Bethan Hutton
@bethanh.bsky.social
I was @yabunonaka1 over there. Books, dogs, wildlife, Japan, ex-journo, still news addict. Bristol, often Wales and Norfolk, increasingly London.
Inertia is an amazing powerful force. People who wouldn't dream of signing up for Trump Truth Social won't quit XTwitter, which is the equally toxic Musk equivalent.
Pretty crazy that nearly all of the EU Commission is still on X even as Elon Musk is literally talking about destroying the EU.
You can leave X. It's really not that difficult.
You can leave X. It's really not that difficult.
So what's the outcome?
2️⃣5️⃣ of the 27 Commissioners have posted in the last week
2️⃣4️⃣ of the 27 generally post every week (Albuquerque has never been on X, Ribera is sporadic, McGrath has somehow stopped)
0️⃣ have stopped as a result of what Twitter has become since the Musk takeover
2️⃣5️⃣ of the 27 Commissioners have posted in the last week
2️⃣4️⃣ of the 27 generally post every week (Albuquerque has never been on X, Ribera is sporadic, McGrath has somehow stopped)
0️⃣ have stopped as a result of what Twitter has become since the Musk takeover
December 7, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Inertia is an amazing powerful force. People who wouldn't dream of signing up for Trump Truth Social won't quit XTwitter, which is the equally toxic Musk equivalent.
Eight guitars crammed on stage for the final number, in true Blue Aeroplanes traditional style and with as much energy as ever, despite Gerard looking increasingly frail.
Fabulous Blue Aeroplanes show at the Fleece tonight. Their gigs are few and far between so we should treasure them when they happen.
New album next year and new songs (5!) sounded fantastic tonight.
New album next year and new songs (5!) sounded fantastic tonight.
December 7, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Eight guitars crammed on stage for the final number, in true Blue Aeroplanes traditional style and with as much energy as ever, despite Gerard looking increasingly frail.
Reposted by Bethan Hutton
Latest government cruelties are simply performative, as countless studies have shown these rules won’t work as a deterrence
In Sept 2020 Home Office said its own research + external evidence was asylum seekers rarely knew much about asylum rules, about welfare systems, and that there was no clear link between grant rates + where people apply.
Those who'd heard something did not perceive UK more generous than France
Those who'd heard something did not perceive UK more generous than France
November 16, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Latest government cruelties are simply performative, as countless studies have shown these rules won’t work as a deterrence
Yep. As a teenager in the post-punk 80s, I think the received wisdom at the time was that Fleetwood Mac was 'a bit naff', along with Abba and Paul McCartney.
1) This is correct 2) IMO, the most reliable tell of how old someone is online is are they part of basically, the one ten-year cohort not to think Fleetwood Mac are a great band.
every generation loves Rumours. it’s fucking Rumours
November 9, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Yep. As a teenager in the post-punk 80s, I think the received wisdom at the time was that Fleetwood Mac was 'a bit naff', along with Abba and Paul McCartney.
Beth is my coffee shop alias; for anyone else I am Bethan. Also not Bethany, but that's a different complaint.
yes, this. It drives me mad when people don't use my actual name. I'm Kate, not Katie.
I have unfollowed people on social media who have called me Andy. It’s not my name. I am not an Andy. You might as well call me Ronald. Call people by the name they want.
November 7, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Beth is my coffee shop alias; for anyone else I am Bethan. Also not Bethany, but that's a different complaint.
Reposted by Bethan Hutton
Wherever we looked for the prominent flaggers and leaders of this movement, we found people smugglers and sex doll salesmen, people with dubious criminal pasts and people willing to put in a good word for Adolf Hitler.
manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...
manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...
The men who raised the flags
Nigel Farage says this summer’s movement was led by ‘ordinary people’ expressing their patriotism. That’s not what we found
manchestermill.co.uk
November 1, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Wherever we looked for the prominent flaggers and leaders of this movement, we found people smugglers and sex doll salesmen, people with dubious criminal pasts and people willing to put in a good word for Adolf Hitler.
manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...
manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...
I sometimes wonder how the parallel universe is getting on, where this plane crash had a different outcome. Would the word Brexit even have been invented?
www.theguardian.com/politics/201...
www.theguardian.com/politics/201...
Ukip's Nigel Farage injured in aeroplane crash
Nigel Farage suffers minor injuries after two-seater aircraft towing Ukip banner crash-lands in Northamptonshire
www.theguardian.com
September 24, 2025 at 2:55 PM
I sometimes wonder how the parallel universe is getting on, where this plane crash had a different outcome. Would the word Brexit even have been invented?
www.theguardian.com/politics/201...
www.theguardian.com/politics/201...
First step on the road to make membership compulsory, along the lines of the Hitlerjugend or Young Pioneers?
State Superintendent Ryan Walters, in a Tuesday news release, announced his push to have a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) Club America Chapter in every Oklahoma high school.
