John Berkeley Grout 🏳️‍🌈🔶

A screenclip from The Good Law Project with the text: "But Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrts, also came and met with us, and appeared on the Trans Mission stage. His, and the Lib Dems', commitment to trans people is no less secure and no less profound." Below is a picture of Jolyon Maugham talking to Zack Polanski back-stage on the left, and one of JM talking with Ed Davey on the main Trans Mission on the right. In his picture, Ed is midway through gesturing with both hands while addressing the crowd.

Huge thanks to @eddavey.libdems.org.uk for joining @jolyon.goodlawproject.org and others on the Trans Mission stage to reaffirm the @libdems.org.uk party's long-standing and fundamental support for Trans+ rights. 🧡

goodlawproject.org/jo-maugham-t...

#transrights

Can’t wait for the inevitable Bindel column in that notorious feminist mag The Spectator on how she “feared for her life” in a concert hall full of people whose existence she’s tried to extinguish but who’s still such a nobody that no one recognized her.

Congrats to everyone for the Trans Mission concert last night. Massive success, massive good feeling, and how lovely even that the worst TERFs in England (Forstater and Bindel) snuck themselves in like the weirdos they are, only to see all that joy and support.

A thread worth reading. 👇

Sad news indeed.

Three immutable facts:

1. Mainstream media avoids platforming trans people

2. Everyday Trans+ voices, speaking about their own lives, humanise a deeply marginalised community the British press has spent years vilifying

3. Stephanie Lynette is kick ass

Amendment on Implementing Party Policy The party needs to have a conversation about how it advocates and implements the excellent policies passed by Conference.

We submitted a couple of amendments to motions at @conference.libdems.org.uk in York this weekend. One was picked - one wasn't. Unfortunately, it was the one about how we actually implement all the good policy Conference passes. We in the @libdems.org.uk need to have a chat about how we do better.

What a stunning cover!

If it's the gays who are being transed, then why are they a threat to women..?
🤔

This site needs a break. Post 3 good things, none of which are the cessation of a negative.

1. The cat on the steps up to the road insisting on being petted as a toll for passing.
2. The little old lady making silly faces at the baby on the bus, to make him laugh.
3. The swifts, soon to return.

Te Aberaeron Tea Archives - There is nothing we love more than curling up with a good book and a cuppa made with good quality loose leaf tea. Te Aberaeron Tea is now available at Gwisgo Bookworm, in partnership with our friends ...

Last month, I went on a little self-organised writing retreat to Wales, near Aberaeron. In Aberaeron is a wonderful little independent bookshop called Gwisgo Bookworm, which sells some of the best tea I've ever had. 👇

The Morlo Llwyd is mind-blowingly good. You'll thank me.
#tea #bookshop #wales

GNU SIR TERRY PRATCHETT
Signal this to all towers, not logged.
‘He’d never have wanted to go home. He was a real linesman. His name is in the code, in the wind in the rigging and the shutters. Haven’t you ever heard the saying “A man’s not dead while his name is still spoken”?’
Going Postal

The one thing that unites the full political spectrum of British people from fascist to centrist to communist is that we're all fond of cute native animals, and like looking at pictures of them. So of course Ed thinks putting them on banknotes is silly. Of course he does.

Badgers : animated music video : MrWeebl YouTube video by Weebl's Stuff

Since @djm4.bsky.social has earwormed me with it, after Our Glorious Leader's uhm... ill advised little rant about banknotes, you can all get earwormed with it too

Parabolic reflector?

Tells you something (not sure what) about the interaction of technological progress and culture that someone posted a Telegraph mad headline generator here last week, and already it's obsolete because the real Telegraph headlines are even madder.

The attitude explained here is bizarre to me and probably most folk I know. But it is real and needs to be taken into account, without pandering to it.

Yes, that would be amazing

I wonder if Salieri should be the only part played by a human fervently Michael Caine'ing his way through the script as if it was the highest of theatre (which, of course, it is).

Alternatively, a human Mozart played by someone able to be suitably Cary Elwes-esque, like Dev Patel or Nicholas Hoult?

