Mark 🏴🏳🌈
@bolshevikbear.bsky.social
The bear, redux. Just in time for Christmas.
Analyst by day, law student by night. OU '26. Penchant for lectionaries and old prayerbooks. #FaithfullyLGBT. Working my way through the Discworld.
(I'm not a bolshevik. It's an old joke about a hat...) 🏳️🌈⚓♾️
Analyst by day, law student by night. OU '26. Penchant for lectionaries and old prayerbooks. #FaithfullyLGBT. Working my way through the Discworld.
(I'm not a bolshevik. It's an old joke about a hat...) 🏳️🌈⚓♾️
Pinned
Immigrating from Twitter/X. Bear with me.
Trump says Ukraine ungrateful as officials meet to convince Kyiv to accept peace proposals
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c3...
-- funny, that... In my book it's Trump that is always the ungrateful cur.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c3...
-- funny, that... In my book it's Trump that is always the ungrateful cur.
November 23, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Trump says Ukraine ungrateful as officials meet to convince Kyiv to accept peace proposals
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c3...
-- funny, that... In my book it's Trump that is always the ungrateful cur.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c3...
-- funny, that... In my book it's Trump that is always the ungrateful cur.
If they stick to this map its clear what butchering a country look like.
November 23, 2025 at 10:11 AM
If they stick to this map its clear what butchering a country look like.
Death of the Rt Rev Dr Gregor Duncan, former Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway
www.glasgow.anglican.org/death-of-the...
– sad news. I have fond memories of Bishop Gregor from my short time in Glasgow.
May he Rest in Peace. And Rise in Glory.
✝️⚓
www.glasgow.anglican.org/death-of-the...
– sad news. I have fond memories of Bishop Gregor from my short time in Glasgow.
May he Rest in Peace. And Rise in Glory.
✝️⚓
Death of the Rt Rev Dr Gregor Duncan, former Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway - United Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway
It is with great sadness we inform you that the Rt Rev Dr Gregor Duthie Duncan died peacefully yesterday, Friday, 21 November, at the Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice in Bellahouston, in the company...
www.glasgow.anglican.org
November 22, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Death of the Rt Rev Dr Gregor Duncan, former Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway
www.glasgow.anglican.org/death-of-the...
– sad news. I have fond memories of Bishop Gregor from my short time in Glasgow.
May he Rest in Peace. And Rise in Glory.
✝️⚓
www.glasgow.anglican.org/death-of-the...
– sad news. I have fond memories of Bishop Gregor from my short time in Glasgow.
May he Rest in Peace. And Rise in Glory.
✝️⚓
I Deliver Parcels in Beijing, by Hu Anyan
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...
– I had my eye on this book after the Guardian's review. I've just settled down to start it: it will be a tale of the precariat, something I'm sure China might claim doesn't exist. Let's see how it goes.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...
– I had my eye on this book after the Guardian's review. I've just settled down to start it: it will be a tale of the precariat, something I'm sure China might claim doesn't exist. Let's see how it goes.
I Deliver Parcels in Beijing by Hu Anyan review – startling stories of China’s new precarity
The viral blog turned book details the exhausting life of a courier, but something may have been lost in translation
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 6:53 PM
I Deliver Parcels in Beijing, by Hu Anyan
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...
– I had my eye on this book after the Guardian's review. I've just settled down to start it: it will be a tale of the precariat, something I'm sure China might claim doesn't exist. Let's see how it goes.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...
– I had my eye on this book after the Guardian's review. I've just settled down to start it: it will be a tale of the precariat, something I'm sure China might claim doesn't exist. Let's see how it goes.
you can install all the nice voices you like in Windows, and set one you like (CereVoice Stuart - Scotland) as default.
...but Microsoft Edge only lets you use a bunch of other voices and ignores your default.
...even worse, MS Word only has two mysterious defaults: 'male' and 'female'. Urgh!
...but Microsoft Edge only lets you use a bunch of other voices and ignores your default.
...even worse, MS Word only has two mysterious defaults: 'male' and 'female'. Urgh!
November 22, 2025 at 1:45 PM
you can install all the nice voices you like in Windows, and set one you like (CereVoice Stuart - Scotland) as default.
...but Microsoft Edge only lets you use a bunch of other voices and ignores your default.
...even worse, MS Word only has two mysterious defaults: 'male' and 'female'. Urgh!
...but Microsoft Edge only lets you use a bunch of other voices and ignores your default.
...even worse, MS Word only has two mysterious defaults: 'male' and 'female'. Urgh!
Okay, so there was a white paper about it. But they were very quiet about it.
Where is the public consultation about Shabana Mahmood's settled status immigration changes? This is the most authoritarian Labour government, ruling by fiat.
November 21, 2025 at 8:40 AM
Okay, so there was a white paper about it. But they were very quiet about it.
Where is the public consultation about Shabana Mahmood's settled status immigration changes? This is the most authoritarian Labour government, ruling by fiat.
November 21, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Where is the public consultation about Shabana Mahmood's settled status immigration changes? This is the most authoritarian Labour government, ruling by fiat.
Trump's plan for Ukraine is just like carving up countries before World War II. Can't people see the parallels?
November 21, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Trump's plan for Ukraine is just like carving up countries before World War II. Can't people see the parallels?
UK to limit refugees time
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Labour giving a more Tory policy than the Tories! 😱
Copying Denmark is wrong. They tried to return refugees to Syria during the civil war - Damascus was "safe".
Shouldn't be what to do with them: rather check they are refugees to begin with.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Labour giving a more Tory policy than the Tories! 😱
Copying Denmark is wrong. They tried to return refugees to Syria during the civil war - Damascus was "safe".
Shouldn't be what to do with them: rather check they are refugees to begin with.
UK set to limit refugees to temporary stays
Shabana Mahmood is expected to say the era of permanent protection for refugees is over, in major changes to the UK's asylum and immigration system.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 15, 2025 at 4:32 PM
UK to limit refugees time
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Labour giving a more Tory policy than the Tories! 😱
Copying Denmark is wrong. They tried to return refugees to Syria during the civil war - Damascus was "safe".
Shouldn't be what to do with them: rather check they are refugees to begin with.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Labour giving a more Tory policy than the Tories! 😱
Copying Denmark is wrong. They tried to return refugees to Syria during the civil war - Damascus was "safe".
Shouldn't be what to do with them: rather check they are refugees to begin with.
Trump says he will take legal action against BBC over Panorama edit
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
-- face it folks, to use the Scots vernacular, Trump's a fud.
He's a rude, pathetic bully.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
-- face it folks, to use the Scots vernacular, Trump's a fud.
He's a rude, pathetic bully.
Trump says he will sue BBC for at least $1bn over Panorama edit
The US president confirmed he intends to sue the broadcaster for at least $1bn over the Panorama edit of a 2021 speech.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 15, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Trump says he will take legal action against BBC over Panorama edit
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
-- face it folks, to use the Scots vernacular, Trump's a fud.
He's a rude, pathetic bully.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
-- face it folks, to use the Scots vernacular, Trump's a fud.
He's a rude, pathetic bully.
Adobe Acrobat Reader 2025 is the biggest example of bloatware imaginable.
With all its stupid sidebars and popups and features you don't want, and with it being unresponsive half of the time, it is virtually unusable.
Are there any faithful alternatives?
With all its stupid sidebars and popups and features you don't want, and with it being unresponsive half of the time, it is virtually unusable.
Are there any faithful alternatives?
November 12, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Adobe Acrobat Reader 2025 is the biggest example of bloatware imaginable.
With all its stupid sidebars and popups and features you don't want, and with it being unresponsive half of the time, it is virtually unusable.
Are there any faithful alternatives?
With all its stupid sidebars and popups and features you don't want, and with it being unresponsive half of the time, it is virtually unusable.
Are there any faithful alternatives?
I hate the new iOS 26. Don't upgrade your phone software; it looks and feels awful. Everything's curvy and see-through feeling... yuck.
WHY DID APPLE DO THIS?
I only did so because one of my apps is broken and the developer suggested latest OS...
WHY DID APPLE DO THIS?
I only did so because one of my apps is broken and the developer suggested latest OS...
November 11, 2025 at 5:36 PM
I hate the new iOS 26. Don't upgrade your phone software; it looks and feels awful. Everything's curvy and see-through feeling... yuck.
WHY DID APPLE DO THIS?
I only did so because one of my apps is broken and the developer suggested latest OS...
WHY DID APPLE DO THIS?
I only did so because one of my apps is broken and the developer suggested latest OS...
any Sarum nuts on here?
Got myself a copy of G.H. Palmer's 'The Diurnal After the Use of the Illustrious Church of Salisbury' (1930). It benefits from being very small (what has it got in its pocketses?), but also clearly isn't blemished with later reforms, as it ought to precede them by 411 yrs. ✝️
Got myself a copy of G.H. Palmer's 'The Diurnal After the Use of the Illustrious Church of Salisbury' (1930). It benefits from being very small (what has it got in its pocketses?), but also clearly isn't blemished with later reforms, as it ought to precede them by 411 yrs. ✝️
November 8, 2025 at 10:13 PM
any Sarum nuts on here?
Got myself a copy of G.H. Palmer's 'The Diurnal After the Use of the Illustrious Church of Salisbury' (1930). It benefits from being very small (what has it got in its pocketses?), but also clearly isn't blemished with later reforms, as it ought to precede them by 411 yrs. ✝️
Got myself a copy of G.H. Palmer's 'The Diurnal After the Use of the Illustrious Church of Salisbury' (1930). It benefits from being very small (what has it got in its pocketses?), but also clearly isn't blemished with later reforms, as it ought to precede them by 411 yrs. ✝️
sorry, forgot the Feeds doohickies... people might be interested in this.
Many vendors, but here is an example listing:
www.thegoodbook.co.uk/expository-t...
✝️⚓
Many vendors, but here is an example listing:
www.thegoodbook.co.uk/expository-t...
✝️⚓
November 8, 2025 at 5:58 PM
sorry, forgot the Feeds doohickies... people might be interested in this.
Many vendors, but here is an example listing:
www.thegoodbook.co.uk/expository-t...
✝️⚓
Many vendors, but here is an example listing:
www.thegoodbook.co.uk/expository-t...
✝️⚓
I used to read commentary on Sunday readings in 'Reflections for Sundays'. But I found it somewhat 'bitty': reading OT,NT, Psalm and Gospel then reading a page each of reflections left me a bit lost.
Now I experiment with reading the Gospel alone with commentary from J.C. Ryle. Relaxed and sublime.
Now I experiment with reading the Gospel alone with commentary from J.C. Ryle. Relaxed and sublime.
November 8, 2025 at 5:25 PM
I used to read commentary on Sunday readings in 'Reflections for Sundays'. But I found it somewhat 'bitty': reading OT,NT, Psalm and Gospel then reading a page each of reflections left me a bit lost.
Now I experiment with reading the Gospel alone with commentary from J.C. Ryle. Relaxed and sublime.
Now I experiment with reading the Gospel alone with commentary from J.C. Ryle. Relaxed and sublime.
$1tn...
It's disgusting. There are people literally starving to death on this planet. And countless other problems money could actually help alleviate.
If it were up to me, I'd lock him up for greed.
It's disgusting. There are people literally starving to death on this planet. And countless other problems money could actually help alleviate.
If it were up to me, I'd lock him up for greed.
November 7, 2025 at 11:47 AM
$1tn...
It's disgusting. There are people literally starving to death on this planet. And countless other problems money could actually help alleviate.
If it were up to me, I'd lock him up for greed.
It's disgusting. There are people literally starving to death on this planet. And countless other problems money could actually help alleviate.
If it were up to me, I'd lock him up for greed.
Reposted by Mark 🏴🏳🌈
I'm seeing so many excellent memes and screencaps today missing their alt text!
Please include *everyone* in your joy! Go to Settings > Accessibility, and turning on "Require alt text before posting." This way a reminder will pop up if you try to post an inaccessible image
Please include *everyone* in your joy! Go to Settings > Accessibility, and turning on "Require alt text before posting." This way a reminder will pop up if you try to post an inaccessible image
November 5, 2025 at 4:30 PM
I'm seeing so many excellent memes and screencaps today missing their alt text!
Please include *everyone* in your joy! Go to Settings > Accessibility, and turning on "Require alt text before posting." This way a reminder will pop up if you try to post an inaccessible image
Please include *everyone* in your joy! Go to Settings > Accessibility, and turning on "Require alt text before posting." This way a reminder will pop up if you try to post an inaccessible image
I wish Facebook hadn't deprecated their standalone Groups app (2017)?
I don't post on Facebook anymore and rarely read people's updates. It doesn't give me all my notifications, even when a group is setup that way. And don't get me started on the Ads and unsolicited posts it inserts into your feed!
I don't post on Facebook anymore and rarely read people's updates. It doesn't give me all my notifications, even when a group is setup that way. And don't get me started on the Ads and unsolicited posts it inserts into your feed!
November 5, 2025 at 7:33 PM
I wish Facebook hadn't deprecated their standalone Groups app (2017)?
