Reporter, photographer, lead opinion editor @ Empoword,
@JSchofieldTrust
Fellow 2024 | Featured by BBC, bylines @ Big Issue, FilmStories and lots of regionals!
Guess what. I just had my first ever mentor meeting with
@Victoria_Spratt
. What a wonderful lady: funny, annoyingly chic, and SO full of wisdom. I'm so lucky!
Thanks again to
@JSchofieldTrust
for striking gold with this match - really looking forward to the next 12 months!
Tommy Robinson supporters try to start fight with pro-Palestine protestor walking through Trafalgar Square - the Palestine supporters needed to be escorted through the area by police as they were pelted and screamed at by Robinson fans
Huge numbers at pro-Palestine rally in Oxford Circus today: estimated tens of thousands of protestors have come into Central London to protest against the Israel-Gaza war. Pics to come!
PICTURE THREAD (1/5)
Have lived in London a total of 5 years, but today was my first Notting Hill - I am very annoyed at myself for this because it was brilliant, and the photos I got are so joyous and colourful
#NottingHillCarnival
Activists come out to
#HonorOak
to defend local pub's Drag Story Time from far-right Turning Point UK. This is the third protest TPUK have held against the event, and local left /
#LGBT
activists have turned out every time to defend the pub. Heard "3-nil" being chanted
#Colston4
cleared of any criminal wrongdoing today in Bristol Crown Court. This is a bright day for our city - hope the four have a well earned celebration tonight ❤️✊
Over a thousand at today's anti-racism demo in Westminster. Topics of the day are Diane Abbott, Lee Anderson, Suella Braverman and refugee persecution.
Is "sorry" enough from a gov dogged by successive race rows? More to come
So much fun to photograph
@Paraorchestra
's return to the streets today - such an amazing atmosphere as the 70-person band performed for the residents of Knowle West!
WAHEY! Only been accepted onto the
@JSchofieldTrust
Early Career Fellowship programme for 2024! SUCH a cool opportunity. Can't wait to see what nuggets of wisdom I can glean from my mentor 😎 bring on the new year!
The ever-joyous
@Paraorchestra
brought their Smoosh! parade to
@southbankcentre
yesterday: full to the brim with ballads, beats and bangers, the virtuoso ensemble of disabled and non-disabled players performed two open-air parades - with some pro choreography to boot!
In Honor Oak today photographing a counter protest between far-right Turning Point UK and pro-LGBTQ+ activists. TP are protesting a drag storytime being held at local pub. Local anti-fascists have come out in droves to defend the pub (bias alert: I am against TPUK). Pics to come!
Aside from this campaign's patently awful branding, it does nothing to address the lopsided court system in which abusers currently thrive. In the culture of "he said, she libelled", codifying consent alone doesn't do anything to empower victims.
I am so excited to unveil our new campaign, in partnership with creative agency
@CPB_LDN
and
@EmAtack
I’m Asking For It: Let’s change the law to require a clear yes to sex. Find out more
Right to Equality is campaigning to update the UK’s law on
Why go into public politics if you don't like scrutiny? "When I see your name my heart always sinks"- what a humiliating thing for this young lady to hear, and only for doing her job as a councillor! Makes Rees look very weak.
While the cabinet member for housing complained about being infantilised by the Tories, the mayor was telling Cllr Denyer that he was disheartened whenever he saw her name because of her chess-like politics.
(5/5) London Met's presence was consistently huge throughout the day, as expected. They've since tweeted a statement re: arrest numbers, but for most people there this was just a really upbeat way to end very weird summer
#NottingHillCarnival
🚨
#journorequest
For a piece in
@theipaper
- are strangers getting ruder? Looking to chat with the following:
- People who have had a particularly bad experience with a stranger recently
- Psychology expert who can comment on stress and public rudeness (with tips to cope)
This was such an interesting story to cover. I followed
@HousRebellion
around for a day, and saw firsthand the work they're doing to tackle the housing crisis - read below!
