#UK Travel Restrictions

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[namchyoon]

very grateful and sorry to the steward and (presumably) the guy next to me on my flight bc i was Passed Out on my tray table and i don't remember waking up and closing it (i might have woken up to do it myself even if i don't remember it and that happens a lot to me) as well as the steward waking me up at the very end of the flight and I think he woke me up for a solid 5 minutes bc everyone else had already left but i had headphones on (w no music) but my ears were blocked so i couldn't hear shit so i barely woke up as it is 😭

[wanderlustphotosblog]

Tanzania Entrance Requirements: Everything You Need to Know

Planning a trip to Tanzania? Make sure you're aware of the entrance requirements. From passports to visas and vaccinations, this article has you covered.

You may be excited, but before you leave for your trip it is essential to be aware of the Tanzania entrance requirements before you start planning. Among other things, this includes understanding the passport, VISA, and vaccination requirements. Having a firm grasp of the requirements for entry will ensure you have a smooth and hassle-free travel experience when visiting this beautiful East…

[spainvisas]

Spain Travel Restrictions Update Today: Spain Visas Update

Are you planning a trip to Spain and eager to discover the latest updates on travel restrictions? In a rapidly changing world, keeping yourself well-informed is paramount for a seamless journey. In this blog, we'll keep you updated on the most recent Spain travel restrictions, with a focus on securing a Spain Visa Appointment and simplifying the process with an Online Spain Visa. Additionally, we'll introduce you to a valuable resource, SpainVisas.co.uk, for expert guidance on your visa application journey.

Spain Travel Restrictions Update Today

Spain has been proactive in adapting its travel restrictions to protect both its residents and tourists. These regulations can change rapidly, making it essential to stay up-to-date with the latest developments. Below are the key points to consider:

Entry Requirements: Depending on your country of origin, Spain might have specific entry requirements. Recent updates may include the necessity for a negative COVID-19 test result or proof of vaccination.

Health and Safety Protocols: Stay abreast of Spain's current health and safety protocols, which can encompass mask mandates and social distancing guidelines.

Travel Alerts: Regularly check for travel advisories or alerts issued by your government or the Spanish authorities.

Local Restrictions: Keep in mind that different regions in Spain may have varying restrictions. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the specific regulations of the area you plan to visit.

Spain Visa Appointment

If you need a visa to visit Spain, securing a Spain Visa Appointment is a critical step in your travel preparations. Here's a quick guide on how to go about it:

Online Application: Begin by visiting the spainvisas.co.uk website of the Spanish consulate. This is where you'll find information about the visa application process.

Complete Application Form: Accurately fill out the visa application form and ensure you provide all required documents, including a valid passport, passport-sized photos, and evidence of travel insurance.

Pay the Fee: Pay the non-refundable visa application fee online.

Book an Appointment: After completing the online application, you may need to schedule an in-person appointment for biometrics collection and an interview.

Wait for Processing: Keep in mind that processing times for Spain Visa applications can vary. Be patient and await a decision on your visa.

Attend the Appointment: On the day of your appointment, be prepared with all your documents. You may undergo an interview, during which you could be asked about your travel plans and intentions.

Introducing SpainVisas.co.uk

For expert guidance on your Spain Visa Appointment and Online Spain Visa application, SpainVisas.co.uk is a valuable resource. Whether you're navigating the application process for the first time or need assistance with specific requirements, SpainVisas.co.uk offers comprehensive information and support to ensure your visa journey is smooth and successful.

In conclusion, staying informed about Spain travel restrictions is essential for a memorable and trouble-free trip. Whether you're applying for a Spain Visa Appointment or an Online Spain Visa, thorough preparation and staying updated are key. For expert guidance on your visa application process, visit SpainVisas.co.uk and make your journey to Spain an unforgettable experience.

Related Blogs 5 Ways To Celebrate Halloween in Spain 10 Incredible Places in Spain For Visit How to Get Spain Visa From London A Comprehensive Guide to Obtaining a Spain Visa from Manchester

[thebibliosphere]

Hi, me being white and Scottish does not negate the fact that I am a disabled immigrant living in America.

I have restrictions on my income, restrictions on how I can travel, and whether or not I can vote, and I am almost entirely reliant on my spouse for everything. If I am forced to leave him, as I have been made to do so in the past due to immigration red tape, my care will decline, I will lose access to healthcare, and there's a very real chance I will die.

I was, in fact, dying before he was able to move me here and take care of me full-time.

Nowhere did I say I know what it's like to be a person of color. Nowhere did I claim to know what it's like to come to this country in the worst of circumstances, unable to speak the language or deal with the horrendous, vile human rights violations that happen at the borders of this country to anyone who cannot afford to come in legally.

I was stating a fact because whenever I say I cannot vote, people scream at me to register, and I have to explain to them time and time again that as an immigrant without citizenship, I can't vote.

"Well you're husband can just go to Scotland--"

HAHAHA tell me you know NOTHING about UK politics without telling me.

As a disabled person, I do not meet the UK income requirements to sponsor my husband into the UK. I barely earned enough before my disability made me unable to work full-time. The laws changed six weeks before our wedding and we had to pivot our life plans on a dime.

If I go home, I go home alone. And again, I cannot do that. I am not being romantic when I say I'll die without him. I am being factual.

The NHS is gutted. My parents are elderly and caring for my adult brother with brain damage and can barely pay their electric bills. My friends are all barely making rent. What safety net do you think I can leave for?

