flora

Absolutely stunning shot from my favourite account!🪶

Woman of the Day teacher and suffragist Pippa Strachey (1872-1968) of London, the organisational genius behind the very first major suffrage protest, the Mud March, in 1907. That was 119 years ago, yet today, women are gathering in Westminster, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Manchester, Belfast, Plymouth, and Houghton-le-Spring, because once again, the government is ignoring women’s voices and prioritising the feelings of men — a very small subset of men, but men nonetheless - over the rights of women. The Mud March featured a brass band, carriages and motor cars carrying women’s suffrage flags and banners, and 7,000 women wearing matching rosettes, with around forty women’s groups from all over the country taking part. It required much soothing and smoothing by Pippa of "all sensibilities and political disagreements” beforehand to reconcile women’s groups with differing points of view but it was a triumph of diplomacy. Only the Pankhursts’ WSPU declined to attend in an official capacity but many of its leading members were there anyway: Christabel Pankhurst, Annie Kenney, Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence. Today, there will be women’s groups and banners from all over the UK listening to notable speakers drawn from women’s organisations. No “soothing and smoothing of all sensibilities and political disagreements” is needed. We are united and we want one simple thing: for @bphillipsonmp to stop dithering and lay the EHRC guidance before Parliament. Her decision not to do so — and it is a decision — is causing harm to women (and men) and especially to children, because government departments, councils, retailers, employers and schools think they are excused from following the law. 119 years ago, Pippa, who had no experience of organising anything like this, made it a full team effort. The Artists’ Suffrage League produced posters and postcards. The marchers’ rosettes were made by the Actresses’ Franchise League. The London Society for Women’s Suffrage placed ads everywhere to publicise the event and encourage women from all walks of life to attend. Everyone played a part. It was a stroke of genius. Rachel Strachey, close ally of Millicent Fawcett and Pippa’s sister-in-law, wrote: “In that year, the vast majority of women still felt that there was something very dreadful in walking in procession through the streets. To do it was to be something of a martyr, and many of the demonstrators felt that they were risking their employments and endangering their reputations, besides facing a dreadful ordeal of ridicule and public shame.” Does that sound at all familiar? Thousands of women set off down Rotten Row with the brass band leading, Millicent Fawcett at the front, followed large contingents of women from all over the country, marching under banners that proclaimed their various professions and trades. The only thing that couldn’t be planned for was the weather. On the day, it rained incessantly: “mud, mud, mud" everywhere, according to Millicent Fawcett, which is why it was known as the Mud March. Today, it will rain incessantly in Cardiff, which is where I’ll be with my @WomenOfWessex sisters. It won’t put us off, any more than the mud did 119 years ago. We women are made of stern stuff. Back then, The Observer warned that the women’s movement should “educate its own sex rather than seeking to confound men". That’s straight out of NHS Fife and NHS Darlington’s playbook, don’t you think? The pro-suffrage Morning Post (now The Telegraph) deplored the "scoffs and jeers of enfranchised males who had posted themselves along the line of the route, and appeared to regard the occasion as suitable for the display of crude and vulgar jests". The Graphic (later the Daily Sketch), also pro-suffrage, carried a photo of a man dramatically holding up a pair of scissors "suggesting that demonstrating women should have their tongues cut out". Today, we face derision and similar threats from masked men. No, I’m not going to repeat them. You all know exactly how much male fury is unleashed whenever women dare to speak up in defence of their lawful rights. “Both sides”, my foot. Four days after the Mud March, NUWSS leaders met with the Parliamentary Committee for Women's Suffrage to discuss plans for a private member’s Bill proposing that women should have the vote subject to the same property qualification that applied to men. Relatively few women would have qualified and the sponsor was hopeful. The Bill was talked out. It took another eleven years before women over 30 were accorded the right to vote, and 21 years before all women were enfranchised on the same terms as men. The Supreme Court’s clarification of the Equality Act 2010 is almost 365 days old, yet public servants are still hounded for recognising biological sex, NHS staff are still denied access to single-sex changing rooms, women are still denied lawful single-sex services and placed at risk. Lesbians still face exclusion because they do not accept men as lesbians. Women in prison are still locked up with men. All of this is unlawful, Ms Phillipson. All of it. You could put a stop to it tomorrow. You would have the law and the courts on your side, so what’s holding you back? Women are rising. #OneYearLater #SupremeCourtRuling

Oh boy what a tune. I love Aztec camera. And I remember that late 80’s/ 50’s vibe very well!

