#cumbria life

[guy60660]

Ian Lawson | Cumbria Life

[barbucomedie]

Infantry Officer's Small Sword from Germany dated to 1796 on display at the Cumbria Museum of Military Life in Carlise, England

Until 1786 there was little regulation on what swords officers in the British army carried. After that they introduced regular patterns for regiments and officers to use. Small swords like this were more a symbol of authority and rank on the battlefield and on parade unlike cavalry swords which were more in use in combat.

Photographs taken by myself 2023

[university-dayz]

Photos me and my field group took when we where carrying out an investigation into how air pollution effects the growth, type and coverage of lichen on trees in different areas

We carried out this experiment in two locations with various levels of air pollutants

(Please keep in mind I was in my foundation year, had no clue what I was doing and I’ve lost my notes so am doing this PURELY from memory.)

Hypothesis

We expected to see more moss in the park by the river compared to the park in the housing estate due to the latter being closer to the roads and shops

A park in the city centre

Position of the tree

Middle of the park

Close to and facing a river

Notable environmental observations

Smell of wild garlic in the air

Visible litter in river (an indication that this is an frequently visited area)

What is in the vicinity of the tree

Other trees

A foot path

Findings

Small patches of bushy green moss across the surface of the tree we chose to observe. This indicates that sulphur dioxide levels are low

Small park in the centre of a housing estate

Position of the tree

At the edge of the “park” Facing east towards houses and the road

Notable environmental observations

Excessive level of traffic

Up the road there’s a Car garage

Increased levels of foot traffic both within and outside of the “park” . Due to the park being surrounded by houses

What is the vicinity of the tree

Other trees

Benches

Roads

Houses

A car garage

Findings

There was no evidence of lichen on the two trees that we had chosen to observe. But that can not be said for all of the trees in the area. This indicates that there’s high levels of sulphur dioxide

Final conclusions

We seem to have been correct in our assumption that there would be more air pollution in a more industrialised/ populated areas

Improvements for next time

Don’t Loose notes so it’s easier to write about

Make a note about how much of the tree the lichen covers

Make more detailed notes about the type of lichen that I on the tree

[ghostofbambifanfiction]

CYOA

You know what screw it, I wanted to finish chapter 59 today but I feel horrible and it's just not going to happen so for now you can have this completed scene under the cut with my great affection love love peace peace feel free to react as it'll make me happy etc. etc.

Private WhatsApp Chat Resumed: Friday 18th March, 2022, 07:57 Members: Lily Evans, James Potter

================================

James Potter: i think it's pretty amazing that you and beatrice know the exact date that you first met when you were two

Lily Evans: Lollllll Hello to you too

James Potter: although idk how sirius would react if we knew and i suggested celebrating that hello, also beautiful hello beautiful is what i meant to say

Lily Evans: Suave of you.

James Potter: i'm only just having my first coffee of the day, alright? give me five minutes and i'll be on my game

Lily Evans: I suppose I can allow you five minutes. We didn't always know, but my mum's been journaling every day for most of her life, so a few years back we did a little detective work and it turns out she'd written about my first day at Little Tots. We've done something for our anniversary every year since, but she's blown my gift out of the water this time around.

James Potter: why, what was your gift?

Lily Evans: I bought her a ladyship. She's Lady Beatrice Booth now. Officially. Incredibly it only costs £30 and you get a tiny plot of land in Cumbria with it. I gave the pack to her housemate to leave out today so she'll get a huge kick out of it when she gets home later.

James Potter: how ironic is it that you got her a ladyship and i was looking into getting her canonised earlier

Lily Evans: Lol why?

James Potter: because i really really really liked that video, evans

Lily Evans: I see. I see. I see. Not embarrassed about you having seen that AT ALL. Although I suppose I don't have a right to be embarrassed when I've seen all of your childhood photos, do I? It was probably about time that you saw some of mine.

James Potter: what would you have to be embarrassed about? you were an adorable child i loved watching you grow up on an instagram reel with, inexplicably, flo rida's musical accompaniment

Lily Evans: Lollllllllll I know that probably seems like a weird choice, but it was our go-to dance song when we were eighteen. And on that note, I was a very awkward teenager, as you've now seen.

James Potter: almost everyone on earth was an awkward teenager and the ones who weren't awkward peaked in their teens, so think of how they've suffered since then although i guess sirius is the exception anyway you say you were awkward, but fifteen year old me would have been DESPERATE for fifteen year old you's attention

Lily Evans: Oh, you say that now.