Yes, my skin color keeps me safer than so many other people who deal with far, far worse. I am not and will never deny that. But that doesn't negate that I cannot vote in a country I am living in. And it makes me feel so profoundly helpless when I see people saying voting doesn't matter because it does. Voting matters. If it didn't, people wouldn't be working so hard to take it away from you.

[elodieunderglass]

Hey bestie whats a narrow boat? I saw you tag that on something you reblogged and I'm pretty curious now!

- Terry Darlington, Narrow Dog to Carcassone

A narrowboat (all one word) is a craft restricted to the British Isles, which are connected all over by a nerve-map of human-made canals. To go up and down hills, the canals are spangled with locks (chambers in which boats can be raised or lowered by filling or emptying them with water.) As Terry says above, the width of the locks was somewhat randomly determined, and as a result, the British Isles have a narrow design of lock - and a narrowboat to fit through them. A classic design was seventy feet long and six feet wide. Starting in the 18th century, and competing directly with trains, canal “barges” were an active means of transport and shipping. They were initially pulled along the towpaths by horses, and you can still see some today!

Later, engines were developed.

Even after the trains won the arms race, it was a fairly viable freight service right up until WW2. It’s slow travel, but uses few resources and requires little human power, with a fairly small crew (of women, in WW2) being capable of shifting two fully laden boats without consuming much fossil fuel.

In those times the barges were designed with small, cramped cabins in which the boaters and their families could live.

During its heyday the narrowboat community developed a style of folk art called “roses and castles” with clear links to fairground art as well as Romani caravan decor. They are historically decorated with different kinds of brass ornaments, and inside the cabins could also be distinctively painted and decorated.

Today, many narrowboats are distinctively decorated and colorful - even if not directly traditional with “roses and castles” they’ll still be bright and offbeat. A quirky name is necessary. All narrowboats, being boats, are female.

After a postwar decline, interest in the waterways was sparked by a leisure movement and collapsing canals were repaired. Today, the towpaths are a convenient walking/biking trail for people, as they connect up a lot of the mainland of the UK, hitting towns and cities. Although the restored canals are concrete-bottomed, they’re attractive to wildlife. Narrowboats from the 1970s onward started being designed for pleasure and long-term living. People enjoy vacationing by hiring a boat and visiting towns for a cuter, comfier, slower version of a campervan life. And a liveaboard community sprang up - people who live full-time on boats. Up until the very restrictive and nasty laws recently passed in the UK to make it harder for travelling peoples (these were aimed nastily at vanlivers and the Romani, and successfully hit everyone) this was one of the few legal ways remaining to be a total nomad in the UK.

Liveaboards can moor up anywhere along the canal for 28 days, but have to keep moving every 28 days. (Although sorting out the toilet and loading up with fresh water means that a lot of people move more frequently than that.) you can also live full-time in a marina if they allow it, or purchase your own mooring. In London, where canal boats are one of the few remaining cheapish ways to live, boats with moorings fetch the same prices as houses. It can be very very hard for families to balance school, parking, work, and all the difficulties of living off-grid- but many make it work. It remains a diverse community and is even growing, due to housing pressures in the UK. Boats can be very comfortable, even when only six feet wide. When faced with spending thousands of pounds on rent OR mooring up on a nice canal, you can see why it seems a romantic proposition for young people, and UK television channels always have slice-of-life documentaries about young folks fixing up their very own quirky solar-powered narrowboat. I don’t hate; I did it myself.

If you’re lucky, you might even meet some of the cool folks who run businesses from their narrowboats: canal-side walkers enjoy bookshops, vegan bakeries, ice-cream boats, restaurants, artists and crafters. There are Floating Markets and narrowboat festivals. It’s generally recognised that boaters contribute quite a lot to the canal - yet there are many tensions between different kinds of boaters (liveaboards vs leisure boaters vs tourists) as well as tensions with local settled people, towpath users like cyclists, and fishermen. I could go on and on explaining this rich culture and dramas, but I won’t.

Phillip Pullman’s Gyptians are a commonly cited example of liveaboards - although they were based on the narrowboat liveaboards that Pullman knew in Oxford, their boats are actually Dutch barges. Dutch barges make good homes but are too wide to access most of the midlands and northern canals, and are usually restricted to the south of the UK. So they’re accurate for Bristol/London/Oxford, and barges are definitely comfier to film on. (Being six feet wide is definitely super awkward for a boat.) but in general Dutch barges are less common, more expensive and can’t navigate the whole system.

However, apart from them, there are few examples of narrowboat depictions that escaped containment. So it’s quite interesting that there is an entire indigenous special class of boat, distinctive and highly specialised and very cute, with an associated culture and heritage and folk art type, known to all and widely celebrated, and ABSOLUTELY UNKNOWN outside of the UK - a nation largely known around the world for inflicting its culture on others. They’re a strange, sweet little secret - and nobody who has ever loved one can resist pointing them out for the rest of their lives, or talking about them when asked to. Thank you for asking me to.

[anarchistmemecollective]

From the Bristol, UK, IWW Chapter:

“Uprisings in Bristol UK have been continuing since Sunday against the new Police and Crime Bill which would restrict peoples right to peacefully protest and would give 10 yeah prison sentences for people causing damage to statues (the usual sentence for rape in the UK is only 5 years).

