sarah smith smizz ✏️✏️✏️ スミッツ

I'm delighted for Nigel Farage. According to @nberpubs, Brexit gave our country a 6-8% reduction in GDP per capita, a 12-18% reduction in Investment & a 3-4% reduction in productivity. But it gave Nigel Farage a gift of £5millon. So that's alright.

Make sure you read @finnsmithjourno's brilliant exclusive here. It shows the importance of investigative local and regional journalism. thestar.co.uk/news/politics/…

Neurotypicals: Just make a list. ADHDers: I have bought 47 notebooks. I have 6 list apps. I have lists of lists. The problem is not the list.

Some opportunities arrive in your life & make you feel all the good stuff in life. Getting to paint a @POY_Trail 🦁 for the 150th anniversary of @SheffChildrens Hospital has been one of those moments for me. Not just because it’s beautiful to be part of something so hopeful, joyful and creative. But because hospitals have shaped huge parts of my own life too. I became really ill in my early 20s, and when you spend enough time around healthcare, you start to understand something deeply: environments matter. Kindness matters. Colour matters. Feeling safe matters. Children’s healthcare, when done well, often understands this in ways the adult world still struggles to. The murals. The playfulness. The effort to explain things gently. The recognition that fear, loneliness and uncertainty need caring for too, not just symptoms. So being asked to create something as part of a project raising money for a new A&E department means a lot to me. Especially knowing that these future spaces will support young people and families, even more, during some of the hardest moments of their lives. Young people who may be immunocompromised, overwhelmed, frightened, exhausted, or simply needing somewhere that feels human and hopeful. And there’s something really beautiful about doing that through art. Through a giant pride of lions spread across Yorkshire. A declaration! Through community, imagination, colour, humour, and collective care. Through togetherness! I’ve absolutely loved meeting the other generous & talented artists involved and the incredible team at Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity who have poured so much energy, time and heart into making this happen. They’re our rockstars. Sometimes we go through difficult times, But creativity and togetherness can do incredible things. It can hold people through them. It can remind people they are not alone. It can make things happen, and be magic! 🪄 So thank you for letting me be part of this. An absolute honour & privilege! And if you spot my lion on the trail in June- “That’s How It’s DON!” 🦁✨ - know it was painted with a lot of Doncaster love, a lot of gratitude, and a full heart x

Today I had somehow designed a day that allowed me to catch up with the incredible Emma Bearman . We laughed so much that even a man filling out a greetings card nearby ended up getting the giggles too. The late morning disappeared into afternoon before either of us noticed, and suddenly I was rushing off to open the library for a 7pm group. It was only when I looked at my phone on the train that I saw just how devastating some of the results across the UK were. And honestly, I knew it was coming. Anyone who witnessed what happened last year directly, up front & personal knew it was coming. the stalking, the aggression, the screaming in people’s faces, the threats, the complete erosion of civility that many of us experienced on the campaign trail, knows that we are not living in “normal” times. / But I don’t think this is simply about Labour winning or losing, or any one party at all. I think it is about something much deeper: the collapse of understanding, patience, nuance, and humanity in the way we speak to one another and imagine political life. In how politics can actually be. Our political system, and particularly our unchecked (social) media systems, reward outrage, performance, and division. They flatten complex human beings into targets. And the people most harmed by that are often those who have quietly worked the hardest for their communities, and those who have never done anything wrong. / So for every person tonight feeling heartbroken, exhausted, disillusioned, or questioning themselves after dedicating years of their life to public service; to community organising, to caring for others, to advocating, to taking risks, to breaking their own boundaries in order to help people… this moment is not a reflection of your worth. / History moves in strange and sometimes wild cycles. We are living through one of those periods now, (it is the fire horse year, after all!) and I genuinely do not think people (widespread general public) fully realise yet how psychologically, socially, and politically impactful this era will be viewed in years to come. / After a year on from our same experience last year - this is what I can offer as some experienced faux pas wisdom: Please don’t let this harden your heart. The work still mattered. The people still mattered. You still mattered. I would advise taking some distance. Allow time to heal some of what may have happened to you, and when you’re ready - I say don’t disappear. We still need you. Emma said to me last year, weeks before we officially lost the election but I could see where it was going… and as I sobbed down the phone to her in my garden, Em said, “do you need to be a councillor to make change?” And through the sobs I said, “no” And she said, “well, there we have it” There we have it. We still need you. And beyond all the noise, there are still libraries opening at 7pm. Friends laughing until strangers laugh too. People showing up for one another in quiet, ordinary, beautiful ways. That all still counts for something. Maybe more than ever.

Young people ain’t gonna vote Labour cuz Kier paid private companies for them to work - for poor £ - for a bit without actual sustainability. 🙈🙈🙈 who is coming up with this stuff??? Young people vote with a conviction of a sense of values. Or something that inspires / energises them.

Thanks printer, that cheered me up

Sad to admit that after my first run back in basically over a year++ (!!!!) Plus after months of nightmare respiratory issues - that I can confirm running makes you feel good 🙈😹 I’m Actually buzzing off the endorphins 😭🙈 from just over a mile 😹 It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be & have been putting it off due to that fear. But that’s why we’re doing the re-training back, super slow and steady. Trying not to get into my head. I am really, really impressed with the Runna app. First time using it. It has fantastic warm up & down videos & great guidance on the run, which you can do at the same time as other audio! Would recommend for any type of runner. 1st time, back after a loooong time, or wanting to get better / race specific mile ready!

But that’s exactly it. They’re still not going to be heard - because it’s not a general election. And so nothing nationally really changes. So pretending to go along with this rhetoric continues to play into the sense of powerlessness and thus “why bother” ? Look at the past decade. Tories lost around 3,000 council seats in local elections over the decade. Under Blair Labour also lost around 3,000 council seats. It’s mirrored. People need to know what they’re voting for. Otherwise it’s like going into a restaurant, thinking you’re ordering one thing and getting something completely different but everything you read convinced you would get another thing.

@smizz Whilst I absolutely agree with you I can also understand why people are voting as if it’s a GE. How else to they get heard? People don’t feel listened to at national level and this is the only way for them. Only when the system is working do people vote local.

The way mainstream media blurs local & national politics is genuinely misleading & I'm SO frustrated by it. It makes things feel even more powerless, when they're not. 7th May is LOCAL elections (in the areas that are having them) That means councils. Local government. The services and decisions closest to your day-to-day life. But it keeps being framed like a General Election, with debates about national policies that councils literally have no power over. That doesn’t just confuse people. It undermines democracy. Because people end up voting based on things their council cannot change. So here's a Smizz cheatsheet for y'all! Local authorities / local cllrs do NOT control or can make decisions on: + Immigration policy or border control + Asylum systems or deportation decisions + National tax rates (income tax, VAT, corporation tax) + Welfare benefits like Universal Credit + NHS funding levels or national healthcare policy + Defence, foreign policy, or international relations + National policing laws or criminal sentencing + Energy prices or national infrastructure like rail policy + Etc Councils can’t “stop the boats.” They can’t rewrite benefit rules. They can’t change NHS stuff. What they can do is just as important - but different: Local councils ARE responsible for: + Social care (for adults & children) + Safeguarding & community safety partnerships + Housing (tho not all LAs have social housing), homelessness support, and local planning decisions + Roads, bins, parks, libraries, & public spaces + Local public health services + Working with police + health services at a local level + Supporting community organisations & local economies + Plus LOADS more. Most of the above is also dependant upon NATIONAL (government created & mandated) policy & funding. Which also makes working at local gov level, sometimes more infuritating. So when local elections get turned into a proxy conflict about national issues - genuine or conflated by mainstream media endless coverage, we all lose. Because instead of asking: 🌟 Who will look after our communities? 🌟 Who understands the local/ward need? 🌟 Who actually cares about here? We end up arguing about things that aren’t even on the ballot. And that’s not just frustrating, it’s fundamentally misleading & makes people understand even less about local government, contributing to less civic participation.

This is so so so good! 😻 would recommend! One of so many amazing quotes: “the familiar tale of attraction and repulsion, of beginning and ending, of coming into being and passing away, of chance and necessity. The universe is growing, expanding, forcing the galaxies apart; it is almost as if it were fleeing from the theories that attempt to capture it.”

lol Facebook memories really said “remember this??” 😭 
I genuinely didn’t clock that election day last year was 1st May…. A whole year. How has that even happened?! 😱 Also… my mum still hasn’t forgiven me for covering every window in the house with campaign posters 😹😂 But honestly, a year on, I feel even more proud. Proud of what we built & is still getting built. 
Proud of what we embedded & saved. 
Proud that so much of it is still happening, still growing, still serving people. Because it was made *with* them. Not many people get the chance in their lifetime to leave something meaningful in the place they grew up. To work with their community & actually make things happen. It was an honour & a privilege. And It still is. So grateful to have served the people of Adwick & Carcroft, and to have done it alongside so many brilliant, committed humans. And because receipts matter… here’s some of the work we made happen - incase anyone else tells yall otherwise. You can see here just how much work you have to put in yourself to get amazing things done. (yes I really need to update the site 😹):
👉 adwickcarcroft.co.uk

