Remote

Wen

@Wen@mastodon.scot

mastodon 4.7.2

I am a climber, runner (with a Collie), cyclist and swimmer. I was running a small (but perfectly formed) analytics company now employee owned to mark my retirement. Commute between the Highlands and The Borders, campaign for Scottish independence, bake bread and occasionally dabble in bad art.

I winge about a lot - the environment, bad governance and stupidity but do try to provide a wee bit of evidence and highlight good news.

Languages : English, German, Gaelic, Pashtu, Spanish, Italian

2037 Followers

1477 Following

50 Posts

Joined November 10, 2022

Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 5h ago

Farage has accused Burnham of being a lier regarding Russian interference in UK politics. Peter Jukes summarises much of the evidence here. Leaving that aside, foreign ‘interference’ form the likes of Palantir are being embedded in politics and political decision making in the UK. I wonder whether Burnham might be assumed of roofing a smokescreen over that given the way politicians in Westminster are deep in cahoots with foreign governments?

https://bylinetimes.com/2026/10/12/a-clear-answer-russia-intervened-in-the-brexit-vote/?utm_source=bylinetimes.beehive.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=a-clear-answer-on-russia-and-brexit
#UkPol #Westminster

bylinetimes.com

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 1w ago

Boosted by @trending@homestead.social

Stonehenge in the early morning mist Photographer Nick Bull #StandingStoneSunday #Stonehenge #England

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3w ago

Boosted by @trending@homestead.social

A little cheery news for this wet Tuesday morning. Whether it be War and Peace or The Very Hungry Caterpillar, according to a study from the University of Cambridge, regardless of “what or how we read”, sitting down with a book is linked to improved health and problem solving. Benefits include lowering stress and reducing the risk of dementia, and span all types of reading, from comic books to classic novels or hefty non-fiction tomes. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/reading-and-associations-with-brain-health-cognition-wellbeing-and-mental-health/1A3565FA61831A975813113DE1AB2B09 #Reading #Bookstodon #GoodNews

Reading and associations with brain health, cognition, well-being, and mental health | Psychological Medicine | Cambridge Core

Reading and associations with brain health, cognition, well-being, and mental health | Psychological Medicine | Cambridge Core

Reading and associations with brain health, cognition, well-being, and mental health - Volume 56

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 1w ago

Boosted by @trending@homestead.social

Banning journalists from reporting on parties in the UK seeking election seems to be all the rage - Reform, now the Tories. When will Labour catch up? https://bylinetimes.com/2026/09/30/kemi-badenochs-conservatives-ban-byline-times-from-conference-after-condemning-reform-for-journalist-ban/ #Journalism #Tories #Ban #BylineTimes #UK #Media #PressFreedom

Kemi Badenoch's Conservatives Block Byline Times From Conference After Condemning Reform for Journalist Ban

Kemi Badenoch's Conservatives Block Byline Times From Conference After Condemning Reform for Journalist Ban

The ban comes just weeks after the Conservative leader called Reform's barring of critical journalists from their conference an "authoritarian" attack on the free press

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3w ago

Boosted by @trending@homestead.social

Oh the irony I am sure that they will blame ‘Deep State’ sabotage for this, but at least it went down at its mooring rather than relying on rescue from, say the RNLI… The very organisation being threatened by these sub moronic terrorists. Frankly given their competence it is best that they are not allowed out on the water. #Tommo #PatrioticPlatform #UK #Terrorism #Thugs #RNLI #AltTxt

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3w ago

Lunchtime run and animal encounters First #trail #run for a couple of weeks. We are going to do the Pentlands ’Skyline’ (old route) tomorrow. All well if not fast alongside the Teviot and then back on the old railway. #Sheep have been moved onto the old railway, but they know Chai and just watched as we passed. On the way back we passed two Pointers who normally bark. The gate was open, what to do? Sensibly they moved behind the fence and a barking contest was held. #DogsOfMastodon #BorderCollie

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3w ago

Scotland imposes mandatory environmental assessments on new datacentres The next issue will be making sure those assessments are themselves considered in the context of water, power and the general environment. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/sep/16/datacentres-scotland-environmental-assessments-ai-boom #AI #DataCentre #SlopSheds #IT #Scotland Environment #Water #Power #Waste

Planning permission for new Scottish AI datacentres suspended for up to a year

Planning permission for new Scottish AI datacentres suspended for up to a year

Scottish parliament brings in strict environmental impact assessments and will delay decisions until national strategy is developed

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2w ago

The headline writer is trying… I remember hearing a ditty about Henry VIII wives (to help kids remember their fates and the order - bizarre as it was, he was never a Scottish King) ‘divorced, beheaded, died, dibbled beheaded survived’ . I am sure that collectively a similar rhyme can be constructed to ‘remember’ the last 6 PMs or Reform’s crooks. Entries welcome. #Reform #Crooks #Unfortunate #Carelessness #Wilde #UKPol

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2mo ago

Boosted by @trending@homestead.social

So what happens next?

will the lawsuit be dropped?
will ‘national security’ mean that the records suddenly become unavailable?
will everything go quiet on the Trump front while he hopes it all goes away?
will the judge be seized by ICE and deported? After all she doesn't sound like an Amercian from Florida.

