@gavinlenaghan.bsky.social

Artist, writer, vinyl collector, Prince fan. Also on Bluesky and Mastodon App UK.

[eliza ˙⋆✮ @enchantedflms]

bold of u to assume i ever stopped calling it twitter

[H A S S A N @Neo_Manifesto]

What a disappointment
A track list with no theme or era, cover art designed by someone learning how to photoshop and an announcement so dreadful you think it was done by a person who despised Prince

[@gavinlenaghan.bsky.social @gavinlenaghan]

@NightEthereal Would've preferred something at least tied around a coherent theme or era like Piano & a Microphone '83 and Welcome 2 America were, but I suppose they must be specifically aiming at that thrown-together "is this a bootleg?" vibe 😂

[#BMH365 🎶🎤 @BlackMusicHstry]

In an archival segment originally broadcast five years ago on November 30, 2021, NBC's TODAY show covers the historic day Josephine Baker became the first Black American woman honored with induction into France's prestigious Panthéon mausoleum. The broadcast explores her remarkable journey from a breakout global superstar in 1920s Paris to her courageous espionage work for the French Resistance during World War II, where she risked her life smuggling intelligence.

Additionally, this video provides a special spotlight on her beloved home, the Château des Milandes in Southwestern France, now a beautifully preserved museum showcasing her elaborate stage costumes and highest military medals, where she sought refuge and raised her twelve adopted children from around the world, beautifully known as her "Rainbow Tribe."

Finally, the segment highlights her lifelong dedication to civil rights and her enduring friendship with Grace Kelly, who famously stepped in to help Baker and her family when financial hardships later forced the auction of her cherished estate.

[@gavinlenaghan.bsky.social @gavinlenaghan]

@PaisleyPark You guys sure love this kind of "announcing an announcement" stuff.
If it's something that's worth the fuss, just the one massive announcement will do...

[Alex Cole @acnewsitics]

Bands that played for Obama.

U2, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Booker T. & the M.G.'s. Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, Trombone Shorty, Buddy Guy, Beyoncé, U2, Usher, and many more.

Donald Trump: Vanilla Ice, Kid Rock.

[Marl Karx @BareLeft]

If you want a glimpse of how bad it'll be if we introduce privatised healthcare in the UK, trying having a few back-to-back unexpected vets bills and see what that does to your finances.

[@gavinlenaghan.bsky.social @gavinlenaghan]

@gm_stone Were those stairs always there, or am I just one of the least observant people in this city... lol

[Charlie Potatoes Official @TepidButterASMR]

Personally, I think begging to go to Epstein Pedo Island is slightly worse morally speaking.

[delaniac 🌹🌱 @ChadNotChud]

“It’s immoral to be privileged in ways that others aren’t” is a deeply funny statement from the richest man on earth personally responsible for the deaths of millions of children

[Warren Gunnels @GunnelsWarren]

Can't stop thinking about Elon Musk, the wealthiest man alive worth $828 billion, spending $290 million to elect Trump, becoming $563 billion richer since Trump was elected and ending humanitarian aid that will lead to the deaths of 4.5 million of the poorest kids on the planet.

[@gavinlenaghan.bsky.social @gavinlenaghan]

@KeithTheGooner @prince Timmy Boobyrella likes it N the park

[Dave Hibbert, BA(Hons), ACTUS, Cert.Ed. Rejoin EU. @Cpass12David]

The Guardian: “Net migration down by three-quarters, the biggest fall in NHS waiting lists for 17 years, knife crime cut by 10%, the economy growing the fastest in the G7, rising wages, energy bills and petrol prices held down, the biggest sustained rise in defence spending since the cold war, a massive expansion of free childcare …
If Keir Starmer did tub-thumping lists of Labour’s achievements in the style of Gordon Brown, he would not actually have a shortage of things to talk about.”
During the two years of Labour government, following fourteen years of Tory mismanagement, there have actually been significant improvements in Britain. Why does the Tory media not report them?

[Bill Altreuter @altreuter]

@JoyceCarolOates Twitter is kind of like a bus station restroom. You use it because it’s convenient, not because you like the community

[Daniel Bromfield @bromf3]

Imagine making an album as transcendent as Purple Rain and having it be your seventh-best album. No one else like him

[Anne @Anniepop2027]

@MatthewStadlen @MarkJames187611 He runs away leaving party with Corbyn. Promises his Manchester electorate full term. Watches and lets Starmer take battering dealing with Corbyn, waits whilst Starmer reinvents the party and gets it not only electable but elected. Then wants to steal his lunch,

Dishonourable

[Sanam Husain @sanamhusain]

Important research - art & culture are not luxuries, they are essential for a healthy society. Their impact on wellbeing can rival physical exercise, and engagement with art may even slow biological ageing.

But people cannot create or participate in culture while trapped in survival anxiety and systemic violence. Governments must ensure social security, dignity, and public support for cultural life.

Art and culture are political.

[Cherry @Cherryopenmind]

I have read both letters, carefully and several times. As someone who loves this country and who is fighting to build something of my own here, I cannot help but notice the massive difference in character between these two men who, until yesterday, were leading our nation.

I am not writing this as a political analyst, but as a voter and a citizen who values people with character.

Wes's letter is full of 'I'.
I cut the waiting lists, I recruited the staff, I was successful.
Then, in the same breath, he attacks the team he was part of. If the situation was truly that bad, why did he not stay to fix it? Why did he not have the courage to stand for election and say: 'I have a better vision, elect me'?
Instead, he chose to walk away at the very moment we need stability most, feeding the media the drama they love so much. That is not protecting the party. It is protecting his own career.

On the other hand, Starmer’s response reminded me why I trusted him. He did not stoop to insults. He did not defend himself. He simply reminded Wes that those successes in the NHS were a collective effort.

Starmer showed what I admire most in the British, decency. Dignity. He remained the adult in the room, focused on us, the citizens, while Wes remained focused on his next job title.

Politics should be about us, about the people who pay their taxes and hope for a better future, not about who can best 'twist the knife' in a resignation letter.

Wes has shown his true face, and Starmer has shown that the stability of the country matters more than his personal ego.

That is what gives me hope that we will not allow chaos and populists to take the helm.

[Steve Jones @antoniosteve]

So let me get this right.

- UK economy outperformed expectations, growing in March despite Iran.
- Unemployment down from 5.1 to 4.9%.
- Waiting lists coming down
- Progress finally being made on restoring ties with Europe.

@wesstreeting @Ed_Miliband why derail this now.

[@gavinlenaghan.bsky.social @gavinlenaghan]

Is a #Weshuffle when you're Wes organising your cabinet, or reorganising your cabinet as someone who *isn't* Wes, trying to counteract the effects of the #Wesignation?

Answers on a postcard etc