@janeishly A long time ago, when I lived in Vancouver, I was a volunteer interpreter at refugee claim hearings. At that time, in Vancouver, it was mostly people fleeing El Salvador.

"A Devon and Cornwall police spokesperson said: “The Devon and Cornwall police professional standards department carefully reviewed the complaint, but as the interpreter was employed by a third party and not the force, no further action was taken.”

Do the police no longer consider fraud a crime?

Because pretending to be an interpreter, and not faithfully interpreting IS fraud.

This is the most unforgivable sin that an interpreter can ever commit.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/may/30/chinese-dissident-says-he-was-berated-by-pro-regime-interpreter-for-uk-police

It's not that I'm a huge fan of Cuba's current government.

It's that it should be up to Cubans what government they have. And since they managed to have a revolution once, they are entirely capable of having another, if they wish.

What the US wants shouldn't fucking play into it.

@vruz Good point.

You know, you need clay, a piece of smoothed wood or plastic, a bent piece of sharpened metal, a tiny piece of old cloth and a piece of fucking string.

You need some glaze you can make yourself, and a few oxides.

And you can make the most breathtakingly wonderful things.

@teadrinker Exactly this Bec. It is something that bonds us all together.

To me there is a profound and inherent dignity in this. To make vessels that hold water, hold food, cook food, hold oil, etc.

I do not know why it touches me so deeply, but it does.

Having every specialised tool identified by brand name just shits on all of that for me.

But if you live somewhere rural with some space, even building your own kiln is not that hard. Many people around the world fire pottery in fire pits in the open air.

Women, primarily, all over the world making cooking pots by coil building. Clay and water, and maybe a bit of sand.

@NicksWorld Exactly. That's definitely the object, of course.

@CartyBoston I'm referring specifically to the ceramics community, and to instructional videos.

What I love most about pottery is how universal it is. How little it requires in terms of materials. You can gather and process your own clay, you can repurpose kitchen utensils, plastic cards, etc. for tools. You can hand build on a kitchen table. You can mix and refine your own pigments and glazes. Firing is really the only thing that requires something complicated. Especially if you live in the city.

One of the things I've noticed in pottery videos from the US is just how often they name brands. Brands of clay, of glaze, of forms, of tools. It's like one long ad.

This offends me at such a primal level, that I cannot concentrate on learning anything from the tutorial. The constant encroachment of consumerism triggers a blind refusal to listen.

This must be a European thing, because Americans don't seem bothered by it at all.
#pottery #ceramics #consumerism

Good Sunday morning. Why do I feel like I’m being watched constantly?

There’s an entire 185 sq meters of space to be in, but they have to be… here #Cats #CatsOfMastodon

I'm trying to think positively about the results of the council elections in the UK.

It's probably the least damaging way that Brits can find out exactly how profoundly incompetent the kind of people who get involved with the Reform party are. Because you really need competent councils to keep a community running. So... buckle up.

Meanwhile, Labour needs to get rid of Starmer. And this is as good a time as any.

#UK #elections

@nini It could happen to any of us.

I genuinely can't begin to imagine the horror of being in this situation, can you?

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/may/05/canadian-ashley-macisaac-fiddler-musician-singer-songwriter-sues-google-ai-sex-offender-ntwnfb

I have a pretty little visitor. #buggies

RE: https://mastodon.social/@mera1991/116504313578298407

It might as well be Hiroshima or Nagasaki.

It blows my mind that our leaders cannot acknowledge this.

Today I'm making lentil soup with chorizo. It is usually made with less tomato and potatoes, but neither Don nor I are big fans of potatoes in soup.

My neighbour dropped in and said: "You are putting too many vegetables in your soup."

And I said: "when was the last time anyone ever said: 'whoah, there are way too many vegetables in this soup'?" #cooking