#Trump #BBC #Lawsuit #TACO #USA

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2mo ago

Replying to

There is a petition to the UK parliament asking for them to be banned. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/769206 #Meta #GlassHoles

Petition: Introduce an immediate ban on the sale and promotion of smart glasses

Petitions - UK Parliament and UK Government

Petition: Introduce an immediate ban on the sale and promotion of smart glasses

The government should immediately ban the sale and promotion of glasses that contain recording capability. The government should explore using existing laws, such as RIPA, GDPR, DPA to take immediate action, whilst beginning the process of new legislation.

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2mo ago

RIP Mu Hit by a ‘driver’, he has been buried to the sound of pipes and with a small libation. (1/4)

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3w ago

The increasing Americanisation of British politics If you think it is a bad idea then please write to your MP and threaten (and mean it) to vote for a party that will correct this corruption of British politics. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/sep/19/uk-politics-increasingly-funded-by-billionaires-as-mega-donations-surge #UkPol #Corruption #Labour #Reform #Conserevatives #LibDems #ForSale

UK politics increasingly funded by billionaires as mega-donations surge

UK politics increasingly funded by billionaires as mega-donations surge

Exclusive: A total £179m has been donated by wealthy individuals since 2019, research reveals

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3mo ago

The terrible trio on their way for an afternoon swim. A 60s rock band, Matti the Lab as the dark brooding bass player, Princess Nutnut the dizzy diva and Chai the Collie the joker in the pack #DogsOfMastodon #ScottishBorders #AltTxt

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2mo ago

Replying to

It turned out someone saw the incident and took the number, reporting the car as driving erratically. Close on, three cyclist were forced off the road by the same driver and reported it as well. The Polis ‘attended’ an address in Hawick and have charged someone, driving offences, DUI and assault. He might get away with the latter two charges (but probably not, one of the people driven into a ditch is an advocate) certainly not the DUI. Bastard #Obituary #CatsOfMastodon (4/4)

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3mo ago

A well mabicutrd lawn that was a meadow until this yesterday(the surrounding land still is, but I needed some space for a couple of barbecues over the next few weeks with minimal fire damage). Much prep with a scythe. Very hot and I wouldn’t throw the ball for the dug. So he found a stick and he waited and waited and… Until I took him for a swim (with his ball) #BorderCollie #DogsOfMastodon #ScottishBorders

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2mo ago

Silent Sunday Returning from a run over the Lowther #SilentSunday #Lowther Cumbria

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2mo ago

Bringing the Polis into disrepute https://www.thenational.scot/news/26290837.scottish-pro-palestine-activist-arrested-for-reading-poem/ A Scottish pro-Palestine activist is facing charges for “threatening and abusive behaviour” after reading a poem about children killed by Israel. Ironically one written by Michael Rosen. I wonder whether they will be a seeking a warrant for his arrest as well. I really thought we were being a little more sensible in Scotland. #Policing #Scotland #FreeSpeech #TrumpedUpCharges #Palestine

Scottish pro-Palestine activist arrested

Scottish pro-Palestine activist arrested

A SCOTTISH pro-Palestine activist is facing charges for “threatening and abusive behaviour” after reading a poem about children killed by Israel ...

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3mo ago

Car insurance. (I know, dull dull dull, but I am incensed) My small electric car has been insured with Aviva for the last two years. Insurance hike - 35% - no accidents, no tickets, no repairs, lowish mileage. 35% hike on premium. A little shopping around took it back down to 15% below last years insurance. For effectively the same policy. Shop around folks, they assume that auto renewal will enable them to milk us. #Insurance #Aviva #RipOff #ElectricVehicles

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2mo ago

Downing Street Brutality Larry The Cat attempts to disable a police sniffer dog’s essential equipment. The dog probably told him a bad joke about revolving PMs. #CatsOfMastodon #Umbrage #DowningStreet

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3mo ago

Cartoon Farage vs the establishment #cartoon #BenJennings #Farage #Binface #cringe