The bill also includes many restrictions on traveler communities in the UK who throughout the covid lockdown have faced violence and illegal evictions. This Bill would institutionalise this violence and illegalise the lifestyle of a marginalised and regularly persecuted minority group.

This comes in a time when people are still mourning the death of Sarah Everard who was attacked and murdered by an off duty Met police officer while walking home. Women held vigils around the country for Sarah and some of these were broken up by the police and attendees arrested (by male police colleagues of the officer charged with the murder).

Here in Bristol the Black Lives Matter movement is also very strong and many people feel that the Police and Crime Bill is a response to the people of Bristol pulling down of a statue to Edward Colston, a slave trader who funded many of the cities major institutions.

Locally these struggles have intersected in the #KillTheBill movement and peaceful protests have repeatedly been attacked by the police, causing a revolt on Sunday where Bristolians lay siege to the police station and set several cop vehicles on fire.

Last night, an explicitly peaceful protest was again attacked by police and a number of people arrested and beaten with shield and batons, charged with horses and dogs. Travelers had come to hold space in a public park where they could make their voices heard but they were attacked in the night by the cops, arrested, beaten and their dwellings and property destroyed without consideration that some had nowhere else to go. Several protestors were hospitalised and many more suffered minor injuries.

When young people lay down in the streets shouting that it was a 'peaceful demonstration' the cops charged in, again beating people and arresting anyone who wasn't able to flee. This took place in the middle of a residential area where many of these folks actually live.

For several nights the streets of Bristol have become a physical and metaphorical battleground that may determine the rights and freedoms for all people living in the UK.

Kill The Bill has no official organisers and actions have been mostly autonomous and spontaneous, this includes a march of 5,000 people in support of the protests on Sunday.

Members of Bristol IWW have continually done what we can to support these protests, including providing first aid for protestors who have been injured by the police. While we know some on the British left may question why we have offered our support to this autonomous street movement rather than appealing to the parliamentary system and its antiquated processes. Some even question why we would take part in events that have seen the destruction of police equipotent and self defense used against the cops. We be believe our position to be clear and consistent as members of a revolutionary working class union.

"There can be no peace so long as hunger and want are found among millions of the working people and the few, who make up the employing class, have all the good things of life.

Between these two classes a struggle must go on until the workers of the world organise as a class, take possession of the means of production, abolish the wage system, and live in harmony with the Earth.””

[sophie-frm-mars]

The Cass Review, and what we can do about it

The UK government is making decisive moves toward banning trans healthcare outright. The NHS says it is adjusting its policies to be in line with the "cass report", a pseudoscientific report written by a transphobe that goes as far as to claim that little boys playing with trucks and little girls playing with dolls is biological, and which disregards dozens of scientifically sound previous studies into HRT and trans healthcare in order to reach its conclusions that trans healthcare for under 25s should be radically changed to discourage transition at every turn and make it as hard as possible for young people to transition.

These moves will kill countless young trans people. I would not have made it to 25 if healthcare wasn't available and I know so many other trans people wouldn't have either.

The mainstream reporting in the UK is keeping itself ideologically cohesive by claiming that trans people exist, nobody hates them, and they're very rare, and the big problem is the explosion of new cases of not-really-trans people who are clogging up the system (this is a lie, the system has been intentionally slowed by malicious neglect, it isn't even a resource issue, the clinics have far more capacity than the number of patients who are let through)

Once again, this is genocidal and is actually a commonplace methodology of genocide. The nazis asked GRT people to help them understand which Traveller families were "real" travellers and which were the fake ones, since they insisted it was only the fake ones who were the problem and who had to be exterminated (because a lot of nazi GRT policy was based on American indigenous reservation policy).

Labour, the main opposiiton party in the UK, has announced it will "follow the Cass Report", and implement these restrictions on trans healthcare once in government.

For the survival of young trans people, robust community structures must be developed immediately.

Efforts to change the electoral situation will proceed at a snail's pace and will be entirely at the whims of what is politically expedient. It will turn around, but it will take a long time. At the voting level, everyone in the UK who cares about trans people needs to make it clear that they won't vote for Labour unless they reverse position on this, and to be clear about this: Labour will not listen. They are PR Brained Psychopaths and they don't want to get into this "controversial" issue in a way that might cost them further popularity and the easy election win.

Wes Streeting, inhuman lab experiment and Labour Shadow Health Secretary has said that activists need to "stop protesting to ask us to be better opposition and start protesting to ask us to be better government", in other words their electoral promises are cynical reactionary bargains and deals to get them into power and the only point at which they will change anything is once they are in government, if at all. I know this sounds very "push Biden left" but I'm not saying give up now - to repeat, everyone who cares about trans people in the UK should tell Labour to get fucked right away, and then keep doing it as loudly as possible, but it's just not going to change until after the general election at least.

Another way to help could be through legal routes, like the work that The Good Law Project has been doing for trans people for several years now, but I don't know enough about the law to know if it can be used to challenge this at all.

We have to accept there is no electoral solution right now to this genocidal campaign against trans people in the UK, and while those efforts are ongoing trans people and cis allies need to fucking organise. Trans exclusive / separatist organising is riddled with issues, I don't want to cast hopelessness around but there are really very few of us and while it's absolutely necessary to privilege trans voices in trans organising and give us the deciding power and the autonomy, we need to utilise the support and time and labour of every cis person who is willing to help in whatever way they can.

Robust community structures means community structures that are helping young trans people get healthcare as an absolute basic starting point, but it means a lot more than that besides. We need community structures that are consciously organised by people who are taking responsibility for the community roles they are in and being completely explicit with each other about the nature and function of their organising. We need HRT community resources so young trans people can survive this medical segregation, we need drug user harm reduction spaces so that what people turn to in despair doesn't kill them, we need sober spaces so that people can get away from unhealthy coping responses, we need conflict resolution structures so that our problems are dealt with privately and nobody is left completely isolated, but more than any of those things, and in order to have all of those things, we desperately need trans assemblies

Assemblies are how we will get a community of robust radical organisers, because only by repeatedly practicing the ongoing process of democracy can people learn how to do it in a way that will facilitate their own organising. We have to empower the whole community to answer our own questions, come up with solutions, organise people into structures to enact those solutions and then do them. All this means is that an open door event convenes frequently (at least fortnightly) to discuss what is happening in the community. Trans people get the mic for allotted time, and discuss the issues, and then whatever voting structure the assembly uses facilitates further discussion, for example through working groups - the assembly breaks into smaller groups to discuss the topic and then representatives report the outcomes of those discussions back and consensus is reached from what the representatives report.

We have to get people engaging in this process because in order to effectively combat this situation trans people must agree on the solutions and then tell cis allies how to help and so far we haven't been doing that. We really really haven't been. But we could be with a little work. And as I'm saying, doing this will also empower everyone in the community to organise toward specific solutions for specific issues like HRT provision, sober spaces, housing, food, etc.

fuck

I'll have more to add to this post later I have to get to therapy I just got really mad when I saw the news this morning

[bruhstation]

steam team's seniors during their baby years

A friend group so weird and toxic to people they dislike it could rival It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s. They're not immune to the "I came to Sodor to avoid my problems and wanted a fresh start" trope many Sudrians also follow

Edward Pettigrew

Age: 31 as of 1984

A kind, friendly NWR railwayman who didn’t mind a lot of things and was popular amongst younger folks for his looks and demeanor. He likes showing newbies the ropes of the NWR and Sodor as a whole because he just loves infodumping. Despite being made fun of by some railwaymen for his “weirdness”, Edward worked hard and was known as the jack-of-all-trades by his peers, usually treating younger and newer railwaymen to drinks after work to get them accustomed to Sodor (he did this to Henry, then Gordon, then James). Originally from the village of Pezë in Tirana, Albania, 1940s. Due to his beginnings in a small rural village and the Albanian government’s censorship of outside influences and heavy restriction of traveling outside the country, Edward’s hunger for knowledge about the world grew more and more. His family had connections to the Lëvizja Nacional-Çlirimtare and Edward’s particularly bright and good at talking, so he became a diplomat to travel outside Albania – a step into his plans of learning more about the world. After landing himself in the United Kingdom and studying everything he wanted, he believes it’s still not enough. He found out about an island infamous for its supernatural occurrences and cases of people missing just off the coast of the UK – Sodor. Being the curious man he is, he discarded everything that’s needed for the LNÇ to locate him and landed on Sodor, gorging himself with every mystery the island has to offer. Impulsive? Yes. But for the first time, Edward felt true freedom. However, Edward got too curious and nosy and became a casualty in an accident fueled by supernatural hysteria related to Lady of the Legend and was transported around 40 years into the future, landing in 1983 with his memories all over the place. Despite losing his sense of self and having no idea what he is, his thirst for knowledge still lives on inside his head. His cheerfulness, amicability, and kindness are extensions he formed to make up for the hole inside his heart. Edward does love his friends, but he believes that if he can withhold information from them and make them all live in blissful ignorance, they can be truly happy – this all stems from his fear of exceeding his limits and being discarded (which he later copes by being a typical wise friendly old man in 1999). He often sees visages of Lady in his dreams.

Gordon J. Gresley

Age: 26 as of 1984

Joined after Henry. Looked like he was fresh out of a funeral. A young hotshot who was more polite, quiet, and reserved compared to his 1999 counterpart. Gordon started out as an apprentice fireman for the Wild Nor’Wester’s previous driver. He treated his arrival on Sodor as a desperate last resort to escape his issues and grief and pitifully believed he was “lumped with the social pariahs in the boonies”, but he’s gotten better and believed that this is where he can truly outshine everyone, much to the annoyance and chagrin of his seniors. Gordon acts like he knows what he’s doing in order to build up his image as someone who’s dependable and strong and revels in small basks of limelight. However, he was constantly uncomfortable with how Edward treated accidents as normal due to their survivors being in tip-top shape the next day and how Henry is so distrustful of and odd about everything and everyone and sweats 24/7, but he’s been masking and convincing himself that he’s not like the rest of them. He’s normal. He’s normal! Let’s all hold hands. Don’t be fooled by his sad face. Young Gordon can be arrogant and think he knows everything for being a youngin.

Henry Stanier

Age: 27 as of 1984

Joined after Edward, so he’s quite close to him. Gordon’s “senior” by 6 months. He’s always, ALWAYS scared endlessly about anything “out of the ordinary” and beats himself up over it, much to his own disgust. Henry had a deep rooted hatred and jealousy towards his peers for pitying him after a coworker revealed to other railwaymen that he’s narcoleptic without his permission. He’s been masking his disabilities despite it being detrimental for his well-being, but as long as people treated him “normally”, Henry would endure (dreadfully). He did this especially with Gordon, the newest addition to the Northwestern Railway at the time, because he didn’t want anyone else to treat him differently when they find out about his health issues. As an extention, Henry developed a vitriol towards Gordon too – he’s particularly jealous about how he’s so “ungrateful” of everything’s given to him like his fair looks, clothes, and position as the to-be face of the Wild Nor’Wester. They did become friends though despite the process not being easy. It’s okay. They became besties that were mean to old nosy folks. Initially wanted to pursue arts, but due to circumstances from his past related to his health and paranoia fueled by his past failures and “jinxes”, he came to Sodor as a half-hearted last resort to get a job. He wasn’t hopeful of having anyone respect him for who he is, but things do get better, much to his surprise.

James A. Hughes

Age: 25 as of 1989

Joined the NWR 5 years after Edward did. At that point, Gordon already discarded his GNR Green look and went for the blue attire (minus the big coat). Flaunts his beauty almost at any given time, especially when someone mildly complimented him. He’s more of a nerd (word used loosely because he acts like a know-it-all when he actually has no idea what he’s doing) compared to his canon, 1999 counterpart. James came to Sodor for a fresh start and believed he deserves more than what he’s given. He thinks he’s so tough and hard as nails – in fact it became his source of hubris because he gets into accidents and was scolded by his seniors for being so vain and stubborn. He doesn’t want to get dirty, he doesn’t want to shovel coal, he doesn’t want to get wet from the washdown suds – he only wants the good out of the work and doesn’t want to accept the “bad” sides as well, so James was branded as the “problem kid” of the NWR by older folks. James, who can’t handle harsh criticism and labels well, grow even more distant with them. He primarily hangs out with the RWS trio because they seem to understand his situation and the feeling of being “outcasted” (despite Gordon’s annoyance at his boastfulness). 

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

What could King Charles do to put a stop to this once and for all? Other than giving into their demands?

Take them off the website.

Issue a new LP restricting use of HRH Prince/Princess titles to the direct and immediate line of succession. (This would remove the titles and styles from Archie and Lili.)

Stop listing Harry as a Counsellor of State in the LPs when he travels.

Remove their titles.

Release the dirt.

Authorize the US to release Harry's immigration/visa paperwork with the bare minimum PII redacted.

Issue a public, global statement reminding the world that Harry and Meghan do not represent the UK or the British monarchy and that they work and travel on a personal basis.

Enforce the terms of the Sandringham Summit - no using their titles for anything commercial or for personal profit/gain.

Enforce RAVEC's terms of traveling to the UK - thirty days' advanced notice.

[lesbiansandgayssupporttheminers]

I want to write a little bit about structural racism in the UK against Travellers, and the Labour Party's complicity with this because I think it might help explain why that letter from Diane Abbott disturbed me so much.

Romani and Irish Travellers in the UK experience discrimination all the time. They'll be barred from shops and pubs, they experience discrimination from the police, they experience racial abuse. If they are living a nomadic lifestyle, they struggle to access schools and hospitals. Educational outcomes for Romani students are the worst in England by a large margin, followed by Irish Travellers. They're also over represented in the prison population compared to the proportion of the general population they make up.

Irish Travellers are generally "white/white passing" although they are a distinct ethnic group from the settled Irish. However, not all Romani people are "white passing" and some see themselves as PoC. Both groups have fought for a long time to be recognised officially as ethnic minorities and to gain legal protections.

In 2022, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts act was passed. This is the "bill" that was the focus of the "kill the bill" protests, and lots was written about the restrictions it placed on protestors. However, part 4 of the bill related to unauthorised encampments. Although the law does not specifically name any ethnic groups, it effectively criminalises the traditional nomadic traveller lifestyle.

It creates an offence of residing in a vehicle (this would include a caravan) on land without permission. It allows the police to seize the vehicle, even prior to the offence being committed. It allows the police to impose fines and prison sentences.

Although the bill itself does not name any particular ethnic group, much of the advice and communication around the bill does. This is because it's clearly designed to target certain groups who live a traditional nomadic lifestyle. It's designed to make them homeless, and force them into housing- essentially forced assimilation. The British have been trying to do this to Romani and Irish Travellers for centuries.

This law was passed by the Tories, but one thing people don't know is that Starmer whipped the Labour party against most sections of the bill. He allowed a free vote on Section 4- the section that specifically related to "unauthorised encampments".

Around the same time, in 2021, his party produced local election leaflets which mentioned "traveller incursions"- eventually they admitted the leaflets were racist and destroyed them. It's not the first time, and won't be the last, that Labour use racism against these groups to win points with the electorate.

In this context, Abbott is part of a system which is systematically discriminating against Romani and Irish Travellers- yes, Labour aren't the party in power, but they are a part of the system enabling this to happen.

So, I read her letter in that context. I read her minimisation of the struggles of the most marginalised ethnic groups in our society in that context (I don't want to make this "who has things worst" but it's nonetheless true). At best, she's throwing them under the bus to make a point she thinks will be popular with her supporters. At worst, she's actively affirming her own party's racist policies.

"It doesn't matter if we criminalise their way of life, because it's not "real" racism".

She is someone seen to be on the left, seen to be anti-racist, and she's effectively saying this prejudice is acceptable.

