Anti-Trans Campaigner Graham Linehan Pleads Not Guilty in Court to Criminal Damage and Harassment of Trans Woman

 

Graham Linehan, a man once well loved across the UK for his part in creating comedy series Father Ted, Black Books, and The IT Crowd has plead not guilty to charges in court today. 

The Irish writer, that some jokingly call 'Ireland's most divorced man', appeared in Westminster Magistrates Court today charged with criminal damages and harassment. The charges relate to an altercation last October at the Battle of Ideas Conference. Linehan reportedly damaged the mobile phone of Sophia Brooks, and then preceded to harass her online via social media between October 11th and 27th.

Appearing in court wearing a white t-shirt emblazoned with a photo of a front page from The Daily Telegraph reading 'Trans women are not women', Linehan confirmed his date of birth and name, and said 'not guilty' twice when the charges against him were read.

Upon leaving court he was met with supporters outside, who cheered for him. Speaking to the small crowd he said 'There is more at stake than my own name'. He made the claim that his transphobic comments and campaigning had been met with 'harassment, abuse, and threats' over the last six years, but told his supporters 'I'm still here. I've lost a great deal, but I will not waver in my resolve.'

Linehan has been freed on bail with the stipulation that he is not to contact Sophia Brooks, and his trial will begin on September 4th this year in the same court building. 

Linehan has a history of anti-trans activism and comments, particularly on social media, since 2008, following an episode of the television series The IT Crowd that was met with mild criticism for being seen as playing into negative stereotypes and framing trans violence as humorous. This incident seems to have been the inciting moment that would later cause the man to spiral into becoming one of the most vocal transphobes in the UK; something that seems to have resulted in the loss of the majority of his fame and respect.

Linehan performing on the street to a small crowd following
his stand-up show being cancelled.

Over the years Linehan has praised transphobes, including calling anti-trans campaigners 'heroes', and claiming that the mere existence of trans women somehow erases lesbians. He has openly compared trans people to Nazis, and compared trans healthcare to Nazi concentration camp experiments and eugenics on television during an interview on BBC's Newsnight.

He has also tried to initiate campaigns to defund the trans children's charity Mermaids, trying to strip them of a lottery grant. He has also been accused of targeting an employee at the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) for daring to employ a trans person. During this period he was also accused of engaging in online harassment of trans people and trans allies on social media, which resulted in him being sued for harassment, and being visited by police, more than once. According to his own admission, these frequent police visits and his obsession over trans people resulted in the end of his marriage.

This is only a small amount of the transphobia and harassment of trans people that Linehan has been active in over the last several years. It's rather telling that an award winning writers Wikipedia page has more space devoted to his harassment of trans people and desire to see the trans community erased than it does to his actual writing career.

There's little doubt in my mind considering his history, his vicious, abusive personality, and his frankly worrying obsession with strangers and what their genitals might be that Linehan did indeed engage in yet another case of harassment of a person that belongs to a minority he hates and should be found guilty of that. But this is Britain, where trans people are seen as sub-human and our rights are frequently erased, so who knows how this case will go in September.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Bluesky

Absolute Superman #7 - Comic Review

 

Writer: Jason Aaron, Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico, 
Colourist: Ulises Arreola, Letterer: Becca Carey

Absolute Superman issue seven gives us our first real look at one of Superman's big villains as this issue is all about Brainiac. Well, Brainiac and body horror. This stand alone issue (would calling it a bottle issue be too on the nose?) takes some time away from the main story to focus on the origin of this new version of the iconic character, crafting perhaps the most disturbing and dangerous Brainiac we've ever had.

Brainiac has had a varied and somewhat odd history, and you can get very different versions of him depending on what era of Superman you're reading. Sometimes he's a machine, others he's a Coluan, and occasionally he's a psychic that takes over the mind of a human hypnotist. He's perhaps one of the most re-inventable Superman villains, so it would make sense that this new version of him would feel incredibly unique, whilst also feeling like he could easily step into the pages of Action Comics without too much of a shock.

The issue opens with a group of Omega Men infiltrating a Lazarus facility that they believe might be the location of the Brainiac algorithm. They're right in that Brainiac is located there, but they've vastly misunderstood just what it is. Not a computer algorithm or AI, Brainiac is revealed in all of his horrific glory as he uses his shrinking technology in some truly shocking new ways, shrinking a mans skin to rip it from his body, increasing another's limbs to giant sizes, and using to to shrink another's bones, resulting in him vomiting them out before dying as a soupy skin-bag. And this is perhaps some of the least horrifying moments of the book.

