RolloTreadway

Autistic Welsh NHS emergency care quality improvement person. Absolute believer in universal human rights being actually universal to all humans.
(they/them or he/him)

Tends to post about music, sandwiches, bit of cricket, a little politics (not too much). May sometimes be a bit miserable because things haven't been great, apologies in advance.

And really doesn't get on with Tories.

(Profile pic: Buster Keaton sits unhappily in a steamship funnel; header is a glass teapot full of leaves.)

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RolloTreadway@beige-party.mostr.pub

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Last Notes

2026-04-30 14:00:42 UTC

What do you mean it's not Friday yet

2026-04-29 17:06:58 UTC

Hurrah. It's taken a long time (because it was a small part of a very large Bill) but the legislation to entirely decriminalise abortion in England and Wales has finally got through Parliament and is now law.
This also includes the recent amendment to pardon everyone, living or dead, who has been prosecuted in relation to their own abortion.
(For those unfamiliar: until the passing of this legislation, the situation here since 1967 has been that abortion is a criminal offence but is excused, providing that a series of rules are followed. In practice, this has meant that pregnant people have been able to seek legal abortion without fear of committing an offence; however, it has also meant that police can and frequently did pursue women who they suspected of not having followed the rules exactly. It has provided a free pass for officers to persecute women. The new legislation establishes, clearly and without exception, that there cannot be any criminal liability for any pregnant person in relation to their own pregnancy. There are no more grounds for police to persecute pregnant and recently pregnant people. Finally, all that is now over.)

2026-04-29 07:09:11 UTC

Friends who are fond of birds (in the UK),
I read this thing about how I shouldn't be putting seeds and nuts out at this time of year, because it encourages the spread of disease amongst finches. I should just put out worms and suet food.
So I've been doing that the last couple of days - since the most recent bag of seed ran out - but whatever I put out, the starlings demolish it in no time.
And I'm worried there won't be anything left for the sparrows and doves and blackbirds and the occasional coal tit.
Plus it's expensive if all the food I put out goes so quickly.
Besides, I don't get any finches round here anyway. Lived here five years and haven't seen a finch of any description.
Do I really have to not put seed out? I understand the principle and it's a sound principle but in my particular situation I feel it may cause more harm than good.

2026-04-15 08:19:47 UTC

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@nprofile…ryua I don't know as I've only just got mine, but I'm interested to see what others say!

2026-04-06 12:11:20 UTC

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@nprofile…ryua Forgive me; this is not taken from the room I'm in but the room directly above, because the window in the living room is in need of a clean and it only opens with small windows at the top. Whereas the upstairs window opens fully. So no visible filth.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/116/357/686/167/699/907/original/ba9a1f9e295cc189.jpg

2026-04-06 09:26:58 UTC

Speaking of #InternationalAsexualityDay, time once again to share this superb and informative graphic about the various identities under the asexual umbrella.
(Alt text is long so please find it in the next post)
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/116/357/042/337/694/423/original/e37d3d3afc8fc63b.jpg

2026-03-31 09:12:40 UTC

I have a problem. For more than a week now I've had the Irish rugby anthem, Ireland's Call, stuck relentlessly in my head. It won't stop. It's actually quite upsetting me.
It's not even an especially good anthem. It's not terrible, just dull. The only noteworthy thing about it is that it exists (because it represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, who compete as one in rugby; it's also come to be used by Irish cricket, which again competes as one).
And when I try to shift it, all my brain can come up with is other national anthems in a similar style, like O Canada, Marcha Real, Advance Australia Fair etc.
This is driving me around the bend, it really is. I don't want to answer Ireland's Call thank you. Leave me alone.
(for those unfamiliar, it's this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2rRzvsZJfM)

2026-03-25 20:57:45 UTC

I've had a shit evening, and I'm going the fuck to bed.

2026-03-19 07:43:59 UTC

I'm really glad that the long-running English coastal path project is finally on the verge of completion. It's a very good thing and I've been following its development over many years.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy0dxexdd8xo
But for crying out loud does *everything* have to be named after royal people now? This is nuts. Do you know what the coastal path in Wales is called? It's called the Wales Coast Path/Llwybr Arfordir Cymru. It's not named after anyone. Because why would it be? The whole damn point is that the sea and the shore belong to all of us.
And we've all seen the stories about councils and public bodies having to figure out what to do with all the things with the name Prince Andrew attached to them, perhaps there's a lesson there about not naming things after people purely because they happen to have a particular ancestor.
What a shitty way to blemish an otherwise deeply good bit of news. Stop with the grovelling already.
</rant>

2026-03-18 09:51:07 UTC

Friends in England, a message for you.
I have periodically posted this before, but it's been a while since I last did, and I was putting my pills into my pill organiser and thought of it.
If you regularly have prescriptions, you do NOT need to pay for them all. This isn't terribly well advertised, and lots of people go through life never needing a repeat prescription then suddenly finding they need lots (me, I did this, up until I was 42 my only regular medicine was an antihistamine, now I have a full pill organiser).
A pre-pay prescription certificate can be purchased for a year and costs a little less than the price of 12 prescriptions (£114.50 compared to £118.80 if you have one prescription a month for a year). You can buy for this in instalments by direct debit, you don't have to stump it up all in one go.
You can also buy a three-month certificate for £32.50 (slightly more than the cost of three prescriptions).
These prices are fixed. It costs the same whether you're getting one prescription a month or ten. If you have at least one a month then the yearly certificate WILL save you money.
Everyone in England who pays for prescriptions is eligible.
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/help-nhs-prescription-costs/nhs-prescription-prepayment-certificate-ppc

