Ruth Elleson
@ruthelleson.bsky.social
Church/choral musician (alto), massive opera nerd, surtitle operator, and project planner working in public transport. Idiots not tolerated. She/her.
Lots of fireworks around in the last few days (including some INSANELY loud ones around the Elephant & Castle area on Saturday). The only thing I can think of is Chinese New Year but Saturday might have been a bit early for that. Have I overlooked some other cultural event?
February 17, 2026 at 12:02 AM
Lots of fireworks around in the last few days (including some INSANELY loud ones around the Elephant & Castle area on Saturday). The only thing I can think of is Chinese New Year but Saturday might have been a bit early for that. Have I overlooked some other cultural event?
After an unduly stressful day, which caused me to lose concentration repeatedly during Mahagonny at ENO, my evening was crowned by returning home to my smoke alarm emitting a low-battery alert 😵💫 - I had a spare but it was as old and dead as the active one. Local Costcutter fortunately had one.
February 16, 2026 at 11:28 PM
After an unduly stressful day, which caused me to lose concentration repeatedly during Mahagonny at ENO, my evening was crowned by returning home to my smoke alarm emitting a low-battery alert 😵💫 - I had a spare but it was as old and dead as the active one. Local Costcutter fortunately had one.
Reposted by Ruth Elleson
love that the argument here is it will stop ppl 'drifting to the greens'
the implication that ppl are natural labour voters and just a nice little policy here or there and we'll all come flooding back
labour abandoned me. then i found the greens. im happy with the greens. they're not a 2nd choice.
the implication that ppl are natural labour voters and just a nice little policy here or there and we'll all come flooding back
labour abandoned me. then i found the greens. im happy with the greens. they're not a 2nd choice.
Starmer has chance to put overseas aid and debt relief on G20 agenda | Heather Stewart
Starmer has chance to put overseas aid and debt relief on G20 agenda | Heather Stewart
Reclaiming Labour’s internationalist heart could also stop disillusioned voters drifting towards Lib Dems and Greens
www.theguardian.com
February 15, 2026 at 6:31 PM
love that the argument here is it will stop ppl 'drifting to the greens'
the implication that ppl are natural labour voters and just a nice little policy here or there and we'll all come flooding back
labour abandoned me. then i found the greens. im happy with the greens. they're not a 2nd choice.
the implication that ppl are natural labour voters and just a nice little policy here or there and we'll all come flooding back
labour abandoned me. then i found the greens. im happy with the greens. they're not a 2nd choice.
Reposted by Ruth Elleson
WOMEN👏DON’T👏WANT👏CHOCOLATES 👏FOR 👏VALENTINE’S 👏DAY 👏THEY 👏WANT 👏MERRIAM-WEBSTER’S 👏COLLEGIATE 👏DICTIONARY 👏TWELFTH 👏EDITION 👏
February 14, 2026 at 8:50 PM
WOMEN👏DON’T👏WANT👏CHOCOLATES 👏FOR 👏VALENTINE’S 👏DAY 👏THEY 👏WANT 👏MERRIAM-WEBSTER’S 👏COLLEGIATE 👏DICTIONARY 👏TWELFTH 👏EDITION 👏
Before Giselle, I went to the matinee of Operation Mincemeat. I have now seen this show a small handful of times, and astonishingly, have seen Madeleine Jackson-Smith playing Jean Leslie (and others), Ewen Montagu (and others) and as of today, Johnny Bevan (and others). HOW does she remember it all?
February 14, 2026 at 10:32 PM
Before Giselle, I went to the matinee of Operation Mincemeat. I have now seen this show a small handful of times, and astonishingly, have seen Madeleine Jackson-Smith playing Jean Leslie (and others), Ewen Montagu (and others) and as of today, Johnny Bevan (and others). HOW does she remember it all?
The opening night cast of Giselle at the Royal Ballet - led by Marianela Núñez, William Bracewell and Claire Calvert - acknowledging choreographer Sir Peter Wright, in the year of his (🙏🤞) 100th birthday.
February 14, 2026 at 9:34 PM
The opening night cast of Giselle at the Royal Ballet - led by Marianela Núñez, William Bracewell and Claire Calvert - acknowledging choreographer Sir Peter Wright, in the year of his (🙏🤞) 100th birthday.
Nice early-bird meal deal from Artusi in Peckham, though I don’t THINK they meant to say that one of the drink options is “beef”…
February 13, 2026 at 6:05 PM
Nice early-bird meal deal from Artusi in Peckham, though I don’t THINK they meant to say that one of the drink options is “beef”…
Public service announcement: ENO’s Mahagonny next week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) is sold out, which means they’ve released standing tickets. £15 (all fees included), unreserved, at the rear of the Dress and Upper Circles (no surtitle view).