James Potter: no i would have been and i wouldn't have gotten it because as we've previously established i was a prick when i was fifteen so if i'd gone to school with you i still would have been a prick, but a prick who wanted your attention and did all manner of stupid things to get it i would have driven you mad

Lily Evans: Twenty-seven year old you wants my attention and I've not been driven mad over it once, to be fair.

James Potter: twenty-seven year old me has much improved with age and is more deserving of it you however have been a delight your whole life which i now have visual proof of hence i'll be calling your best mate saint lady beatrice from now on

Lily Evans: I wasn't a delight my whole life, I promise you. As a child I was a precocious little shit who thought she knew everything and couldn't be told otherwise. That's why I got into so many scrapes, doing stupid, dangerous things because I couldn't just listen to my mother when she told me "no, Lily, that's dangerous." I was like a working class Peppa Pig, honestly, no wonder my sister couldn't hack being around me half the time. So you're not the only one who has much improved with age. And fifteen year old me would have had a massive crush on fifteen year old you, BELIEVE me.

James Potter: oh really?

Lily Evans: Would I have let you know about it? Absolutely not. But it still would have been there.

James Potter: you mean like the crush you've had on me this whole time?

Lily Evans: I already have to get you back for some nonsense you pulled yesterday, Potter, so I'd advise you not to pile on and add this to the list.

James Potter: lollllllll

Lily Evans: I'm serious!

James Potter: oh i'm sure you are to which i say go on then do it

Lily Evans: I will do it.

James Potter: you go right ahead i can handle it

Lily Evans: You're being very cocky right now and while I can't pretend I don't like it, it'll also prove to be your downfall later.

James Potter: we'll see, we'll see

Lily Evans: We will see.

James Potter: whatever you need to tell yourself, sweetheart

Lily Evans: I think the fifteen year old you has taken over the controls in your head, mate.

James Potter: he probably has, yeah but what can i say he's really chuffed about your crush on me

Lily Evans: You mean the crush you've decided I have that I haven't confirmed?

James Potter: right, yeah, of course, clearly i'm the one in the wrong here still sleeping in my bed, are you?

Lily Evans: I have to go do a work thing now.

James Potter: oh, sure, that old excuse

[stellastra-scribbles]

Finally completed the outfit reference for Jayna Stiles, a half-elven NPC follower from Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura.

Outfit breakdown (or "outfit onions" as I like to call them lol~)

I really like Jayna Stiles and her backstory + goals of becoming a technological healer. I'm also a sucker for 19th-century fashion and I have an unhealthily large collection of reference books and a bunch of files saved from online museum collections (I've got about 22+ gigabytes of refs downloaded from the Library of Congress alone haha I need more hobbies).

More unrestrained detailed design ramblings below the cut~

Back on track, I really just wanted to design Jayna an outfit that suited her character more than her in-game sprites while also being practical for travel/adventuring.

Individual layers. I pulled most of her colors from her default outfit.

Since Arcanum's starting year is 1885, I usually picture the "modern" sense of fashion in big cities like Tarant and Caladon taking cues from real life 1885-1890s western fashions (to give myself some leeway with references). Smaller towns can be a bit more dated, but I try not to go back further than the 1870s in most cases.

However, for a character like Jayna, who hails from Dernholm, I gave her clothing from references dating back to the 1850-1860s. I did this because Jayna says in her recruitment dialogue that "[her] parents weren't wealthy people, and [she doesn't] make much money here in Dernholm," so I took this to mean that she likely wears clothing to last, wearing hand-me-downs, makes her own clothes, and mending it over the years rather than buying new clothes.

Given that Dernholm (+ the Kingdom of Cumbria in general) isn't in the best state when the game starts, they may be behind the times and the latest fashions take longer to reach Dernholm.

Gar: “Alas, poor Dernholm! Once home to the legendary Dragon Knights, it has fallen on hard times since Praetor became king some 60 odd years ago. He despises all technology, and I think he's recently become sour on magick as well.”

Herkemer Oggdoddler: “For two generations Cumbria languished as an economically abused and technologically impaired backwater in the shadow of Tarant. Its once fine capital, Dernholm, has become a ruin.”

Layer 1 - Chemise + Open Drawers. I deliberately drew the drawers as fairly loose so as to not expose her without having to redraw the pose or resort to "Barbie doll anatomy."

Various resources demonstrated the chemise being tucked into the drawers or worn fully untucked/loose, but I drew it as tucked-in for the sake of reference visibility, so perhaps either one works in practice.