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3mo ago

Caturday When life is getting you down, retreat into yourigloo #Caturday #Igloo #CatsOfMastodon

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3mo ago

Boosted by @MaryAustinBooks@mstdn.social

Apparently Count Binface is registering more than 7000 donors of £3 to his/her campaign as of 18.30 on Wednesday. Don’t ask me how I know. #Farage #Binface #Clacton #Byelection #UkPol

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3mo ago

I was amused to see Farage referred to as a ‘coin operated frog’ #Farage #Money #Corruption #Analogy #Joke

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2mo ago

Replying to

How 24 hours change things. Yesterday Mu was trying to steal the dugs treats. Today he is buried, some ned has been charged with DUI as well as reckless endangerment and assault. (3/4)

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2mo ago

Using a ‘chatbot’ to advise you on voting clearly indicates you should never have been given a vote in the first place https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/21/election-voting-advice-ai-chatbots-inaccurate-unreliable-hungary #AI #Voting #Politics #IqTest

Election voting advice from AI chatbots ‘inaccurate and unreliable’

Election voting advice from AI chatbots ‘inaccurate and unreliable’

Research during Hungary election shows AI recommended parties not running and gave highly volatile answers to identical prompts

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@spytfyre@mastodon.scot https://ko-fi.com/countbinface should anyone be interested

Support Count Binface

Support Count Binface

Support Count Binface

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2mo ago

Will the English government ever learn or is Blairism deep in their souls? Private Equity and the NHS. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jul/27/nhs-patients-records-us-private-equity-firm-optum-uk-tpg #PrivateEquity #NHS #England #Health #Security #Privacy #Exploitation #ProfitTaking #ShortSighted #NoLessonsLearnt

Alarm at NHS patient records being put under control of US private equity firm

Alarm at NHS patient records being put under control of US private equity firm

Doctors and MPs urge more scrutiny of £300m deal for company behind system used by most GPs in England

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2mo ago

Your don’t even need to speak ill of the dead. A gamble that misfired 🤣 Sergio Furnari, hoped the statue of the deceased far-right activist, which he intends to display in Times Square, would raise “millions” of dollars. Instead, he said he has been inundated by messages from people saying they intend to urinate on the sculpture. See also the golden statue of Trump - the (piss) artiste is apparently still waiting to be paid. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/20/sculptor-charlie-kirk-statue-new-york #HopeForTheUS

New York sculptor spent $100,000 to make a Charlie Kirk statue no one wants to buy

New York sculptor spent $100,000 to make a Charlie Kirk statue no one wants to buy

Sergio Furnari said he thought the lifesize sculpture – which no one commissioned – would raise ‘millions’ of dollars

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3mo ago

I am sick of Palentir being allowed to get away unchallenged with statement such as ‘Palentir have been responsible for the improvement in X’ without any evidence being presented. One might as well say that ‘mobile telephones have been responsible’ - after all they have arguably been more important in enabling changes. Show your bloody working Palentir https://www.theregister.com/public-sector/2026/07/08/nhs-told-to-show-its-working-on-palantir-platform-benefits/5267621 #Palnentir #NHS #AI #Labour #UKPol

theregister.com

Are we human?

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@tmcfarlane@toot.community I quite agree - they can have a purpose. I am not visually disabled but I can imagine the difference audio interpreted vision would be a massive advantage for some (and I am sure some people who are might be able to comment). But as you say that does not require their use as a free for all image capture system to be used covertly and linked to the undressing shite that Meta and X are playing (amongst other things) with should be lawful.

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@Pamela1960@kolektiva.social And the wearers Glassholes

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3w ago

Replying to

@JDGeoShack@social.vivaldi.net Ég get lesið vel og talað það vel að ég þarf ekki á ensku að halda þegar við heimsækjum landið. Skrifleg íslenska hjá mér er hins vegar hræðileg.

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3mo ago

Tha 'REFORM' a' moladh cleachdadh stuth taghaidh Gàidhlig a dhèanamh mì-laghail. Faodaidh iad falbh agus taigh nam gasta ort! iad fhèin còmhla ris a' chòrr de Westminster. (English in alt-txt to spare the squeamish) http://archive.today/2026.07.14-083546/https://www.thenational.scot/news/26277333.reform-uk-plot-criminalise-gaelic-election-materials/ #Ghàidhlig #Election #Reform #Farage #Colonialism #Gaelic

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2mo ago

Mistakes

Coming down from the trees
Language
Mass communications
The internet

Humanity, who would have it? 🤔

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ng-interactive/2026/jul/21/764-network-gamification-of-harm-the-com-cybercrime-ntwnfb

