from citizens who showed up & recorded what our government would prefer remain unseen.
From Gaza to Minneapolis, this is why video documentation is treated as a threat: it makes their lies and cover-ups far harder to sustain.
From Gaza to Minneapolis, this is why video documentation is treated as a threat: it makes their lies and cover-ups far harder to sustain.
Reposted by Josephine Grahl
You and your wife drop your 6-year-old off at school. You just moved here. You see ICE terrorizing your new neighbors. You film them, as is your legal right. Your wife complies with orders. She is then shot in the head. You still have to pick up your child later today.
This could be you.
This could be you.
January 8, 2026 at 12:15 AM
You and your wife drop your 6-year-old off at school. You just moved here. You see ICE terrorizing your new neighbors. You film them, as is your legal right. Your wife complies with orders. She is then shot in the head. You still have to pick up your child later today.
This could be you.
This could be you.
Kind of funny that all three candidates for the Newham mayoralty started off in different parties to the ones they represent today.
New blogpost: #Newham council's three big parties have announced their candidates for Mayor. forestgate.net/2026/01/07/c...
Candidates assemble!
The three biggest parties in Newham politics have announced their candidates to replace Rokhsana Fiaz as mayor in May’s local elections. Labour’s candidate will be Forhad Hussain. He, like all of t…
forestgate.net
January 8, 2026 at 10:25 AM
Kind of funny that all three candidates for the Newham mayoralty started off in different parties to the ones they represent today.
Reposted by Josephine Grahl
Juliet Stevenson: "Child mortality has gone up by 75%.. children who get ill, children that could survive injury or disease are not surviving because they're so malnourished"
Israel doesn't just murder Palestinians with bullets and bombs.
Israel doesn't just murder Palestinians with bullets and bombs.
January 8, 2026 at 8:51 AM
Juliet Stevenson: "Child mortality has gone up by 75%.. children who get ill, children that could survive injury or disease are not surviving because they're so malnourished"
Israel doesn't just murder Palestinians with bullets and bombs.
Israel doesn't just murder Palestinians with bullets and bombs.
Reposted by Josephine Grahl
This is an extraordinary human failure from a supposedly progressive government. Jaw dropping www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Let’s be clear: if the Palestine Action hunger strikers die, the government will bear moral responsibility | George Monbiot
The three remaining hunger strikers have been convicted of nothing. Yet with astonishing cruelty, ministers refuse to listen to their reasonable demands, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
January 7, 2026 at 11:30 AM
This is an extraordinary human failure from a supposedly progressive government. Jaw dropping www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
It's kind of enjoyable how every time you hear about Morgan McSweeney making one of these interventions it literally sounds like the worst, most stupid and pointless thing you are ever made to do at work, devised by an outsourced training company. It's so clear he's never had a non-political job.
At political cabinet today, Morgan McSweeney gave a presentation on “three Es” on how the government can connect with voters - emotion, empathy and evidence.
Am told he said the government currently has a “deficit in emotion”
Am told he said the government currently has a “deficit in emotion”
January 6, 2026 at 2:45 PM
It's kind of enjoyable how every time you hear about Morgan McSweeney making one of these interventions it literally sounds like the worst, most stupid and pointless thing you are ever made to do at work, devised by an outsourced training company. It's so clear he's never had a non-political job.
The first outing for this hashtag on Bluesky !
Happy New Year! It's time for the annual game of #countthewomenintheViennaPhil
January 1, 2026 at 10:27 AM
The first outing for this hashtag on Bluesky !
Happy New Year! It's time for the annual game of #countthewomenintheViennaPhil
January 1, 2026 at 10:21 AM
Happy New Year! It's time for the annual game of #countthewomenintheViennaPhil
Reposted by Josephine Grahl
The WI has been trans inclusive since the 70s, before I was born. Do you see who in this scenario was innocently minding their own business, coming to their own arrangements locally? Do you see who is forcefully imposing themselves and their demands upon others, via threats.
December 4, 2025 at 8:30 AM
The WI has been trans inclusive since the 70s, before I was born. Do you see who in this scenario was innocently minding their own business, coming to their own arrangements locally? Do you see who is forcefully imposing themselves and their demands upon others, via threats.
Reposted by Josephine Grahl
Morning.
Pompeii, 100 AD.
Pompeii, 100 AD.
November 16, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Morning.
Pompeii, 100 AD.
Pompeii, 100 AD.
Reposted by Josephine Grahl
Most asylum seekers arrive with their valuables long lost in bombed or abandoned homes, stolen, or sold to afford the dangerous clandestine passage to safety
The real thing of value to be snatched from refugees under these proposals is far more painful: their families & futures
Me, for @zeteo.com
The real thing of value to be snatched from refugees under these proposals is far more painful: their families & futures
Me, for @zeteo.com
November 17, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Most asylum seekers arrive with their valuables long lost in bombed or abandoned homes, stolen, or sold to afford the dangerous clandestine passage to safety
The real thing of value to be snatched from refugees under these proposals is far more painful: their families & futures
Me, for @zeteo.com
The real thing of value to be snatched from refugees under these proposals is far more painful: their families & futures
Me, for @zeteo.com
Labour could even look back further to the 6 (I think) immigration acts they brought in between 1997 and 2010: restricting asylum appeals, cutting support to asylum seekers and setting up detention centres. It was a Labour minister, Liam Byrne, who first used the term "hostile environment."
Out of curiosity for Labour, how did it go for Conservatives with the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, Illegal Migration Act 2023, or even the Safety of Rwanda Act 2024? Just following the same old tired "let's bash people seeking safety" line has been shown, repeatedly, to fail on every account.