2026-03-09 11:17:26 UTC

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@nprofile…3e6m I might add, there are two key reasons why arrests whilst wanking are rare. Firstly, it's a vastly less strenuous activity than having sex with a person (or multiple people). Secondly, only a very small minority of arrests come from nowhere, most happen to people who are already quite unwell, and being close to death generally isn't great for the libido.

2026-03-09 11:13:02 UTC

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@nprofile…3e6m Nah, you're not a paramedic. This is bullshit. Sure, heart attacks during sex are not all that common (but not that rare either).
But if you're looking for an activity where an arrest is most likely to happen, other than whilst sleeping, then it's having a shit. Absolutely not wanking.
Strokes too. Straining on the toilet strains the whole of your body.
Source: My team and I have to check through every single arrest that happens in my region. Circumstances under which arrests happen are something that we pay attention to.

2026-03-08 13:35:29 UTC

Also, on a related note, and also related to my last boost:
What with it being international women's day and all, probably worth noting that there are still people alive in Britain who will just about remember their mothers being banned from voting. In other countries, that is a much more recent thing. Saudi women were first allowed to vote in 2015 (and only limited circumstances).
And ten years before universal suffrage in the UK, no women at all could vote, and nor could millions of working class men. The first universal suffrage bill was put before Parliament (and defeated) in 1867, 61 years before universal suffrage, 51 before universal male and partial female suffrage. That's generations of people fighting, and sometimes dying, for the principle that voting is important and everyone should be allowed to do it. That's generations of rich men knowing full well that voting *does* bring about change, and doing everything they could do make sure it remained banned for everyone who wasn't a rich man.
Did it change anything? The 1918 reforms led directly to the first ever Labour government. The 1928 reforms led directly to the second ever Labour government. Working class socialists in power. That's exactly why voting had previously been banned for most people, it's exactly what the rich men fought to prevent, a vicious fight that they ultimately lost.
If voting changed anything it would be banned? It literally was banned. And will be banned again in no time if its opponents have their way.
(edited because my counting is shit)

2026-03-08 12:37:09 UTC

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@nprofile…cmq0 It's so vacuous and self-important, isn't it? One of the main things that voting can change is that you can vote for people who will continue to enable the right to vote. Or, as happened in the US a year and a bit ago, lots of people can decide not to bother voting and then likely lose the right to do so in future.
And yes, Rees-Mogg explicitly admitted that voter ID was supposed to disqualify people who wouldn't vote Tory, and it didn't work - because the people who put the most effort into ensuring they could vote, wanted to get rid of the Tories.
Voting in favour of democracy is always a damn good reason to vote even if everything else feels disappointing.

2026-02-28 08:36:28 UTC

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@nprofile…x9tq This process has been happening in Scotland and Wales a lot longer than it's been happening in England. In Scotland it lost the party power a long time ago; in Wales, the impact has been partially hidden, because so much of the population lives in a small corner of the country where hatred of the English right means that Labour could steadily lose support and still (just about) win - so they've been teetering on the edge of collapse for twenty-odd years without much realising it.
But then, this isn't just a product of the current leadership taking voters for granted. The endless internal squabbles that have defined the party's entire history have all been built upon the belief that Labour's support has nowhere else to go. Periods when the left of the party have driven voters away - like in the early 80s or early 30s - were founded upon the same problem.
The 126-year-old question is: how do you stop the Labour party from believing that the Labour party is always the single most important issue of the day?

2026-02-27 06:50:11 UTC

Morning everyone. Well done to the people of Gorton and Denton for giving the far right a hefty kicking. And well done to everyone else for having successfully reached Friday.
Hope you're all doing well today.

2026-02-17 11:03:23 UTC

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@nprofile…65q8 Why would you be proud of ignorance? I mean, if you don't want to correct it, that's one thing. But I don't understand why ignorance is a source of pride. Are you proud of people who are ignorant about things you believe to be very important?

2026-02-14 08:38:42 UTC

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@nprofile…x9tq Because I know there are strong feelings here, I might highlight that the same article is available at DAG's personal blog, https://davidallengreen.com/2026/02/what-the-palestine-action-judgment-means-and-what-it-does-not-mean/, for those who object to substack.

2026-02-02 12:44:16 UTC

Went to the library to pick up a book I'd requested. I looked all up and down the Reserved shelf and couldn't see it anywhere. Asked the librarian, who found it immediately. I'm going to hide in a hole now for a thousand years.

2026-01-27 08:20:16 UTC

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@nprofile…x9tq I completely agree, but I do wonder: what's the best way to investigate crimes committed by police officers? This seems to be a particularly pressing issue for violent and sexual crimes (systems for investigating corruption and financial crimes already having long-established specialist units).

