Clare Simpson
@claremsimpson.bsky.social
Reading, writing, theatre (including theatre reviews for @FringeReview)
Finding out there’s life after work.
Trustee @opfs
Finding out there’s life after work.
Trustee @opfs
Furthest South I’ve ever been. Stewart Island NZ
February 18, 2026 at 10:44 PM
Furthest South I’ve ever been. Stewart Island NZ
Reposted by Clare Simpson
Hear Moby Dick Read in Its Entirety by Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, John Waters, Stephen Fry & More www.openculture.com/2024/09/hear...
Hear Moby Dick Read in Its Entirety by Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, John Waters, Stephen Fry & More
Image of Moby Dick by David Austen.
In 2013, Plymouth University kicked off Moby Dick The Big Read, promising a full audiobook of Herman Melville’s influential novel, with famous (and not so famous) ...
www.openculture.com
February 13, 2026 at 1:41 AM
Hear Moby Dick Read in Its Entirety by Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, John Waters, Stephen Fry & More www.openculture.com/2024/09/hear...
Reposted by Clare Simpson
This is an extraordinary piece about the grind and hopelessness of life in present day Cuba, by
Ruaridh Nicoll who manages to be by turns romantic, wistful and clear eyed. It is a piece about loss and gross incompetence in the face of that loss. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
Ruaridh Nicoll who manages to be by turns romantic, wistful and clear eyed. It is a piece about loss and gross incompetence in the face of that loss. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
No water or electricity, and children begging in streets filled with rubbish – but this is why I won’t leave Cuba
Whether you blame the US or the communist regime, there is no doubt that this is an island spiralling into tragedy
www.theguardian.com
February 13, 2026 at 10:24 PM
This is an extraordinary piece about the grind and hopelessness of life in present day Cuba, by
Ruaridh Nicoll who manages to be by turns romantic, wistful and clear eyed. It is a piece about loss and gross incompetence in the face of that loss. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
Ruaridh Nicoll who manages to be by turns romantic, wistful and clear eyed. It is a piece about loss and gross incompetence in the face of that loss. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
Reposted by Clare Simpson
I spent a couple of hours walking around the Prado with Mathias Énard observer.co.uk/culture/book...
Mathias Énard: ‘I write with a bastard tongue’
The Prix Goncourt-winning novelist on the myths of the Middle East, the horrors and wonders of history, and life at a Madrid museum
observer.co.uk
February 5, 2026 at 12:58 PM
I spent a couple of hours walking around the Prado with Mathias Énard observer.co.uk/culture/book...
Reposted by Clare Simpson
"... I love the thought these pastels once dusted Georgia O’Keeffe’s gorgeous hands" - Annie Leibovitz on her photograph of O'Keeffe's pastels, 2010 #Womensart
(via P.Kenny FB)
(via P.Kenny FB)
February 4, 2026 at 5:26 PM
"... I love the thought these pastels once dusted Georgia O’Keeffe’s gorgeous hands" - Annie Leibovitz on her photograph of O'Keeffe's pastels, 2010 #Womensart
(via P.Kenny FB)
(via P.Kenny FB)
Reposted by Clare Simpson
Presenting our Monthly Spotlight pick for February: At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop
🔗 Tap the link below to discover an interview, reading guide, competition and more.
https://thebookerprizes.pulse.ly/lhtpxoyxam
🔗 Tap the link below to discover an interview, reading guide, competition and more.
https://thebookerprizes.pulse.ly/lhtpxoyxam
At Night All Blood is Black | The Booker Prizes
Winner of the International Booker Prize 2021. A hypnotic, heartbreaking rendering of a mind hurtling towards madness, shattered by grief and the horror of war
thebookerprizes.pulse.ly
February 3, 2026 at 12:55 PM
Presenting our Monthly Spotlight pick for February: At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop
🔗 Tap the link below to discover an interview, reading guide, competition and more.
https://thebookerprizes.pulse.ly/lhtpxoyxam
🔗 Tap the link below to discover an interview, reading guide, competition and more.
https://thebookerprizes.pulse.ly/lhtpxoyxam
Reposted by Clare Simpson
Righteously brilliant from Crace on Mandelson’s disgrace
No more get-out clauses, no way back. It’s surely the end for Peter Mandelson, finally | John Crace
The only question now is how it took this long for Labour’s greedy, reckless Prince of Darkness to meet his reckoning
www.theguardian.com
February 2, 2026 at 7:57 PM
Righteously brilliant from Crace on Mandelson’s disgrace
Remind me why Labour kept on appointing the disgraced Peter Mandelson again and again?