Taking one of the Omega Men captive, and vivisecting him, Brainiac begins to have something of a mental breakdown as he's unable to find answers for what Superman is, or how he's able to do the things he can. Speaking to his victim as if he's there to listen to his woes, Brainiac reveals a portion of his history, showing the reader his origins. It's interesting stuff, and feels very different from what we've had for the character before; and whilst it gives us a firm foundation for this interpretation of the character there's also a lot of unanswered questions as to what exactly Brainiac is, and how he came to work for Lazarus that leaves plenty of room for further stories in the future.

Carmine Di Giandomenico's art is absolutely spectacular, and some of the pages are so packed with horrific details that you can't help but stop reading and pour over every panel on the page. Brainiac is a terrifying mixture of machine and organic, a being who looks to be in near constant pain and on the verge of death. There are times where you feel a glint of sympathy for him, before he takes on an expression that sends a shudder down your spine. In some ways this Brainiac feels like a perfect fusion of Brainiac and the Joker. There are moments where he visually resembles the clownish villain in such a way that I wonder if perhaps it's intentional, that the books creators are going for that approach, especially as he seems much less stable and more manic in they way he speaks and acts.

Taking a break from the main story to focus on a villain can sometimes feel like a story is slowing down, and can interrupt the flow of things, but here it just makes me even more excited to see more. It also makes me incredibly excited to see this creative team present us with their takes on more classic villains. Although, saying that, I wonder if perhaps the experiments on Christopher Smith in the final pages might be Brainiac transforming him into a mixture of Peacemaker and Metallo, especially now that he has access to Kryptonite?

Absolute Superman has done a truly wonderful job at reinventing the character and mythos of the world's oldest and most beloved super hero in ways that I didn't expect, crafting something that feels fresh and new, yet manages to stay true to what's come before. It's a task that not many people would have been able to do this well, but Jason Aaron and his art team have done in spectacular fashion.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Bluesky

Queer East Festival 2025: Rookie - Film Review

 

Queer East is a cross-disciplinary festival that showcases boundary-pushing LGBTQ+ cinema, live arts, and moving image work from East and Southeast Asia and its diaspora communities. Their sixth edition runs from 23 April to 18 May 2025 in venues across London, exploring notions of what it means to be queer and Asian today.

The festival was established in response to the systemic lack of Asian representation on the big screen, onstage, and behind the scenes. Global events over the past few years have once again reminded us that fair and authentic racial and sexual representation is crucial for our society. The richness of Asian and queer heritage forms a vital part of this country’s identity. Through a diverse and forward-thinking programme, the festival aims to amplify the voices of Asian communities and challenge the conventional norms, labels, and stereotypes associated with queer Asian portrayals.

Working collaboratively with allies across the film, arts, and cultural sectors, they hope to join the forces bringing about change in screen culture and to enable an open space for everyone to explore the contemporary queer landscape across East and Southeast Asia.

On her first day at a new all girls Catholic school Ace (Pat Tingjuy) finds herself something of an outcast. She has no friends in the school, she feels slightly awkward and out of place, and she's already annoying the school's star volleyball player Jana (Aya Fernandez). However, she soon catches the eye of the coach Jules (Agot Isidro), who sees something special in Ace. Learning that Ace used to play basketball, she gets Ace to agree to try out for volleyball instead, promising her that if she can help get the team to the championships she'll try to convince the nuns to make a basketball team; something the nuns have refused to do as it 'makes girls gay'.

Despite some difficult first days on the team, Ace has some one on one training with Coach Jules and demonstrates some decent skills. This fails to warm her up to Jana though, who still views Ace as someone who just walked onto her team and got all of her attention. During a weekend training camp the two of them learn more about each other, and realise that they actually make pretty decent friends. As that friendship blossoms into something deeper, the two of them have to deal with the challenges they face as a young queer couple in a competitive, and sometimes hostile world. 

Rookie begins less as a romance movie, and feels like a teen drama for the first half of the film, and the way the story is presented it's very unclear if this would in fact become a romance piece, or if this would present a more stark series of events. Part of that feeling came from the fact that there's no indication of when the film is set. The teens don't have smart phones, there's no real background technology like computers or television, there aren't even any vehicles to date things. The film has a somewhat timeless quality to it that allows it to occupy this space where it could be set anywhere within the last forty years. 