Last weekend
@HousRebellion
protestors occupied empty flats to highlight how tackling the housing crisis could save the planet. The Big Issue was there to see it
amazing. just after the sun shows us how NOT to report abuse allegations, byline comes through with how you're supposed to do it - using wootton himself as as the story
chef kiss work here. huge respect to all the victims who came forward as well - that took serious balls
🔴 SPECIAL INVESTIGATION
GB News Star Dan Wootton Unmasked in Cash-for-Sexual Images Catfishing Scandal
In the first part of a three-year investigation,
@danevanswrites
& Tom Latchem reveal the accounts of victims targeted by the powerful TV presenter
Hey, look, my review debut! This made a lovely change from being chronically unfunny on Letterboxd.
Big thanks to
@marialattila
for commissioning this✨
Highly commended! 🎉 Huge thanks to
@freelancingfor
here - my category was STACKED with talent, so I'm well chuffed with this.
Congrats to
@hattywillmoth
on a great piece, (and huge shout out to my talented JST peer and fellow nominee
@jsmithmaillet
who broke the news to me!)
(2/5) Arrived just after the carnival kicked off at 10:30- the sun was shining, and the party kicked into gear very quickly (shout out to Bank Holiday Monday). There was a huge variety of mas floats, all bringing a different form of colour to the parade
#NottingHillCarnival
Did my first Notting Hill Carnival today! Spent 8 hours taking pics and seeing friends! Walked 16km! A lady caressed my face with paint! Pics to come shortly!
(4/5) The crowds got progressively bigger throughout the day into the evening. The vibe also definitely shifted around 5pm from arts and community party to 'London's best piss-up'. Got caught in some crowd riptides which are CHALLENGING when holding a camera
#NottingHillCarnival
old landlord tried to be cheeky with deposit deductions, so GENTLY REMINDED HIM that it's less expensive to give us our full deposit back than to be fined for improper HMO licensing and deposit protection.
just received deposit in full. today we are all of the ombudsmen 😈😈😈
Police presence was considerable, and the whole road around the pub was cordoned off. Each side of the protest was kettled to one side of the street, and there were several moments of unrest against the kettling. The counter protest was much larger than the TPUK group
#HonorOak
Crowds gather at the new Canary Wharf
#ElizabethLine
station for its first evening rush hour - spirits were high with lots of people stopping to take videos/pictures, despite the intermittent rain!
RIP vivienne westwood and pele, you would have loved greta thunberg inadvertently getting andrew tate arrested for sex trafficking a mere 45 minutes after channel four broadcasted a musical about prince andrew
Someone I used to live with just posted a screenshot of themselves on GB News. This checks out, as this same housemate used all of my dishes for a dinner party and moved out instead of washing them up
TPUK (despite their small numbers) hosted a panel of speakers, who mostly made the same allegation that exposing children to drag queens is equivalent to 'grooming'. They also kept shouting 'paedos'. Lots of them were wearing Trump or MAGA themed hats.
#HonorOak
2022. Lmao. (🧵Thread 1/14)
Let's (very briefly) reflect by looking at some of my favourite photos from the year. Then we can all move on and pretend this whole year never happened.
IN PHOTOS:
#NottingHillCarnival
is back, vibrant and hectic as ever. With its focus on celebrating diversity, NHC attracts a lot of crime-centric reporting. But with a million attending this year's Carnival, there's still plenty of joy to be found (for those who want to look)
London's Canary Wharf looking very cinematic today as Bank St transformed into downtown Chicago. Apparently filming for TV show, but tight lipped ushers would not divulge which (even after I offered food)
The
@metpoliceuk
were alerted to Carrick's abuse NINE TIMES before prosecuting. From the same division as Wayne Couzens, whose abuse prior to Sarah Everard's murder was also ignored.
This sends the message to prolific abusers that law enforcement is on their side. Disgusting.
BREAKING. David Carrick, a Metropolitan police officer has admitted at least 80 sex attacks, including 47 rapes, against a dozen women. It means that one of the country's worst sex offenders has been working at the force for 20 years
The new platforms were notably much more spacious, and decked in extremely swish glass barriers with arrivals displayed above every door. Lots of staff in
#ElizabethLine
bibs (and occasional foam finger) were on hand to ensure things ran smoothly
After an intensive period of work, I'd hoped to spend some time relaxing in Bristol, addressing my latent workaholism.
