Donna Hall

Chuffed to be on this list of LGIU's top 25 thinkers in local government with others I admire hugely for their ability to drive change for & with citizens. Together we can pull the plug out of the tepid bath of managed public service decline ⁦@LGiU⁩ lgiu.org/publication/lg…

My first one in yonks! It was good to dust off the blog pen again. With thanks to Chris Swarbrick for the wonderful artwork neighbourhoodcares.wordpress.com/2026/07/17/wha… @PaulTrustWorks @bannon_ashling @ProfDonnaHall @John_A_Wade

@HilaryCottam @themjcouk ❤️

Will Makerfield change Westminster? themj.co.uk/makerfield-cha… via @themjcouk from the brilliant @ProfDonnaHall the architect of the Wigan Deal which remains the most significant social system change work we have seen in the UK.

#Oliverscampaign My heart swells with pride

What a fantastic opportunity to work with Hilary & her amazing team!

The look of man who, for the first time in his coddled 66 years of life, just had the briefest of glimpses of the real world. Plenty more where that came from I sincerely hope.

@HotelsHomeless Most of us & our forefathers were all once complete strangers

@ProfDonnaHall But the left want the poor to share what little housing and jobs there are with migrants, so you send us right-wing. Please explain why you welcome complete strangers, illegal migrants, as if they're close friends. No hard feelings, but l just don't get it.

@CatherineMMunro Love these Catherine! How can I buy some?

Also added some seaglass fairy lights. Heart shaped bottles with light coloured seaglass and pink lights. Will be adding some colour bottles soon!

After taking time off over Christmas I have been making new seaglass pendents from glass found on #Shetland beaches. These are the ones I am putting up for sale tonight 😁 Link in comments.

@DGParkinson 🥰

@ProfDonnaHall Fabulous

@MI5GCJ Happy new year Geoff xx

@ProfDonnaHall When those on earth make us shudder , at least the Heavens Cheer us up! Happy New Year Donna

Winter in Teesdale

@JohnstonJudith Omg 😦 Judith! We had some hair raising trips didn’t we!?! 🫣

@ProfDonnaHall And we used to think we had a lot of snow when we used to go over the hills to Blackburn!

Like Narnia here today ❄️

@IanMWelsh @WallStreetApes 💯

@WallStreetApes She has completely lost the plot

Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has an dire warning about Democrats “We're not dealing with a load of social Democrats who just want to raise taxes a bit and spend more on public spending. We're dealing with people who want to destroy Western civilization. This is what their aims are.” “You just can't win. And this is what Donald Trump understands, perhaps uniquely in the Western world. I think there are others who have taken on the deep state. You might point to Victor Orban, you might point to Bukele or Melaye. But really, Donald Trump to me is the playbook of how you need to behave because a lot of people in politics think Because it was the case in the 70s, 80s, that you could reason with the opposition, you could find a compromise, you could be bipartisan, you could persuade people, you could sell it in the media, you could roll the pitch, that that strategy can be adopted now. And I think they're wrong because the opposition have changed. We're not dealing with a load of social democrats who just want to raise taxes a bit and spend more on public spending. We're dealing with people who want to destroy Western civilization. This is what their aims are.” Again, this is from the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

@evefrancisholt Sending love 💕 Eve xxx

Looking forward to time with family. There will be lots of music and a good crack. But also deep sadness. 💕 Life goes on, but it was better with you.

@criminographer Sending love ❤️ Emily

It's been a grief week. In a grief month. I've got so much to say about the news I got this week. I will say it one day. But for now I want to share some joy. Because Christmas comes whether we like it or not. And their joy gets us through. 💙Alexander ❤️Isabelle #childloss

This is post number 25 for National Care Leavers Month. Each day I post something from my archive relative to the subject. A nation is like a family and family is like a nation. It is as simple and complex as that. I know my people and I am known to my people and I say this as one who was lost. I first came to Ethiopia in 1995. The BBC documentary Internal flight came on that Journey. A boy born in Lancashire, stolen from his mother, brought up in Wigan who migrated to Manchester found his way to Ethiopia. But it was much more than just one journey. I was not going back to my roots. I was searching for my family. There is a difference. I had to tell my story so that the conditions of my disappearance could be fully understood. Slowly slowly through documentaries and interviews made here in Ethiopia by curious Ethiopians, and legends of broadcasting such as Meaza Birru on Sheger radio, my story was translated and heard and became known throughout the country. The Ethiopian baby stolen from his mother, fostered to English Christians then thrown away into institutions at 12 then left by the institutions at 18 with no one and no explanation had to fight his way back into his story and wear it regardless of whether he wanted to. I fought a system determined to forget and erase me. And I found evidence and I returned to Ethiopia with that evidence at 29, an acclaimed poet. I didn't know what my name meant. In my mother's tongue. it means 'Why'. How could I not be a poet with a name like Why. The story continues. There is so much joy now. A nation is like a family and family is like a nation. It is as simple and complex as that. Photo taken by John O'Rourke on Entoto at sunrise.

Then came November Winter's slow kiss Night draws in to her Frost claws summer's lips Photo by Vladmir Srajber

Closing day 1 at #ncasc25, ADASS President Jess McGregor and ADCS President Rachael Wardell OBE join Professor Donna Hall to discuss place-based leadership, community cohesion and the vital role of the workforce in connecting with communities.

@LynneBowers2 Thank you 🙏 Lynne! Great conversation x

This is my 23rd post for National Care Leavers Month. Each day I post something from my archive relative to the subject. But today is different. Can you help me find someone. Please. In 1972 a Scottish couple fostered a baby and saved her. She is now looking for the couple to thank them. It means a lot to her. The birth mother recalls meeting them at The Red Cross Office in Edinburgh in 1972. She does not have any details about the foster mother BUT recalls that the foster father was a surgeon (possibly a neurosurgeon) AND that couple had a brown skinned adopted son, which would have been unusual at the time. Please help me find them on behalf of my friend. Please share this post. Especially if you are in Scotland. Image by Geralt