Edit. And then I saw this.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jul/20/dollar-tree-sexual-assault-gooner

#SocialMedia #Harm

Inside the horrifying online network where children coerce others to commit violence and self-harm

Inside the horrifying online network where children coerce others to commit violence and self-harm

The 764 network is just one part of a growing online ecosystem that pushes young members into brutal and degrading acts. It has perpetrators and victims in dozens of countries

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@scattershot@merveilles.town I thought so, but apparently it is by a group calling itself ‘We hate Elon’

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2mo ago

Hmm. We have seen how that works in the past. An incoming Tory (or even Nu Labour) government effectively gift the share (which BTW will be not generating any revenue). Screw Thames Water and the shareholders who have expatriated vast sums and nationalise the bastards. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jul/21/thames-water-investors-golden-share-nationalisation-andy-burnham #ThamesWater #Water #UkPol #Pollution #Cost #Grift #RipOff

Thames Water investors offer ‘golden share’ in bid to head off nationalisation

Thames Water investors offer ‘golden share’ in bid to head off nationalisation

Move would give government veto over big decisions and hostile takeovers, after Burnham’s call for greater public control

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2mo ago

NIce aspirations, will anyone do anything? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/30/europe-burning-trump-war-climate-sanctions-white-house #ClimateChange #Environment #Action #RoadToRuin

Europe is burning – and if Trump’s war on the climate is not met with sanctions, things will only get worse | Alexander Hurst

Europe is burning – and if Trump’s war on the climate is not met with sanctions, things will only get worse | Alexander Hurst

The White House seems committed to ecocide. The EU should harness the power of the single market to force it to change course, says Guardian Europe writer Alexander Hurst

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2mo ago

Do you have your DotScot domain yet? https://bylines.scot/news/economics/business/scotland-and-its-internet-identity/ #DotScot #Domain #UseItOrLoseIt

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3mo ago

I see that Anne Widecombe has died. A selfish unpleasant, bigoted racist. I am sure there will be many carefully constructed obituaries, but I think Shakespeare had it right (even if it is a somewhat partial quote), what good was interred (to follow through the full one? ‘The evil that men do lives after them’ #obituary #shortform #widdecombe #NotMissed

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@PhilipCJames@mas.to @muminitaly@mastodon.scot Very amusing, but just like Johnson, boosting a grifter by the BBC. See also climate change

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2mo ago

Grift normalised. A short piece in the effect that crypto currencies may have on a (relatively) stable system. It has many many faults, but this is not a solution, merely one strategy to steal more. See Trump’s meme coins amongst many other manifestations. He and his family walked away with billions of dollars of suckers money and man of them don't even realise. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jul/18/trump-crypto-us-economy #Crypto #CryptoCurrency #DisasterWaitingToHappen #Theft #Trump #ArtOfTheCon

Trump has normalized crypto. Is it the path to the next financial collapse? | Eduardo Porter

Trump has normalized crypto. Is it the path to the next financial collapse? | Eduardo Porter

Cheerleading by the president, who made $1.2bn last year off uninsured currency, does not bode well for US economy

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@me_valentijn@m.ai6yr.org @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org It helps if they are corralled in a small area.

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@Gillinger@mas.to https://ko-fi.com/countbinface

Support Count Binface

Support Count Binface

Support Count Binface

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@JugglingWithEggs@mstdn.social The clue is in the word ‘buy’

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3w ago

Replying to

@humanhorseshoes@mastodon.world And Chinese and …….

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@gufo@mastodon.nu @BrianSmith950@mas.to @mrundkvist@archaeo.social You should have seen English newspapers ( who pose asBritish) while we were in the EU. Lauhable

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 2mo ago

A strange headline. None of this is 'weird’. Some of it might not scale (especially the human element) but weird? Does the Gruaniad employ anyone with even a knowledge of science and engineering (I’m not asking for a degree)? Clearly in its references this has been written from their ‘business column’ https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/19/molten-salt-human-sweat-weird-batteries-store-renewable-energy #renewables #storage #electricity

Molten salt and human sweat: the weird batteries that could store renewable energy

Molten salt and human sweat: the weird batteries that could store renewable energy

From Nevada to Manchester, developers are trialling innovative solutions to clean energy’s biggest challenge

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Wen @Wen@mastodon.scot

· 3w ago

Replying to

@JDGeoShack@social.vivaldi.net I am halfway through White as the Snow by Lillja Sigurdardóttir. In part because I enjoy the sorties, and in part because I have it in both Icelandic and English translation so I can bolster my feeble grasp of the written language (Icelandic that is). What are you perusing?

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