Thatβll be an amazing gig! Enjoy!
Thatβll be an amazing gig! Enjoy!
Great article by Kristin Hansen for Fodors, on why you should visit Minneapolis now to support its immigrant-owned restaurants, shops and hotels:
www.fodors.com/world/north-...
Strong example of using tourism for good.
Theyβre pretty, but Β£50 is insane! I think Iβd be more frustrated than flattered if someone bought me Β£50 flowers - that money could go towards experiences together, loads of quality time with coffee and cake (or, I guess in London prices, two coffees and cakes!), etc.
You will be visited by three spirits
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.
Canβt unsee the kerning here, so I guess Asda wants us all to have a M ER RY CHRIST MAS, whatever that is.
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.
Bluesky has figured that my Britishness might mean I consider The Archers more of a trending topic than DOGE being disbanded (btw, I donβt 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).
If thereβs one thing you read over the weekend, it should be this devastating and profound essay - just donβt expect to finish it with dry eyes, or without shaking your fist at RFK Jr.
#Longreads #RecommendedReading
Catch up with @davidolusoga.bsky.socialβs Empire series on BBC iPlayer if you can. He sums up the British Empireβs far-reaching exploitative consequences and complexity; thorough, harrowing, and honest. Loved the interviews with everyday people whose identities have been shaped by Empire, too.
Commiserations with Maris on having to deal with the anti-vaxxers, but this is a great read:
Glad to see this called out! Great example of pointless AI use - there are so many high quality stock photos (even from free sites with CC0 permissions) they could have chosen that would have worked just fine here.
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 Francisβ first address at The Vatican. People walking include nuns.
Out of focus hand and camera in foreground with Vatican balcony in background.
Flashback to when I crashed the Popeβs first papal balcony address in Rome (2013), and took terrible photos. Iβm 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
Yes! This annoyed me so much.
Fingers crossed for a Bristol tour date!
I loved Sainte-Eulalie de Cernon, in Aveyron. Fascinating history linked to the Knights Templar. Also in Aveyron, Conques is beautiful.
It must be really difficult without social media, but also frustrating for authors who would rather stay off social and have been pressured into setting up/maintaining a presence on there. Also the algorithms make it so hard to get your voice heard.
The cover is beautiful, too!
This quote was one of the stand-outs of the documentary, for sure.
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.
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
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
Also worth noting that, though this is a Mon-Fri job, they also ask you to be available on weekends (not unusual in journalism, I know) so you get a terrible work-life balance to go with that terrible salary.
Can we just have normal Connections back with words, please? The worldβs already bleak enough as it is, without having symbols thrown at us to decode.
They sound like a great employer! Glad they look out for you.
I reckon big networking/mingling events like this should have a designated βquiet roomβ where you can have 10 minutesβ peace to decompress and close your eyes before more enforced small talk. It would help so many of us!
This is the kind of petty behaviour I can get behind.
Daisy is an integral part of Flicks, and has captured the magic of this gem in the city.
From Dylanβs Cafe Wha? to Sabbathβs Crown pub and Keith Richardsβ Cafe Baba, hereβs 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
I wrote about Leicesterβs 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
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
Last weekend I popped up to Ullapool, in Scotland, to see one of my oldest friends get married. Hereβs a glimpse of the landscapes (and the local spirits) up there.
#Scotland
#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