February 2, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Remind me why Labour kept on appointing the disgraced Peter Mandelson again and again?
Reposted by Clare Simpson
A quaint, wrong but influential opinion has long circulated in London (and elsewhere): that British capitalism is purer and less "corporatist" than its continental counterparts. The Mandelson scandal ought to be the final nail in that particular coffin.
New Epstein emails show Peter Mandelson secretly advising JPMorgan’s CEO on how to fight Labour’s 2009 bankers’ bonus tax - even suggesting he “mildly threaten” the Chancellor.
Mandelson was Business Secretary at the time.
A year later, he was seeking work with JPM.
Mandelson was Business Secretary at the time.
A year later, he was seeking work with JPM.
February 2, 2026 at 7:05 PM
A quaint, wrong but influential opinion has long circulated in London (and elsewhere): that British capitalism is purer and less "corporatist" than its continental counterparts. The Mandelson scandal ought to be the final nail in that particular coffin.
Reposted by Clare Simpson
This is great. Spread far and wide
£500 given out to a working class writer every month.
Details in link.
Please share :)
Details in link.
Please share :)
The Creatives Grant
let's make art less middle class
thewhitepube.co.uk
February 1, 2026 at 11:16 AM
This is great. Spread far and wide
Reposted by Clare Simpson
Don Lemon speaks outside of the courtroom after release: "I have spent my entire life covering the news. I will not stop now ... I will not be silenced."
January 30, 2026 at 11:46 PM
Don Lemon speaks outside of the courtroom after release: "I have spent my entire life covering the news. I will not stop now ... I will not be silenced."
Reposted by Clare Simpson
I won’t stop reporting the truth. The First Amendment is the bedrock of our democracy, and I’ll continue to fight to protect it 🤝🏾🇺🇸
January 31, 2026 at 4:40 AM
I won’t stop reporting the truth. The First Amendment is the bedrock of our democracy, and I’ll continue to fight to protect it 🤝🏾🇺🇸
Reposted by Clare Simpson
Once they round up the journalists, nobody is safe
Don was taken into custody by federal agents last night in Los Angeles.
January 30, 2026 at 5:52 PM
Once they round up the journalists, nobody is safe
Reposted by Clare Simpson
We asked the extraordinary and rightly celebrated author Marilynne Robinson to respond to events in Minneapolis. She immediately sent us a forceful and utterly direct cri de coeur. The Weekend Essay as.ft.com/r/afe4fee8-1...
Marilynne Robinson: The killings in Minneapolis
[FREE TO READ] As American cities have been left reeling by ICE federal agents, the acclaimed novelist explores the deeper conflict behind Donald Trump’s show of force
as.ft.com
January 31, 2026 at 7:51 AM
We asked the extraordinary and rightly celebrated author Marilynne Robinson to respond to events in Minneapolis. She immediately sent us a forceful and utterly direct cri de coeur. The Weekend Essay as.ft.com/r/afe4fee8-1...
Reposted by Clare Simpson
Some powerfully resonant quotes from 'Salvation by Words' near the end of @backlisted.bsky.social on Iris Murdoch:
'Tyrants always fear art because tyrants want to mystify while art tends to clarify. The good artist is a vehicle of truth'
@irismurdoch.bsky.social
www.backlisted.fm/episodes/256...
'Tyrants always fear art because tyrants want to mystify while art tends to clarify. The good artist is a vehicle of truth'
@irismurdoch.bsky.social
www.backlisted.fm/episodes/256...