The lack of knowledge of the time, as well as myself having little real knowledge of queer rights in the Philippines, meant that I was unsure if I would be watching a film in which our protagonist would be facing ostracization for being a member of the queer community. Luckily, Rookie is pretty far from being a dark film, even if it does tackle some darker subject matter from time to time. Instead, it's a rather sweet story about two girls falling in love with each other and learning to find happiness in the world around them.

As someone who's not always a fan of romance movies I appreciated that Rookie doesn't lean too heavily into the tropes of the genre, and doesn't try to make itself too cheesy. There's an element of the 'enemies to lovers' romance sub-genre at play in Rookie, but even then it's feels like small nods. Ace and Jana don't really hate each other, and even when Jana is being the 'bitch' archetype of the popular girl who's been pushed to the side for the exciting new person, she never comes across as cruel or unpleasant. It helps that we see some insight into her home situation and learn that she's facing some difficulties with her father that might be leading her to take out that frustration on Ace. Perhaps the most on the nose 'enemies to lovers' moment is when the two of them are assigned a double bed at volleyball camp rather than a bunk bed, and have to share. However, it never really plays into the story, and there's none of the expected 'made to share a bed' scenes that romance stories can sometimes play with. 

Instead of making the romance overt it was almost subtle, and whilst it was obvious that Ace had feelings for Jana very early on it wasn't until the two of them were sitting close to each other, limbs gently touching, sharing longing stares, that I even knew Jana shared similar feelings. It came both as a surprise, but also felt wonderfully natural, and there were a couple of times where they'd lean in close to whisper something to each other that I'd be urging them on to say something romantic, or perhaps even steal a kiss. 

The first real romantic moment that comes in their relationship is their school prom, where Jana tells Ace that she needs to ask her before someone else does; resulting in Ace quietly claiming Jana as 'mine'. You feel so excited to see the two of them step out in public together, to get their romantic date, that you forget what their school is. It's not until Ace is being denied entry by one of the nuns for being 'immodest' and 'inappropriate' for wearing her fathers suit, and told that no queer dates are allowed, that the reality of the moment hits home. The quiet disapproval that they receive from the religious school staff is one of the challenges that they have to face as they come together, the strange looks, or pointed comments about how they're sinners.

Unfortunately for them, and the rest of their teammates, this isn't the only conflict in the film, as we learn that the team's physical therapist Kel (Mikoy Morales) has been sexually assaulting all of the girls on the team. It's a very dark topic, but director Samantha Lee handles it with extreme care, and Rookie addresses the issue in a careful way. It's a storyline that builds across the film, and one that a darker movie could have dedicated more of it's time to, or had as something that caused more trauma and hardship for the characters, but it ends up being dealt with quickly and well, even if not perfectly.

This plays a little into my only real problem with the movie, it's too short. The film sits at 95 minutes, which doesn't make it short by any means, but it does also move with a pretty quick pace. Ace and Jana start to come together as a couple quickly, yet we never slow down to really spend much time with the two of them just being girlfriends. The girls decide to do something about their abuser, and the school gets rid of him in the next scene. Even the subplot about Ace not feeling comfortable in the small, revealing volleyball uniform gets resolved within five minutes. Rookie crams a lot in, and none of it is bad, but it does mean that there are times where you end up wanting more. I don't know if a longer runtime would have helped, perhaps giving us a chance to have those quieter moments or to allow stories to spend more time taking place, but I certainly would have been happy to have had the film sitting closer to the two hour mark.

But that's my only real complaint. The script has some lovely moments, and the characters all feel pretty genuine and realistic. Ace and Jana are played wonderfully by Tingjuy and Fernandez, and their chemistry feels very relaxed yet compelling. Even the volleyball league story is engaging and gets you interested. Everything just works for Rookie, to the point where it became one of those films where I'm sad it's over when the credits final roll. As the first film from the Queer East Festival that I got the chance to sit down and watch it felt like a fantastic introduction, and I can only hope that more of their programme is like this.