2025-11-03 14:37:32 UTC

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@nprofile…gzza Tell me you didn't fiddle with yourself before washing your hands thoroughly.

2025-10-30 09:35:00 UTC

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@nprofile…ekm4 If there is prolix then there must be amateurlix.

2025-10-13 07:33:49 UTC

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@nprofile…60lz I think it's very difficult. People sign up in a rush of excitement and honest commitment, but then it's a long time until the election, and a lot of people will start to question the subs they're paying at a time when everything else is expensive.
I do hope I'm wrong, by the way. I'd be delighted to see the Greens with a substantial membership in 2029 and winning dozens of seats. I'm just very far from convinced it'll happen.

2025-10-13 06:27:54 UTC

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@nprofile…60lz I hope so, but sometimes membership waves fall away. Like with the LibDems, who picked up a huge number of members as the main anti-brexit party in England and it appears from recent reports that they've pretty much all left again.

2025-10-12 11:48:17 UTC

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@nprofile…60lz Years back - sufficiently long ago that it might no longer be true - I read a study of how likely it was that people would believe a story on social media without verifying it.
And people who were already some way into middle age before they first used the internet were comfortably the most likely to be taken in by such stories.
(Please don't anyone take that as a generalisation. 'More likely' does not mean 'everyone'. I mean, the very fact that you're using fedi means your experience with the internet is not normal.)

2025-10-01 09:50:51 UTC

I have a quick question for anyone with experience of buying houses in England and Wales (I know Scotland is a little different):
The words before the price. Should one interpret 'Offers Over' as 'don't even think about offering less'?
And 'Offers In The Region Of' as 'feel free to offer less, we'll consider it'?
And I know Guide Price is usually for auctions (I don't think I want to buy via auction, it seems to risky), but if I see it for a regular sale, does that mean the same as 'Offers In The Region Of'?
And if there's no prefix at all, does it mean that too? Or maybe less inclined to accept a lower offer?

2025-09-06 14:32:49 UTC

Been stood outside watching no fewer than six beautiful butterflies enjoying the buddleja at the same time (there's a reason they call it a butterfly bush). A red admiral, a tortoiseshell, a white, a peacock, and two painted ladies. Lovely.

2025-09-05 06:36:16 UTC

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@nprofile…60lz If we'd accepted our reduced standing back in 1945, things would've been a lot better. So many things would be better. No Suez nonsense, no crashing out of the ERM, no brexit, quite possibly no involvement in the invasion of Iraq either.
People alive at the time could've all simply accepted that we'd had a good run and it was time to slip back into the quiet diplomatic middle classes.

2025-08-13 13:32:05 UTC

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@nprofile…lwgl But there are two fatal flaws: that the President gets to choose his own judges to serve for a lifetime (a truly terrible system), and that a disproportionate electoral system with only two parties means that a bare majority in the senate can be achieved with very little support.

2025-08-13 12:30:19 UTC

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@nprofile…lwgl I'd have put them close to the top, especially once the plan to take over the Supreme Court became clear.
I think, rather than looking at reasons why a country might meekly submit to autocracy, it makes more sense to assume that every country could do so, and look instead for things that can reduce the likelihood of it happening.
The US has nothing that can't be easily negated.
Nor, by the way, does the UK.

2025-08-10 13:10:07 UTC

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@nprofile…lwgl "Nice car, mate."
Is of course limited to situations where a car is present. But complimenting one's vehicle is widely accepted masculine behaviour. Probably because it is not only a compliment, but also says that the giver of the compliment is knowledgeable about cars, and thus A Proper Man.

2025-08-04 17:13:36 UTC

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@nprofile…60lz Surprised they have the time, given all the resources they're putting into arresting harmless people who are quietly protesting.

2025-08-03 18:40:26 UTC

I know it's wrong and bad to be happy about buying stuff. Grrr, down with capitalism, I should be knitting everything from reeds, etc.
Honestly, though, I've bought two things this summer that have changed my bloody life.
New fan is amazing. It cools me down so quickly. And I get overheated very easily. It's just such a wonderful thing, to not have to put up with the misery and great discomfort of overheating any more (or at least, not while I'm at home).
And the beclometasone nasal spray has pretty much cured the hayfever that's been ruining a large part of my year, every year, for the last three decades. I suffered so so badly. And now... barely a sniffle. I can enjoy spring and summer. This is incredible.
So yeah. I guess we're allowed to buy stuff we need.

2025-07-27 19:41:25 UTC

One more thing about the football: Lucy Bronze played the entire tournament with a fractured tibia. Yikes. She is incredibly impressive.
And I particularly want to mention this because she's autistic and ADHD, and we really don't have enough prominent examples in sport. Hardly any in fact.
And what more positive example could you want? Lucy Bronze, one of England's greatest ever footballers (of any gender), immensely skilful and intelligent and absolutely hard as nails, is AuDHD.

2025-07-27 15:53:26 UTC

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@nprofile…lwgl Nope. There are three different sets of Scottish notes (from Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank), none of them have royals on. They all have a variety of notable Scottish people on the front and Scottish things on the back.