Layer 2 - Corset + Socks/Stockings. I picked a more "contemporary" (1880s) design for the corset as I imagine it would be a more custom-fitted garment. Plus, anyone who has ever worn bras will attest that a bra that properly fits is comparable to a good pair of shoes: never cheap out on it because if you take care of it, it will take care of you. Perhaps that same logic can be applied to corsets in ye olden days and historically-inspired fantasy settings.

For Jayna, despite the simplistic design, it might be one of the few luxuries she can afford for herself given the necessity of the garment for bust support.

Layer 3 - Trousers + Shoes. I was inspired by vivandières and Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, who typically wore trousers beneath their skirts. Dr. Walker was a "surgeon, women’s rights advocate, abolitionist, and spy, [and] the first female U.S. Army surgeon during the Civil War." Since Jayna is an aspiring technological healer, I feel like an allusion to Dr. Walker and her practicality was appropriate.

Layer 4 - Petticoat. It's just something to fill out the skirt volume a tad. I considered adding a corset cover in this layer but I did like having the upper outline of the corset somewhat visible in the shirtwaist layer to illustrate her living situation (aka she doesn't have one or just has a poor-quality one). As a modern-age woman, I think this this all already looks like a laundering nightmare to wash by hand.

Layer 5 - Shirtwaist + Outer Skirt. I really like the shape of the 1860s Garibaldi blouse's sleeves (I think these are bishop sleeves? correct me if I'm wrong...) and the stripes allude to some 19th century nurse uniforms. I initially went for a plaid pattern but that was a pain to draw and using a pre-existing plaid brush/pattern just didn't look as good as I wanted it to be.

Layer 6 - Sash + Pistol Holster + Bag. Given Jayna's goals of becoming a tech healer, I took design cues from vivandières, who were 19th-century women attached to military regiments, with a few known vivandières being nurses (like Anna Etheridge).

However, rather than lifting the vivandière look completely, I imagine Jayna would attempt to replicate the silhouette with her own clothes. The bag is a bit of an amalgamation of various 18th-19th century hunting/frontier bags, so I apologize that I don't have a direct reference image.

---------------

Of course, in the end, I did take some liberties with the outfit so it's not completely historically-accurate, but that's okay since Arcanum is a fictional universe.

I guess I should've prefaced that I'm no expert on historical fashion, just a casual enthusiast who thinks "ooh old dress is pretty!"

I just wanted to see how far I could go before I had to make some concessions, such as:

Jayna's hair is short and worn loose while irl Victorian women typically had long hair and wore them up (there were documented exceptions of course). Many portraits for both female player characters and female NPCs across all in-game races show short hair and loose long hair, so let's just assume that 19th-century Arcanum has more relaxed feminine hair standards compared to the real-life 19th century western world. Also, irl 19th-century rural women did sell their hair for money, so maybe there's something to apply to the world of Arcanum with that. Or maybe the short-hair craze just hit Arcanum a few decades early *shrug*.

I initially planned to give her gloves, but many resources show vivandières not really wearing them, preferring to go barehanded.

The clothing colors may be a bit too saturated for the era I took inspiration from, but I wanted to stay somewhat faithful to Jayna's original sprite colors.

I did simplify some garments down for the sake of me having to draw enough layers as it is lol. Sorry if the lace wasn't fancy enough or that she doesn't have headwear. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Sometimes you just wanna finish a project and be done with it.

hoo boy, that was a lot

Thank You For Coming to My TED Talk :)

Now go play Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura~

[scotianostra]

On 13th January 614, St Kentigern/Mungo died , and was buried at his church in Clas-gu which later become Glasgow.

Saint Kentigern has been venerated for many centuries as one of the apostles of Scotland and patron-saint of Glasgow. He is best known in Scotland as Mungo, which means "darling", or "beloved one". Unfortunately, very little genuine information on this 6th-century saint has survived. His later life was composed by a Cistercian monk, Jocelyn of Furness, late in the 12th century, but earlier traditions about the saint are more authentic.

The future saint was born in about 518 or 528 in Culross in Scotland. His mother was the holy princess Theneva, (Enoch) who is also venerated as patron-saint of Glasgow, who's father Loth, King of Gododdin (modern day East Lothian) - was thrown out for being pregnant with Mungo after an illicit encounter with her cousin, King Owain of North Rheged (now part of Galloway). Her furious father had her tied to a chariot and launched off Traprain Law.

Amazingly she and the unborn baby survived and her father, now believing she was a witch, set her adrift in a coracle without oars up the River Forth.