February 13, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Public service announcement: ENO’s Mahagonny next week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) is sold out, which means they’ve released standing tickets. £15 (all fees included), unreserved, at the rear of the Dress and Upper Circles (no surtitle view).
I’m not generally in the habit of pining for things I can’t have, but my local Malaysian restaurant, Janda Diner in Peckham, is closed for a few weeks for a facelift, and every SINGLE night I’ve been free since it closed, I have craved a meal there 😕
February 13, 2026 at 2:08 PM
I’m not generally in the habit of pining for things I can’t have, but my local Malaysian restaurant, Janda Diner in Peckham, is closed for a few weeks for a facelift, and every SINGLE night I’ve been free since it closed, I have craved a meal there 😕
Advert on the radio for the Post Office ISA: “You only have until 5th April to make the most of your £20,000 allowance. What are you waiting for?”
Er… for a magical benefactor to provide me with the 5-figure sum that is the difference between what I already have in my ISA and £20,000? 🤣
Er… for a magical benefactor to provide me with the 5-figure sum that is the difference between what I already have in my ISA and £20,000? 🤣
February 13, 2026 at 10:47 AM
Advert on the radio for the Post Office ISA: “You only have until 5th April to make the most of your £20,000 allowance. What are you waiting for?”
Er… for a magical benefactor to provide me with the 5-figure sum that is the difference between what I already have in my ISA and £20,000? 🤣
Er… for a magical benefactor to provide me with the 5-figure sum that is the difference between what I already have in my ISA and £20,000? 🤣
Reposted by Ruth Elleson
More cynically, I feel it's this generation's Thalidomide, invented to fix an issue that, in the grand scheme of things, isn't really an issue and there's plenty of other meds available to do the same and better, and yet the mass adoption is leading to catastrophic injuries for the next generation.
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
VC, founder, dumbass
February 12, 2026 at 9:49 PM
More cynically, I feel it's this generation's Thalidomide, invented to fix an issue that, in the grand scheme of things, isn't really an issue and there's plenty of other meds available to do the same and better, and yet the mass adoption is leading to catastrophic injuries for the next generation.
Reposted by Ruth Elleson
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
February 8, 2026 at 10:23 PM
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
Me, at @stolavehartst.bsky.social Choral Evensong tonight, getting my debut shot at the plum Soprano 2 line in the Dresden Amens in Stanford in B flat 😎
February 10, 2026 at 7:52 PM
Me, at @stolavehartst.bsky.social Choral Evensong tonight, getting my debut shot at the plum Soprano 2 line in the Dresden Amens in Stanford in B flat 😎
Reposted by Ruth Elleson
always so funny to me when people are like “how am I supposed to explain Gay to my kids?” my kid asks me way harder shit all the time. “why did they build the road this way? why are some people bad?” I don’t know. please ask me about Gay
February 10, 2026 at 2:51 AM
always so funny to me when people are like “how am I supposed to explain Gay to my kids?” my kid asks me way harder shit all the time. “why did they build the road this way? why are some people bad?” I don’t know. please ask me about Gay
Booked a ticket for the Grange Festival’s Eugene Onegin, and once again I find myself wondering how the Grange Festival manages to keep its ticket prices so much more reasonable than the other summer opera festivals on a comparable scale 🤔
February 10, 2026 at 11:18 AM
Booked a ticket for the Grange Festival’s Eugene Onegin, and once again I find myself wondering how the Grange Festival manages to keep its ticket prices so much more reasonable than the other summer opera festivals on a comparable scale 🤔
Fundraising email just received from Scottish Opera reveals a new production of Turandot due to be performed in Oct/Nov 2026, directed by David McVicar.
Wouldn’t normally travel for a Turandot, but McVicar does his best work at Scottish Opera. I’ll make my mind up when they announce the cast.
Wouldn’t normally travel for a Turandot, but McVicar does his best work at Scottish Opera. I’ll make my mind up when they announce the cast.
February 9, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Fundraising email just received from Scottish Opera reveals a new production of Turandot due to be performed in Oct/Nov 2026, directed by David McVicar.
Wouldn’t normally travel for a Turandot, but McVicar does his best work at Scottish Opera. I’ll make my mind up when they announce the cast.
Wouldn’t normally travel for a Turandot, but McVicar does his best work at Scottish Opera. I’ll make my mind up when they announce the cast.
The Barbican has added a next-day encore screening of the upcoming Met broadcast of Tristan und Isolde to its schedule. Given that the live broadcast on 21 March clashes with one of the dates of the Royal Opera’s Siegfried, this may be pretty useful for Wagnerians of Central London.