Incredible 125 year old film of England in 1901. Captured by Mitchell & Kenyon in the streets of Manchester, in the final days of the Victorian era and the dawn of the Edwardian period.

They say the last thing you see before going to sleep can colour your dreams … feast your eyes on the flowers in my fireplace just before lights out - and sleep well.

There is no Woman of the Day today. Instead, I want to explain why I do what I do. No one really knows who first said, “History is written by the victors” but I’d bet you any odds it was a man. Think of your schooldays and count the number of times you learned about the roles played by women in shaping history, other than regnant Queens and perhaps Marie Curie and Florence Nightingale. Yet women lived, worked, networked, debated, campaigned, organised, invented things and built them too - but you’d never know this if your lessons, like mine, were confined to history books. For a practical example, just look around you. Fridge, washing machine, dishwasher, ironing board, home security system, call waiting system, car heater and windscreen wipers, even the very first computer algorithm: all invented by women. Are you surprised? Confined to the house, denied access to higher education, barred from engineering, denied entry to all branches of science and the professions for centuries, those bright analytical minds turned their attention to their immediate surroundings and saw what was needed to free them from domestic drudgery. In return, history ignored women’s achievements, glossed over them or consigned them to dusty footnotes. If all else failed, their work was credited to - or stolen by - men, the phenomenon known as the Matilda Effect, first identified by feminist Matilda Joslyn Gage in 1870. In 1993, it was named for her by historian Margaret Rossiter who said, “It is important to note early that women’s historically subordinate ‘place’ in science was not a coincidence and was not due to any lack of merit on their part. It was due to the camouflage intentionally placed over their presence in science.” Once you see it, you cannot unsee it - the Matilda Effect is everywhere - but now substitute ‘history’ for ‘science’. The proposition still stands. What I try to do is to pierce holes in that camouflage by writing about the almost-invisible women of history who overcame manmade barriers and changed the world. As a Second Wave feminist, I thought we’d won all the big battles, that it was just a matter of mopping up the resisters and dragging them into the 20th century. I did my bit to redress the balance in an overwhelmingly male environment, but how had I managed to miss the barefaced theft of our words, our spaces and services, our sports? How had we suddenly been reduced to a walking collection of body parts? It was a wake-up call. Once I saw, I couldn’t unsee the terrible damage being done to girls and young women who did not conform to the offensive sexist stereotypes being imposed on them by men who mimic women and their inane female cheerleaders. It made me fearful for non-conforming girls: tomboys. They need to see strong women as role models, women who don’t care about performing femininity, women who defy convention and do things their way. If you can see it, you can be it. So I went digging around in those dusty footnotes, found a little gold and started from there. I found thrilling tales of women who were inventive, resourceful and brave. Then I started sharing what I found more widely, tied to the calendar as Women of the Day. How do I find them? Often by pure chance. I go looking for one woman, spot a couple more names along the way - women whose stories really resonate with me - and file them away for the right time. Women’s history had been right under my nose the whole time. I just hadn’t realised that you needed to dig a little. The rather unexpected bonus was that in giving them a voice, I found mine. I am a conspicuously law-abiding woman, a former prison governor, and if you had told me when I retired that one day, I’d be standing outside a police station in protest at the hounding of gender critical women and singing “Go catch some rapists” to the tune of Guantanamera, I’d have advised you to seek immediate medical attention for the effects of the bump to your head. But here I am, telling women’s stories, and behind the scenes, pursuing a second career as a women’s rights activist. I won’t ever fall asleep at the wheel again. Tomorrow, I’m off to Cardiff with my Women of Wessex sisters, to protest about @bphillipsonmp’s inexplicable decision to delay laying the EHRC Code of Practice before Parliament — and make no mistake about it. It IS a decision; one that is causing real harm and damage to the rights of women and the protection of children. Some of you come for the occasional stories of women in history hiding in plain sight, but I hope you stay because you care about fairness and safety for women. For now, I leave you with this thought from the 1949 memoirs of Somerset suffragette Nelly Crocker (1872-1962): “Modern young women seem unaware of the price paid for their political and social emancipation, and modern historians have greatly ignored the struggle”.