His early life was shaped by St Serf who ran a monastery at Culross and rescued his mother and cared for her and the young boy who he affectionately called Mungo, meaning 'dear'.

Aged 25 Mungo began his missionary work on the banks of the River Clyde and built his church close to where the Clyde and the Molendinar Burn merge - this later became Glasgow Cathedral.

He was exiled during AD565 when anti-Christian King Morken of Strathclyde drove him away - he travelled through Cumbria and settled for some time in Wales before completing a pilgrimage to Rome. By the 570s a new king, Rhydderch Hael of Strathclyde, overthrew King Morken and invited St Mungo back to become Archbishop of Strathclyde. His church on the Moledinar became the focus of a large community that became known as Clas-gu or 'family'.

He died on Sunday 13 January 614. He was buried close by his church, and today his tomb lies in the centre of the Lower Choir of Glasgow Cathedral.

In order to become a Saint, it was necessary to prove that the candidate had performed miracles during their life - St Mungo was supposed to have performed four immortalised in this poem:

Here is the bird that never flew

Here is the tree that never grew

Here is the bell that never rang

Here is the fish that never swam

Today the bird, the tree, the bell and the fish form the four elements of the crest of Glasgow City Council.

St Mungo continues to influence Glasgow life today such as the mural seen on High St Glasgow by Australian born artist, Smug, depicting a modern day St Mungo and referencing the story of The Bird That Never Flew near to St Mungo's final resting place at Glasgow Cathedral.

[feasibilities]

Renewal | Jim x Reader

Warnings: Fluff, Burgeoning Relationship, Pregnancy, Mentions of Sex Synopsis: An unexpected pregnancy between you and Jim could get in the way of things. Author's Note: I have nothing but love for my baldheaded king, Jim.

“I’m pregnant, Jim.” You whispered to yourself, rehearsing the line for the thousandth time. You couldn’t understand why you were so nervous. You two survived hell on earth and now you got the chance to dote on post-epidemic life. You came to this cottage in Cumbria so Jim could recover. Naturally, your ardor got in the way of his recovery. Affectionate glances and gestures became blazes of unbridled passion. You remember an incident where the cottage nearly burned down because you two were occupied with screwing around in the bath. Your relationship with Jim blossomed beautifully and you felt safe for the first time in weeks. Walking to your bedroom, you saw him sleeping soundly. You went to him and planted gentle kisses on his nose to wake him. Stirring awake, he smiled at you. 

“I’m up, I’m up.” He said sleepily. You wiggled your way underneath the blanket and stared at him intently. 

“I have something to tell you, Jim.” You said softly. 

“What is it?” He inquired, furrowing his eyebrows. You stayed silent for a bit which made Jim sit up. You wordlessly took his hand and placed it on your stomach. It took a minute for it to register. His eyes widened as he realized what the news was. 

“Really?” He said excitedly. You nodded in response and giggled when he embraced you. 

“How far along?” He asked.

“No idea but labor’s gonna be a bitch.” You quipped. Jim delicately pulled the strap of your nightgown off your shoulder and kissed it. You put your hand on his chest to remind him of your condition.

“I’ll be gentle. Promise.” He murmured on your skin. 

[foxes-that-run]

Superstar singer tells of her love for 1D heartthrob

Sunday Mirror - 16 Dec 2012 - EXCLUSIVE by JAMES DAVIES (x)

HARRY Styles’ pop star girlfriend has been opening her heart about the couple’s blossoming romance.

US singer Taylor Swift admitted she found 18-year-old One Direction heartthrob Harry “incredibly good-looking” and said he was one of the most amazing things to happen in her life.

Taylor, 23, told a pal: “It’s crazy. He’s fantastic. I love him. He just puts you at ease. He’s the embodiment of youthful energy. It’s really inspiring.

“He’s opening my mind to so many thoughts. Our relationship doesn’t feel like a weight.”

Taylor and Harry have been almost inseparable since they were introduced by mutual friend Justin Bieber at an awards ceremony.

The relationship cooled briefly when Harry was spotted with New Zealandbased model Emma Ostilly, also 18, while he was on tour Down Under.

Pop-country superstar Taylor, worth an estimated £100million, then began dating 18-year-old Conor Kennedy, a relative of the late US president JFK, but she and Harry were reunited backstage at the BBC Radio One Teen Awards here in October.

She was heard openly discussing her relationship with Harry at last weekend’s Capital Radio Jingle Bell Ball at London’s 02 Arena.

