Another day, another disgraceful attack on refugees by Shabana Mahmood. Regular readers know what means: another £30 to @hopeprojects.bsky.social to support their work with destitute refugees. Feel free to join me.

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Today was Northanger Abbey: we talked about Gothic novels, moral panics, conduct books and toxic friendships. Today’s props included The Midnight Bell - one of the ‘horrid novels’ mentioned, and my latest acquisition, Bitches and Bonnets: Life Lessons from Jane Austen’s Mean Girls.

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Today’s Writing for Children texts on the subject of picture books + early literacy: Duke the Lost Engine; Tadpole’s Promise (psychological horror for the under-4s) and Farmer Duck. Plus BJ Novak’s The Book With No Pictures, which I gave to the brave student who volunteered to read it sight unseen.

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3/4 of my department sacked over the summer with more to go, and we’ve appointed a second manager in 3 weeks (to replace the two managers sacked in separate processes last semester). Above them, a deputy Head of School and a Head of School doing…something? Can’t think why things are going so badly…

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Having seen this goat I’m not sure I’ll ever sleep again.

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