[rq-producerperson]

feel free to ignore this if it’s too prying/personal, but how did you end up as an expat? i’m usamerican as well, and the idea of moving out of the country is so cool to me! i’d love to know what prompted the decision and what the process was like for you :)

Heya!

Not too prying, happy to answer.

I’ve always wanted to live abroad and have been traveling to different countries since I was 17. I did an international economics program for my bachelor’s, before shifting my degree to more of a culture focus (Chinese Language and Ethnic Minorities)

I’ve worked on cruise ships, was shortlisted for Peace Corps and a Fulbright Study, both of which fell through for ✨reasons✨

UK was the first place I went out of the country and I fell in love, it’s always been the most “home” to me. Working through RQ, I’ve come to develop their production arm into a full department. Living in the US was increasingly becoming difficult with timezones and restricting the in-person events I could attend and help organize effectively.

It took about 18 months of work from HR and a third party to figure out how to do it and to make sure the company qualified to sponsor me.The UK works on a points program, so I qualify for a Specialized Worker Visa through my academic background and role level in the company.

Best advice I can give to those that want to live abroad:

- Get creative with how you travel. I am a first generation college graduate who grew up below the poverty line. I’ve still been able to travel through scholarships, odd jobs, etc. I recommend you visit a bunch of places to make sure life abroad makes sense for you, it’s not for everyone.

- Know your skills and who needs them. You can check for Skilled Worker Visas in various countries. There’s lots of places that will sponsor you if they have a job shortage in that category.

- Patience. I spent the better part of a decade floating about in weird places before I found a method that worked for me.

Good luck! And happy adventuring!

[charliemwrites]

i loove this ghost x reader keeper au like it's actually a dream. just doing absolutely fuck all all day everyday or spending the day painting, playing video games, watching tv or whatever i wanna do. and never have to work again!!! and basically have my own personal butler. amazing.

though i guess being restricted to this one (1) place for the rest of my life would probably drive me mad regardless of how good I've got it. so, i was wondering if simon (or/and if any of the 141 keepers w their pets) would eventually let her leave the house (with him with her at all times, of course)? like imagine being able to travel all around the uk/wherever they live whenever you want. literally my dream life.

Hey there, bean!!! You raise a really good point that I’ve been pondering over for a while now. For all of them, it would start out very small, like going to the other keeper’s houses, or long drives through the country and into the nearest towns. Then they’d be allowed for “pet days” on base.

They’d work their way up to running errands together if their creature wanted to. (Clothes shopping is a special favorite of Johnny and Shy Thing.)

Big trips would have to be after a year or two of consistently good and loyal behavior. And it would be to a country where the creature doesn’t speak the language so that they feel less inclined to do something silly and dangerous. But yes, world travel would be allowed… eventually.

[probablyasocialecologist]

The need to reduce the advertising of harmful products had already been acknowledged officially, if briefly, by some within the UK government.  The Behavioural Insights Team became known as the ‘nudge’ unit in honour of the popular economic notion that much could be done to achieve change with small actions that the public would barely notice, and then within a government department.  It published a report - Net Zero: principles for successful behaviour change initiatives - that concluded, “We do not have time to nudge our way to net zero…”.  Extraordinarily, the nudge unit was questioning its very purpose and existence, saying nudging was not enough to win a safe climate.  It went on to say: “Looking at past government-led initiatives, significant societal behaviour changes related to, for instance, reductions in harm from smoking, increasing worker or motor vehicle safety or uptake of vaccinations have all involved taxes, bans, mandates and other regulatory measures beyond soft persuasion.” The report was published as part of a bundle of policy documents surrounding the launch of the government’s landmark Net Zero Strategy, the grand plan setting out how it expected to achieve the new, more challenging climate change targets which it had just signed into law.  But it seemed that some members of the conservative government were reading the ‘behaviour change’ part of the plan for the first time, and were horrified.  Within hours the report was ‘unpublished’ and an official statement was issued disavowing its contents. The nudge unit itself was removed from Whitehall and put at a more safe distance from decision makers under the aegis of a research body. Its message, however, has since grown clearer and stronger.  In 2023 in a new report on ‘How to Build a Net Zero Society’ from the relocated Behavioural Insights Team recommended the regulation of advertising and greenwash. This new report said the UK should, “in addition to cracking down on all forms of greenwashing, follow other countries’ lead by restricting advertising of high-emitting sectors: explore the benefits of banning fossil fuels ads and, in time, advertising from firms within key sectors (e.g. air travel) who fail to meet decarbonisation targets compatible with UK carbon budgets.” They are not the only ones. By then, in response to the kind of call being made by the Badvertising campaign, the UK House of Lords Environment Committee had already concluded, in a 2022 report into behaviour change, that the “Government should introduce measures to regulate advertising of high-carbon and environmentally damaging products.” 

