Tom Rank
@tomrank.bsky.social
Reflections on literature, education - and other ramblings. Was @literaryconnect in the other place 😀
http://www.literaryconnections.co.uk/
http://www.literaryconnections.co.uk/
Reposted by Tom Rank
We could revitalize interest in the church and increase congregational participation if every congregation had a designated bear to address this issue in sermons.
I propose to make universal the old policy of the Blackfriars conference at the American Shakespeare Center:
If you do not end your paper on time, you will be forced to exit, pursued by a bear. Literally, a bear will come take your paper from you.
If you do not end your paper on time, you will be forced to exit, pursued by a bear. Literally, a bear will come take your paper from you.
February 16, 2026 at 8:51 AM
We could revitalize interest in the church and increase congregational participation if every congregation had a designated bear to address this issue in sermons.
Reposted by Tom Rank
Reposted by Tom Rank
BBC's Arabic radio service in Lebanon closed after 85 years as part of a £28.5m savings drive. 'Just months later, in October 2023, the Russian state-owned Sputnik news agency took over the frequency. Its news bulletin opened with “This is Moscow”, replacing the previous “This is London” intro.' 🙄
BBC warns Russia is taking over World Service radio frequencies
Russian propaganda is filling the void where the BBC has closed World Service radio services due to cuts
inews.co.uk
June 10, 2025 at 6:03 AM
BBC's Arabic radio service in Lebanon closed after 85 years as part of a £28.5m savings drive. 'Just months later, in October 2023, the Russian state-owned Sputnik news agency took over the frequency. Its news bulletin opened with “This is Moscow”, replacing the previous “This is London” intro.' 🙄
Reposted by Tom Rank
Surely saving the BBC World Service would be an easy win for Starmer
February 15, 2026 at 8:36 PM
Surely saving the BBC World Service would be an easy win for Starmer
Reposted by Tom Rank
the loss of the World Service would be a tragedy and huge lost of soft power for Britain
And another bites the dust?
The BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks. Its funding arrangement with the Foreign Office finishes at the end of March. There is no plan for what happens next.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks. Its funding arrangement with the Foreign Office finishes at the end of March. There is no plan for what happens next.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Guardian view on the BBC World Service: this is London calling | Editorial
Editorial: With just seven weeks before its funding runs out, the UK’s greatest cultural asset and most trusted international news organisation must be supported
www.theguardian.com
February 15, 2026 at 8:02 PM
the loss of the World Service would be a tragedy and huge lost of soft power for Britain
Reposted by Tom Rank
Ronnie Scott’s or the seafood gaff on Mount Street?
February 15, 2026 at 6:06 PM
Ronnie Scott’s or the seafood gaff on Mount Street?
Reposted by Tom Rank
£9.92 just arrived from PLR. I think that’s about 30 loans of my books from Public Libraries last year. Very nice to know some people are taking an interest. Luckily I have other sources of income.
February 15, 2026 at 6:00 PM
£9.92 just arrived from PLR. I think that’s about 30 loans of my books from Public Libraries last year. Very nice to know some people are taking an interest. Luckily I have other sources of income.
Reposted by Tom Rank
Please do get vaccinated as, it’s not an infection to take lightly. If you have questions about the vaccine or the infection we wrote this guide to address common questions
Preventable Diseases, Preventable Tragedies: Why Vaccines Are Essential – Independent SAGE
Independent SAGE: Independent scientific advice on the COVID-19 crisis, for the UK government and public.
independentsage.org
February 15, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Please do get vaccinated as, it’s not an infection to take lightly. If you have questions about the vaccine or the infection we wrote this guide to address common questions
Reposted by Tom Rank
Tethered plastic bottle tops are apparently 'the worst thing to happen to humanity'....
Hmm.
Hmm.
February 15, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Tethered plastic bottle tops are apparently 'the worst thing to happen to humanity'....
Hmm.
Hmm.
Reposted by Tom Rank
It *literally* does.
Thats what it is. A document which says youre British.
Thats what it is. A document which says youre British.
February 15, 2026 at 1:38 PM
It *literally* does.
Thats what it is. A document which says youre British.
Thats what it is. A document which says youre British.
Reposted by Tom Rank
It never seems to occur to them that minorities - who struggle to find and sustain work - might compose large sections of the working class.
It's one of many reasons the 'gender critical' hate movement is so profoundly middle class.
It's one of many reasons the 'gender critical' hate movement is so profoundly middle class.
