Dear Lush (cc Chelmsford City Council), As a woman who had half a breast removed last year due to cancer, I am writing to raise my concerns about your “Proud of My Stripes” window display. I am also, on behalf of other women who have experienced breast cancer, respectfully requesting its removal. Because mastectomies are not a fashion statement, an identity marker or something to be celebrated. They are something women undergo because they are ill, because they are frightened, because they are trying to stay alive. Around 59,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK every year. Many will undergo surgery - a mastectomy, lumpectomy or other procedure. Others choose preventive mastectomies because they carry a high-risk BRCA gene mutation. If a woman chooses to have her breasts removed to affirm a gender identity, that is her personal choice. I honestly don’t know the number of women who have elective mastectomies for this reason. What I do know is that it is a tiny number compared with those for whom breast surgery is medically necessary and not something to be celebrated. I think I speak for many women who have experienced breast cancer - and for their families - when I say this: Breast removal surgery is not something I regard as cute, playful or empowering. Nor is it something I believe retailers should be celebrating. For that reason, I am requesting that the display be removed and that @ChelmsCouncil apologise for promoting it on social media. Yours sincerely, Janet Murray

Deprivation of Liberty needs to involve “element of coercion or externally imposed restrictions…& a person who is so profoundly disabled they are unable to conceptualise or physically achieve freedom is not in fact being deprived of anything.” - Discuss! dacbeachcroft.com/en/What-we…

An outstanding evening @tbtlake Keswick - Hamblett's production of 'By a Lady: The Life & Wit of Jane Austen'. The 2 actors (@DoonMacKichan & Rachel Parris) & 2 musicians (David Le Page & Nick Stringfellow) had the audience enthralled. A company to watch: hambletts.com/

Really enjoying this performance at @tbtlake

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN Sir Henry Brooke Lecture 2026. Thursday, 9 July 2026 (hybrid event) The Rt. Hon. Lady Wise will discuss "The 21st Century Judge: privileges, pitfalls, and potential." Register at trybooking.com/uk/events/lan… #law #SirHenryBrookeLecture #judiciary

Grim news bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5ye…

Due to escalating disruptive protests, I have decided to cancel the remainder of these lectures. This is deeply lamentable, but the disruption has undermined the academic nature of this series. Students shouldn't face bullying or harassment when attending academic events.

Just 15 hiking miles for me this week. Mostly wet and windy in the #LakeDistrict. Pics from a half-day on the Graystones-Lords Seat ridge on Friday. #nhs1000miles

🎉 Yay, it’s the weekend! A big Sat welcome to all our latest entrants 🤗 When you enter, don’t forget to: Book your “setting off” slot Tell us your Berghaus 10in10 T-shirt size Want an earlier start & longer to complete the challenge? Enter now: 10in10.org.uk

“I don’t give a shit what your system is, what does it mean for the river?” I genuinely never thought I would have to challenge the British state in order to protect the river I love, but here we are. Massive thanks to Channel 4 for spending so much time & care in detailing the incredible work done by volunteer river guardians on the River Roding: I am going to use the description of us descending on litter like a “squadron of community-minded locusts” again! Whilst I no longer shocked at the indifference of public bodies like the EA & local councils to the desperate plight of our rivers, it has genuinely surprised me that @EnvAgency thinks it is a good use of their powers to prosecute volunteers for doing their job for them by restoring rivers, especially when there are serious illegal sewage discharges nearby that they have done nothing about. Please withdraw your prosecution threats EA & work with us instead. The Roding could genuinely be a test case in how government & river guardians can work together to protect & restore our rivers. youtu.be/Kj9Hvdzu_zw?si=w-GZ…

So trans identified men refuse to be ‘outed’ by using third spaces or the men’s toilets, but menstruating girls can go to a special period toilet? Who sits in the meetings where this kind of misogyny goes unnoticed and ideas like this are rubber stamped?

#otd 1850 Charlotte Bronte writes with wonder of her visit to the Zoological Society, London Zoo as we call it. Among the many magical sites she saw was a 'cameleopard', what we today call a giraffe.

A depressing case exposing delay in best interests decisions about ongoing life-sustaining treatment; but good to see the judge highlight concerns & that the judgment will be sent to the Secretary of State for Health Chief Executive of NHS England. bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCOP/20…

A diagnosis of Progressive MS changed everything. Taking on the 10in10 challenge is about proving that the mountains are still there to be climbed, one step at a time.

Wonderful

And if anyone doubts how deeply uneducated many MPs are on this issue, see below. The most basic elements of the judgment in @ForWomenScot have completely passed this MP by

Until we stop struggling with the idea that some health setting cultures are rotten and some practitioners do not practice with compassion and dignity, we will never improve them

Would you like to join our team? We currently have two vacancies, closing date is 7 June 2026: 🟣Solicitor/Barrister (Criminal Appeals Supervisor) 🟣Operations & Compliance Coordinator 🔗ow.ly/5Pn050Z5wcf

Supreme Court judgment hand down Tues 2nd June 2026 With less than 24 hours to go, why not have a browse of everything we published about the case? From summary to commentary pieces, there's something for every stage of excitement/nervous anticipation! openjusticecourtofprotection…

Thinking about a new career direction or undertaking PG study in the field of literature & cultural studies this September? Find out more about our MA Literature, Romanticism & the English Lake District at our Ambleside campus Open Day on Sat 4th July: tinyurl.com/3a5epfnw