Nailed it. And the government pays hundreds of thousands if not millions for the privilege of a 10 page report full of buzz words and few concrete steps (and is taken as gospel over an internal report that was free, provided in depth analysis and offered productive solutions...)

Tech bro bingo...

As a public servant, I can confirm that there is nothing worse than tech bros and consultants from the private sphere coming across to “improve” some complex element of bureaucracy or policy - while definitely there is always room for improvement in public service organisations, the simple fact is that you can’t…

I do like classic Laura Ashley - my mum was a huge fan and a lot of her furniture and curtains are the lovely, good quality Laura Ashley that they stopped producing awhile before they went bust...

It feels very Laura Ashley.

That’s the main appeal, zero cross contamination - they sell the pasta and bread on their own as well, along with pastries and cakes, because there are lot of people who want high quality products, but are locked out of the gourmet market because its either not GF or there’s significant risks with cross…

Dukkah and za’atar are brilliant! I have to be careful because like all blends, sometimes there’s elements that are allergens or cause (nuts, coriander etc) but they’re both delicious! 

Sumac or paprika are really good alternatives to salt, for flavour!

A Cafe near my parents place is gluten free (the owners' kids were diagnosed with coeliac) - my mum is friends with them, lovely people, and the food is just entirely "normal bistro options" that happen to be gluten free. It's really great, and particularly awesome that it's been running for about 15 years now.

This! The number of places are they are like... Ok here’s a vegetarian, vegan, gluten free dish to satisfy everyone! yeah it’s the most boring salad ever created guys, thanks...

Yeah look I was confused because my oat milk has no added sugar and isn't sweet at all, but there are versions available that are bloody chocolate flavoured, so I dunno. Just like diary milk and all its different fat percentages, people need to read the labels.

Nothing is ever going to be the same as dairy milk, but oat milk (I use an oat and roasted almond milk blend) tastes pretty good as an alternative and actually works in tea and coffee or on cereal in a way that most others don't (you may as well use water...!).

Saaaaame...

I am actually really troubled by many of those types of comments even when they are made by women. Thirst is one thing - and women have been barred from expressing it for a long, long time - but objectification is not okay, and one of thoughts I was trying to capture in my original comment. Men who pursue this will…

I feel like a big part of the problem is systemic - yes, their behaviour may well have been within legal boundaries and yes they may have technically acted as they are authorised to act, but that’s the problem. Laws have enabled police to behave in violent and rewarded escalation beyond necessary over and over again…

Tip for cooking fish, if you do it in the oven in a baking paper parcel with a bit of liquid (stock, water, sauce), you can overcook it a little and it will still come out incredibly tender and flavoursome - it’s a good technique if you’re worried about undercooking it, but don’t want to ruin it!

...get in touch about doing something about your sister. We’ll all help.

6 months ago, we wouldn’t have either! But both cats are basically so relaxed so long as one of us is holding them that we figured we should give it a go (because fleas...). Thankfully, neither seems overly traumatised from it and we survived with no scratching!

Thank you - whenever this gets raised, there’s often a chorus of voices declaring they are moving to another, more progressive country, with zero consideration of whether they’d be wanted or welcome or what immigration to those countries actually entails.

This is me. I don’t have any friends who identify as socially conservatives and few that are properly conservative in any way  - how on earth could I be friends with someone who doesn’t respect or support me as a queer person, or who doesn’t agree with a single one of my values?!