Clare M. Dowding

@claredowding.bsky.social

1529 Followers 536 Following

Welshwoman in London. University administrator. Independent researcher (medieval anchorites). Anglican Reader (lay minister). Warden of Readers Diocese of Southwark.

David Marciano as Detective Ray Vecchio and Paul Gross as Constable Benton Fraser in the 'Due South' episode "Red, White or Blue".
They are both looking at someone out of shot, and just visible is the bomb which is attached to both of them.

Dialogue from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" episode 1.08, 'I, Robot ... You, Jane', written by Ashley Gable & Thomas A Swyden:

Jenny Calendar: Honestly, what is it about them that bothers you so much?
Rupert Giles: The smell.
Jenny: Computers don't smell, Rupert.
Giles: I know. Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower, or a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell musty and - and - and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer is a - it, uh, it has no, no texture, no - no context. It's - it's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then - then the getting of knowledge should be, uh, tangible, it should be, um, smelly.

Screenshot of a paragraph from the article:

In my favourite defence of an AI submission, I was told that "the original thoughts and opinions of the piece" were the writer's, but "the support of AI was used to help structure and organise his original thoughts into a draft format". Tell us if we're wrong, but at City AM we call that process writing. And we're actually rather keen on it.

A post on an internal Teams chat:
A photo of a padded envelope, a delivery note, and two copper ingots of different sizes.
The message accompanying it reads "Hi All - A message here for the attention of our colleagues in Physics, Engineering and Geography. We have had a delivery with no name or dept, and it contains two ingots of copper. Can you each ask around in your teams to see if anyone ordered these?"

Poster showing the four main characters in Red Dwarf: Kryten, Lister, Cat (as Dwayne Dibley), and Rimmer (as 'Ace' Rimmer), with the slogan above
"In Space No-One Can Hear You Smeg"

Fifth Doctor-style title page, with a black background dotted with stars/constellations, and the title 'Same Quarry, Different Planet - Part One' centred, in a font which outlines each letter in white.

An enamelled metal sign which reads "Il est absolument interdit de déposer quoi que ce soit dans le couloir" (translated: 'It is absolutely forbidden to leave anything in the corridor').

'Errata' listing from 1066 And All That, by Sellar and Yeatman:

For Middletoe read Mistletoe.
For looked 4th read looked forth.
For sausage read hostage.
For Pheasant read Peasant, throughout.

Psalm 74.19-20:
Look upon your creation, for the earth is full of darkness, full of the haunts of violence.
Let not the oppressed turn away ashamed, but let the poor and needy praise your name.

Generated headline as if on a piece by Allister Heath:
"We are witnessing the final, agonising death of Britain at the hands of anchorites"

Post from Dana Goldberg @dgcomedy.bsky.social:
The president, who drones on about protecting women's sports, publicly mocked the women's gold-medal hockey team. A reminder this was never about protecting women's sports and it was always about transphobia and misogyny.

Followed by a post from Ursula K Le Guin Bot @leguinbot.bsky.social:
"Why are men afraid of women?"
"If your strength is only the other's weakness, you live in fear," Ged said.
"Yes; but women seem t fear their own strength, to be afraid of themselves."
"Are they ever taught to trust themselves?" Ged asked.
"No," she said.

John Inverdale, Clive Woodward, Jeremy Guscott, and Jonathan Davies standing in a line after England lost to Wales in the 2013 Six Nations. Inverdale is talking into a hand-held mic, Woodward and Guscott look like they've been slapped in the face with a wet fish, and Jiffy's grinning from ear to ear.

Screenshot of three posts in sequence:

Linebreak Rugby @linebreakrugby.bsky.social
Every point scored by this Wales U20s team is a nice two fingers to every bastard who claims there's not enough talent coming through.

Squidge Rugby @squidgerugby.bsky.social
Wales u20s 17-7 up against France, having been 16-0 up against England at HT last week. So glad we're cutting a team to give these lads less opportunity at the top level. That's such a good idea.

Endless Screaming @infinitescream.bsky.social
AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Photo of various connected brick-built buildings, with snow lying lightly on ledges (you may be able to see snowflakes as well, but the window is rather dirty).

Photo of the poster mentioned; the image on the poster is of a volcano erupting *very* enthusiastically.

Screenshot from the Guardian article on Joe Marler:
"Still, his scrum coach at Quins, the Wales legend Adam Jones, described him as 'misunderstood', saying he was a lovely bloke, protective of his friends, who just needed reminding every now and then to keep it all in check. Jones's method was to play a video of Wales defeating England in the 2013 grand slam match in which Marler played."