Tristan und Isolde | Barbican
Wagner's transcendent meditation on love and death is brought to life after years of anticipation.
www.barbican.org.uk
February 9, 2026 at 3:22 PM
The Barbican has added a next-day encore screening of the upcoming Met broadcast of Tristan und Isolde to its schedule. Given that the live broadcast on 21 March clashes with one of the dates of the Royal Opera’s Siegfried, this may be pretty useful for Wagnerians of Central London.
It was brought to my attention recently that there is a 4-week period coming up - beginning with the last week of February - when there is almost no opera being performed in London. I know the ENO season ends tragically early nowadays, but it’s not usual to have a big gap at the Royal Opera… is it?
February 9, 2026 at 2:46 PM
It was brought to my attention recently that there is a 4-week period coming up - beginning with the last week of February - when there is almost no opera being performed in London. I know the ENO season ends tragically early nowadays, but it’s not usual to have a big gap at the Royal Opera… is it?
I just listened to the West Green Opera Gala edition of Friday Night is Music Night, on BBC Radio 3 - finally broadcast after the original intention to air it in October - and the random thought just popped into my head that I still need to iron the dress I wore to it before I can wear it again 🤣
February 6, 2026 at 9:37 PM
I just listened to the West Green Opera Gala edition of Friday Night is Music Night, on BBC Radio 3 - finally broadcast after the original intention to air it in October - and the random thought just popped into my head that I still need to iron the dress I wore to it before I can wear it again 🤣
Taking a substantial detour on my way home from town, in miserable weather and heavy bus traffic, because I need one remaining ingredient for a recipe and can only think of one place that will definitely sell it.
February 6, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Taking a substantial detour on my way home from town, in miserable weather and heavy bus traffic, because I need one remaining ingredient for a recipe and can only think of one place that will definitely sell it.
Reposted by Ruth Elleson
no it isn't.
im dirt poor and i don't use ai.
stop pushing your rationalisation for being shit at art or whatever on to the rest of society.
don't use ai.
im dirt poor and i don't use ai.
stop pushing your rationalisation for being shit at art or whatever on to the rest of society.
don't use ai.
February 6, 2026 at 6:04 PM
no it isn't.
im dirt poor and i don't use ai.
stop pushing your rationalisation for being shit at art or whatever on to the rest of society.
don't use ai.
im dirt poor and i don't use ai.
stop pushing your rationalisation for being shit at art or whatever on to the rest of society.
don't use ai.
Reposted by Ruth Elleson
Honestly this is the final piece of evidence you need that the media commentariat are rotten to their core, always has been, and that maybe this is a profession or sphere of influence that humanity can do without.
very weird “I am Spartacus” thing happening right now with the worst people on earth
February 5, 2026 at 4:27 PM
Honestly this is the final piece of evidence you need that the media commentariat are rotten to their core, always has been, and that maybe this is a profession or sphere of influence that humanity can do without.
This morning: picked three things to remove from my diary in order to free up time and money.
This afternoon: oooh, what an interesting concert! *books*
Admittedly it was both at a much more convenient time and a lot cheaper than any of the three events whose tickets I opted to return.
This afternoon: oooh, what an interesting concert! *books*
Admittedly it was both at a much more convenient time and a lot cheaper than any of the three events whose tickets I opted to return.
February 5, 2026 at 4:27 PM
This morning: picked three things to remove from my diary in order to free up time and money.
This afternoon: oooh, what an interesting concert! *books*
Admittedly it was both at a much more convenient time and a lot cheaper than any of the three events whose tickets I opted to return.
This afternoon: oooh, what an interesting concert! *books*
Admittedly it was both at a much more convenient time and a lot cheaper than any of the three events whose tickets I opted to return.
On my way to Covent Garden to see Boris Godunov - my only evening in a theatre this week, following a January in which it felt as though I was out every night.
February 4, 2026 at 6:56 PM
On my way to Covent Garden to see Boris Godunov - my only evening in a theatre this week, following a January in which it felt as though I was out every night.
First glimpse of the rep for English Touring Opera’s Autumn 2026 season, courtesy of the website of their new home, the Sheffield Lyceum: Gluck’s Orpheus and Euridyce (sung in English, I assume, per their current policy) and a double bill of Elena Langer’s Ariadne with Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas.
February 4, 2026 at 10:23 AM
First glimpse of the rep for English Touring Opera’s Autumn 2026 season, courtesy of the website of their new home, the Sheffield Lyceum: Gluck’s Orpheus and Euridyce (sung in English, I assume, per their current policy) and a double bill of Elena Langer’s Ariadne with Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas.