Elle
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elle-g.bsky.social
Elle
@elle-g.bsky.social
240 followers 690 following 180 posts
Peripatetic runner
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Reposted by Elle
robinince.bsky.social
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
This is the saddest day of my professional life. Today is not only the final recording of the latest series of The Infinite Monkey Cage, it is my last ever Monkey Cage. I never thought that I would have to leave the show. I always imagined going on until | dropped dead under the studio lights due to a brain aneurysm caused by my final attempt to understand notions of quantum gravity or the shock of being told about fly maggot infestations in the sacks of macaque monkeys. I resigned in September, after sixteen years of dedication to the show, A show that I named and helped develop over all those years. Unfortunately, my opinions outside the BBC have been considered problematic for sometime, whether it has been voicing support for the trans community, criticism of Donald Trump, numerous other outlandish opinions, including once gently criticising Stephen Fry. These things were considered to conflict with being a freelance BBC science presenter In a recent meeting where BBC Studio executives again voiced problems with me, I realised my choices. Obedience and being quieter to remain making Monkey Cage, or 'Resign and have the freedom to speak out against what I believe are injustices'. • I chose the latter. It broke my heart. I love this show and I love the audience, and it is because of the audience in particular, that this decision was so difficult to make. I kept thinking about all the extremist voices promoting hate and division. They are being given so many platforms, while voices that represent kindness, open mindedness, empathy seem to be scarcer and scarcer. I felt I couldn't pamper myself with the luxury of silence. One of my many privileges is that I am able to resign and I can speak out even if it is to the detriment of my career. I have thought a lot about my heroes, Sinead O Connor, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, and so many more. I think of Sinead's words, "the job of an artist is to be themselves at any cost". James Baldwin said prejudice was really just a word for cowardice. Audre Lorde, viewing her life, wrote that her only regrets were her silences. I think of my father as I resign, he brought me up to believe in fairness , justice and kindness. Though my heart is broken, it is also full of fire. I apologise to our incredible listeners for my departure, your love of the show means a great deal. I am so sorry to let you down. I hope that you can understand my reasoning. I have to accept that I am not what the current BBC expects of their freelance presenters. Despite this I should add that I have always worked far more than my contracted hours to try and ensure the show was always the best it could be, as well as making myself accessible and responsive to the audience wherever and whenever I met them. Every night, we have recorded, I have been filled with determination to make the best show possible. This was not "just a job" I hope that with my departure I can be a better ally to the LGBTQ community, to the neurodivergent community, to activists fighting against those who aim to brutalise society, to those currently in prison on hunger strike, and to all those who fight for a more inclusive world. From many conversations, I know there are many Monkey Cage listeners who support these communities and activists too. The strawberry is dead. Long live the strawberry. B
December 13, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Reposted by Elle
tobyn.bsky.social
Re-listened to this top @planetmoney.bsky.social pod on Hong Kong & Jimmy Lai, the British pro-democracy billionaire who has spent 5ys so far in prison. www.npr.org/2019/07/19/7...
Hong Kong : Planet Money
In 1960, a 12-year-old boy left mainland China, hidden in the bottom of a fishing boat. He later became one of Hong Kong's richest people. His story is the story of Hong Kong.
www.npr.org
November 1, 2025 at 5:22 PM
elle-g.bsky.social
Who robbed the Louvre ? right answers only:
October 19, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Reposted by Elle
dsquareddigest.bsky.social
I said a while ago that the first rule of finance *is* that when the music's playing you've got to get up and dance, and the second rule is never get yourself quoted in the newspaper saying the first rule.
September 27, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Reposted by Elle
jonnelledge.bsky.social
shout out to @katharinehorgan.bsky.social who is mere inches away from finishing the Berlin marathon. I walked half that distance yesterday and I'm knackered so, kudos

(Repost and follow her eh? so i can say i did something useful)
September 21, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Reposted by Elle
susiedentwords.bsky.social
Today I offer a reminder of the word ‘forswunk’ (13th century): exhausted from too much work. To be ‘foreswunk’ (my own version) is to be exhausted before you even begin.
September 19, 2025 at 7:09 AM
Reposted by Elle
katelynburns.com
Including gillick competence in the heritage paper attempting to define so called trans motivated violence as terrorism is a huge tip that some british knobhead wrote it.

Gillick isn't an American thing, it's a UK thing.
September 19, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Reposted by Elle
michaelhobbes.bsky.social
This absolute banger
Starmer was recently asked how he would feel if his daughter had to walk past an “asylum hotel”. “I totally get it,” he responded, going on to say that “local people by and large do not want these hotels in their towns, in their place, and nor do I. I’m completely at one with them on that.” This desire to meet the hard right halfway, to find a middle point, is hopelessly exploitable. In an age of radicalisation, you simply get pulled further and further to the right, while tacitly validating those values at every step. Nowhere is this more evident than in the UK press’s fixation on trans people. The Labour government, following the reactionary centrist logic of trying to diffuse an issue by giving policy ground, has allowed itself to be pulled radically to the right on this matter. First, by abandoning its commitment to changing ID laws to make it easier to transition, then by effectively banning puberty blockers following pressure from those opposed to them. Now the UK is on the verge of implementing a bathroom ban mandating that trans people must be excluded from toilets that match their gender identity. This is being done without parliamentary debate. Most of the public is not aware of it, and yet, if this goes ahead, it would make the UK one of the world’s most illiberal advanced democracies on trans rights. An actual pragmatist would evaluate and change course. Someone who understood public opinion might notice that anti-immigrant sentiment responds to media coverage, not objective reality. They might reason that this is not a problem that can be addressed by policy concessions because policy is not what is causing it. They might even consider offering a different narrative and seeing whether that makes a dent. A truly daring politician might consider telling the British public the truth: that they are being lied to by the right-wing press about the cause of the country's problems, and that Reform is capitalising on this for political gain. To put it mildly, this has not worked. The theory was that feeding the wolf would starve it. But, somehow, the beast is stronger than ever. Reactionary centrists simply cannot account for this outcome. All they can think to do is keep throwing more meat.
September 4, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by Elle
ajlanes.bsky.social
This, from the Quakers, is a pretty good example of how to resist pressure from bigot lobbying groups. Effectively “we legally can allow trans people to use the loo, we morally should, and we tried it and nothing bad happened”
www.quaker.org.uk
August 28, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Reposted by Elle
muzhamilton.bsky.social
Essential viewing for all you Netflixers
August 17, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Reposted by Elle
centristmum.bsky.social
Awful, awful story. There seems to be a chronic lack of accountability in the UK state at the moment. And if you can't trust the courts, where do you even start?
Courts service accused of covering up IT bug that caused evidence to go missing
Sources say judges in courts and tribunals will have made rulings when evidence was incomplete.
www.bbc.com
August 8, 2025 at 11:59 AM
elle-g.bsky.social
Epic riposte from @jemima.bsky.social - fascinating article