2025-07-27 14:41:06 UTC

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@nprofile…lwgl Some of the small businesses here prefer cash, so I usually have a bit on me. And I'm mostly seeing Charlie notes now.
Although being in Northumberland we get some Scottish ones too, which is always a pleasant surprise.

2025-07-26 08:21:37 UTC

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@nprofile…60lz So many small, seemingly inconsequential decisions. Someone in 1983 decides for entirely sensible reasons to vote SDP, and so their constituency elects a Tory for the first time. Someone on the board of an American company in the 70s has to make an instant decision and agrees that hiding some environmentally problematic development is probably okay, at that moment. Someone in the back of Vladimir Putin's taxi is rude to him. A million small waves can erode the largest beach.

2025-07-25 12:31:25 UTC

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@nprofile…args Many on the left assume everyone agrees with them. Many on the right assume everyone should be forced to agree with them.
So the ones on the right will happily do anything to get their way, no matter the cost. And the ones on the left won't do a single thing to work against this.

2025-07-20 11:17:31 UTC

Went out for a walk. Spotted something in the garden that needed doing. Then remembered something else I needed to do. An hour later, I've not got further than the end of the garden, I got hot and sweaty, and now I'm back inside in front of New Fan with a Big Vimto.

2025-07-20 08:53:39 UTC

Haven't posted about any new music for a bit, because reasons.
Here's some. And it's very interesting. Not entirely sure how to describe it, but it's something sort of in the vague direction of art pop, made by two people, one from a post rock background, the other from a contemporary classical and ambient background. It's really rather good.
Disiniblud (Rachika Nayar & Nina Keith) - Disiniblud https://smugglersway.ffm.to/disiniblud.OWE
https://rachika.bandcamp.com/album/disiniblud
#NewMusic #music

2025-07-15 18:23:46 UTC

#food I made a big pot of chilli, seven portions to go in the freezer. And I made and froze four portions of biryani yesterday. Future me is going to be so happy with current me's efforts.

2025-07-14 06:26:56 UTC

Morning everyone. A grey grey morning. I hope it rains; forecast is very much 'maybe' on that front.
Hope you're all well today.
Earworm this morning is Germfree Adolescent by X-Ray Spex https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctGzLjUfpag

2025-07-05 18:39:45 UTC

France: "We have the most sophisticated cuisine!"
Rest of world: "Good for you."
F: "We have a national sandwich!"
RoW: "That's nice."
F: "He is called Mr Crunchy."
RoW: "Um........."
F: "Mr Crunchy, he has a wife."
RoW: ".............."
F: "You can tell that Mrs Crunchy is a lady, because she is wearing a hat."
RoW: "..."
F: "..."
RoW: "..."
F: "The hat is an egg."
Anyway, I had Mr (not Mrs) Crunchy for tea and he was very nice. #sandwiches #food

2025-07-05 16:51:11 UTC

Bah. Almost made it to half time. Things had been looking pretty reasonable, really.
#MastodonFC #WALNED

2025-07-05 16:04:24 UTC

Good news: Wales are finally playing in a women's international football tournament! First time!
Bad news: we're in an extremely hard group, starting with the Netherlands (which has just kicked off), and will get pummelled.
Good news: Jess Fishlock!
#MastodonFC #WALNED

2025-07-05 09:27:41 UTC

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@nprofile…60lz I wouldn't expect any kind of alliance.
If all the people who periodically say they're going to start a new party of the left actually wanted to have an impact, they wouldn't make a party and ally with the Greens, they'd join the Greens.
That this keeps not happening is instructive. They want their own party because ego matters more than actively helping people.
If Zarah Sultana had said the other day that she didn't think Labour was trying to make a difference so she was joining the Green party (or even the LibDems), I'd have a lot of respect for her. Saying instead that she was going to be leader of a new party, not so much. It's just yet another Me Me Me Party, like George Galloway's various endeavours.

2025-06-30 15:37:31 UTC

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@nprofile…lwgl Are leather (or fake leather) sofas superior to fabric sofas, or is fabric the furniture upholstery king?

2025-06-30 07:30:14 UTC

When and why did people (who aren't involved with software development) start using 2.0 when what they mean is 2?
In what way is this better? Or necessary? Or helpful?
If there's not going to be further version developments after the decimal point then what you need is the number 2. Just 2.
Stop adding .0s all the time. It doesn't make you look cool.
I'm going outside now to yell at clouds for a while.

2025-06-25 19:06:34 UTC

I didn't have lunch. When I got home, I was going to have lunch and then I fell asleep. Far too wiped out by events. By the time I woke up, time was getting on, and I felt a bit too off to eat at that moment.
So I had a Big Sandwich for my tea instead. Seriously big. A crusty long sub roll, filled with barbecue chicken cooked with additional barbecue sauce, pepper jack cheese, crispy fried onions, tortilla chips, and lettuce. It was very fine.
#food #sandwiches

2025-06-25 15:05:33 UTC

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@nprofile…kvnh You know where's a great place to go if everything in the world seems cruel and hard? The library. A place where you can just go and borrow a book and nobody tries to sell you anything, and you bring it back when you're done, and the staff who aren't getting any kind of commission or anything are always happy to see you and always ready to help. And if you want to just sit around and read whilst you're there, that's fine. If you want to take kids and help them to enjoy reading, they love that. The public library is like a singular vestige of a world that humans could've built, but didn't.