November 17, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Labour could even look back further to the 6 (I think) immigration acts they brought in between 1997 and 2010: restricting asylum appeals, cutting support to asylum seekers and setting up detention centres. It was a Labour minister, Liam Byrne, who first used the term "hostile environment."
Reposted by Josephine Grahl
Lots of Labour MPs asking Mahmood tonight to rule out child detention. She won’t rule it out. That’s because forced removals of families will mean children in detention for periods.
Home Office ruling out deportation of lone minors but the changes will certainly mean more detention of children.
Home Office ruling out deportation of lone minors but the changes will certainly mean more detention of children.
November 17, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Lots of Labour MPs asking Mahmood tonight to rule out child detention. She won’t rule it out. That’s because forced removals of families will mean children in detention for periods.
Home Office ruling out deportation of lone minors but the changes will certainly mean more detention of children.
Home Office ruling out deportation of lone minors but the changes will certainly mean more detention of children.
The second most annoying thing that people on social media do when they talk about politics, but definitely the most toxic to actually having any kind of exchange of ideas.
A rule a lot of people should follow “You’re not a political strategist, and you don’t need to tweet like one.” It’s okay to just have preferences and argue for them rather than to hallucinate a strategy where there isn’t one. (Particularly a strategy that is as clapped out as this one would be)
Labour is going to introduce safe routes for those claiming refugee status while everybody here is talking about ‘jewellery theft’ proposals. I strongly suspect the latter was meant to divert Sun readers’ attention from clocking the former while you are meant to be welcoming the former. 🫤
November 17, 2025 at 2:06 PM
The second most annoying thing that people on social media do when they talk about politics, but definitely the most toxic to actually having any kind of exchange of ideas.
Reposted by Josephine Grahl
🚨The Home Secretary said "illegal migration is dividing our country."
Let’s be clear: the only thing dividing our country is a politics devoid of humanity and compassion.
The plans announced today are a cruel political choice. It is #NotInOurName.
www.refugeewomen.co.uk/morally-and-...
1/🧵
Let’s be clear: the only thing dividing our country is a politics devoid of humanity and compassion.
The plans announced today are a cruel political choice. It is #NotInOurName.
www.refugeewomen.co.uk/morally-and-...
1/🧵
Women for Refugee Women : Morally and ethically bankrupt: Our response to the Government's announcement 17 November 2026
The Government has announced sweeping plans to overhaul refugee protection in the UK - some of the most hostile we have seen in recent years. We are outraged, saddened, and extremely concerned.
www.refugeewomen.co.uk
November 17, 2025 at 1:54 PM
🚨The Home Secretary said "illegal migration is dividing our country."
Let’s be clear: the only thing dividing our country is a politics devoid of humanity and compassion.
The plans announced today are a cruel political choice. It is #NotInOurName.
www.refugeewomen.co.uk/morally-and-...
1/🧵
Let’s be clear: the only thing dividing our country is a politics devoid of humanity and compassion.
The plans announced today are a cruel political choice. It is #NotInOurName.
www.refugeewomen.co.uk/morally-and-...
1/🧵
Reposted by Josephine Grahl
It was very common to be dismissed whenever it was said that Gaza would unravel everything, and this essay really does acutely show how true and poignant that was www.equator.org/articles/ins...
Inside the BBC’s Gaza Fiasco • EQUATOR
How the world’s most trusted media organisation fell apart
www.equator.org
November 14, 2025 at 12:04 PM
It was very common to be dismissed whenever it was said that Gaza would unravel everything, and this essay really does acutely show how true and poignant that was www.equator.org/articles/ins...
Reposted by Josephine Grahl
And when you've done that, follow @4refugeewomen.bsky.social, who conducted this research, for more on how our asylum system harms women - and how to build a system where women can rebuild their lives on their own terms.
November 14, 2025 at 9:55 AM
And when you've done that, follow @4refugeewomen.bsky.social, who conducted this research, for more on how our asylum system harms women - and how to build a system where women can rebuild their lives on their own terms.
Reposted by Josephine Grahl
There are so many reasons the work ban has to end - and this is one of the most important ones.
The good news is, pressure to end this unjust and illogical ban is building. Add your voice now, and tell the Government it's time to let people work:
bit.ly/LTB-act
The good news is, pressure to end this unjust and illogical ban is building. Add your voice now, and tell the Government it's time to let people work:
bit.ly/LTB-act
November 14, 2025 at 9:55 AM
There are so many reasons the work ban has to end - and this is one of the most important ones.
The good news is, pressure to end this unjust and illogical ban is building. Add your voice now, and tell the Government it's time to let people work:
bit.ly/LTB-act
The good news is, pressure to end this unjust and illogical ban is building. Add your voice now, and tell the Government it's time to let people work:
bit.ly/LTB-act
I love 'party privately tells MPs' as though opinion polls weren't published in the national press several times a week.
Half of voters who backed Labour in 2024 have deserted the party, according to internal polling shared with Labour MPs, reports PolHome's Harriet Symonds
The figures suggest Labour's lost vote is broadly split between its left and right flanks, demonstrating the electoral challenge facing the party
The figures suggest Labour's lost vote is broadly split between its left and right flanks, demonstrating the electoral challenge facing the party
Half of 2024 Labour Voters Have Gone Elsewhere, Party Privately Tells MPs
Half of voters who backed Labour at the last general election have deserted the party, according to internal polling shared with Labour MPs.
www.politicshome.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:21 PM
I love 'party privately tells MPs' as though opinion polls weren't published in the national press several times a week.
Discourse on tax in this country is so fucked. What exactly is ominous about this quote, unless you believe that tax is inherently bad:
November 10, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Discourse on tax in this country is so fucked. What exactly is ominous about this quote, unless you believe that tax is inherently bad: