Profile avatar
sallyrichards4.bsky.social
Exploring spirituality and ageing, Russian language and art. Kindness and truth matter and so does social care reform.
106 posts 77 followers 171 following
Prolific Poster

Astonishing! Last night Yulianna Avdeeva’s performance of 24 Preludes & Fugues. #LeipzigShostakovichFestival

After Musk’s dismantling of USAID, deaths can be counted by the hundreds of thousands. “If there were justice in the world, Musk would never be able to repair his reputation, at least not without devoting the bulk of his fortune to easing the misery he’s engendered.“ www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/o...

The Headington Festival in Bury Knowle Park takes place on Sunday 1 June 2025 from 1 to 5pm, with open-air cinema in the park the day before

Retraction of RCTs (because they were at best flawed & at worst fraudulent) leads to substantial changes in evidence syntheses (systematic reviews and meta-analyses). How many more crap RCTs are lurking? Time to stop hero-worshipping this design. GARBAGE IN GARBAGE OUT. www.bmj.com/content/389/...

Also vital to improve NHS service!

It's very good to see some focus on social care at last in local elections in Oxfordshire. Thank you @bbcoxford.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Today 22 April at 5pm I and 5 Stone Buildings colleagues are holding a free webinar on the Assisted Dying Bill www.5sblaw.com/events/upcom...

There have been so many tributes to Pope Francis today, this one in particular caught my attention. A wonderful soul who will be hard to follow. 🙏

Remember, there are only a few days left if you want to see the #Versailles exhibition (a rhinoceros, waterworks, inoculation, pineapples, Marie-Antoinette's watch... you name it, it's there!) @sciencemuseumldn.bsky.social www.youtube.com/shorts/xIT5i...

chng.it/dm5cKBPGhJ A vital service under threat, please consider supporting this campaign.

Just back from two weeks in the US. Across 3 States everyone I met was depressed and fearful about the future of their country. The dizzying slide into #dictatorship is all too clear. Good to see this memorial still standing In Central Park.

Government to extend ban on moorland burning - closing loopholes in existing rules Great news for nature, carbon, & people who’ll be spared from acrid smoke & flooding Bad news for dukes & billionaires who own grouse moors 🎻 Here's my quote running on PA newswire: 1/ www.gov.uk/government/n...

It’s now very easy to see how far the Christ Church development to the north of Old Headington will extend: it’s where the brown weeds end and the newly planted green crops begin. (Photograph taken this morning looking south from the footpath up to College Pond, with JR chimney on the left)

“Social care was notable by its absence from the Chancellor’s speech. It is deeply disappointing that calls to support the sector with the additional costs of increases in National Insurance contributions and the National Minimum Wage have largely been ignored.”

Great to see all the work done by @oxfordprestrust.bsky.social volunteers at Larkins Lane Fields @oldheadington.bsky.social And gorgeous summer snowflakes.

The UK would now want to rejoin the EU by 55% to 33% Removing those that don’t know - that’s a 62.5% to 37.5% breakdown.

Delighted that our MP @anneliesedoddsmp.bsky.social is here now. Looks like she hasn't posted for a while, but at least its good news

In a gloomy landscape, a piece of good news: the launch of the British Art Journal: Online. Read it free here: ⤵️ britishartjournal.co.uk

Brasil - The Birth of Modernism. A joyful exhibition @royalacademy.bsky.social

“Social care plays a crucial role in alleviating the immense strain on NHS high-acuity services... but also, and more importantly, allowing people to live rich and fulfilling lives.” Check out the new blog from SCIE’s Chief Executive, Kathryn Smith OBE - www.scie.org.uk/news/detail/...

Latest achievement of former Oxford goalkeeper!

Happy Birthday Anselm Kiefer! I celebrated my birthday yesterday visiting this wonderful exhibition. Thank you @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social

I missed this good news from N.Ireland www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Huge achievement for #Calderdale and encouraging for hospices and #palliativecare everywhere

Wonderful Anselm Kiefer exhibition at the Ashmolean as my birthday treat.

A wonderful #Ruskin painting. In the current draft of my Ruskin novel, I have him painting this apple in my opening chapter (no, my novel is not a thriller 😂) #EachLeaf

My hypothesis is that Trump is not interested in mediating a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. He's only interested in restarting his relationship with Putin. In this article, I present evidence to support this hypothesis. Tell me what I got wrong: www.usnews.com/opinion/arti...

Oxford types! There's a stellar line-up of writers and artists at this FREE event @bodleianlibraries.bsky.social on Sat 26th April, celebrating 25 years of Clutag Press and i.m. the wonderful artist Norman Ackroyd visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/apr25/...

Pass it on. #StandWithUkraine

The shame of America eloquently nailed here - Five Failures in the Oval Office (video) open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p...

Despicable - Trump is not even attempting to hide what he is. I hope the State visit invitation will be withdrawn.

Proud of our MP Anneliese Dodds and thankful for her principled resignation. Such drastic cuts to the aid budget, when USAID has been decimated even for vital health projects, will harm the UKs long-term strategic interests. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Another ominous development. Amazon users please note

Nigel Farage, who has promised to "restore law and order" to Britain, accepted tens of thousands of pounds in flights from a convicted felon. Farage took the gifts from "Posh George" who was jailed for eight months in the US for wire fraud bylinetimes.com/2025/02/26/n...

Maybe I need to find out how to quote post a thread!

Excellent clear example of why the fundamental #socialcare crisis is a systemic failure that needs urgent action. It's not about 'older people being forced to sell their homes' - a separate issue

Depressing! The glacial response to the #socialcare crisis continues www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Our Oxfordshire Museum launches a children’s creative writing competition with a £50 prize to be won! If your 7-11 year old is a creative genius with words and stories - get them to enter, today! Entries can be submitted in person or by email by 23 May: news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxfordshire-...

This is a guest post by Sir James Munby, and it follows on from earlier posts about the proposed Assisted Dying reforms here, here and here. In Assisted Dying: What Role for the Judge? More Thoughts, published on the Transparency Project website on 6... https://transparencyproject.org.uk/?p=29356

The Kuindzhi Art Museum in Mariupol was destroyed by Russian bombing and its remaining art works looted and taken to Russia. This new museum celebrates the talentless Zhdanov - who persecuted Shostakovich, Akhmatova, Prokofiev and so many great Russian artists. The shame of this.

Never underestimate the threats posed by an ignorant, embittered and vengeful old man #Trump