Rookie is playing as part of the Queer East Festival 2025. To find out more about Queer East click here.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Bluesky

Absolute Green Lantern #2 - Comic Review

 

Writer: Al Ewing, Artist/Colourist: Jahnoy Lindsay, 
Letterer: Lucas Gattoni

Green Lantern is one of those characters that I think is best when leaning into the big ideas. Being one of the few big DC titles that isn't constrained by the bounds of being in one place, it's able to do some wild stories. It's why I loved the Geoff Johns run on the series, introducing multiple Lantern corps, ancient entities, and universe spanning wars for life itself. Green Lantern should be a science fiction book before it's a super hero book, and Absolute Green Lantern feels like it's taken that ethos to the extreme as it's presenting one of the boldest, end even frightening, new books in the Absolute line.

The first issue played out with a sense of mystery as we followed a dazed and confused Hal Jordan as he made his way through the desert to a small diner, trying his best to keep his head down and out of trouble. Something happened to him in his town of Evergreen, something that makes him a danger to others. By the end of the issue we learned that a mysterious alien being named Abin Sur arrived in the skies above the town, and that Hal had somehow been transformed, his hand now coursing with black energy, capable of destroying anyone who threatens him, even if he doesn't want it to.

This issue picks up where that left off, with Hal in the ruins of the diner, where everybody there was seemingly killed by him, meeting with his friend Jo Mullein, who seems to have also been transformed by what happened in Evergreen. Unlike Hal, however, she's coursing with green energy. As the two of them talk we flash back to the events in Evergreen after Abin Sur arrived and placed the town within a dome no one could escape from.

There's a huge amount of tension throughout this issue, one that comes from knowledge of the GL mythos, and with having that knowledge completely flipped. On the one hand (no pun intended) it seems that Hal Jordan is the new Black Hand, that somehow he's been connected with the power of death, and if so may be an incredible threat to everyone around him. But there's also the fact that nothing in this issue feels like the Green Lantern books we know.

Abin Sur has always been presented as a figure that we should like. A Green Lantern who crashed on Earth and recruited a human to take on his mission. He wasn't hugely different from any of the other GL's we would meet, a decent man trying to make the universe a safer place. This Abin Sur, however, is absolutely terrifying. He's very alien, very mysterious, and very threatening. Two issues into this series and I have no idea if the Green Lanterns of the Absolute universe are even good people. They might be beyond such concepts of morality, and Jo could end up being a renegade GL because she actually cares. 

This lack of knowledge, the sheer alien nature of Abin Sur, and the slow unfolding of the story makes the book tense to read. Each page turn filled me with dread as we went back to the events of Evergreen, as I waited for the hammer to fall and something terrible to happen. Even when we cut back to the diner it didn't do much to help as Hal becomes increasingly scary over the course of the issue, ending up with all black eyes, a creepy voice, and talking about an ancient force that wants to devour things. It was a book that I both wanted to put down but also couldn't stop reading.

The art on the issue stands out as some of the best in the Absolute line too, with Jahnoy Lindsay creating some very alien, very beautiful images. I've seen some people online making reference to the previous issue having an almost manga inspired visual style, and whilst for the most part I'd disagree with that Abin Sur does feel familiar as a fan of the Dragon Ball franchise. But I think that plays out brilliantly here, as Lindsay creates a truly alien feeling alien, one that feels otherworldly and monstrous, rather than just a human with different colour skin or pointed ears. I'm genuinely excited to see what's done with other alien characters we know, and am anticipating this to be the most visually unique Green Lantern title we've ever had.

Absolute Green Lantern is absolutely a science fiction book rather than a super hero book, but it might be as much, if not more, of a cosmic horror series too. We're still in some very early days with the title, but it feels like this might be the biggest swing the Absolute line has taken, and one that's going to create one of DC's best titles in years. 

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Bluesky

Ultimate Wolverine #5 - Comic Review

 

Writer: Chris Condon, Artist: Alex Lins, 
Colourist: Bryan Valenza, Letterer: Cory Petit

Ultimate Wolverine was one of those books I was a little unsure about when it was first announced. The Ultimate X-Men book was great, even if I think it works better in a single read than month to month, and is its own unique animal that feels very unconnected in story and tone to the rest of the Ultimate universe. As such, I was unsure how this book was going to fit in with that. Whilst this title has done more to help push Ultimate X-Men even more into feeling like its own thing it's absolutely blown my expectations away, and has become my favourite title in the line so far.

