I’ve been travelling a lot lately and I seem to manage to forget something different each time…

But ideally:

• Skincare: oil-based cleanser that I can use mornings and evenings, Byoma clarifying serum cos otherwise my skin is not happy, moisturiser, sun cream

• Other: shampoo decanted into small bottle (my hair needs washing every other day), deodorant, tooth brush

• Makeup: primer, glow drops, concealer, multi-purpose pink crayon (can be used as under-eye colour corrector, blush, lip liner and eye shadow depending what I feel like)

I tend not to bring conditioner (can live without), hair moisturising serum, exfoliating serum (only use once a week), eye liner, mascara, lip stick, brow gel, blush, setting powder, foundation but if I were going to a wedding or something I would probs bring all of these.

Ooh that looks good, I’ll have to try the vegetarian version she has.

Leaving this bannock recipe that I often make with soups or stews - super easy and you end up with fresh warm bread in under 20 minutes!

I havn’t used Amazon for a few years and honestly, it just takes discounting it as a possibility. There’s no one website equivalent but the more you search for places to buy things, the more you build up a repertoire of sites for specific things.

I recommend Ethical Book Search for finding cheap second-hand books. Bookshop.org for new books.

Argos can be good if you need an assortment of random things, although it doesn’t always have everything.

Cass Art for art supplies and Love Crafts for knitting and sewing.

B&Q and Screwfix for DIY and home stuff.

There’s probably more places I use semi-regularly that I can’t think of right now. You often end up paying slightly more but I think it’s worth it to not support Bezos and I buy less stuff than I would otherwise which is good in the end anyway.

That’s devastating. I hadn’t heard of the Arran whitebeam before, I’ll have to look out for it when on Arran next.

Arran whitebeam is one of the rarest and most endangered trees in the world. It is a hybrid of rowan and rock whitebeam which has stayed on the Isle of Arran since the last glaciers were formed.

Yes! I’ve really gotten into actually making use of my freezer recently. It’s also great for spices and herbs that you use less frequently.

• Fresh tumeric and ginger: just grate off what you need and pop it back.
• Chillies: freeze whole and cut up and use as needed
• Herbs: how well they freeze depends. Things like sage, thyme, curry leaves freeze really well. Basil and coriander will be very soggy when they defrost but are fine if you’re just using them in a sauce.

The experiences trans men and women have with misogyny will never not be fascinating to me. Like, for the first time ever we have this huge sample size of people who have experienced how their gender presentation affects how people interact with them, giving tangible proof of misogyny in action. And it can’t just be swept aside with ‘MaYbE tHe wOmEn JuSt miSuNDerStOoD’ or ‘mAYbe tHe mAN diDN’t MeAn iT LiKE tHaT’. I mean idiots will still make idiot arguments but at least it chips away at them a little bit.

I love ‘dreich’ (rhymes with ‘greek’) because it perfectly sums up British weather most of the time.

Also a fan of ‘banging’, as in top, class, right good.

You’re welcome! Glad it was useful :)

I don’t have time to translate right now but here’s an article from Deutsche Welle that goes into some detail on the (alleged) property damage. Essentially it’s tied in with the attempted occupation of the FU university in Berlin. Hope that helps!

I’ve started seeing a few more comics/memes which have women as the representative of a universal experience (rather than, as you say, representing a sexist trope) and it’s absurd how happy it makes me.

The actual article, in case anyone’s interested: https://archive.is/qfunJ

People can argue all day long that we should be responsible for our own pads/tampons etc. but ultimately these arguments of where the responsibility lies miss the point. It’s just nice, it’s such a relief when you get caught out and have an emergency and you know you don’t have to worry about making something makeshift or finding a shop or having some change to use one of the crappy vending machines in the bathroom. I was ambivalent about free period products before moving to Scotland last year but just having them available when you need them is fantastic. Like the state doesn’t need to provide them but god does it make such a difference when they do.

Yes! Both so useful…

I use white vinegar for cleaning the microwave as well - a tub of it heated up fin there for a minute and it makes it much easier to clean.

And a sprinkle of bicarb in the bottom of a bin to reduce smells.

Intentional: pack of tissues, lip balm, tampons, pen, packet of oatcakes, Loop earbuds, headphones, purse, keys, hair ties

Unintentional: old receipts, old tissues, oatcake crumbs

Occasional: notebook, book to read, shopping bag

Tbh it just feels like another way to administer the same drugs. I wish there was more focus on actually developing birth control that didn’t have the wealth of side effects.

I stopped taking BC a few years ago because it had such an effect on my mood but I’ve sort of resigned myself to starting up with it again.

I have anxiety around things in my body that I can’t control so the implant is off the table for me anyway and to me this just feels like an implant but worse.

That’s great news. I thought it already was, but it turns out it’s just some places that offer it for free so good it’s being expanded:

The new announcement aims to increase access to the morning-after pill; while it is already available for nothing from most GP surgeries, most sexual health clinics and some NHS walk-in centres, not all pharmacies offer it for nothing, with some women paying up to £30 for the medication.

I think part of it is basing everything off adult human proportions. Like top right has a fat old man face in a cat body, and bottom left has like a buff human body with a cat head.

It’s similar to old paintings of children and babies, where they’ve just done an adult human but smaller, instead of looking at how the proportions of small children are actually completely different.