Lizzie Speller
@l1zz1e.bsky.social
Tutor CW Cambridge. Ex Classicist.
Love poetry, water, ruins, churchyards.
Author,The Return of Captain John Emmett; At Break of Day, memoir, lyrics. Short-listed Forward Prize. Judge London Hellenic Prize.
Live Suffolk & Greek island.
Love poetry, water, ruins, churchyards.
Author,The Return of Captain John Emmett; At Break of Day, memoir, lyrics. Short-listed Forward Prize. Judge London Hellenic Prize.
Live Suffolk & Greek island.
Went to a spa - a first for me. unexpected joy was after an outdoor hot tub when wrapped in dressing gown and, oddly, staying warm, I decided to lie on summer recliner. Simply watched the sky turn from blue to mauve as the afternoon passed, a few leaves floating to the grass. Perfect.
November 11, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Went to a spa - a first for me. unexpected joy was after an outdoor hot tub when wrapped in dressing gown and, oddly, staying warm, I decided to lie on summer recliner. Simply watched the sky turn from blue to mauve as the afternoon passed, a few leaves floating to the grass. Perfect.
Good question for any writer- a first-timer or a well-known winner:
What is ( and when was) the origin of your novel?
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...
What is ( and when was) the origin of your novel?
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...
‘I had a year to write it from scratch’: the 2025 Booker finalists on the stories behind their novels
A newspaper report about a missing girl, the memory of a midwinter emergency … Susan Choi, Andrew Miller, David Szalay and others on what inspired their shortlisted books
www.theguardian.com
November 8, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Good question for any writer- a first-timer or a well-known winner:
What is ( and when was) the origin of your novel?
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...
What is ( and when was) the origin of your novel?
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...
Fine article about the music itself. www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...
From fiasco to feted: the story of the Dream of Gerontius, the revolutionary music of The Choral
The Choral depicts an amateur choral society in wartime Yorkshire taking on Elgar’s trailblazing and controversial work. But how much does Alan Bennett’s fiction reflect actual fact?
www.theguardian.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Fine article about the music itself. www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...
Reposted by Lizzie Speller
“London and New York, two of the west’s largest, richest, and most diverse cities are now run by Muslim men, both of them elected on the ticket of left wing, pro-LGBT, pro-multicultural parties…The victory is a reminder of the fundamental weakness of Trumpism, Faragism, and the politics of hate.”
Mamdani shows a different way is possible
The New York mayor’s resounding victory is a warning to Trump and his own party’s old guard
www.thenewworld.co.uk
November 5, 2025 at 8:54 AM
“London and New York, two of the west’s largest, richest, and most diverse cities are now run by Muslim men, both of them elected on the ticket of left wing, pro-LGBT, pro-multicultural parties…The victory is a reminder of the fundamental weakness of Trumpism, Faragism, and the politics of hate.”
Sunday fireworks: sky dark & clear, waxing gibbous moon, bright constellations, our breaths condensing in the cold. But pizza and crépes, not incinerated sausages of childhood. Fireworks delicate beauty, not Catherine wheels falling off post after one rotation and rockets tipping over and going out.
November 4, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Sunday fireworks: sky dark & clear, waxing gibbous moon, bright constellations, our breaths condensing in the cold. But pizza and crépes, not incinerated sausages of childhood. Fireworks delicate beauty, not Catherine wheels falling off post after one rotation and rockets tipping over and going out.
“November”, Thomas Hood (b.1799)
No sun — no moon!
No morn — no noon —
No dawn — no dusk — no proper time of day.
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member —
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! —
November!
No sun — no moon!
No morn — no noon —
No dawn — no dusk — no proper time of day.
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member —
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! —
November!
November 1, 2025 at 7:38 AM
“November”, Thomas Hood (b.1799)
No sun — no moon!
No morn — no noon —
No dawn — no dusk — no proper time of day.
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member —
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! —
November!
No sun — no moon!
No morn — no noon —
No dawn — no dusk — no proper time of day.
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member —
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! —
November!
Reposted by Lizzie Speller
The Ghosts Of Cassiopeia!
It took 550 years for the light from these ghouls to travel through space to spook us today...
Happy Halloween, my friends!
It took 550 years for the light from these ghouls to travel through space to spook us today...
Happy Halloween, my friends!
October 31, 2025 at 2:27 PM
The Ghosts Of Cassiopeia!
It took 550 years for the light from these ghouls to travel through space to spook us today...
Happy Halloween, my friends!
It took 550 years for the light from these ghouls to travel through space to spook us today...
Happy Halloween, my friends!
Reposted by Lizzie Speller
Hang on a minute, did Ozymandias just become the new This Is Just to Say? Someday I want to write a whole article on the memeification of famous poems...