The first four issues have spent a lot of time setting up Logan, and showing us how the Eurasian Republic rules with an iron fist, using awful techniques to put down any opponent. Logan, a former member of the resistance group The Opposition, is one of those methods, having been captured, experimented on, and physically and psychically broken and rebuilt into the Winter Solider, their ultimate weapon.

This issue moves away from Logan somewhat, and makes him more of a supporting character as we focus instead on Victor Creed, the man we know as Sabretooth. The cover, along with our experiences with the character in the main universe, build a certain expectation for this version of the character, and those expecting a vicious monster on par with the creature that Logan has been made into might be getting something of a surprise. 

Opening in the city of Rasputingrad, we find Creed running a small bar. But he's not just there to enjoy the quiet life, as it seems that Sabretooth is a part of The Opposition and their underground railroad, smuggling young mutants out of the country and the tyrannical rule of the Rasputins. With two children, Leech and Artie Maddicks, literally living under his floorboards whilst they wait to be taken to safety, this issue evokes some strong images from history, and instantly showcases how this version of Victor Creed is a very different animal.

I love this shift in the character. One of my favourite versions of Sabretooth was the Age of Apocalypse version, who I mostly knew from Exiles. His relationship with Blink was great, and I loved him being a caring father figure. It's also a wonderful inverse of the roles he and Logan have in the 616 universe, where he's the monstrous killer and Logan cares for mutant kids. I was also surprised how quickly a few pages of him being kind and caring towards a couple of kids made me really care about him, and genuinely fear for his safety once Logan arrived on the scene.

This issue Logan is a bogeyman, a monster that arrives in the middle of the night to threaten decent people and take children away in the dark. It hammers home how frightening a figure he is in this universe, and the fight that takes place between him and Creed is bloody, brutal, and fantastically depicted by the art team.

Speaking of the art, this issue sees a change in the artists, with Alex Lins taking over for Alessandro Cappuccio. It's a very different feel for the book, though one that works well in this setting. I absolutely adored Cappuccio's work on the previous four issues, and he created some absolutely gorgeous environments, depicting the brutal beauty of the Russian landscape. Lins, in contrast, creates art that seems to focus on the characters more, with the panels often having little to no background art in them, drawing the focus to Creed, the kids, and eventually Logan too. It helps to make the story happening this issue feel more grounded, a more human story, and whilst the awful beauty of the violence has a different flavour to it than previous issues it's no less brutal and shocking.

This issue ends up adding a lot more background information, and begins to fill in more of the blanks we have for Logan and his past, even if he's not learning about them himself. We also get another familiar face introduced that we'll likely be seeing more of next issue.

For those who've been enjoying this series I'm hoping that you love this issue as much as I do. It's a wonderful change of pace that doesn't feel shocking or out of place, and adds to this interesting tapestry that Condon is crafting. And if things continue as they have this issue the 6160 version of Victor Creed might become one of my favourites.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Bluesky

UK Government Cares More About Statues Than Trans People

 

Statues have sparked debate for a number of years now as more people have become conscious to the fact that a number of them have been erected to memorialise people that probably shouldn't be remembered too fondly. Some of the biggest examples of this in recent years were Confederate soldier statues in the United States coming under fire (rightfully so), and here in Britain we've had a statue of Edward Colston, who made a fortune in the slave trade, being torn down and thrown into a river in Bristol.

One event that seemed to galvanise people against statue defacement in the UK was during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, in which the words 'was a racist' were spraypainted on the plinth of a statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square. Since then the statue has received added protection during events, up to the point of having police officers form a protective ring around it; lest someone dare come within a foot of something so vitally important.

Winston Churchill is a figure that has become mythologised in Britain to the point where any talk of critiquing the man, or exploring the well documented facts of his life that cast him in a poor light will likely get you shut down on the spot. The Prime Minister during World War Two, Churchill was indeed important to the war effort, and the defeat of the Nazis, but has been transformed into a figure that some believe was so vital to that cause that without him the Nazis would have won, and is therefore immune to criticism or hate. This completely ignored the very real harms that Churchill committed during his lifetime.