She told a friend: “We do normal things, like go out to eat, take pictures and make videos. He’s cute, incredibly good looking, smells good and I’m enjoying the flirtation. Meeting him is just one of the most amazing things that has ever happened to me.” Taylor was whisked into the venue holding hands with Harry, out of sight of fans who were there to see his band One Direction perform.

She admitted she worries about their future, saying: “The future, the past, the present, where’s this all going? It’s like everything. But things are good”.

Harry has been linked with a string of mainly older women, including TV presenter Caroline Flack, 33, married radio DJ Lucy Horobin, 32, and Made In Chelsea star Caggie Dunlop, 22. But last month he flew to Los Angeles so he could woo Taylor as she got ready to perform on The X Factor in the States.

The couple got to know each other better in New York, where One Direction performed at Madison Square Garden in front of 20,000 fans. Taylor joined Harry at the after-party where they went on stage together to sing karaoke.

LOVELY

They flew to the UK last weekend on Taylor’s private jet before heading to the Lake District with Harry’s parents where they shopped for Christmas presents in Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria, and visited the World of Beatrix Potter.

On Tuesday, Harry took Taylor to the Rising Sun near Sheffield for an early Christmas dinner. Pub manager Sarah Walker said: “They were both lovely.”

It was Taylor’s 23rd birthday on Thursday so the 1D star bought her 23 cupcakes, along with a framed picture of them together and a handbag. Then he took her for a meal at the George & Dragon in Great Budworth, Cheshire.

And on Friday night he took her to his local Chinese in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire for a takeaway.

[claraameliapond]

Lynx reintroduction in need of public support: the National Trust is restoring parts of Northumberland that could support a lynx population.

Wild lynx have been extinct in the UK for 1,300 years due to hunting and habitat destruction.

In an effort to rewild and rejuvenate the land, a family of beavers were reintroduced in 2023. Europe has had success with reintroducing both species.

Anyone who lives near should go to these exhibitions and voice their public support! It's such an amazing opportunity ❤

"We've lost so much wildlife, and the jigsaw of life is really quite broken, so bringing back species like beaver and lynx could really help restore nature," Mr Pratt, of Northumberland Wildlife Trust.

"The lynx has been successfully reintroduced in countries like Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy and Slovenia."

"Lynx were once widespread in the UK but disappeared in medieval times because they were hunted for their fur."

It's literally called The Missing Lynx Project !!!! 😻😻😻😻😻😻😻

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Farm life in the frame: Amy Bateman’s Cumbria landscape photography – in pictures

A Great Mell Fell pony. If there is a future for fell ponies in Cumbria then it is as part of the increasing number of grazing schemes operating on hill farms. Ponies graze differently to cattle and sheep, and are one of the few animals that will eat rushes and thistles. Best of all, because they have monogastric stomachs, their dung can transport seeds and spread them, complete with ready-made compost.

[v0id-c0rroded]

A 'Metrovick' in Cumbria, their stamping ground for much of their short life. Looks like a parcels train, strangely formed with a brakevan in the midst of the consist? Steam engines worked traffic like this right up until their demise, so I would assume our photographer was expecting one to emerge from the tunnel. Thankfully, through the assumed disappointment, they fired off a frame anyway.

It's a fantastic study of a fascinating diesel.

Circa mid-60s

[mybeingthere]

Rosemary Vanns was born in Nottinghamshire in 1960 and originally trained and qualified as a registered nurse in Sheffield. A year into further midwifery training in Harlow, Essex in 1983 she gave up her studies to undertake an Arts Foundation Course and then went on to gain a B.A (Hons) degree in Textile and Fashion Design at Winchester School of Art (1984-1987). In both 1988 and 1989 she was awarded places at the Royal College of Art in London to study for an M.A. in Fine Art Printmaking but the birth of her daughter and then her son in those years meant she was unable to attend.

She spent the next 20 years initially as a successful freelance textile designer for the international bedding and furnishings market creating designs for, amongst others, Sanderson, John Lewis, Jeff Banks and Vymura and numerous print and weave companies across the world. For the latter 6 years she returned to work as a surgical staff nurse in Sheffield and then as a district nurse and at her local hospice. Her art making continued spasmodically during this period including a couple of minor awards but it was not until 2009 that she was able to commit herself to life as a full time artist.

Initially printmaking was instinctively her focus (she won the Printmakers' Printmaker Award at Printfest in Cumbria in 2013 and was awarded the Galleries magazine award at the R.E. National Open Print Exhibition in 2018) but painting and mixed media is an equally important part of her work. Mark making and colour continue to predominate in both disciplines and her love of still life and landscape is depicted in either semi abstracted or in more illustrative form.