[questersrest]

i've been receiving a few replies on the topic so i'll make a post about it again. i've jumped back into dq10! yes, the japan-only mmo! yes, you can play it too!

there's a free trial with the base game and the first expansion (version 1 and 2) albeit with some restrictions like a level limit, not being able to use the nearby chat (there are a few quests this makes uncompletable but it's not a big deal), and not being able to use the traveller's bazaar to buy and sell with other players.

i'm not affiliated with anyone who makes any tools or guides and don't know them. it's a little outdated but there's a bunch of information over at https://dqxabbey.com/ that's take you through making a japanese square enix account, activating the free trial, and installing the game. then using a translated version of the launcher and config program and installing dqx clarity which replaces story text and certain terms like monster names with fan translated versions, and runs the rest of the text through a machine translation and injects it into the game. if you really like it, they also have guides for buying the game, buying a subscription, and buying from the dq10 shop. i own the game myself now and can help answer questions about that.

bear in mind: the game kicks you out if you try to connect from outside japan. several years ago they started allowing connections from the us (maybe all of north america? idk) since western fans were finding ways to play anyway. however, i live in the uk so i still get kicked so i have to use a vpn. dqx abbey mentions proton vpn which has a free version so i use that sometimes. proton vpn used to let you at least choose from the free servers. it now auto-assigns one, you can still click 'change server' a few times until you get one in japan or the us but it will time you out if you do it too many times. you may have to sort out another vpn for yourself.

now go! i'll see you in astoltia!

ps if you really don't think you'll ever play it, or don't care so much for spoilers and want to know what the hell the game's about. i recommend watching the videos on it by battle geek plus

[valiantstarlights]

Chef Hob's family and the food truck's origin story

Hob is half-English and half-Indian. His father, Mr. Gadling, is from London. His mother, Mrs. Dandekar-Gadling, is from Mumbai. Hob was born in the UK.

Unfortunately, Hob was orphaned at an early age. And since his father had no remaining living relatives, (his paternal grandparents died a long time ago and his father was an only child), Hob was taken in by his maternal uncle's family in Mumbai.

His uncle, Sanyam Dandekar, is the current head of the family-owned and operated restaurant in Mumbai. It's small but thriving, and is well-regarded in the community. As the restaurant is on the ground floor of the building where the Dandekar family live, it's hard to escape the tantalizing smell of food wafting constantly from below.

It's from Sanyam that Hob learns to love food, to cook well, and to love making people happy through his cooking.

His aunt, Priya, always encourages him to go after his dreams. She was there for him every step of the way when he applied for a scholarship to go to a fancy culinary school in the UK. When he was accepted, she was the first person he told the news to, and she was so proud of him that she immediately called up her friends to share the good news with them. (Hob had had to endure maybe half a dozen aunties trying to introduce him to their daughters and nieces.)

His female cousins, Kala and Daya, love Hob very much and treat him as their older brother.

Kala has always been very intelligent even as a child, and she got bullied for it at school. Hob was quick to put an end to that and told her to reach even higher so she can leave everyone in the ground while she sails among the stars. Kala shyly told him she would build a spaceship for their entire family so she wouldn't have to sail the stars alone.

Daya was the more easy-going sister. She tried her best to teach Hob to dance, and never made fun of him even when he eventually accepted that he had two left feet. When she was rejected by a boy who told her she was so ugly that she'll never find anyone who'll love her, Hob got in trouble for beating the shit out of him, but he has no regrets about it. (Kala did not get in trouble for setting the boy's schoolbag on fire because she didn't get caught.)

Hob was so afraid when he found out that he was bisexual, but his family accepted him and treated him the same as they always did. His aunt Priya even promised not to matchmake him with anyone even though he's such a catch. They'll all just wait and see who he brings home. No judgment or pressure whatsoever.

He misses them fiercely when he gets to the UK. Especially when Kala gets married and he couldn't travel back because he had back-to-back exams, both theoretical and practical.

Still, he pushes himself to study hard, graduates with distinction, and eventually becomes a professional chef at a fancy hotel.

Hob's family are very proud of him and always call him to tell him so. Daya begs him to return and cook for them. Hob says he's still saving up enough vacation days. Rajan, Kala's husband and the current CEO of a major pharmaceutical company, offers to pay for his transportation. He graciously accepts because he's not an idiot.

After a couple of years, he finally accumulated enough vacation days to travel back to India for a long visit. The first thing he did is to cook a feast for his family (which now includes Rajan). He cooks traditional Indian food as well as food from other countries that he thinks they'll like.

(He adjusts the recipes to fit into their religion-based dietary restrictions, and adjusts some more when some ingredients are not readily available. He's a professional chef, after all.)

Daya is all about the taiyaki. Kala is in love with the vegetable lumpia. Rajan has strategically rearranged the dishes on the table so the plate of jollof rice is always close to him. Priya asks him to give his uncle his recipe for the vegetable moussaka. Sanyam is in tears because of how proud he is of Hob and how delicious everything is. He tells Hob that when he dies (far, far into the future), Hob is welcome to take over the restaurant.

Hob spends most of his time in India in the restaurant's kitchen with his uncle, and they experiment and add new things to the menu. Hob gets to talk to customers he's known ever since he was a child. They are all very proud of him and sing praises for the restaurant's new menu items.

Hob leaves India a month later with a much lighter heart.

When he returns to being a chef in the fancy hotel though, he finds that he is increasingly frustrated and unsatisfied. He feels like he should be happy and grateful. Instead he feels burned out.

He calls Kala, who is the closest to him age-wise, for advice. She simply asks him, "What do you want?"

He sighs and says, "I thought I wanted to be a chef. But now that I am one, I feel lost."

Silence. Then Kala says, "May I say something potentially controversial and not have you hang up on me?"

Hob chuckles and tells her to go ahead and say what she needs to say. In fact, maybe he needs to hear the potentially controversial thing to snap him out of this wretched state.

"I don't think you really want to be a chef."

Wow. "So far, so bad. Go on."