State Supt. Walters leads effort to introduce Turning Point USA in 'every' Oklahoma high school
State Superintendent Ryan Walters, in a Tuesday news release, announced his push to have a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) Club America Chapter in every Oklahoma high school.
kfor.com
September 23, 2025 at 9:36 PM
First step on the road to make membership compulsory, along the lines of the Hitlerjugend or Young Pioneers?
Brilliant detail in BBC story about the bikers involved in US aid in Gaza: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Anti-Islamic US biker gang members run security at deadly Gaza aid sites
BBC identifies members of Infidels MC gang hired as armed security at US and Israel-backed aid sites.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 10, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Brilliant detail in BBC story about the bikers involved in US aid in Gaza: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Slightly diminish a book:
War and Temporary Ceasefire
War and Temporary Ceasefire
The dachshund of the Baskervilles
Slightly diminish a book
Wuthering Hillocks
Wuthering Hillocks
September 8, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Slightly diminish a book:
War and Temporary Ceasefire
War and Temporary Ceasefire
Earlier today, I read this by @jamesrball.com and I was nodding along thinking yes, yes, all I get on Facebook/instagram is ads for pure crap unrelated to my interests, no matter how much data they hold on me. But... www.jamesrball.com/p/what-if-bi...
What if "big data" just…isn't worth very much?
I'm not saying the emperor has no clothes. I am saying his clothes are cheap, tacky, don't work and are seriously overrated.
www.jamesrball.com
August 21, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Earlier today, I read this by @jamesrball.com and I was nodding along thinking yes, yes, all I get on Facebook/instagram is ads for pure crap unrelated to my interests, no matter how much data they hold on me. But... www.jamesrball.com/p/what-if-bi...
Reposted by Bethan Hutton
No subs on duty at the BBC website on Sundays?
July 20, 2025 at 1:13 PM
No subs on duty at the BBC website on Sundays?
Belatedly watching this for the first time. Seems somehow relevant for our times.
July 19, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Belatedly watching this for the first time. Seems somehow relevant for our times.
Ten writers by whom I have read more than five books:
Jane Gardam
Penelope Lively
Richard Powers
Yasunari Kawabata
Barbara Kingsolver
Anthony Trollope
Virginia Woolf
Douglas Adams
Haruki Murakami
Dorothy L Sayers
Jane Gardam
Penelope Lively
Richard Powers
Yasunari Kawabata
Barbara Kingsolver
Anthony Trollope
Virginia Woolf
Douglas Adams
Haruki Murakami
Dorothy L Sayers
Ten writers by whom I’ve read than more than five books:
Anita Brookner
Charles Dickens
Terrance Dicks
Jane Gardam
Tove Jansson
Alan Moore
Marcel Proust (arguably)
Gwendoline Riley
Charles M. Schulz
Elizabeth Taylor
Anita Brookner
Charles Dickens
Terrance Dicks
Jane Gardam
Tove Jansson
Alan Moore
Marcel Proust (arguably)
Gwendoline Riley
Charles M. Schulz
Elizabeth Taylor
Ten writers by whom I've read more than 5 books:
Georges Simenon
Geoff Dyer
Iris Murdoch
Brigid Brophy
Roberto Bolaño
Javier Marías
Elena Ferrante
David Foster Wallace
Tessa Hadley
Muriel Spark
Georges Simenon
Geoff Dyer
Iris Murdoch
Brigid Brophy
Roberto Bolaño
Javier Marías
Elena Ferrante
David Foster Wallace
Tessa Hadley
Muriel Spark
July 11, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Ten writers by whom I have read more than five books:
Jane Gardam
Penelope Lively
Richard Powers
Yasunari Kawabata
Barbara Kingsolver
Anthony Trollope
Virginia Woolf
Douglas Adams
Haruki Murakami
Dorothy L Sayers
Jane Gardam
Penelope Lively
Richard Powers
Yasunari Kawabata
Barbara Kingsolver
Anthony Trollope
Virginia Woolf
Douglas Adams
Haruki Murakami
Dorothy L Sayers
@blogmywiki.bsky.social I see your attic clearance and raise you parental house clearance plus my late husband's youth in boxes from my in-law's attic. Today's possible treasure: ZX Spectrum pamphlet apparently signed by the man himself
June 11, 2025 at 10:53 AM
@blogmywiki.bsky.social I see your attic clearance and raise you parental house clearance plus my late husband's youth in boxes from my in-law's attic. Today's possible treasure: ZX Spectrum pamphlet apparently signed by the man himself
Reposted by Bethan Hutton
Three men sit in a cell in El Salvador.
The first asks the second why he has been imprisoned. He replies, "Because I criticized Elon Musk."
The first man responds, "But I am here for praising Musk!"
They ask the third man who has been sitting quietly in the back. He answers, "I AM Elon Musk".