2025-06-25 09:41:01 UTC

Going into the opticians shortly. I would say, wish me luck. But I don't need luck (nothing is likely to go meaningfully wrong) so much as I need to be treated a whole lot better than last time. So wish that please.

2025-06-23 09:50:05 UTC

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@nprofile…60lz @nprofile…yzcp Another thing I'd like to add, having thought about this:
It is a very good thing that we have this convention of ethical decisions being removed from the party whips. Many countries do not have that. Many countries make such issues explicitly a matter of party policy.
We should recognise that this is a rare and noble thing, and should fight to retain it.

2025-06-23 09:10:23 UTC

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@nprofile…60lz @nprofile…yzcp They're also a very good example of how there are many MPs who - when not cowed by the party whip or overly concerned with ambition - are actually reasonable people who want to do what they believe to be the right thing for their constituents.
Unfortunately, they're also a very good example of how Parliamentary schedules need to be reformed, and how 'but we've always done it this way' really isn't an appropriate reason for giving such limited time to incredibly important and complex decisions.
(Having an already very limited time for abortion debate reduced further in order to hold a vote on penalties for fly tipping - a vote that was certain to end in defeat for the amendment - is clearly not serving the country's interests. And that's not to say fly tipping is unimportant. Of course fly tipping matters. But, you know, bit of common sense, bit of proportion wouldn't go amiss.)

2025-06-16 10:09:43 UTC

Quick reminder to all friends in England and Wales: if you've not already done so, it's not too late to write to your MP and ask them to support the total decriminalisation of all abortion-related issues, when it comes to a vote this week.
But it will be too late soon. Vote should be either tomorrow or Wednesday (more likely tomorrow).
Remember, this is not a party issue, every MP will be able to vote with their conscience, so don't think that there's no point because you don't trust the party leaders.
Write to them at https://www.writetothem.com/ or look for contact details on their personal website. Probably too late to send a physical letter, but hey, if you still want to, send it to them at House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.
https://beige.party/@RolloTreadway/114665137028018412

2025-06-13 11:19:10 UTC

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@nprofile…60lz @nprofile…x3zv I've long suspected that it's at least partially because Jefferson is on Mount Rushmore as a result of having significantly increased the size of the US, and Trump wants the same.

2025-06-02 09:41:10 UTC

I'm sure I post this every year, and I'll happily post it again. Here (from parakeet dot tumblr) is the pride flag that - ever since first seeing it - I've felt most happy to associate with.
He made it for "anyone who knows that theyre not cis or straight but is just plain fed up with thinking about it like seriously? figuring out your identity in this day and age? due to personal reasons i will be giving up"
Which was definitely an 'other people feel this way too?!' moment for me.
https://parakeet.tumblr.com/post/651640948575682560/just-invented-a-new-pride-flag-for-people-who-have
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/613/096/267/177/837/original/75101c5f254e9466.png

2025-05-27 11:14:51 UTC

Today's #TuneTuesday theme is #LondonCalling, for songs about towns and cities.
I'd like to suggest The King of Rome, which covers the theme twice: though it might name Rome, it's really about people in Derby.
The Unthanks did a gorgeous version of it with the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogXQm70S24M

2025-05-23 15:44:11 UTC

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@nprofile…zp6v Awwww! Orange friend looks so happy.

2025-05-20 18:29:29 UTC

In case anyone has ever wondered:
"I've got some leftover mashed potato, could I put it in a sandwich with a cheese omelette?"
I can hereby confirm that the answer is YES.
#food #sandwiches

2025-05-17 10:49:32 UTC

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@nprofile…lwgl I think you're right. In any population of a reasonable size, you'll have people who could potentially excel in any sport. It's then a question of whether circumstances allow them to do so.
Opportunity is a part of that too. If you live in a place where nobody plays a particular sport, then chances are you'll never know if you could have been good at it.

2025-05-14 13:16:51 UTC

Also, unrelated to bees, except that all food ultimately comes from bees (and other pollinators),
I don't know why I thought I had the energy to cook. Or the spoons rather. The mental capacity. Got into a terrible mess just putting ingredients together.
But at least when it was done it was very nice (I made lamb koftas and garlic sauce). So there's that. But idk I wish there were more viable alternatives to me cooking when I'm feeling bad but I don't have any leftovers to eat.
#food

2025-05-08 17:58:21 UTC

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@nprofile…60lz It appears that the decriminalisation legislation (that was lost before the election) is going to be brought back soon. Hopefully it'll get through as looked likely last time.

2025-04-30 11:49:55 UTC

Took a very gentle walk down to the pond in the woods and back. You can't really see them, my camera isn't good enough, but there are baby moorhens here.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/426/758/292/908/936/original/20028b1c5ab925d2.jpg

2025-04-29 18:26:51 UTC

A roast pork, stuffing, and green bean sandwich for tea. With gravy mayo obviously. It was very good. I fried the stuffing as two small patties (two small rather than one normal so I could cut the sandwich in half neatly) and also browned the beans in the pan. Quality sandwich. #food #sandwiches

2025-04-25 07:32:51 UTC

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@nprofile…gj99 I'd be looking to charge at home, and I believe a standard charger purchase and fitting costs around £1000. But saving up for up front purchases for a new house (which would also include stuff for the house itself, appliances etc) is different - a lot more predictable! - than ongoing costs. And previous car ownership made me so anxious with unpredictable costs!