I don't post on Facebook anymore and rarely read people's updates. It doesn't give me all my notifications, even when a group is setup that way. And don't get me started on the Ads and unsolicited posts it inserts into your feed!
I don't post on Facebook anymore and rarely read people's updates. It doesn't give me all my notifications, even when a group is setup that way. And don't get me started on the Ads and unsolicited posts it inserts into your feed!
Hospital appointment. Eight vials of blood! I am a living pincushion...
November 4, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Hospital appointment. Eight vials of blood! I am a living pincushion...
please pray for me.
Things are tough, mental health and such. I was off sick, but things don't seem to be getting any better. Maybe came back too early and psychiatrist not until early December. 🤷♂️
Things are tough, mental health and such. I was off sick, but things don't seem to be getting any better. Maybe came back too early and psychiatrist not until early December. 🤷♂️
November 1, 2025 at 9:30 PM
please pray for me.
Things are tough, mental health and such. I was off sick, but things don't seem to be getting any better. Maybe came back too early and psychiatrist not until early December. 🤷♂️
Things are tough, mental health and such. I was off sick, but things don't seem to be getting any better. Maybe came back too early and psychiatrist not until early December. 🤷♂️
A film you've seen more than seven times, with a gif
November 1, 2025 at 9:27 PM
A film you've seen more than seven times, with a gif
reading list:
The Return of the Prodigal Son, by Henri Nouwen
A reflection on Rembrandt’s painting of the Prodigal Son, exploring forgiveness, homecoming, and divine love. He identifies with the younger and elder sons,& ultimately the father,calling us to compassion & mercy. Highly recommended. ✝️⚓
The Return of the Prodigal Son, by Henri Nouwen
A reflection on Rembrandt’s painting of the Prodigal Son, exploring forgiveness, homecoming, and divine love. He identifies with the younger and elder sons,& ultimately the father,calling us to compassion & mercy. Highly recommended. ✝️⚓
October 24, 2025 at 10:00 AM
reading list:
The Return of the Prodigal Son, by Henri Nouwen
A reflection on Rembrandt’s painting of the Prodigal Son, exploring forgiveness, homecoming, and divine love. He identifies with the younger and elder sons,& ultimately the father,calling us to compassion & mercy. Highly recommended. ✝️⚓
The Return of the Prodigal Son, by Henri Nouwen
A reflection on Rembrandt’s painting of the Prodigal Son, exploring forgiveness, homecoming, and divine love. He identifies with the younger and elder sons,& ultimately the father,calling us to compassion & mercy. Highly recommended. ✝️⚓
Baleful commentary by the BBC correspondents in Rome, and an idiotic article earlier.
They inferred prayer was only a private act. I reminded them that the Catholic Church and Anglican Churches worldwide consider prayer corporate too. What, after all, happens on Sundays up and down the land?
✝️⚓
They inferred prayer was only a private act. I reminded them that the Catholic Church and Anglican Churches worldwide consider prayer corporate too. What, after all, happens on Sundays up and down the land?
✝️⚓
October 23, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Baleful commentary by the BBC correspondents in Rome, and an idiotic article earlier.
They inferred prayer was only a private act. I reminded them that the Catholic Church and Anglican Churches worldwide consider prayer corporate too. What, after all, happens on Sundays up and down the land?
✝️⚓
They inferred prayer was only a private act. I reminded them that the Catholic Church and Anglican Churches worldwide consider prayer corporate too. What, after all, happens on Sundays up and down the land?
✝️⚓
Twenty pages in and we're still in the realm of traddie polemic history. Let's hope more of the book is dedicated to the actual argument at hand (use of time-honoured liturgy, seemingly "banned").
Lumen Christi: Defending the Use of the Pre-1955 Roman Rite
amzn.eu/d/8NinOxu
– arrived today. Despite having swum back across the Tiber I shall find it interesting.
(e.g. easily defensible that any supposed "train wreck" of liturgy after Vatican II was somewhat eclipsed by 1955-1962 revisions.)
amzn.eu/d/8NinOxu
– arrived today. Despite having swum back across the Tiber I shall find it interesting.
(e.g. easily defensible that any supposed "train wreck" of liturgy after Vatican II was somewhat eclipsed by 1955-1962 revisions.)
October 21, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Twenty pages in and we're still in the realm of traddie polemic history. Let's hope more of the book is dedicated to the actual argument at hand (use of time-honoured liturgy, seemingly "banned").
Reposted by Mark 🏴🏳🌈