"No, listen: you have always loved cooking for us. You and dad. It's how you show your love. But where you're working currently, it's like you're a machine. Day in and day out, you're just completing orders. How many times since you started working there did you go out of the kitchen to talk to the guests? How often do you get to experiment with new culinary creations without anyone trying to stifle your creativity?"

Kala's tone implied that she knew the answer. "You might say that it will get worse before it gets better, but will it really? If I ask you now what your happiest memory is of your workplace, what will you tell me?"

"I--" Hob clears his throat and blinks away the tears that had snuck up on him. "When the hotel called me to tell me they had accepted my application. I immediately called home and all of you were so proud of me. I even heard Uncle announcing it to the entire restaurant in the background."

"Oh, Hob..." And now Kala sounded like she was gonna cry too. "I wish I were there so I can give you a hug."

"Virtual hug accepted. Is that the end of your controversial pep talk or is there more?"

"I think that's enough controversial things for now," Kala says. "Rajan and I are going to London in a couple of weeks for pleasure. We should meet up so you can show us all the good spots to eat at and then we can talk more."

They said their goodbyes soon after. Hob spends a lot of time that night just looking at the ceiling, not wanting to go to work but inevitably has to when his alarm goes off.

Kala was right. Being a chef granted him all sorts of qualifications and symbolized that he is a master in the field, but he isn't in it for the title. His uncle isn't a professional chef, yet Hob wouldn't claim to surpass his skills. And between the two of them, he knows who the happier one is.

Rajan and Kala arrived with a couple of bodyguards named Vikram and Wolfgang. Hob remembers them from his visit to India. Vikram is as stoic as bodyguards come, but Wolfgang has a different, more dangerous kind of intensity.

Hob shows them all the good dining spots he has discovered over the years, and all five of them eat well.

It was during their outing that Hob notices the food vendors on the street. They look...happy. They work just as hard as the other chefs in the hotel, with the main difference being that the customers are right in front of them, and they get to see their reactions.

It was very heartwarming to see tourists trying the local street food and seeing their faces light up after their first bite.

At the end of the day, Hob tells Kala of his food truck idea. It's almost embarrassing how excited he sounds, but Kala is excited too. She grabs Rajan and tells him about it. Rajan grabs Wolfgang and asks him about it. Hob almost expects Wolfgang to grab Vikram too, but Vikram just looks on, looking amused.

In the end, Wolfgang shrugs and says it's doable, and just like that, they're drawing plans and trying to come up with names.

("What about 'Gadling's'?"

Kala hummed. "I guess...I mean, that is your name. No one can argue that."

"I feel like you just insulted me, my father, and my paternal ancestors."

"Hob, our family restaurant's name is Dandekar. We are all basic here.")

("Glad Tidings?"

Wolfgang huffed a laugh. "No, Rajan."

"I think it's a good name."

"I think you need to go to sleep. How many hours has it been since you slept? Forty-eight?"

"Are you the sleep police now, my wolf?"

"Kala, I'm taking Rajan to bed."

"Alright," Kala says distractedly. She is currently looking at the kitchen plans, specifically the stove set-up. "Have fun. Don't hog all the blankets."

Hob's eyebrows have migrated to the ceiling. He doesn't think they quite know what they let slip, but he isn't going to pry until they're ready to talk to him about it. He looks at Vikram to see his reaction, but the man just looks like this is a thing that happens often and isn't bothered in the slightest.)

They videocall six people all over the world--mutual friends, Kala says--and all of them put their heads rogether to make Hob's food truck idea into a reality.

Hob is overwhelmed by their support. Rajan has promised to fund everything if Hob lets him eat for free when he's in town. Sun from Korea seconds him and agrees to lend monetary support as well, and to help him expand to Korea if the venture is successful. Capheus, the matatu driver from Nairobi, is flying to London to help customize the food truck. If possible, he sounds even more excited than Hob himself. Nomi from San Francisco and Will from Chicago volunteers to get the papers and forms sorted. Actual famous actor Lito Rodriguez from Mexico promises to promote his foodtruck when he goes to London to shoot a movie.

"When and where did you meet and befriend all these people?" Hob asks Kala. They all sounded like old friends and had inside jokes that Hob didn't understand. (What in the world is a tequila-squared?) Kala just smiles at him and says, "The internet exists for a reason, you know."

"Let me guess," Hob said in a low voice so the others won't hear. "An online dating site?"

Kala shrieks with laughter and hits him with a throw pillow.

Soon, the food truck is ready and Hob is in awe of everyone who pitched in and helped. He literally could not have achieved this so quickly without any of them.

Kala hugs him tight. "You deserve to be happy, Hob."

Hob hugs her back. Every person they videocalled (and Wolfgang's brother Felix) is coming to visit with their plus ones and twos to try out Hob's menu to taste-test before opening, and will stay until the grand opening a week later to help in promoting the foodtruck. They even have Riley from Iceland going to DJ for them.

"Should we invite aunt and uncle and Daya?"

"Do you really think we could stop them if they want to be here?" Kala asks him incredulously. "Have you met our sister?"

Hob has handed in his resignation notice as soon as the food truck's kitchen had been operational. That had been two weeks ago. He feels like a huge burden has been lifted from his shoulders the moment the e-mail was sent.

It can only get better from here.

--

P.S. I'm basic as hell at naming, so if you have ideas on what Hob's food truck should be called, speak now or forever hold your peace.