on.ft.com/40X7x8f
“No, my skill is keeping a straight face when someone tells me something and inside I’m thinking: fucking hell”
August 9, 2025 at 3:37 PM
elle-g.bsky.social
Wow, ACAS ripping the EHRC to shreds in their consultation response - even a “strongly disagree” in there www.acas.org.uk/consultation...
Consultation on EHRC code of practice for services – Acas response | Acas
Acas Executive response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) consultation on the code of practice for services, public functions and associations.
www.acas.org.uk
August 6, 2025 at 6:53 PM
elle-g.bsky.social
I’m thinking that the organisational skills of the RWC organising committee are lacking somewhat - so much for superfan passes #superfan #rwc2027
August 5, 2025 at 4:05 AM
Reposted by Elle
robjfh.bsky.social
German insanity bookending this match. That was an *insane* save!

#Euro2025 #FRAGER
dreyesceron.bsky.social Douglas Reyes-Ceron @dreyesceron.bsky.social · Jul 19
all the angles of the Ann-Katrin Berger save are unreal #WEuro2025
July 19, 2025 at 9:28 PM
elle-g.bsky.social
South London 1 - Queue Jumping Assholes 0 (let’s just say they were really leaning into certain stereotypes, but I didn’t resort do che cazzo); when you’re pissing off 10+ people in a queue at Wimbledon that’s impressive…
July 6, 2025 at 1:26 PM
elle-g.bsky.social
Gordon’s kitchen nightmares, F1 edition
July 5, 2025 at 10:06 AM
elle-g.bsky.social
6 years since my last F1 paddock fix - need to make up for lost time, my chariot awaits #pirellihotlaps
Picture of Alpine A110S car in metallic blue Open face racing helmet with Pirelli F1 logos
July 5, 2025 at 8:53 AM
elle-g.bsky.social
Masses of people, and not just those marching. Seemed to be more nervous energy at the start but further back in the crowd, with great DJs, the energy was great. #budapestpride (had to rush off for flight but glad to have seen such support: Finnish, German, Donegal and Arsenal flags / tops spotted
June 28, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Reposted by Elle
drmarymcauliffe.bsky.social
Funny how Hermann ‘anti choice’ Kelly is all ‘my body, my choice’ when it comes to organ donation and his ‘giblets’, and entirety the opposite when it’s comes to women’s rights over our bodies! Misogyny in so central to far right ideology #speirgorm
Tweet by Herman Kelly
June 18, 2025 at 4:46 PM
elle-g.bsky.social
Queued behind Paul McCartney at immigration in JFK once - he was offered chance to skip ahead of the person in front of him by staff and said no.
bolt451.bsky.social Deck the Halls with Bolt451 @bolt451.bsky.social · Jun 13
Right folks. Feeling rather down at the moment so bringing back an oldie

Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
June 13, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Reposted by Elle
peterwalker99.bsky.social
Also: inside the increasing worries among Labour MPs and others about the government’s insistence that the supreme court ruling brings “clarity” when their transgender constituents - and organisations - tell them something very different.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
‘A real mess’: splits emerge in Labour over supreme court’s gender ruling
Growing number of MPs are questioning Keir Starmer’s claim that ruling has brought ‘clarity’ to issue
www.theguardian.com
May 26, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Reposted by Elle
peterwalker99.bsky.social
Exclusive: Formal guidance on how organisations should implement the supreme court ruling on gender may not be fully signed off for months, officials and MPs warn, amid increasing worries about the capability of the Equalities & Human Rights Commission

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
MPs fear UK equality watchdog may take months to sign off gender guidance
Exclusive: EHRC insiders believe process could drag on until after its chair is replaced in November
www.theguardian.com
May 26, 2025 at 6:32 PM
elle-g.bsky.social
Representation and allyship matters, even in the small stuff
April 27, 2025 at 4:25 PM
elle-g.bsky.social
Hard Labour - Andrew Tate wannabes…
amisstori.bsky.social Amiss Tori @amisstori.bsky.social · Apr 18
If you want an example of how far to the right the world has moved on trans and LGBTQ rights… Theresa May is being attacked for being “too pro trans”… BY LABOUR!!!

Labour minister says Tories should ‘apologise’ for pro-trans stance under Theresa May www.thepinknews.com/2025/04/17/l...
Labour minister says Tories should 'apologise' for pro-trans stance under Theresa May
Labour’s health and social care minister, Karin Smyth, has called on the Conservatives to apologise for the party’s pro-trans stance.
www.thepinknews.com
April 18, 2025 at 5:38 PM