[barbucomedie]

Officers Uniform for the Kendal and Lonsdale Regiment from the British Empire dated to 1810 on display at the Cumbria Museum of Military Life in Carlisle, England

During the Napoleonic Wars the British Empire started raising local home defence units called Fencibles and Yeomanry. They were to be used in case of a French invasion while the main army was occupied in Europe. While home defence was their main responsibility they were also used in violently surpressing riots and protests in early 19th Cenutry Britain and the Empire.

Photographs taken by myself 2023

[coochiequeens]

Only TRAs could say that wanting people to be fully informed and have some therapy before undergoing surgery that could leave them "infertile, incontinent and in ongoing pain" is hateful and the same as wanting them dead.

"Doctors refused to admit de-transitioners like me exist... will that finally change now?': As NHS launches clinic for patients who regret their sex-change ops, one person who hopes to become a patient speaks out

READ MORE: NHS set to launch its first ever de-transitioning service for patients

By John Ely Deputy Health Editor For Mailonline

Published: 05:30 EDT, 14 August 2024 

Like many people suffering from gender dysphoria, Ritchie Herron hoped having radical trans surgery to have his body better match his apparent female identity would transform his life for the better. 

But instead, he has been left infertile, incontinent and in ongoing pain and claims he was fast-tracked into making 'the biggest mistake of my life'.

Now 37, Ritchie, born male, has been living a nightmare for the past six years after being allegedly 'rushed' into having extensive surgery to become a woman.

He has heartbreakingly described how it now takes him 10 minutes to slowly and painfully empty his bladder. 

His sex drive has been 'killed', his genitals 'shell-shocked' by the damage wrought by an operation that was supposed to help combat his gender dysphoria. 

Pictured: Ritchie Herron says he was fast-tracked by the NHS into life-changing surgery

But now after years of fighting to get help, Ritchie has in recent days had cause for optimism.

Earlier this month the NHS announced it was launching its first service to help transgender patients like Ritchie return to the gender they were born as.

Ritchie said he couldn't be happier with the announcement.   

'I cannot wait for the clinic to open. I would use the service straight away once it's up and running,' he told The Daily Telegraph. 

'What is most significant about this service is it actually acknowledges detransitioners and that hasn't ever happened before in the NHS. It's a huge step forward.'

However, he cautioned that detransitioners would not want to the NHS's new clinic staffed by the same medics that that run gender dysphoria services who, in some cases, patients blame for putting them in this situation in the first place.     

'People who have detransitioned don't want to go back to gender clinics. We need to make sure this service is run by professionals and not influenced by these activist groups through various consultations,' he said. 

Ritchie is one of the faces of what are called detransitioners, those who regret the radical surgeries and treatments they underwent to better match their supposed gender identity, and now want support for the complications they are suffering. 

Pictured: Ritchie dressed in female clothes and went by 'Abby' before his surgery

He previously told The Mail On Sunday how, as a teen, he buried his homosexuality which left him with depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, using repetitive behaviours to mask his unhappiness.

Then, in his 20s, he stumbled across the idea of gender dysphoria in an internet chatroom. Older men on the forum convinced the vulnerable young man he 'must be trans'.

After a series of breakdowns, in 2012 he decided to seek professional help.

He was referred to a psychologist, who did not dissuade him of the notion he had gender dysphoria, and then to the Northern Region Gender Dysphoria Service, run by Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust.

The waiting list for appointments was long so , consumed with the idea, Ritchie paid for an appointment at a private gender clinic in March 2014.

According to Ritchie, he was diagnosed with 'transsexualism' after two 30-minute appointments.

A psychiatrist recommended he take medication to block his testosterone production – the first step towards gender reassignment.

He began living full-time under the name 'Abby', dressing in female clothes. The testosterone-suppressing drugs he was given meant he began developing breasts. 

By March 2015, he was attending appointments at the NHS gender clinic in Newcastle.

'The first question you get asked there is, 'Do you want genital surgery?' ' he says. 'I wasn't sure. But I'd heard you could get therapy if you were on the waiting list for surgery, so I said yes.'

Less than six months later, in July 2015, Ritchie received a referral for vaginoplasty surgery, an irreversible procedure where medics remove the male sex organs and craft an artificial vagina. 

Ritchie says he told the psychiatrist he was unsure and turned it down, but continued to receive therapy.

In 2017, he was given another referral for surgery, to be performed at the Nuffield Health hospital in Brighton but paid for by the NHS. 

Ritchie refused it again – but said he was told that if he did not accept the referral he would be discharged from the service.

