Philippa R. Francis
@philippa.bsky.social
Pinned
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
A radio programme like the Shipping Forecast but it’s called Bin Day and it just reads out every single council in the country’s bin schedule
November 10, 2025 at 11:53 PM
A radio programme like the Shipping Forecast but it’s called Bin Day and it just reads out every single council in the country’s bin schedule
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
The 12 Days of Christmas “advent calendars” piss me off.
Advent marks the fourth Sunday before Christmas until, well, Christmas. Modern calendars go from Dec 1 to the 24th.
The twelve days refer to Dec 25 to Jan 6.
These are different timespans!
Advent marks the fourth Sunday before Christmas until, well, Christmas. Modern calendars go from Dec 1 to the 24th.
The twelve days refer to Dec 25 to Jan 6.
These are different timespans!
November 11, 2025 at 12:20 AM
The 12 Days of Christmas “advent calendars” piss me off.
Advent marks the fourth Sunday before Christmas until, well, Christmas. Modern calendars go from Dec 1 to the 24th.
The twelve days refer to Dec 25 to Jan 6.
These are different timespans!
Advent marks the fourth Sunday before Christmas until, well, Christmas. Modern calendars go from Dec 1 to the 24th.
The twelve days refer to Dec 25 to Jan 6.
These are different timespans!
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
A great blue heron (Ardea herodias) at Isleta Lakes on November 10, 2025.
#nature #naturephotography #birds
#nature #naturephotography #birds
November 10, 2025 at 10:09 PM
A great blue heron (Ardea herodias) at Isleta Lakes on November 10, 2025.
#nature #naturephotography #birds
#nature #naturephotography #birds
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
I have no idea whether or not she does own shares in OpenAI. But the balance of probability is surely that she does - so the government should publish her register of interests, as the public deserves to know.
/end
/end
November 11, 2025 at 9:25 AM
I have no idea whether or not she does own shares in OpenAI. But the balance of probability is surely that she does - so the government should publish her register of interests, as the public deserves to know.
/end
/end
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
Why will the government not publish Leung’s register of interests? I think the public deserves to know whether the Prime Minister’s closest adviser on AI owns shares in a company at the centre of such a huge debate about government regulation.
4/5
4/5
November 11, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Why will the government not publish Leung’s register of interests? I think the public deserves to know whether the Prime Minister’s closest adviser on AI owns shares in a company at the centre of such a huge debate about government regulation.
4/5
4/5
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
I put in a freedom of information request for her register of interests, which would reveal if she owns OpenAI shares. The government refused to share it, claiming it contains ‘personal information’.
For context, the PM’s previous AI Adviser’s register of interests *was* published.
3/5
For context, the PM’s previous AI Adviser’s register of interests *was* published.
3/5
November 11, 2025 at 9:25 AM
I put in a freedom of information request for her register of interests, which would reveal if she owns OpenAI shares. The government refused to share it, claiming it contains ‘personal information’.
For context, the PM’s previous AI Adviser’s register of interests *was* published.
3/5
For context, the PM’s previous AI Adviser’s register of interests *was* published.
3/5
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
Jade Leung worked for OpenAI from 2021 to 2023. You would expect her to have shares, worth a lot of money - which will get more valuable if OpenAI remains only lightly regulated.
Now she is the Prime Minister’s AI Adviser in No 10 - advising on AI regulation.
2/5
Now she is the Prime Minister’s AI Adviser in No 10 - advising on AI regulation.
2/5
November 11, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Jade Leung worked for OpenAI from 2021 to 2023. You would expect her to have shares, worth a lot of money - which will get more valuable if OpenAI remains only lightly regulated.
Now she is the Prime Minister’s AI Adviser in No 10 - advising on AI regulation.
2/5
Now she is the Prime Minister’s AI Adviser in No 10 - advising on AI regulation.
2/5
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
There’s a good chance the British Prime Minister’s main adviser on AI is an OpenAI shareholder - but the government refuses to say whether she is.
🧵 1/5
🧵 1/5
November 11, 2025 at 9:25 AM
There’s a good chance the British Prime Minister’s main adviser on AI is an OpenAI shareholder - but the government refuses to say whether she is.
🧵 1/5
🧵 1/5
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
November 11, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
Popular with UK readers: Miriam Halahmy : try these reads: schoolreadinglist.co.uk/tag/miriam-h...
Children's books by Miriam Halahmy
Miriam Halahmy is a featured author on the School Reading List and appears in the following recommended reading lists for children.
schoolreadinglist.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Popular with UK readers: Miriam Halahmy : try these reads: schoolreadinglist.co.uk/tag/miriam-h...
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
The fox is guarding the hen house...
There’s a good chance the British Prime Minister’s main adviser on AI is an OpenAI shareholder - but the government refuses to say whether she is.
🧵 1/5
🧵 1/5
November 11, 2025 at 10:04 AM
The fox is guarding the hen house...
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
AI usually means Arseholes Involved. It’s a thieving, hollowing and unethical beast of a thing. It has no place in an ethical, decent society. It has no place in Hookland and never will.
November 11, 2025 at 7:54 AM
AI usually means Arseholes Involved. It’s a thieving, hollowing and unethical beast of a thing. It has no place in an ethical, decent society. It has no place in Hookland and never will.
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
Sparse Race
Imagine praising a book in 2025 for being "sparse"? Look I enjoy sparse prose as much as the next, but we've been in a decades long Sparse Race of prose that you can increasingly just inhale like a delicate mousse and at some stage we will have to start making adjectives cool again
November 11, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Sparse Race
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
"Essential services are now digital by default, leaving many older people feeling locked out of their own lives."