A screenclip from an old Facebook 'report this image' prompt. It asks "What's going on?" The four radio buttons you can choose are "It's annoying or not interesting", "I think it shouldn't be on Facebook", and "It's spam". The one that's checked is "I'm in this photo and I don't like it".

*sigh*

I miss pre-AI / pre-slop DeviantArt. I have some old art on there which is probably far too late for me to take down...

...but can anyone recommend any non-AI, queer-friendly free art sharing sites that are like DA used to be?

(I'm not hugely fussed about NSFW or not)
#art #fanart #artsky

I've talked about this here before, but my experience as a journalism instructor is that Grammarly makes students' writing worse. This was true even several years ago, pre-GenAI hype. The mushy, even incoherent sentences it created were what caused me to start warning them off it.

Long ago when I was a Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate I’d quote Churchill in support of Europe, or human rights, or against fascism or poverty.
It was a way of getting Tory-ish but Liberal-curious voters to listen (and also made far right explode).
But against badgers…?!
Don’t be an absolute dick.

btw about that pixar thing, the reason why these people think having a conversation about gay people with kids is difficult is because they don't know a way to say to their kid "gay people are normal but you are not allowed to be one" without sounding like a bigot (there is a reason for that)

I'm getting questions about why there are trans characters in my Fantasy novel.

There's a simple answer: trans people don't need to justify existing.

Glad to clear that up!

I always find it impossible to tell how I came across in an interview. Good luck for the outcome. 😊

LGBT+ Lib Dems back calls from Lib Dem MPs to propose amendments to the Equality Act that protect trans rights, and ensure that trans people have a voice in that process. Lib Dem MP Marie Goldman is right when she says trans rights and women's rights are not in competition. This has to be agreed cross-party, so please contact your MP and back the Lib Dems in asking for amendments to protect trans rights now.

Dear Minister for Women and Equalities, Re: Ongoing practical implications of last year's Supreme Court ruling Following the recent High Court decision concerning the challenge brought by the Good Law Project to EHRC interim guidance, I am writing to express my disappointment at the continued uncertainty surrounding the practical implications of last year’s Supreme Court ruling. While the Court has ruled on the question of standing in this case, it is clear that the wider issues remain far from settled. Trans, non-binary and intersex people continue to face profound anxiety about what these developments mean for their daily lives. Meanwhile, employers, service providers and public bodies tell us they still lack clear, workable direction about their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010. This persistent uncertainty benefits no one. It risks leaving trans or gender non-conforming people worried about being excluded from facilities they have used for years, and organisations exposed to confusion, legal risk and unnecessary cost. You have repeatedly stated that trans people remain protected from discrimination. Without clear guidance, however, that statement offers little reassurance to those directly affected.

I urge you to bring forward new, workable, and inclusive guidance as a matter of urgency, and to lay any new EHRC code of practice before Parliament so it can be properly scrutinised and debated. There must be a rigorous democratic process, including a free vote, to assess whether the proposals genuinely ensure dignity, safety and inclusion for trans people while upholding the rights of women. I also urge you to appoint a joint committee of cross-party MPs and peers to conduct post-legislative scrutiny of both the Gender Recognition Act and the Equality Act 2010, takinh evidence from communities who have been impacted including trans people, which will propose any amendments or new legislation it sees as necessary to ensure existing rights are protected. The Liberal Democrats are clear that everyone deserves to feel safe, respected and free to be who they are. Protecting the rights of women and ensuring dignity and inclusion for trans people are not competing objectives; both are essential to a fair society. Your Department must now provide leadership and certainty to achieve that balance. I would welcome an update on your timetable for publishing revised guidance and laying it before Parliament, and would be grateful for the opportunity to meet to discuss these matters further. Yours sincerely, Marie Goldman MP, Liberal Democrats Spokesperson for Women and Equalities.

Trans rights and women's rights are not and never have been in competition. Thank you to Marie Goldman for this excellent letter and your work on this.

I'm fine = I'm not, but I want you to pretend I am

I'm fine. = Someone is going to have their spine ripped out through their nose, and it might be you if you ask me how I am again, so let's just move on

Share the four animals you want.

My four:
Kingfisher
Goldfinches
Badger
Red deer