256. The Sacred and Profane Love Machine by Iris Murdoch — Backlisted
Ian Patterson, author of Books: A Manifesto (W&N), returns to Backlisted for a joyful discussion of Iris Murdoch and her sixteenth novel The Sacred and Profane Love Machine  ...
www.backlisted.fm
January 27, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Some powerfully resonant quotes from 'Salvation by Words' near the end of @backlisted.bsky.social on Iris Murdoch:
'Tyrants always fear art because tyrants want to mystify while art tends to clarify. The good artist is a vehicle of truth'
@irismurdoch.bsky.social
www.backlisted.fm/episodes/256...
'Tyrants always fear art because tyrants want to mystify while art tends to clarify. The good artist is a vehicle of truth'
@irismurdoch.bsky.social
www.backlisted.fm/episodes/256...
Reposted by Clare Simpson
Rest in Peace Alex Jeffrey Pretti🙏🏾 The VA ICU Nurses send him off right 💔
January 26, 2026 at 5:04 AM
Rest in Peace Alex Jeffrey Pretti🙏🏾 The VA ICU Nurses send him off right 💔
Reposted by Clare Simpson
Our 2026 Historical Fiction guide is here. 🏛️📖
10 essential novels – from Tudor England and 1830s Siberia to the building of the Brooklyn Bridge.
See the full list and find your next obsession: 🔗 www.saltpublishing.com/blogs/house-...
#BookSky #HistoricalFiction
10 essential novels – from Tudor England and 1830s Siberia to the building of the Brooklyn Bridge.
See the full list and find your next obsession: 🔗 www.saltpublishing.com/blogs/house-...
#BookSky #HistoricalFiction
10 Best Historical Fiction Books to Read in 2026 | Salt
Looking for the best historical fiction of 2026? From Victorian Manchester to 1920s Appalachia, discover our top 10 must-read novels for the year. Explore the list now.
www.saltpublishing.com
January 25, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Our 2026 Historical Fiction guide is here. 🏛️📖
10 essential novels – from Tudor England and 1830s Siberia to the building of the Brooklyn Bridge.
See the full list and find your next obsession: 🔗 www.saltpublishing.com/blogs/house-...
#BookSky #HistoricalFiction
10 essential novels – from Tudor England and 1830s Siberia to the building of the Brooklyn Bridge.
See the full list and find your next obsession: 🔗 www.saltpublishing.com/blogs/house-...
#BookSky #HistoricalFiction
Reposted by Clare Simpson
Alex Pretti was an ICU nurse serving veterans. He died trying to protect protestors being assaulted. A group of anonymous & masked men fired chemicals into his face, beat him, disarmed him, and shot him in broad daylight in front of witnesses. Then his government smeared him & defended his murder.
January 24, 2026 at 11:44 PM
Alex Pretti was an ICU nurse serving veterans. He died trying to protect protestors being assaulted. A group of anonymous & masked men fired chemicals into his face, beat him, disarmed him, and shot him in broad daylight in front of witnesses. Then his government smeared him & defended his murder.
Reposted by Clare Simpson
SO YOU WANT TO BE A PLAYWRIGHT? // Panel discussion with: Mark Ravenhill, Giannina Carbunariu, Bernhard Studlar and Jibbe Willems @ Kosovo-North Macedonia Theatre Showcase 2025
@markravenhill.bsky.social
@markravenhill.bsky.social
SO YOU WANT TO BE A PLAYWRIGHT? | PANEL DISCUSSION
YouTube video by Qendra Multimedia
youtu.be
January 24, 2026 at 6:48 PM
SO YOU WANT TO BE A PLAYWRIGHT? // Panel discussion with: Mark Ravenhill, Giannina Carbunariu, Bernhard Studlar and Jibbe Willems @ Kosovo-North Macedonia Theatre Showcase 2025
@markravenhill.bsky.social
@markravenhill.bsky.social
This says it all somehow. A five year old 😢
Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents refused to allow 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos to stay at his Columbia Heights home with family after being detained, observers said, despite people in the home, neighbors and school officials begging them to do so.