An oldie but a goodie 😂😂

Good morning from Thailand. Today’s plan… 🥘 Off to feed 80 street dogs myself 🏥 Workers here building the dog hospital 🧑‍🍳 Kitchen making food for 1300 dogs ✂️ 12 dogs already waiting for sterilizing 🤒 8 dogs under critical medical care 🌎 Around the world we will fund 300 dogs sterilizing operations today The only bad part is I have to go to my desk and do boring things like admin and finding the money to pay for this as CEO after feeding the dogs! Would rather be with the dogs all day. Have a lovely day everybody!!! ❤️

Total ignorance from @networkrail ... they found no active nests apparently... of course they didn't!! They're summer visitors and breeders!!!! 🙄 Now they know the facts, that Swifts return to their old breeding sites, what are they doing about it? Nothing!! 😡 #UnblockTheNests

They're halfway home. The Artemis II astronauts have hit the "halfway" mark between the Moon and the Earth. They will splash down in the Pacific Ocean around 8:07 pm ET on Friday, April 10 (0007 UTC on Saturday, April 11), off the coast of San Diego.

80% of baby birds brought to rehab are essentially kidnapped. There are two types of baby bird, and they need completely different responses: A nestling is naked or barely feathered and can't hop. It likely fell from the nest. If you can, find the nest nearby and put it back. The parents won't abandon it because you touched it. A fledgling is feathered and can hop. It may look helpless, but it isn't. Fledglings spend days on the ground after leaving the nest. Their parents know exactly where they are and are actively feeding them. "80% of baby birds that come in have basically just been kidnapped," says Melanie Furr of Atlanta Audubon Society. In general, the best choice is to leave them alone, move pets inside, and observe from a distance. Actually intervene when: • A cat touched it: even a mild scratch transmits deadly bacteria • You know the parents are dead • It has visible wounds or can't stand Much of the time, the best thing you can do for a baby bird is nothing.

9 April 1938 | Jewish twin girls Annette & Paulette Szklarz were born in #Metz. On 31 July 1944 Annette was deported from #Drancy to #Auschwitz & murdered in a gas chamber. Paulette was in the hospital with measles & survived hidden by doctors. Paulette is @debra_author mother.

🆘Another athlete’s life is in serious danger in Iran. Benyamin Naqdi is a champion in kickboxing and Muay Thai and has won several titles in these sports. Today, his mother went to the prison where he is being held to collect some of his personal belongings, but she was not allowed to see him and was given no opportunity to contact him. State media have already broadcast a video of what appear to be forced confessions from him. Given his situation, and after recent remarks by Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i calling for an acceleration of executions, concerns are now growing about the possibility that his death sentence could soon be carried out. #DigitalBlackOutIran‌ #Iran

A British university student is facing prosecution after comparing a Keffiyeh worn by a pro-Palestinian activist to a “tea towel” during Freshers’ Fair at @RoyalHolloway. 20-year-old Brodie Mitchell told the President of the Friends of Palestine Society, Huda El-Jamal, that her keffiyeh looked like a “tea towel” after she called him a “wannabe Jew” because he was defending Israel and mocked him for not wearing a Jewish “hat”. In a classic case of double standards on campus, Brodie was handed a nine-week suspension the following day “for alleged conduct that could be considered hate speech”. He was told his comments were “Islamophobic”, “racist”, and “anti-Palestinian” and was barred from campus and forced to leave his student accommodation. Surrey Police have now confirmed they have sent a file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for a charging decision — meaning Brodie could face prosecution for saying El-Jamal’s headscarf looked like a “tea towel”. Meanwhile, she faced no disciplinary action and continued her studies as normal. Welcome to two-tier Britain. The case could be the first of many, given the Government’s decision to publish an official definition of “anti-Muslim hostility” and encourage universities to embed it in their speech policies. The definition is already being used to silence legitimate criticism of Islam. The Free Speech Union is supporting Brodie. With our help, he has been allowed back on campus, but under conditions that dictate who he can speak to and what he’s allowed to say. With our support, Brodie is taking Royal Holloway to the High Court, arguing he was unfairly forced to miss seven weeks of teaching, potentially delaying completion of his degree. We’ve also provided him with a top-notch criminal legal team in case the CPS decides to prosecute him. His own university, Royal Holloway, is spending nearly three-quarters of a million pounds defending its actions. At a recent hearing, it initially said its total costs could be as high as £734,000, with the risk that Brodie will have to pay them if he loses. In other words, the university is trying to scare him into dropping the case. But we’ve got his back. Welcome to the reality of free speech on English university campuses. In the absence of the complaints scheme that was legislated for in the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act being activated by Bridget Phillipson – she has delayed doing so for 18 months now – these are the ruinous costs facing students who want to stand up for their right to free speech. On this week’s episode of the FSU Podcast, Brodie Mitchell (@BrodieMitchell1) shares his story with @_ConnieShaw. The full episode is available on the FSU YouTube channel (link in first reply).