The first asks the second why he has been imprisoned. He replies, "Because I criticized Elon Musk."
The first man responds, "But I am here for praising Musk!"
They ask the third man who has been sitting quietly in the back. He answers, "I AM Elon Musk".
June 5, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Three men sit in a cell in El Salvador.
The first asks the second why he has been imprisoned. He replies, "Because I criticized Elon Musk."
The first man responds, "But I am here for praising Musk!"
They ask the third man who has been sitting quietly in the back. He answers, "I AM Elon Musk".
The first asks the second why he has been imprisoned. He replies, "Because I criticized Elon Musk."
The first man responds, "But I am here for praising Musk!"
They ask the third man who has been sitting quietly in the back. He answers, "I AM Elon Musk".
Reposted by Bethan Hutton
once again I must tap my own sign
June 5, 2025 at 9:13 PM
once again I must tap my own sign
What are the odds on this one turning up in an Omaze draw next year?
May 26, 2025 at 2:24 PM
What are the odds on this one turning up in an Omaze draw next year?
A big loss. She was a favourite author of mine from childhood (Bilgewater) all the way up to her novels of older age (the Old Filth trilogy), and everything in between.
Sad to hear of the death of the amazing Jane Gardam. She was 96 - a very good age, but still very sad. I would love to have met her. What a very fine writer - one of my top favourites. #BookSky
www.thebookseller.com/obituaries/a...
www.thebookseller.com/obituaries/a...
Author Jane Gardam dies aged 96
The author Jane Gardam has died at the age of 96, her publisher has announced.
www.thebookseller.com
April 29, 2025 at 4:01 PM
A big loss. She was a favourite author of mine from childhood (Bilgewater) all the way up to her novels of older age (the Old Filth trilogy), and everything in between.
Reposted by Bethan Hutton
He's just following the official style manual: www.amazon.co.uk/Dictator-Sty...
April 19, 2025 at 11:01 AM
He's just following the official style manual: www.amazon.co.uk/Dictator-Sty...
First rule of house moves: get bookshelves built in before you start unpacking your books.
Speaking of which, can anyone recommend a good carpenter in SE London? Two months in, and my books are all still with Pickfords.
Speaking of which, can anyone recommend a good carpenter in SE London? Two months in, and my books are all still with Pickfords.
Unpacking is a lot like watching a US election result: there are still eight boxes labelled “books”, and you tell yourself “well, I haven’t unpacked any Dahl yet. Maybe everything from here on in is a children’s book”. But you know in your heart that there are still more history books out there.
March 29, 2025 at 8:25 PM
First rule of house moves: get bookshelves built in before you start unpacking your books.
Speaking of which, can anyone recommend a good carpenter in SE London? Two months in, and my books are all still with Pickfords.
Speaking of which, can anyone recommend a good carpenter in SE London? Two months in, and my books are all still with Pickfords.
Reposted by Bethan Hutton
🚨 Outrage as 20 police officers break into Westminster Quaker Meeting House and arrest six. 🚨
This shocking violation of a place of worship is a direct result of crackdowns on protest and dissent - freedom of speech, assembly and democracy are at risk.🕊️
👉 www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-eve...
This shocking violation of a place of worship is a direct result of crackdowns on protest and dissent - freedom of speech, assembly and democracy are at risk.🕊️
👉 www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-eve...
Quakers condemn police raid on Westminster Meeting House
Police broke into a Quaker Meeting House last night (27 March) and arrested six young people holding a meeting over concerns for the climate and Gaza.
www.quaker.org.uk
March 28, 2025 at 4:50 PM
🚨 Outrage as 20 police officers break into Westminster Quaker Meeting House and arrest six. 🚨
This shocking violation of a place of worship is a direct result of crackdowns on protest and dissent - freedom of speech, assembly and democracy are at risk.🕊️
👉 www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-eve...
This shocking violation of a place of worship is a direct result of crackdowns on protest and dissent - freedom of speech, assembly and democracy are at risk.🕊️
👉 www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-eve...
Reposted by Bethan Hutton
The public think that the second thing government spends money on is migrants and asylum seekers, and the fourth is MPs expenses. Try doing politics in that atmosphere.
taxpolicy.org.uk/2024/10/26/t...
taxpolicy.org.uk/2024/10/26/t...
The public’s surprising choice of tax increase, and why we should ignore it
Gabriel Milland of Portland Communications has published polling conducted by the Portland research team in early October. Gabriel takes some interesting political conclusions from the polling (and I’...
taxpolicy.org.uk
March 26, 2025 at 10:28 AM
The public think that the second thing government spends money on is migrants and asylum seekers, and the fourth is MPs expenses. Try doing politics in that atmosphere.
taxpolicy.org.uk/2024/10/26/t...
taxpolicy.org.uk/2024/10/26/t...