Witnesses say they begged ICE agents not to detain Minnesota 5-year-old after father's arrest
People who saw federal agents detain 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos in Columbia Heights pushed back against claims by ICE and Vice President JD Vance that the child was abandoned, saying neighbors and s...
www.mprnews.org
January 24, 2026 at 8:13 PM
This says it all somehow. A five year old 😢
Reposted by Clare Simpson
I have a gas mask because I got tear gassed multiple times as a totally nonviolent observer and thought “not next time.” When you launch billowing clouds of tear gas in my city EVERY SINGLE DAY it’s not really rocket science.
Bondi: "It's extremely organized. The signs they have are all matching, they're well written. And look at what's happening today. How did these people go out & get gas masks? These protesters. Would you know how to walk out on the street and buy a gas mask? Think about that. We're not gonna have it"
January 24, 2026 at 7:51 PM
I have a gas mask because I got tear gassed multiple times as a totally nonviolent observer and thought “not next time.” When you launch billowing clouds of tear gas in my city EVERY SINGLE DAY it’s not really rocket science.
Reposted by Clare Simpson
On this theme is this fascinating thread detailing how locals are disrupting ICE.
Such disruption may not be sustainable or 100% successful, but it certainly exposes the weakness of ICE terror-impositions.
Terror-policing can be ineffective policing without local support.
bsky.app/profile/marg...
Such disruption may not be sustainable or 100% successful, but it certainly exposes the weakness of ICE terror-impositions.
Terror-policing can be ineffective policing without local support.
bsky.app/profile/marg...
Another question I came here with was: how effective are the whistles and honking? Does it stop abductions? And the answer is, surprisingly to my cynical self, yes, and often. I have talked to so many people who have successfully interrupted kidnappings.
January 23, 2026 at 8:38 PM
On this theme is this fascinating thread detailing how locals are disrupting ICE.
Such disruption may not be sustainable or 100% successful, but it certainly exposes the weakness of ICE terror-impositions.
Terror-policing can be ineffective policing without local support.
bsky.app/profile/marg...
Such disruption may not be sustainable or 100% successful, but it certainly exposes the weakness of ICE terror-impositions.
Terror-policing can be ineffective policing without local support.
bsky.app/profile/marg...
Reposted by Clare Simpson
I've seen several popular movements in my lifetime and history now as someone who teaches comparative politics.
When people show up in the dead of winter, on a workday, when it is the most inconvenient because of cold, it shows how strongly they are motivated against the government.
When people show up in the dead of winter, on a workday, when it is the most inconvenient because of cold, it shows how strongly they are motivated against the government.
January 23, 2026 at 11:20 PM
I've seen several popular movements in my lifetime and history now as someone who teaches comparative politics.
When people show up in the dead of winter, on a workday, when it is the most inconvenient because of cold, it shows how strongly they are motivated against the government.
When people show up in the dead of winter, on a workday, when it is the most inconvenient because of cold, it shows how strongly they are motivated against the government.
Reposted by Clare Simpson
Breaking NYT:
The FBI agent who sought to investigate the federal immigration officer who fatally shot Renee Good has resigned from the bureau, according to two people familiar with the matter, after leadership pressured her to discontinue a civil rights inquiry into the officer.
The FBI agent who sought to investigate the federal immigration officer who fatally shot Renee Good has resigned from the bureau, according to two people familiar with the matter, after leadership pressured her to discontinue a civil rights inquiry into the officer.
F.B.I. Agent Who Tried to Investigate ICE Officer in Shooting Resigns
www.nytimes.com
January 23, 2026 at 11:15 PM
Breaking NYT:
The FBI agent who sought to investigate the federal immigration officer who fatally shot Renee Good has resigned from the bureau, according to two people familiar with the matter, after leadership pressured her to discontinue a civil rights inquiry into the officer.
The FBI agent who sought to investigate the federal immigration officer who fatally shot Renee Good has resigned from the bureau, according to two people familiar with the matter, after leadership pressured her to discontinue a civil rights inquiry into the officer.