February 15, 2026 at 10:26 AM
It never seems to occur to them that minorities - who struggle to find and sustain work - might compose large sections of the working class.
It's one of many reasons the 'gender critical' hate movement is so profoundly middle class.
It's one of many reasons the 'gender critical' hate movement is so profoundly middle class.
Reposted by Tom Rank
1/5 Yesterday a Stand Up to Racism stall in Crowborough which was trying to promote a message of solidarity with refugees and put out a message of compassion over hostility on Valentine's day with leaflets, cakes and music was shut down by the far right.
Donate to Support for Arriving Migrants and Asylum Seekers, organized by Aaron Stevens
Hi we are Supporters of Arriving Migrants and Asylum Seekers (SAMAS,) a… Aaron Stevens needs your support for Support for Arriving Migrants and Asylum Seekers
www.gofundme.com
February 15, 2026 at 12:30 PM
1/5 Yesterday a Stand Up to Racism stall in Crowborough which was trying to promote a message of solidarity with refugees and put out a message of compassion over hostility on Valentine's day with leaflets, cakes and music was shut down by the far right.
Reposted by Tom Rank
"Now, as then, their triumph can only come through the mass mobilisation of millions and the construction of a broad coalition. But though all will share many common goals, there will be as many different visions for the future of Iran today as there were among those who felled the shah in 1979."
Nobody knows what would follow regime change in Iran – but what happened in 1979 offers some pointers | Jason Burke
The radical clerics benefited then – but who would prevail this time, asks the Guardian’s international security correspondent Jason Burke
www.theguardian.com
February 15, 2026 at 6:53 AM
"Now, as then, their triumph can only come through the mass mobilisation of millions and the construction of a broad coalition. But though all will share many common goals, there will be as many different visions for the future of Iran today as there were among those who felled the shah in 1979."
Reposted by Tom Rank
English teacher life: watching USA vs Denmark in Olympic hockey and thinking how cool it would be to have a Denmark jersey with Hamlet crested on the back
February 14, 2026 at 10:09 PM
English teacher life: watching USA vs Denmark in Olympic hockey and thinking how cool it would be to have a Denmark jersey with Hamlet crested on the back
Reposted by Tom Rank
Here is a fascinating document from the the late 1940s. It was produced for the County Council of the West Riding of Yorkshire by the Bureau of Current Affairs and is a digest of information and statistics about the Council. It picks up on a number of interesting themes... 🧵
February 14, 2026 at 11:57 AM
Here is a fascinating document from the the late 1940s. It was produced for the County Council of the West Riding of Yorkshire by the Bureau of Current Affairs and is a digest of information and statistics about the Council. It picks up on a number of interesting themes... 🧵
Reposted by Tom Rank
TV show pitch: ‘Tome Team’, where a group of rare books librarians and book historians are sent to investigate an uncatalogued library for interesting incunabula, marginalia and provenances - and they have just three days to do it.
February 14, 2026 at 6:57 PM
TV show pitch: ‘Tome Team’, where a group of rare books librarians and book historians are sent to investigate an uncatalogued library for interesting incunabula, marginalia and provenances - and they have just three days to do it.
Reposted by Tom Rank
Have always been partial to the Donne line "But we by a love so much refined, / That our selves know not what it is" -- something precious made finer and finer to the point of mystery and transcendence
February 14, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Have always been partial to the Donne line "But we by a love so much refined, / That our selves know not what it is" -- something precious made finer and finer to the point of mystery and transcendence
Reposted by Tom Rank
i appreciate labour taking a stronger line on racism
but it's a little incongruous when they're separating families, smearing asylum seekers as "illegal", & making the lives of legal residents harder to appease that same bigotry
but it's a little incongruous when they're separating families, smearing asylum seekers as "illegal", & making the lives of legal residents harder to appease that same bigotry
February 12, 2026 at 10:00 AM
i appreciate labour taking a stronger line on racism
but it's a little incongruous when they're separating families, smearing asylum seekers as "illegal", & making the lives of legal residents harder to appease that same bigotry
but it's a little incongruous when they're separating families, smearing asylum seekers as "illegal", & making the lives of legal residents harder to appease that same bigotry
Reposted by Tom Rank
Not a red rose or a satin heart.
I give you an onion.
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
It promises light
like the careful undressing of love…
—Carol Ann Duffy, “Valentine”
in A Red Rose or a Satin Heart: An Anthology of Scottish Love Poems
#ValentinesDay 💝 #poem #poetry
#BookWormSat
I give you an onion.