(tired: leaving notes on your fridge about the plums you have eaten
wired: meeting a traveler from an antique land)
(tired: leaving notes on your fridge about the plums you have eaten
wired: meeting a traveler from an antique land)
October 30, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Hang on a minute, did Ozymandias just become the new This Is Just to Say? Someday I want to write a whole article on the memeification of famous poems...
(tired: leaving notes on your fridge about the plums you have eaten
wired: meeting a traveler from an antique land)
(tired: leaving notes on your fridge about the plums you have eaten
wired: meeting a traveler from an antique land)
I’ll never again bore my children by saying ‘Halloween is really an American ritual’ now that I’ve bought a bread pumpkin from the bakery!
October 30, 2025 at 10:51 AM
I’ll never again bore my children by saying ‘Halloween is really an American ritual’ now that I’ve bought a bread pumpkin from the bakery!
Reposted by Lizzie Speller
Zohran Mamdani caught lying that he understood Plato’s allegory of the cave, yet when asked to explain it, he seemed to instead explain Baudrillard’s theory of Simulacra and Simulation where reality has been replaced by symbols and signs, which seems similar to Plato’s theory but is not the same
October 29, 2025 at 3:28 AM
Zohran Mamdani caught lying that he understood Plato’s allegory of the cave, yet when asked to explain it, he seemed to instead explain Baudrillard’s theory of Simulacra and Simulation where reality has been replaced by symbols and signs, which seems similar to Plato’s theory but is not the same
Reposted by Lizzie Speller
October Half term was always tatie (pitmatic, sounds like taytee) picking week. Back breaking work.
(Never picked. But my siblings raided fields for turnips)
Potato Pickers - Ernest Higgins Rigg (1868–1947), John Johnstone (b.1941), Jules Bastien-Lepage (1878), Frederick William Jackson(1859-1918)
(Never picked. But my siblings raided fields for turnips)
Potato Pickers - Ernest Higgins Rigg (1868–1947), John Johnstone (b.1941), Jules Bastien-Lepage (1878), Frederick William Jackson(1859-1918)
October 29, 2025 at 9:16 AM
October Half term was always tatie (pitmatic, sounds like taytee) picking week. Back breaking work.
(Never picked. But my siblings raided fields for turnips)
Potato Pickers - Ernest Higgins Rigg (1868–1947), John Johnstone (b.1941), Jules Bastien-Lepage (1878), Frederick William Jackson(1859-1918)
(Never picked. But my siblings raided fields for turnips)
Potato Pickers - Ernest Higgins Rigg (1868–1947), John Johnstone (b.1941), Jules Bastien-Lepage (1878), Frederick William Jackson(1859-1918)
Lego Museum break-in. Fortuitously timed Christmas present.
October 29, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Lego Museum break-in. Fortuitously timed Christmas present.
Reposted by Lizzie Speller
Karoline Leavitt officially announced the "Launch of a large-scale investigation to find the people behind 'No Kings.'"
I've saved her some time.
I've saved her some time.
October 29, 2025 at 4:54 AM
Karoline Leavitt officially announced the "Launch of a large-scale investigation to find the people behind 'No Kings.'"
I've saved her some time.
I've saved her some time.
Reposted by Lizzie Speller
Rain, sun and rainbow colours across the Afon Mawddach in today's @theguardian.com country diary by @johngilbey.bsky.social.
#countrydiary #naturewriting
#countrydiary #naturewriting
Country diary: A landscape transforming in front of my eyes | John Gilbey
Afon Mawddach, Gwynedd: My riverside walk is met with bitter winds, frantic showers and bursts of sunshine. The change in the colours is remarkable
www.theguardian.com
October 29, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Rain, sun and rainbow colours across the Afon Mawddach in today's @theguardian.com country diary by @johngilbey.bsky.social.
#countrydiary #naturewriting
#countrydiary #naturewriting
Reposted by Lizzie Speller
Guillermo del Toro on wealth: "a wealthy man is a man who has enough, not a man that needs more. If you have enough to invite someone for a beer? You're rich. If you have a yacht, planes, islands, and you still need more? You're not rich."
October 27, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Guillermo del Toro on wealth: "a wealthy man is a man who has enough, not a man that needs more. If you have enough to invite someone for a beer? You're rich. If you have a yacht, planes, islands, and you still need more? You're not rich."
Reposted by Lizzie Speller
A cartoon about autumn....
October 24, 2025 at 3:40 PM
A cartoon about autumn....
“Let me be bold and Dye for my Desire.
A Phenix likes to perish in the Fire.”
John Wilmot, Lord Rochester. 1647-1680
A Phenix likes to perish in the Fire.”