Pictured: Ritchie Herron as a young boy

Retired consultant paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass speaking about the publication of the Independent Review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People (The Cass Review)

This sent him into a 'tailspin', he recalls. He believed it meant his therapy would also be withdrawn, which had been a 'lifeline'. 

At 10am on May 23, 2018, Ritchie was wheeled into the operating theatre. 'I didn't even see the surgeon,' he says. 'I was very much in the mindset of 'I'm here now, there's no stopping it even if I wanted to.' '

For 8 days he lay in a blur of painkillers. His first thought as he recovered his lucidity was: 'Oh God, what have I done?'

He's not alone. Data obtained under Freedom of Information laws shows at least 64 former NHS gender dysphoria patients who underwent treatment to become transgender 'detransitioned' between 2010 and 2020. 

While NHS England has committed its intent to run a detransition service when it could open remains unclear. 

It has only firmly committed to 'establish a programme of work to explore the issues around a detransition pathway by October 2024'. 

The NHS announced the move as part of its plans to 'transform' its care for gender-questioning children following the publication of the Cass Review.

This report, leading paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass, found that children were being hurried down treatment pathways that saw them given powerful drugs and drastic medical interventions.

While Dr Cass said there was a lack of data to show how many people detransitioned after undergoing gender reassignment surgery, anecdotally it appears to be 'increasing'.

Now the NHS has said there is no 'defined clinical pathway' for people who want to return to their birth gender, and it will have to create one as there's no guidance on how to treat them at the moment.

[sometimes-men-need-help-too]

Men share harrowing stories of abuse at hands of partners at historic conference in Belfast

Psychological and emotional forms of abuse tend to cause a more negative impact and greater feelings of fear than physical aggression.

That has been the finding of many studies, and it was a key theme at Northern Ireland’s first conference focusing on male victims of domestic abuse.

Dr Elizabeth Bates, a psychology lecturer at the University of Cumbria, told guests that female perpetrators used coercive control and gaslighting more often than outright violence, though it should be noted that many men have also been physically and sexually abused by female and male partners.

While most of the guests at the summit were women — possibly because they make up three-quarters of Northern Ireland’s community and voluntary workforce — male victims were also in attendance.

One man who did not wish to be named described how his former partner, who he was with for a decade, took control of his finances, sleep, food and, essentially, his entire life.

“I didn’t know what to do or where to go. I was on the edge of going over the edge,” he told this newspaper.

“I didn’t know there was this support for men suffering domestic abuse.

“To be honest, I didn’t even know if I was in an abusive situation because a lot of people think it’s [just] about physical abuse.

“Call me naive, but I had accepted a lot of things as being normal, and they weren’t.”

He began working 10 to 12-hour shifts, sometimes seven days a week, because he feared going home.

“My job became my safe place. I was getting to the point where I was just going and sleeping in the car because she would come and wake me up, start arguments and tell me I would be getting no sleep that night,” he said.

“That drained me. It was hard. The person I had loved and wanted to spend the rest of my life with was treating me this way, and I just didn’t understand it.”

When the man eventually sought help in 2018, he found support was not as readily available as he had expected.

He went to his GP but found they were not a lot of help.

After that, he contacted Women’s Aid, which referred him to the Men’s Advisory Project NI (MAP), the agency that organised yesterday’s conference.

Through MAP, he was referred for free counselling sessions that he attended for 11 months.

“It was like a weight off my shoulders, just being able to talk to somebody who listened and wasn’t judgemental,” he said.

Coercive control is when a person behaves in a way which makes you feel dependent, isolated or scared.

‘Gaslighting’ is a term used to describe when someone manipulates another person, using psychological methods to make them question their sanity or powers of reasoning.

Dr Bates said many male victims of domestic abuse she interviewed had experiences with these kinds of techniques, particularly around their relationship with their children.

“She was unable to control me physically so instead controlled me using our son and my access to him,” one man said.

Legal systems and social norms can also be manipulated to this end.

One father said: “She [his former partner] regularly disobeys court orders over contact and her and her partner make regular threats to my safety in front of the children.

“The police do nothing and the court orders are not enforced by social services.”

The PSNI received 118 reports of coercive or controlling behaviour In 2021/22.

It became illegal following the passing of the Domestic Abuse Act (NI), which came into force in February 2022.

That same year, 1,297 men reported to police that they had been victims of harassment.

In many cases, a victim’s personal characteristics, such as their age, sexuality or mental capacity, will be targeted by abusive partners.