Then there was an MP hustings with protests, high-profile hopefuls and anti-trans commentators. It was SPICY. Read my coverage for
@TheBristolCable
below 👀
Important breakdown of the
#BristolCentral
hustings, which platformed anti-trans activist Kellie Jay-Keen/Posie Parker, by
@sadlittlejourno
(Her first freelance piece for the Cable!)
I'm not going to participate in the abortion-related bile Twitter has to offer today, so instead I'll briefly brag about getting this Wordle score while drunk at a house party last night.
Wordle 318 2/6*
🟩⬛⬛⬛🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Goodbye until the next news cycle
What a treat to be invited to the
#ScopeAwards
yesterday! I probably brought the talent average of the room down, but that's okay. The free food slapped
Photos from yesterday's 'Defend The Right to Strike' rally: hundreds of demonstrators and workers' unions gathered on Parliament Square to protest the proposed Strikes Bill, which directly attacks public sector unions' right to strike against their employers.
#RightToStrike
Was going to do another
#LondonPride
party thread, but now you only get one tweet because
@elonmusk
is a Space Karen who ruins businesses.
The Pride after party was very fun. That's it. That's the tweet.
Multiple streets were shut down in the evening so bonfires could be held across the city. All manner of things were thrown on the bonfire as kindling: old furniture, scrap materials and more fireworks
Some famous faces also appeared at the rally to speak out against this union-busting. As well as Mick Lynch of the
#RMT
appearing on a panel of speakers, Jeremy Corbyn came to show his support among the crowds (and was even kind enough to pose for some photos).
#RightToStrike
Press etiquette, clowns and Christianity... The Grimaldi Clown Service was the unlikely nexus of these things on Sunday, as clowns, church goers and photographers descended on All Saints Church in Hackney.
At Bristol Beacon today for campaign hustings hosted by
@bristol247
: the lineup is non-selective so we'll be hearing from all candidates for Bristol Central seat
Protests already taking place outside, demonstrating against inclusion of anti-trans Party of Women's Kellie-Jay Keen
Under the new bill, public sector workers could face job losses if they choose to strike. Critics of the bill say that the UK is already the worst in Europe for its treatment of unions, and banning strikes instead of improving PS working conditions is undemocratic.
#RightToStrike
#journorequest
Also looking to hear from people who struggle with their homes overheating during extreme heat waves - particularly if you don't own your home!
@Telegraph
This is so funny to me. You're decrying a media outlet for only appealing to one generation? I know Telegraph doesn't do nuance, but surely you can see the irony in that
THREAD (1/10). So, obviously, this is part of a continued attack on peaceful protesting (as well as an unwise public health move)
But this also pertains to the responsibility of protest reporters and photographers, and what we need to start doing to protect vulnerable protestors
No protester should be able to evade justice by wearing a face covering.
That’s why we’re banning them.
Offenders could receive up to a £1,000 fine and a month in prison.
(IN PHOTOS): Huge crowds of pro
#Palestine
demonstrators came to Central London today: they called for an end to the escalating
#IsraelGazaWar
, saying it is genocide. The demo went on despite the Home Secretary's suggestion that waving a Palestinian flag should be illegal
#journorequest
Looking to speak to students either struggling now to find appropriate or affordable university accommodation, or have faced any general issues with student accommodation in the last couple of years! (Sorry if this is a bummer after A-level results day lol)
Booked the whole day off.
11:15- Oppenheimer matinee
14:30- Down six mimosas, quick lunch
15:00- Barbie
20:30- Optional Extra Barbie (but I do have work to catch up on, so if I carry on drinking til this point I am not being my best self)
Far right protestors are splintering across London after being moved from
#cenotaph
- communicating w/ each other via FB/Insta live. Lots of scuffles between them and
#Met
- just saw squad of police being berated by Leicester Sq.
"Your mayor is a muslim" one protestor shouted.
Attempt
#1
of photographing new Crossrail Elizabeth Line - travelled to Canary Wharf and got absolutely shat on by intermittent thunder storms. Currently sulking in a café, regaining my strength for the line’s first evening rush hour later on.
i have come to the conclusion i don't like threads. my feed is literally just brands and a graveyard of regrettable old flings?
i don't like twitter but i can justify it for work with all the content call outs and job opps. i don't think Sam from 2nd year uni has any jobs for me