Lauren Pope

Supposed to be in the New Forest relaxing in a lovely hotel/looking at trees/hunting for mushrooms. Instead I am trapped in an M&S car park. Traffic is so bad that we've been here for 90 minutes and nothing has moved.

Still trapped. Have gone through all the stages of grief repeatedly.

Today's weird social interaction that I will obsess over for a long time: someone I have known for 8 months asked me if my name was Laurence.

Nature has been generous this week. Just finished eating blackberries and ice cream covered in fig leaf syrup. I also made mugwort face oil, and I'm attempting to make blackberry, linden and basil mead as well. (Fermentation scares me.)

Odyssey review: I would like a whole Samantha Morton Circe film, please (not directed by Christopher Nolan)

Other than that it was spectacular (as in: a lot of spectacles), some good performances, and it's the first film by the director I've enjoyed in a long time.

I'm doing a herbalism course at the moment. There's one man in the sea of women doing the course, and every time we meet he: 1. Finishes the teacher's sentences 2. Talks over the teacher 3. Contradicts the teacher It is absolutely insufferable.

He was talking about wanting to start growing a plant today, one that I have been growing for a couple of years. I told him where I got it from and that I'd been harvesting the leaves recently. He then said 'You know you can harvest the leaves.' 💀💀💀💀💀

Can you help me by completing a survey for a study on AI and charity content? It covers AI tool use, organisational support, and how you feel about AI. It's open to anyone who produces content as part of their role. You don't have to work for a charity. It takes 5–15 minutes tally.so/r/pbZqQP

Some background: Everyone's talking about AI, but I've found that there's surprisingly little solid data on what's actually happening in charity content teams — what's working, what isn't, and how far adoption has really gone beneath the hype and the headlines.

Reason number 104 I love being self-employed: I am/my business is sponsoring Trans Pride Brighton again this year. I'd do it anyway but, sadly, it feels more important than ever to show support and add my voice to the protest.

Trans rights are under attack and discrimination is rife. Back in 2015, the UK ranked first for LGBTQIA+ equality out of 49 European countries. The UK now ranks 22nd, thanks to the UK Supreme Court ruling on trans equality. (Source: Equality Network)

Good morning to everyone except the fox who pissed on my milk delivery.

At a tech conference. Remembering why I don't go to tech conferences.

If they're coming and asking you 'How do I do vlookup in excel?' maybe it's fair enough. But otherwise, telling someone you lead 'have you asked ai?' when they come to you with a question just seems dismissive. How does that help your relationship with your team?

At a tech conference. Remembering why I don't go to tech conferences.

I need to work on my poker face (and my terrible attitude, tbh) if I'm going to make it through the rest of the day.

At a tech conference. Remembering why I don't go to tech conferences.

Got excited because someone mentioned accessibility, but they're just talking about accessibility for AI ☠️

Passionflower is a revelation. I've been wired and stressed all day, but after one cup of a fairly weak infusion, I feel like this sleepy dog in a hammock.