Toby Morse

I'm struggling with the American use of 'protest' without the preposition 'against'. It removes the ability to protest in favour of something, so "I'm protesting better care for hedgehogs" would now mean "I don't want better care for hedgehogs".

You can instantly remind yourself and the world that you're old by casually referring to H&M as 'Hennes'.

If you know, you know

You can tell a person's age by how they communicate. A WhatsApp chat between me (Gen X) and my daughter (Gen Z) - she sends a voice note, I reply with a fluently typed text response. She responds with another voice note. I type back at length. It works for both of us.

The dog found a frozen cat poo on the lawn and ate it. A poopsicle.

I'd like autocorrect to have a tmesis button, so that I can just type 'unbelievable' and it will automatically convert it to 'unbe-fucking-lievable'.

Presumably George Michael thought he was giving his heart to someone special last Christmas as well, yet the very next day it got given away. Which means there's every chance he's making the same mistake this year. #whamageddon

I worry that my imposter syndrome is inferior to other people's

I've got 'Polish shoes' written on my to do list, and I keep thinking I mean this:

Here's an idea: compulsory National Service for young people, but instead of joining the army, they have to spend their spell working in retail or hospitality. A year dealing with the public should make them much more considerate customers when they're on the other side of the card machine.

If you ever doubt your ability, just remember that Dolly Parton wrote I Will Always Love You and Jolene on the same day and tbh you’ll never achieve anything like that so you might as well give up.

For someone with the baking skills of a sea cucumber, I'm quite proud of the treacle tart I made from @jayrayner1.bsky.social 's recipe in Nights Out at Home. It's also yummy.

Are the ages that end in 9 more stressful than those ending in 0? Is the *prospect* of turning 30/40/50/60 more depressing/bleak/panic-inducing than the reality of doing so? #ageing

When you discover your Cairn terrier was a cowboy in a previous life

My 19 year old son is playing the Moonlight Sonata from memory. I can't even play it from the sheet music. I love the fact that my kids are more talented than I am.

Life is a series of side-quests.

Sad to find the great Oliver Burkeman's not on bluesky. @emmafinniganpr.bsky.social could you send him in this direction please?

What happens if you do the #ikigai and the "what I'm good at" circle is empty?

People regularly tell me to "just engage my core" as if it's obvious what that means. It's not. It's like telling someone who has never played the piano to "just play a D minor seventh".

Brits giving glowing reviews: “I didn't mind it” “Not too bad at all” “Did the trick” “Yeah, pretty good” “Better than expected” “Fine overall” “Better than a kick in the teeth” “Decent” “I’ve seen worse” “It was alright” “No real complaints” “I ate most of it” “Yep, okay”

The progression of reading glasses. #gettingolder #aginggracefully #agingstruggles #lifechanges

Thought for the day comes from Anne Lamont, courtesy of Oliver Burkeman's Meditations for Mortals

Oh no. I've just discovered your first post is not supposed to be an introduction, but a picture of your dog. Ah well - she'll have to be the second post. Happy lazy Sunday. #dogsofbluesky #lurcher

6 authors I love Evelyn Waugh David Nicholls Thomas Hardy Rex Stout Jane Austen Vonne van der Meer #booksky

An introduction: I'm a Dutch-English translator. I spent many years reviewing theatre (and comedy). I sometimes go and talk to people about how to write reviews. And as the machines are taking my work, I've just trained as a Bristol-based wedding celebrant. I like books, skinny dogs and puffins.