2025-04-25 07:08:55 UTC

Can I ask a question of anyone who knows about cars?
I don't currently plan to buy a car, but I do currently plan to buy a house, and as I don't live in an urban area, depending on where the house is I might need a car.
(Where I currently am, I have bus, train and local shops in walking distance, but that won't necessarily be the case in future.)
My question is: assuming the same size and age of vehicle, maybe a few years old, how do maintenance costs differ between an EV and an internal combustion car?
I mean, obviously you still have consumables like tyres to deal with. But the EV doesn't have exhaust, spark plugs, big radiator etc, and I presume it has its own special things.
I'm asking because if I do need to buy a car, that impacts upon what I can afford for mortgage payments, and my only prior experience is with internal combustion cars (the newest car I ever owned, back when I drove, was from 2002).
(There's also a more personal issue with stress over maintenance needs, which is why I was happy to get rid of my car in the first place!)
#cars

2025-04-25 06:17:06 UTC

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@nprofile…60lz I remember some years ago, there was talk of scrapping the fifty, because the only people who were using them regularly were buying coke. Which explains why a lot of MPs were determined to keep them, I suppose.
More seriously, my local greengrocer recently put up a sign saying that they accept cards but would rather people paid cash (they're currently being severely bilked by a new landlord and need to reduce costs wherever they can).

2025-04-22 20:35:14 UTC

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@nprofile…lwgl I use moisturiser. And you've just reminded me I need to buy some more.
(I use E45, because I'm allergic to most other things.)

2025-04-17 20:27:45 UTC

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@nprofile…zp6v The possibilities are plural. Probably.

2025-04-16 11:40:47 UTC

I want to say a few things, after having read the Supreme Court judgement on the characteristic of sex in the Equality Act.
Firstly, that my heart and all support I have goes to all trans/enby/other people here and elsewhere. No doubt, a great many arseholes will misunderstand this decision, and I am very aware that pointing out that their behaviour remains wrong in law and potentially criminal will not alleviate that pain. Transphobes are always wrong; that they have a new way to be wrong helps nobody, and only causes more pain. I wish I could ease that pain, and know that I stand with all trans/enby/other people in any effort to ease that pain.
It has been the case since time immemorial that two problems dog our judicial system at all levels: that having the money to pay for better lawyers can distort decisions, and that the judiciary - especially at senior levels - is dreadfully lacking in diversity. I felt that latter point especially when reading the claim in the judgement that MPs and Parliamentary drafters could not possibly have been mistaken or ill-informed when considering the rights and needs of trans people; it's clearly the case in 2025 that many MPs and Parliamentary drafters do not much understand trans rights issues, and it would have been even more so a decade and a half ago, when the Equality Act was being drafted and debated in Parliament.
However, many people who might read this - in the UK and elsewhere - will have little or no familiarity with this country's judiciary, and I want to clarify a point the repeatedly comes up in regard to legal rights:
This is not the US, and regardless of the dominance of the US on social media, its constitutional quirks are not widely repeated. The UK Supreme Court is not an activist court. It does not have conservative judges and liberal judges. It does not have judges appointed on the whim of a temporary political leader. Its judges are appointed by representatives of panels which appoint to lower courts (plus two existing members of the Supreme Court), which themselves are a mix of various legal professionals and lay people. I feel it is essential to make clear that this is not, as it would be in the US, a matter of right-wing judges appointed by right-wing politicians to make right-wing decisions.
It is a matter of poorly written law, which Parliament will one day seek to revise and clarify. As I've said, I disagree with a fundamental part of the decision because I disagree with the assumption that Parliament was adequately informed and competent at the time of the Equality Act; without that assumption, I don't believe it would be possible to reach the Court's conclusion. Others may feel it would still be a possible conclusion, I claim no professional expertise.
But it is still a matter of how the law is worded, and how Parliament may seek to amend the law in future.
This is important because it must guide action. MPs are in the decisive position. Parliament could, if it wished, pass an Act tomorrow to guarantee trans rights (unlike other countries, the right of Parliament in the UK to pass and enforce an Act explicitly negating a Supreme Court decision is effectively unlimited, as seen in last year's absurd political actions regarding the safety or otherwise of Rwanda).
But we all know it will not do so, we all know there is not a majority in Parliament in favour of greater and more explicit legal protections for trans people. Activism must focus on changing that balance through persuasion and education. Write to your MP. Protest. Support and/or join groups campaigning for legal recognition of trans rights. If it's relevant and viable where you are (which of course it isn't in many places, but I shan't go on a rant about electoral reform just now), consider how your vote could change the Parliamentary balance. Don't bother with effing online petitions, they do more harm than good.
There will be a time (either at the back end of this Parliament, or - I'd suggest more likely - not long after the next election) when Parliament does seek to amend the Equality Act. Its own commission recommends doing so, and I believe that we can certainly read the later paragraphs of this judgement as further encouragement in that direction. This battle will come. Be ready.
But also remember this, as many will in the coming days weeks and months try to persuade you otherwise:
The decision today affects a very narrow range of circumstances, beyond those covered by existing legal provisions. It is not a wide-ranging judgement, even if transphobic media try to pretend that it is.
The right of all trans people, whatever their circumstances, to be free of discrimination and harassment remains unchanged. Being trans remains a protected characteristic under the Equality Act. Trans people cannot be excluded on a whim (and the status of toilets and changing facilities is not altered by this decision, as - contrary to what transphobes believe - the sign on a toilet has never been a matter of law in the UK, except as regards adequate provision of disabled toilets).
It is also true, and clearly iterated in the judgement, that discrimination on the grounds of sex as a protected characteristic continues to be based on the discriminator's *perception*; if a trans person is discriminated against or harassed based on the discriminator perceiving them as being male or female (regardless of the trans person's identity), that remains an offence.
I say this not to diminish the harm and pain caused by this judgement, both in its specific application, and more significantly, in the cultural impact and effective encouragement of transphobia. I say this as a reminder that those legal protections still exist, and there are far more circumstances in which a trans woman's right to be treated as a woman is guaranteed, than there are circumstances affected by the decision. Transphobes will seek to argue otherwise. They are wrong. Do not believe, as they want you to believe, that trans people are now unprotected from discrimination and harassment.
And believe me when I say that I remain in awe of your strength and humanity, and that I continue to believe that your strength and humanity will win out in the end.