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
It promises light
like the careful undressing of love…
—Carol Ann Duffy, “Valentine”
in A Red Rose or a Satin Heart: An Anthology of Scottish Love Poems
#ValentinesDay 💝 #poem #poetry
#BookWormSat
February 14, 2026 at 2:11 PM
Not a red rose or a satin heart.
I give you an onion.
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
It promises light
like the careful undressing of love…
—Carol Ann Duffy, “Valentine”
in A Red Rose or a Satin Heart: An Anthology of Scottish Love Poems
#ValentinesDay 💝 #poem #poetry
#BookWormSat
I give you an onion.
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
It promises light
like the careful undressing of love…
—Carol Ann Duffy, “Valentine”
in A Red Rose or a Satin Heart: An Anthology of Scottish Love Poems
#ValentinesDay 💝 #poem #poetry
#BookWormSat
Reposted by Tom Rank
Easy to laugh at Helena and the rest in Midsummer Night's Dream #MoonMad. But - on this day - here's Sinéad Morrissey's & Forgive us our trespasses (from Parallax, Carcanet, 2013), which I've long loved. (Partly prompted by finishing Sarah Perry's beautiful Enlightenment, SO good on the unrequited.)
February 14, 2026 at 1:08 PM
Easy to laugh at Helena and the rest in Midsummer Night's Dream #MoonMad. But - on this day - here's Sinéad Morrissey's & Forgive us our trespasses (from Parallax, Carcanet, 2013), which I've long loved. (Partly prompted by finishing Sarah Perry's beautiful Enlightenment, SO good on the unrequited.)
Reposted by Tom Rank
Troy McClure from The Simpsons sharing his poem 'To His Koi Mistress' for #valentinesday
February 14, 2026 at 11:52 AM
Troy McClure from The Simpsons sharing his poem 'To His Koi Mistress' for #valentinesday
Reposted by Tom Rank
Worth remembering that Yaxley Lennon called people fleeing the Syrian war “fake refugees” and repeatedly said that young mdn should be “sent back” to fight for their country rather than 'running away'
February 14, 2026 at 12:02 PM
Worth remembering that Yaxley Lennon called people fleeing the Syrian war “fake refugees” and repeatedly said that young mdn should be “sent back” to fight for their country rather than 'running away'
Reposted by Tom Rank
Wuthering Heights accents mek the grade in Brontë Country.
Ted Hughes and a dialect coach helped transform Aussie Jacob Elordi into a passable Yorkshireman alongside Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights.
https://bit.ly/4ro0uR2
Ted Hughes and a dialect coach helped transform Aussie Jacob Elordi into a passable Yorkshireman alongside Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights.
https://bit.ly/4ro0uR2
Wuthering Heights accents mek the grade in Brontë Country
Ted Hughes and a dialect coach helped transform Aussie Jacob Elordi into a passable Yorkshireman alongside Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights
bit.ly
February 14, 2026 at 12:06 PM
Wuthering Heights accents mek the grade in Brontë Country.
Ted Hughes and a dialect coach helped transform Aussie Jacob Elordi into a passable Yorkshireman alongside Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights.
https://bit.ly/4ro0uR2
Ted Hughes and a dialect coach helped transform Aussie Jacob Elordi into a passable Yorkshireman alongside Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights.
https://bit.ly/4ro0uR2
Reposted by Tom Rank
Lovely Wittgenstein story of just nine words — lower line here
February 14, 2026 at 11:52 AM
Lovely Wittgenstein story of just nine words — lower line here
Reposted by Tom Rank
Up to half of school exams ‘will be on screen within a decade’, says board chief.
Advocates say digital assessments will make the system fairer, but critics fear students will lose writing skills.
✍️ @rachelsylvester.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/4rWqjHT
Advocates say digital assessments will make the system fairer, but critics fear students will lose writing skills.
✍️ @rachelsylvester.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/4rWqjHT
Up to half of school exams ‘will be on screen within a de...
Advocates say digital assessments will make the system fairer, but critics fear students will lose writing skills
bit.ly
February 14, 2026 at 12:12 PM
Up to half of school exams ‘will be on screen within a decade’, says board chief.
Advocates say digital assessments will make the system fairer, but critics fear students will lose writing skills.
✍️ @rachelsylvester.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/4rWqjHT
Advocates say digital assessments will make the system fairer, but critics fear students will lose writing skills.
✍️ @rachelsylvester.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/4rWqjHT