One elderly man said: “She [his former partner] convinced me I had Alzheimer’s and tried to force me to sign a legal paper to declare me incompetent.”

‘Outing’ — where a perpetrator threatens to reveal a victim’s sexuality to others, or suggests they will disclose their HIV status —is a common form of abuse in same-sex relationships.

MAP reported that 49% of gay and bisexual men have experienced at least one incident of domestic abuse since the age of 16.

Some 70% of the men the charity supports are heterosexual and have faced abuse from an intimate partner.

You can contact the Domestic and Sexual Abuse helpline (0808 802 1414), the PSNI or the Housing Executive for 24-hour support

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/health/men-share-harrowing-stories-of-abuse-at-hands-of-partners-at-historic-conference-in-belfast/15469094.html

[justforbooks]

In 2015 James Rebanks published the bestselling The Shepherd’s Life, a seasonal account of a year in the life of a small-scale sheep farmer in Cumbria. He wanted, he said, to put “the working-class nobodies – our people – back into the books”. In one of the most unforgettable sections, he recalls the epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease that ravaged the UK in 2001. A “contiguous cull” required all sheep within three kilometres of a known outbreak to be slaughtered. Rebanks watched as the animals he had bred and raised were shot, one after the other. “When the last wagon had gone, I went into the barn … sat down in the shadows, held my head in my hands and sobbed.”

Foot-and-mouth devastated Cumbria, wiping out the livestock and livelihoods of nearly 900 farms. That devastation sits at the heart of The Borrowed Hills, Scott Preston’s blistering debut novel. Preston was a boy when the epidemic hit. Like Rebanks, he grew up in the Lake District, where his father was a dry stone waller. He too was frustrated that nothing he read told the story of the land and the people he grew up with in a way he recognised. The Borrowed Hills is an explosive bid to right that wrong.

Steve Elliman is the son of a tenant farmer in a fictional fold of the fells called Curdale Valley. When his father falls ill he chucks in his job as a lorry driver and goes home to help. The smallholding is “scarce a thumbprint” on the valley and rapidly falling into disrepair. Their flock of just 200 sheep live wild on the open fells 1,000 feet up, “higher than where the flycatchers and doves roosted in cragfolds, and higher than where falcons nested watching their dinner below”. When rumours of foot-and-mouth start to spread, Steve isolates the sheep but he cannot save them. The sickness has taken hold at a neighbouring farm and orders are clear. Every animal must be eliminated.

The massacre that follows is unsparing in its matter-of-fact violence. Steve’s first-person narrative is written in his distinctive Cumbrian voice, a vernacular stripped to its bones that encompasses stark prose and sudden startling flashes of poetry. Rifle muzzles are “placed between [the sheep’s] ears and the bullets lined along their backs so each bang stayed inside their heads”. The sheep panic. The squaddies sent to dispatch them panic in their turn. The result is half Tarantino and half pitch-black northern realism, an absurdist horror that slides under the skin and lodges deep.

Later Steve fetches up on his neighbour William Herne’s farm, where the outbreak is rumoured to have started. The sheep that William tried to hide out in the fells have been seen from a police helicopter and gunned down from the sky. The fires incinerating the dead animals burn day and night for a week. “We had burned through everything, even what we’d no right to, rubbed out the stars and hid the moon, and if the night sky wasn’t already black we’d have had a good go at making it.” When the job is finished Steve leaves the valley and goes back to driving lorries, but something in him has changed. He can’t stay away. When he finally returns, William has a plan to get back on his feet, a plan that will push both men into a spiralling nightmare of violence and bloodshed.

Despite the wild beauty of the landscape, there is something claustrophobic about Preston’s novel: the tyranny of a place that demands relentless back-breaking labour and will never pay back what is given. Steve and William’s increasingly feverish venture is not a quest for new frontiers but a frantic struggle to claw back a life that was already falling apart. “That’s what I like about you farm lads,” a man tells Steve. “Know what it is to raise something to be killed.” But like the slaughter of foot-and-mouth, the violence that enmeshes the two men is not heroic. It is ugly and senseless and it destroys lives. It offers no redemption. The best one can hope for is the restoration of a precarious equilibrium, a return to the harsh hardscrabble of before.

This is a sucker-punch of a novel, a viscerally vivid portrait of desperation, edged with knife-sharp black humour and shot through with moments of startling beauty, but there is little hope in it. Angry as it was, Rebanks’s book was a love letter to Cumbria. The connection to the land goes just as deep here, but, bound to a place that demands so much in return for so little, it is a more dysfunctional relationship.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?