2025-04-10 18:31:35 UTC

These lined up well.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/315/087/643/054/063/original/d95c3c2d4d50b3fc.png

2025-04-07 05:35:39 UTC

Morning everyone. Against all reason and decency, it appears to be Monday again. Hope it treats you all well.

2025-04-06 19:52:39 UTC

Occasional reminder, seeing as it's #InternationalAsexualityDay, and people sometimes get confused about this:
Asexual people are not necessarily aromantic
Aromantic people are not necessarily asexual
Some asexual people are also aromantic, and some aren't, and some are fluid in one or both regards
Some asexual people enjoy sex in the right circumstances, some don't
Some aromantic people enjoy being in a relationship in the right circumstances, some don't
All these people are valid and cool people!

2025-03-29 19:15:01 UTC

#food Made a ham and cheese toastie. When I do that, I always like to put in some gherkins and mustard and pickled red cabbage and maybe tomatoes after it's cooked.
And I forgot. Although it was perfectly fine, I feel bereft at the missed opportunity of an enhanced ham and cheese toastie.

2025-03-23 11:14:43 UTC

Okay, having looked into it a bit more thoroughly: beta.argyle.social is full of copied accounts, exact - save for the lack of pictures - and I presume unconsenting copies of real people and organisations who have accounts elsewhere on fedi.
All the accounts appear to have lots of follows and followers, because they all follow each other.
You might want to look to see if there's an account in your name on that server? Although I'm not sure what you can do about it if there is.
There's also an alpha.argyle.social and a gamma.argyle.social - no other Greek letters as far as I can see.
Whatever it is, it's dodgy as hell and worth blocking the instances entirely.

2025-03-22 11:14:03 UTC

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@nprofile…gq86 @nprofile…60lz The Renters' Rights Bill, which includes the abolition of fixed term assured tenancies and assured shorthold tenancies amongst various other protections for tenants, has already passed the Commons and is currently making its way through the Lords.

2025-03-14 11:42:17 UTC

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@nprofile…zp6v @nprofile…pek8 I used to live beside the sea, beside a cliff and rocks where guillemots hung out. They really aren't good fliers. I had a dog in those days and they'd rather waddle away from the dog - or swim across a shallow rock pool - than go to the effort of flying.
They're basically penguins who had to retain a rudimentary capacity to fly in case of emergency.

2025-03-14 11:35:06 UTC

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@nprofile…pek8 @nprofile…zp6v You need to be a bird that flies better, but is still happy on the water. Something like a fulmar.

2025-03-13 08:21:24 UTC

GNNNNNAAAWERFGVFDXFGHFFFFFFFFS
is the sound of me trying to book a train ticket.
Riddle me this, friends. If I go and book a ticket Newcastle to Chester, a nice normal thing to do, and more than two months in advance at that, the lowest price is £104.80.
If I split it into two tickets, the lowest price is £23.80.
Would anyone like to explain in what possible universe this is in any way okay or sensible? And who do I need to take hostage in order to fix it?
(I'm not asking for advice, by the way. I am a grandmaster of train ticket booking. Even Trainline can only get the price down to £33, I can do ten quid better because I have EXTREME SKILLS learnt through many years of BRUTAL TRAINING in the minefields of UK train bookings. Posting this is just an alternative to putting my face through the window in exasperation.)

