There are many things about the monarchy that are annoying, but (almost) more annoying still are two of the weak arguments regularly used to justify its existence ( Read more... )

Walking home from Temple Meads today, I saw that Easton has given its own verdict on the proclamation.


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A week or so ago, on Transgender Day of Visibility, the Government celebrated by specifically excluding trans people from their long-promised ban on conversion therapy in the UK. This caused outrage, of course, and there was a heartening degree of unanimity from LGBT groups, but so far no sign that the Government will keep its word ( Read more... )

This morning the Guardian publishes a puff review of Kathleen Stock's new book, which suggests that the stranglehold trans people have on public discourse has had a chilling effect. (Prof. Stock was given an OBE in this year's New Year's Honours.)

This afternoon Nick Robinson suggests on Radio 4 to the new Scottish finance minister that trans ( Read more... )

Well, I've finally made landfall. Yesterday my final class was taught, and (since I will be on research leave in the autumn semester) I will not have to teach another until 2022. Of course, there's a lot of marking between where I am now (still sloshing about on the foreshore with saltwater in my sea boots) and the chalky uplands where I can ( Read more... )

Like the Giant Himalayan lily, Bristol riots bloom every ten years or so. Last time, in April 2011, it was centred on Stokes Croft, where incidents around a squat and the new Tesco opposite formed the centre of a tangled tale I did my second-hand best to chronicle at the time, at least to the extent of collecting links, most of which tended to show ( Read more... )

The moss-covered trees are now flourishing in my bedroom!


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As I think I've mentioned here in the past, I've never really understood the ban on Americans who aren't "natural-born citizens" becoming President - either the reason for it (it seems an unnecessary smear on the loyalty of naturalised citizens, and on their hypothetical voters) or the technicalities of it ( Read more... )

Today I go to pick up the goose that was to have fed me, Haruka, my brother and his partner on Christmas day. Of course, that's no longer going to happen. Theoretically it might be possible to travel from Brighton to Bristol and back in a day, in accordance with Johnson's latest panicked edict, but it hardly sounds fun, especially as everyone else ( Read more... )

"The UK is a vital wintering ground for flocks of curlews, from as far away as Belgium and Russia," said the chap on Tweet of the Day this morning. I did a slight double take, because Belgium doesn't strike me as a great example of "somewhere that's far away." However distant Russia might be, Belgium's inclusion leant the sentence a slightly ( Read more... )