Sky full of stars. Following a successful lunar flyby, the Artemis II astronauts captured this breathtaking photo of our galaxy, the Milky Way, on April 7, 2026.

@TaniaAMarshall @WomenAreReals @JonniSkinner @marli_ca @nicolle99953150 @SF_TERF_CENTRAL @5280BasedHomo @LGBCourage @LGBAlliance_USA @Sac_TERF_Ca @JanuaryDoNoHarm @ErinFriday75490 @SashaAguilar69 So different to the almost bored, smirking reaction when listening to @LJDetrans. Male sexuality and health concerns him far more, which come as no surprise.

“I'm a 23 year-old gay man who's never had an orgasm.” Sen. Wiener, a leading advocate for sex rejection procedures, comes face to face w/the human cost. I’ve never seen him squirm like this. It took immense courage for @JonniSkinner to be public about this issue. 🙏 ❤️‍🩹

The survival skills of pandas

This isn't a horror movie set. It's a road in Denmark. The streetlights are red to save the bats. Bats can't see red light the way they see white or green light, so to them, it's essentially darkness. White streetlights are one of the leading causes of bat decline in urban areas. Light-shy species avoid lit areas entirely, cutting them off from feeding grounds and migration routes. Standard streetlights reduce bat activity by up to 90% in some species. Denmark figured out a fix. So did the Netherlands. When they installed red LED streetlights along roads near bat colonies, bat activity returned to normal levels almost immediately. The lights still work fine for humans. Drivers can see. Cyclists can navigate. The only thing that changed is that the bats got their night back. Do you want your city to do this?

This has to be one of the coolest things I’ve seen 🤯

📣🚨Karen Webb, an NHS specialist nurse with 42 years’ experience working with older people, faced losing her honorary Queen’s Nurse title after being reported for gender-critical posts on X. The situation began during what should have been a standard team meeting. In the informal chat before proceedings began, Karen, in response to another colleague, expressed support for the Olympic Committee’s decision to exclude male athletes from women’s sporting categories. Within minutes, she received a private message from the Trust’s Head of Equality and Inclusion, informing her that she had “upset a lot of people”. The following day, she was told that her “attitude” towards transgender individuals needed to be discussed. Three months later, Karen was called to a formal meeting with senior figures at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, where she was questioned about her views on trans people and her ability to provide them with compassionate care. Believing the matter to have been resolved, Karen was then contacted by the Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing (QICN), which informed her that it had received a complaint about alleged “transphobia” and “bigotry”. She was instructed to delete her social media posts or risk losing her honorary title. The experience caused her significant and understandable distress. At that point, Karen turned to the Free Speech Union for support. The FSU wrote to QICN on her behalf, setting out her legally protected right to hold and express gender-critical beliefs under the Equality Act 2010. Shortly thereafter, QICN dropped its investigation and issued a full apology, acknowledging that there was “no case to answer” and that Karen had “done nothing wrong”. Following a Subject Access Request (SAR), it emerged that the complaint had been made by a senior activist colleague, who had also disclosed information from a confidential internal process – despite that matter having been closed without any disciplinary action. This disclosure appeared to be a malicious attempt to damage Karen’s professional reputation and facilitate the removal of her honorary title. A subsequent grievance investigation by the NHS Trust upheld Karen’s complaint, finding that confidential information had been improperly shared with QICN. The Trust accepted that Karen had a reasonable expectation that discussions within the internal process would remain private, and confirmed that this expectation had been breached. The Trust has since stated that “appropriate action will be taken” to ensure lessons are learned and similar incidents do not occur again. Although the Free Speech Union was ultimately able to protect Karen’s title and prevent disciplinary action, the experience has left a lasting impact. Now retired, she reflects that the episode has cast a shadow over what should have been the culmination of a long and dedicated career in nursing. This sad episode resulted in Karen deciding it was time to retire. We are proud to have supported Karen during this difficult time. Cases like hers are far from isolated – more than 40 per cent of the Free Speech Union’s casework now involves individuals facing repercussions for expressing gender-critical beliefs, which are protected under the Equality Act 2010. Watch Karen share her story and join the Free Speech Union below 👇