2025-03-08 15:34:46 UTC

The daffs are out, as are the scillas, periwinkles, and primroses. #bloomscrolling
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/127/523/313/872/667/original/a7c55fac44f82608.jpg
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/127/525/589/830/776/original/c451982304e29ad8.jpg
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/127/526/067/117/975/original/6369561a99796bd3.jpg
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/114/127/526/082/382/749/original/fa0e312a5ca8cc44.jpg

2025-02-28 16:19:15 UTC

I know Firefox is bad now because of the lack of privacy, and Vivaldi is bad because chromium, and Windows is bad because it's spying on me, and my tv is plotting to kill me and my phone is sending every detail of my life to whoever pays, and AI is in everything and everything and everything and and and and...
What I don't know is where on earth you all find the time. Or especially the energy.
I can barely manage to work my job, eat, shower, look after the house. Best I can do after work is have a cup of tea and a sandwich and try to stay awake until about 9pm.
I don't know how I could then do all sorts of additional complex computer stuff after the time I spend doing computer stuff at work.
Please don't take this as a criticism. If you're able to devote all that extra energy to making your computer compute differently then that is great, definitely. I just don't know how. Are all your days significantly longer than 24 hours or something? Just reading about it is exhausting.

2025-02-23 13:43:04 UTC

#food The lunch in question was a broccoli, cashew, pepper and noodles stir fry, but with a sauce I'd not tried before. Sauce was made with gochujang, sriracha, horseradish, ginger, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. It was okay and I'll happily eat the leftovers, but I feel it was missing something. Will have to think about what.

2025-02-23 09:11:20 UTC

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@nprofile…60lz And - as has been a persistent problem at Tesla - exceptionally bad business. If it was just in Government, you could say that it's an ideological position, but given the notoriously extreme bad management at Tesla, I think we can simply assume that he hasn't got a fucking clue.

2025-02-21 16:55:15 UTC

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@nprofile…lwgl Maybe because it's something you personally curated?

2025-02-20 09:51:51 UTC

Was trying to decide what to listen to, and was reminded that this brilliant compilation exists. It is what it says on the label: Lost Girl Group Gems of the 1960s. Really is great stuff.
https://www.cherryred.co.uk/various-artists-all-about-the-girls-lost-girl-group-gems-of-the-1960s-cd
And because it's long out of print and not available for purchase via Bandcamp or anything like that, here's a youtube link https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mfHFnG8nyezJhG4GA4hSe8TGqJZ0291-0 and it should also be available on all your favourite streaming sites. Definitely worth an hour of your time.
#music

2025-02-16 19:29:14 UTC

Made a ham and cheese omelette sandwich for tea. I've heard say that some people serve omelettes without putting them in between bread, but I find that unrealistic and unbelievable. #food

2025-02-16 13:19:34 UTC

Important news: I finally made that curry I failed to make before. And it was very nice. #food

2025-02-15 19:18:35 UTC

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@nprofile…qmrd I live in northeast England, so fairly cold and windy. One of the easiest and most dependable things to grow, I've found, is runner beans. I grow them in tubs with bamboo canes sticking out, one cane per beanstalk. I plant the beans in the spring, keep them reasonably watered, and the only extra bit of work required is that when they get to a few inches tall, they have to be tied on to the canes so they'll learn to climb.
Other than that, it's just a matter of waiting until the back end of summer and then trying to figure out what you're going to do with this endless supply of beans.

2025-02-14 21:09:23 UTC

The only Valentine's day content you'll get from me: Barry the sandwich history guy having his day completely ruined.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xiUGPnkw4U
#food #sandwiches

2025-02-09 07:34:14 UTC

Morning everyone. Having not done much yesterday, I think I might also not do much today. I hope you're all equally able to do not much (unless you want to do much, of course).

2025-02-08 07:18:17 UTC

Morning everyone. Head hurts. I don't think I plan to do anything today, but I'm sure I'll end up failing on that front.
Hope you're all doing well this morning/evening/whatever.
Earworm this morning is Together In Electric Dreams, so here you go, it can be your earworm too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE1lzqJCeJ0

2024-07-05 05:10:31 UTC

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@npub1700…8tth I believe so, yes. Unless I'm confused.

2024-07-05 05:05:05 UTC

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@npub1700…8tth I think it's four, with Waveney Valley .

2024-06-11 15:51:38 UTC

Can anyone help with a quick #gardening question?
I have these dahlias growing. They're doing quite well. Do I need to thin them out or will they be happy as they are?
Many thanks.
https://media.beige.party/media_attachments/files/112/598/783/979/019/761/original/82dd13dbd982a835.jpg

2024-05-06 07:22:37 UTC

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@npub1g0t…tvm4 Decades of evidence about how poverty and inequality drive obesity - rather than the other way around - but of course, the real problem is that overweight poor people aren't contributing enough to capitalism.

2024-02-09 07:06:29 UTC

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@npub1g0t…tvm4 Why have young people turned against politicians who are committed to destroying the lives of young people? It sure is a mystery.

2024-01-19 16:37:43 UTC

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@npub10zv…nz7m Are there ducks with duck's arse hairdos?

2024-01-01 17:08:45 UTC

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@npub18lj…80hq I have no optimism about the new year. Nothing to hope for at all really. It's not just all the bad things that are happening in the world - although they're very bad and a very big deal - but also personal, that there's no way of anything being better for me this year and the least worst outcome would be to remain as stuck as last year.