John Wilmot, Lord Rochester. 1647-1680
October 23, 2025 at 9:00 PM
“Let me be bold and Dye for my Desire.
A Phenix likes to perish in the Fire.”
John Wilmot, Lord Rochester. 1647-1680
A Phenix likes to perish in the Fire.”
John Wilmot, Lord Rochester. 1647-1680
Reposted by Lizzie Speller
I love this image, but also the idea that your clenched fist is the same size as your heart
'When have I ever not loved the pain of love'
#poetry
#poemoftheday
'When have I ever not loved the pain of love'
#poetry
#poemoftheday
October 23, 2025 at 5:06 PM
I love this image, but also the idea that your clenched fist is the same size as your heart
'When have I ever not loved the pain of love'
#poetry
#poemoftheday
'When have I ever not loved the pain of love'
#poetry
#poemoftheday
Reposted by Lizzie Speller
The skeleton restoration drop-in session has been rescheduled and will now take place on Thursday the 11th of December.
You will have the opportunity to observe our Human Remains Conservator in action and discuss with her the intricacies of preserving skeletons like these.
You will have the opportunity to observe our Human Remains Conservator in action and discuss with her the intricacies of preserving skeletons like these.
October 23, 2025 at 11:03 AM
The skeleton restoration drop-in session has been rescheduled and will now take place on Thursday the 11th of December.
You will have the opportunity to observe our Human Remains Conservator in action and discuss with her the intricacies of preserving skeletons like these.
You will have the opportunity to observe our Human Remains Conservator in action and discuss with her the intricacies of preserving skeletons like these.
Reposted by Lizzie Speller
Updating my LEGO White House
October 23, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Updating my LEGO White House
Lechlade-upon-Thames church (1496 with additions).
“Here could I hope, like some inquiring child
Sporting on graves, that death did hide from human sight
Sweet secrets, or beside its breathless sleep
That loveliest dreams perpetual watch did keep”
Percy Bysshe Shelley (who visited it in 1815)
“Here could I hope, like some inquiring child
Sporting on graves, that death did hide from human sight
Sweet secrets, or beside its breathless sleep
That loveliest dreams perpetual watch did keep”
Percy Bysshe Shelley (who visited it in 1815)
October 22, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Lechlade-upon-Thames church (1496 with additions).
“Here could I hope, like some inquiring child
Sporting on graves, that death did hide from human sight
Sweet secrets, or beside its breathless sleep
That loveliest dreams perpetual watch did keep”
Percy Bysshe Shelley (who visited it in 1815)
“Here could I hope, like some inquiring child
Sporting on graves, that death did hide from human sight
Sweet secrets, or beside its breathless sleep
That loveliest dreams perpetual watch did keep”
Percy Bysshe Shelley (who visited it in 1815)
Reposted by Lizzie Speller
AWS is down, post hog
October 20, 2025 at 10:05 AM
AWS is down, post hog
A friend sends south a photo of today’s sunrise in Northumberland.
“Water glitters. Something lets loose
Its cry. A ripple. Rings dilate
Where once a river emptied out
Only uncertainty. Over and over
A curlew flings its loop of sound –
Flings it and captures wildness in its noose” Katrina Porteous
“Water glitters. Something lets loose
Its cry. A ripple. Rings dilate
Where once a river emptied out
Only uncertainty. Over and over
A curlew flings its loop of sound –
Flings it and captures wildness in its noose” Katrina Porteous
October 20, 2025 at 6:53 AM
A friend sends south a photo of today’s sunrise in Northumberland.
“Water glitters. Something lets loose
Its cry. A ripple. Rings dilate
Where once a river emptied out
Only uncertainty. Over and over
A curlew flings its loop of sound –
Flings it and captures wildness in its noose” Katrina Porteous
“Water glitters. Something lets loose
Its cry. A ripple. Rings dilate
Where once a river emptied out
Only uncertainty. Over and over
A curlew flings its loop of sound –
Flings it and captures wildness in its noose” Katrina Porteous
By coincedence I’m reading this. Chillingly topical but also, beautifully written. It may be atmospheric, and send a warning over 90 years, but it’s also a very compelling story.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
A prophetic 1934 novel has found a surprising second life – it holds lessons for us all | Charlotte Higgins
Sally Carson’s Crooked Cross was written and set during the rise of nazism. It shows both how extremism takes hold, and the moral certainty needed to resist it, says the Guardian’s chief culture write...
www.theguardian.com
October 19, 2025 at 7:22 AM
By coincedence I’m reading this. Chillingly topical but also, beautifully written. It may be atmospheric, and send a warning over 90 years, but it’s also a very compelling story.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...