As more of our lives move online by default, digital ageism has quietly become one of the last unchallenged prejudices, writes Fiona Daly.
jrnl.ie/6864189
As more of our lives move online by default, digital ageism has quietly become one of the last unchallenged prejudices, writes Fiona Daly.
jrnl.ie/6864189
Opinion: We’ve grown far too comfortable excluding older people from the digital world
As more of our lives move online by default, digital ageism has quietly become one of the last unchallenged prejudices, writes Fiona Daly.
jrnl.ie
November 11, 2025 at 7:00 AM
"Essential services are now digital by default, leaving many older people feeling locked out of their own lives."
As more of our lives move online by default, digital ageism has quietly become one of the last unchallenged prejudices, writes Fiona Daly.
jrnl.ie/6864189
As more of our lives move online by default, digital ageism has quietly become one of the last unchallenged prejudices, writes Fiona Daly.
jrnl.ie/6864189
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
Can’t help but feel “Donald Trump threatens to sue the BBC for $1bn” is the point the BBC should stop being balanced in its reporting.
November 11, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Can’t help but feel “Donald Trump threatens to sue the BBC for $1bn” is the point the BBC should stop being balanced in its reporting.
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
Boosting this: if you're in the creative industries or have other creative skills or merch (eg signed books/prints) you can donate to our Sudan auction fundraiser, sign up here! If not? Please do share with your networks! #KeepEyesOnSudan #Creatives4Sudan
Creative pals, we need you! A group of us are running an auction to raise funds for the Emergency Response Rooms in Sudan. Sudanese people are dealing with the worst humanitarian crisis since records began. Can you donate mentoring/art/signed books etc? SIGN UP HERE: www.sudancoup.com/auction
Creatives4Sudan Fundraising Auction — Keep Eyes On Sudan
Creatives coming together to raise life-saving funds for the people escaping genocide in El-Fasher, Sudan
www.sudancoup.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Boosting this: if you're in the creative industries or have other creative skills or merch (eg signed books/prints) you can donate to our Sudan auction fundraiser, sign up here! If not? Please do share with your networks! #KeepEyesOnSudan #Creatives4Sudan
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
SUPERB and angrily unvarnished response, by former BBC chairman, Lord Patten.
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
November 10, 2025 at 6:40 PM
SUPERB and angrily unvarnished response, by former BBC chairman, Lord Patten.
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
Nestled between the M18 motorway and the East Coast Mainline railway, Potteric Carr is a 200-hectare nature reserve on the outskirts of Doncaster comprising reedbeds, ponds, woods, and meadow. It is a surviving fragment of the great Humberhead Levels fenland.
November 10, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Nestled between the M18 motorway and the East Coast Mainline railway, Potteric Carr is a 200-hectare nature reserve on the outskirts of Doncaster comprising reedbeds, ponds, woods, and meadow. It is a surviving fragment of the great Humberhead Levels fenland.
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
Enrique Rivero in The Blood of a Poet (1932) 🩸
November 11, 2025 at 1:38 AM
Enrique Rivero in The Blood of a Poet (1932) 🩸
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
there's a moment in PARADISE LOST where Satan arrives in Eden and realizes Hell isn't a place; it's a thing he carries within him and it'll follow him wherever he goes. and i think about that when i see these awful rich men whose monstrous wealth has enriched them not at all
“whatever club he’s invited to join has been devalued by the invitation”
November 11, 2025 at 6:31 AM
there's a moment in PARADISE LOST where Satan arrives in Eden and realizes Hell isn't a place; it's a thing he carries within him and it'll follow him wherever he goes. and i think about that when i see these awful rich men whose monstrous wealth has enriched them not at all
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
Traffic update:
If you're heading over the Troll Bridge today, his 3 riddles include questions about goat grooming, historical wigs, and ghost bones.
Good luck!
If you're heading over the Troll Bridge today, his 3 riddles include questions about goat grooming, historical wigs, and ghost bones.
Good luck!
November 11, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Traffic update:
If you're heading over the Troll Bridge today, his 3 riddles include questions about goat grooming, historical wigs, and ghost bones.
Good luck!
If you're heading over the Troll Bridge today, his 3 riddles include questions about goat grooming, historical wigs, and ghost bones.
Good luck!
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
Sophie Ryder (born 1963), UK sculptor known for her large-scale work often reflecting mysical or hybrid creatures #WomensArt
November 11, 2025 at 5:47 AM
Sophie Ryder (born 1963), UK sculptor known for her large-scale work often reflecting mysical or hybrid creatures #WomensArt
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
“So it was, on that misty morning, that Brenda set off for the capital. She knew not what she would find there, only that the time had come to move on - away from small-minded rural attitudes and people who called her ‘Oreo’ and ‘the wide panda’ - to seek a more fulfilling life.”
November 11, 2025 at 9:36 AM
“So it was, on that misty morning, that Brenda set off for the capital. She knew not what she would find there, only that the time had come to move on - away from small-minded rural attitudes and people who called her ‘Oreo’ and ‘the wide panda’ - to seek a more fulfilling life.”
Reposted by Philippa R. Francis
At 5am on 11 November 1918, an armistice was signed and hostilities on the Western Front ceased at 11am. Although the peace treaties that would formally end the First World War would not be signed until 1919. Celebrations, that day in the West Riding were often led by the women
November 11, 2025 at 6:20 AM
At 5am on 11 November 1918, an armistice was signed and hostilities on the Western Front ceased at 11am. Although the peace treaties that would formally end the First World War would not be signed until 1919. Celebrations, that day in the West Riding were often led by the women