The secret then? (One of them) People need people to believe in them. To tell them they can do it! That they’re not stupid. Or lazy. Or that they can’t do something cuz it won’t get them a real job… That’s what’s especially missing within working class communities. Just look at our politics. It lacks imagination to the point (adult) folks believe that they themselves don’t deserve joy & investment & imagination & community. And see what happens. Our young people grow up surrounded by our own cynicism & lack of investment. Environmentally but also emotionally. Helping someone believe in themselves is like rocket fuel. It’s still the thing to day that makes me work even harder. Fran, D, my GP lol! my amazing friends! Etc. Are all my internal Motivators. I want to be better for them, as well as myself. I want to prove to them what they reflected to me. Because they make you feel like there is something there that you might not yet believe in yourself. That you can do something. That you are smart or kind or cool. That you deserve love. I found when I was younger, once I felt more seen & supported, using my horrific experiences growing up acted as fuel to the fire. They’re still massive chips on my shoulder. They still whisper massive doubts in my mind. But I’m still Determined to not get stuck in these systems that keep us down growing up. Determined others can be seen & also try and change these things that keep us down. There needs to be a big overhaul of education as whole. But - 1) social class is so much realer and heavier than we admit (societally & policy wise) & harder to unshackle yourself from (a middle class education doesn’t just make class trauma & lack of connections disappear). Esp when more privileged folks are supported & backed more & everything is in their language & been trained for the system. Their way of life/education constantly deemed more valuable than ours 2) the stories we tell ourselves, our young people, our communities matter. They hold the biggest of powers. So we can change these young people’s lives but it has to come from a myriad of people from different positions and backgrounds. There’s so much sociological research for decades why other ethnic groups do better than white w/c kids - & I’m afraid we just keep looking for other answers because we don’t like the fact that we have some control over how our kids feel seen and supported and allowed to dream. And that in of itself, is a piece of the puzzle. And we need to unshackle ourselves from feeling like we all don’t deserve better and that we can indeed make things better, for everyone. (I also think we need to tackle endless classism in everything - eg working class peeps have the lowest representation in the arts for decades atm - but that’s another long thread)

I’ve yet to read the book “underdogs” that @Francesanne2 has lent me (I’ll do this bank holiday!) But as someone who grew up: + very working class + in poverty, had FSM all my schooling + got top ESA payments in 6th form + was homeless for 8 months when I was 15 + grew up in domestic violence + was constantly told I wasn’t normal 😆🙈 by educators - was in special needs sets at school (apparently drawing houses round is a big no-no 🙈😆) & had prove I should go up a set each year until I entered top set at high school + I did unexpectedly well in my GCSEs & then the school realized no one had told me I had options! I literally signed up for 6th form on GCSE results day as my family have hardly any qualifications & we didn’t know anyone who went to college or uni. And I was just going to leave with nothing in place! I can tell you my turning point into truly falling in love with learning was in year 9, when I accidentally turned up to a science revision class (my aim was to distract my mates! But they weren’t there lol!) & I had 1-2-1 revision & it was the first time I felt seen and felt like it was ok to make mistakes. It doesn’t make you stupid or fearful. That I can ask for help if I need it! Revolutionary. I used this for the rest of my schooling and it changed my life.

comms, socials, events

tbh ADHD is not being able to clean your own kitchen for 6 days but volunteering at a community event for 6 hours on a Saturday because other people's needs activate your brain in ways your own needs don't.

Rebuilding my life from feeling like literal death & turning into a ghost for 2 months. I forget how good for the soul it is to see your peoples, & do things you love, & be awed by people who work hard at doing things that they love & ofc - getting some vitamin D and warmth 💛 Saw YUNGBLUD last night in Manchester & it was epic! 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

THERE ARE NO ELECTIONS IN DONCASTER ON MAY 7 AND THERE WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE IT IS NOT A CONSPIRACY Thank you

No politicians should tell museums or arts organisations what stories to tell or how to present our history.

Just got my 8 rolls of b&w 35mm film back from the past 18 months… here’s some of my fav so far! Yosemite, USA. Bellagio, Italy. Tsz Shan Monastery, Hong Kong. Buddhist Cemetery somewhere in Tokyo, Japan. LOVE the Yosemite images as they were taken on CineStill BwXX, purportedly rebranded Eastman Double-X 5222 motion picture film & you can tell 😻😻