Screenshot from the Sport section of the Guardian website, 2 November at 19.16:
Headline 'India rejoice in first Women's World Cup triumph as South Africa chase falls short' - categorised as "Cricket".
A few lines below it, a separate piece with headline 'India make light work of Australia attack to level T20 series' - categorised as "Men's cricket".

Screenshot of results of poll on BBC Sport website, asking people how many Tests they think Wales' men's rugby union team will win this autumn.

Screenshot from video of 'Formation' by Beyonce: she's standing on a porch in New Orleans (possibly?), flanked by four black men wearing black suits and white shirts, one of whom is wearing a red fez and one of whom is wearing a black top hat. Beyonce herself is wearing a black dress and a black hat with a very large brim; at the moment of the screenshot, she has her head down so you can't see her face, just the hat.

An open bag of Co-op British baby potatoes, with a tiny little potato resting on it. The potato is less than an inch long (yes, I measured it) - more of a spudling than a proper spud.

A branded plastic bottle with a nozzle attachment, intended for spraying plants.
If you can hear the phrase "plant spray bottle" without the aforementioned musical accompaniment, either you're more strong-willed than I am, or you're too young (either way, lucky you!).

A series of posts, all within a couple of minutes of each other:

Leonie V Hicks @lvhicks.bsky.social
"What a test match!"

Ben not in Spain @benhunt.bsky.social
"What an extraordinary way for the Test to end. Brilliant cricket all round. Hats off to Jadeja who batted brilliantly - but the sheer willpower of Stokes is something to behold.

Endless Screaming @infinitescream.bsky.social
AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Rosamundi @rosamundi.bsky.social
Never doubted them for a second, obviously #cricket #EnglandCricket #ENGvIND [cricket bat emoji]
One of those games that neither team deserved to lose.

Screenshot of score from BBC Sport website: Kent Spitfires 109-6 (16.0) vs Somerset (yet to bad) - delay due to bad light.

View along a street of a row of cars parked alongside a pavement as normal, except for a Mini which wouldn't fit in the available space long-wise, so is parked with its bonnet and front wheels on the pavement (at a slight angle). This was 2010, so it was back when Minis were actually smaller even than other small cars ...

Screenshot of part of email showing items listed which can be available if not claimed by anyone at the University of Cambridge first:

Cantab Gown x1

Cryogenic vessels x2

Height measure (with bag) x3

@swilua.bsky.social's post about her reaction to the story of the exploding duck.

Immediately below it, a post from @infinitescream.bsky.social:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Screenshot of BlueSky's 'Accessibility' options, showing box which can be ticked as a reminder to require alt text before posting.

Post by @lexluddy.xyz:
That was one of the best rugby matches ever played.
Quote posting a post by squidgerugby.bsky.social:
I can't believe what I've just seen.

Directly beneath the above, a post by @infinitescream.bsky.social:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

IMPORTANT NOTE:
The Scots (originally Irish, but by now Scotch) were at this time inhabiting Ireland, having driven the Irish (Picts) out of Scotland; while the Picts (originally Scots) were now Irish (living in brackets) and vice versa. It is essential to keep these distinctions clearly in mind (and verce visa).
[From '1066 And All That' by Walter Sellar and Robert Yeatman, chapter 2]

Screenshot of BBC Sport rugby page, with headline "Sale lead holders Toulouse as match starts late after parachutist rescued from stadium roof".

Flyer for The Lady Peel Trust, publicising the Lady Peel Legacy Trust Awards 2025:
"Strengthening Catholic Mission and Ministry in the Church of England"
The trustees will award grants of up to £2500 for projects that encourage vocation, education, mission or liturgical formation within the catholic tradition of the Church of England.
For further information see: www.ladypeeltrust.org
Deadline: 12th May 2025

Sign from Sully Island, which is an island at high tide, accessible by a causeway at low tide:

Warning [in red letters].
You are risking your life by visiting this island.
Avoid [underlined] being caught on the causeway by a fast [underlined] rising tide. If in doubt stay [underlined] on this island.

(The rest of the text on the sign is obscured by brambles and nettles.)

Side view of the sanctuary area of the Strand Chapel at King's College London, set up for the Advent Carol Services. On the right is the high altar, with a purple, red and gold altar frontal. In front of the altar is a triangular candle stand (technically, a hearse) with 11 candles lit on it, and another one lit at the foot. In front of that, and in the centre of the photo, are two large candles (four feet tall by three and a half inches wide), placed on spiked stands fixed to the floor. There is a Christmas tree in the rear left of the photo.