'Keep England White' was a Churchill campaign slogan during the 1955 elections. He talked about how white people were a 'stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldly wise race to put it that way, has come in and taken their place' in reference to the destruction of indigenous peoples in countries like North America, Australia, and Palestine. He said that 'Indians breed like rabbits', and oversaw the Bengal Famine, in which three million people starved to death. He expressed his disgust of Asian people in 1954, saying 'I hate people with slit eyes and pigtails'. Churchill pushed colonialism as a form of 'help' for those that were conquered, saying 'by conquering and dominating other peoples, the British were also elevating and protecting them'.

Churchill also believed in eugenics, and pushed for the forced sterilisation of those deemed 'feeble minded'. He wrote openly about his views on the matter, even going so far as to send a letter to the then Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, in which he described the presence of these 'feeble minded' people as 'a national and race danger which it is impossible to exaggerate'. Churchill also played roles in people being sent to concentration camps in multiple countries, and there are some claims that he even supported the killing of 20,000 Kenyans in one such camp following the mau mau revolt.

So we have a man who held awful, racist views and wasn't afraid to share them. A man who wanted to force sterilise people he didn't like. A man who put people into camps. A man who oversaw a famine that claimed the lives of millions. A man who if he was anyone but the man who was in charge of Britain during the fight against the Nazis would be as villainised as they were. Unfortunately, Britain is so steeped in the vestiges of colonialism, it's racist history, and 'wartime nostalgia' that Churchill is seen as a hero despite his awful actions.

Today a new law has passed that would make climbing on the statue of Churchill that stands in Parliament Square a criminal offence, one that could land you with a £1,000 fine, and three months in prison. Whilst the statue is not an official war memorial, it will now be protected under the Crime and Policing Bill.

The Conservative Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer (let's be honest, he's basically a Tory), said 'Sir Winston Churchill stands at the summit of our country’s greatest heroes, and has been an inspiration to every prime minister that has followed him. The justifiable fury that is provoked when people use his statue as a platform for their protests speaks to the deep and enduring love that all decent British people have for Sir Winston. It is the least we owe him, and the rest of the greatest generation, to make those acts criminal.'

'But Amy, what does this have to do with trans people?' I hear you ask. Well, a month ago the UK Supreme Court made a ruling on the definition of woman as it pertains to the Equality Act 2010, and things have gotten very bad for trans people since then. Anti-trans campaigners have called this a victory for their side, with some even being so satisfied that trans people are finished that they've moved on to campaigning against immigrants. Organisations have used this ruling as an excuse to bring in new rules that discriminate against trans people. Some places have even enacted segregation-like tactics, forcing trans people into their own facilities that effectively force them to out themselves as trans and make their lives more dangerous. And throughout all of this Starmer and his government have remained either silent on the matter, or have come down on the side of bigots.

The UK government could shut this down, they could see that this ruling from the Supreme Court has put trans people in danger and change the laws to make it safe for us. They could condemn those calling for our rights to be taken away. They could be doing literally anything. But they're not. They're allowing this, and even making it worse. Let's not forget that this is the same government that decided that puberty blockers were super dangerous and had to be banned, but only for trans kids of course, cis kids could use them without any problem.

The British government doesn't like trans people. The voices within it that are standing up for us are few and far between, and most of the people in power either hate us, don't care enough to say anything, or will back any view that seems loud and popular to advance their own career. That's why the people who are calling for the eradication of trans peoples lives are given a free pass, and why the people who are kicking and screaming about the safety of statues of racist war criminals are listened to. Hell, they're the same type of old, white, hate filled fuckers. Even Starmer's statement that 'all decent British people' love Churchill frames those who disagree as indecent, terrible people. But why wouldn't this 'Labour' frame people that way?

The British government cares more about a statue than the thousands of lives it's putting on the line every single day to appease bigots. This is Britain in 2025, a Britain where the establishment seems to still hold many of the views they'd rather you not know Churchill had.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Bluesky

Co-op Boss Says Company Will 'Protect Trans People To The End'

 

Shirine Khoury-Haq, the chief exetcuive of the supermarket chain Co-op has issued a letter to all staff members in which she vowed to 'protect trans people until the end'.

Following last month's UK Supreme Court decision that sex in the Equality Act 2010 means 'biological sex' and would align with what was assumed at birth, multiple organisations and businesses have been quick to enact trans exclusionary policies and practices; some of which even suggest segregation of trans people.

In a letter issued to all 54,000 members of Co-op staff Khoury-Haq seems to have refused to allow Co-op to be added to this ever expanding list of bigoted companies. She said 'These are highly talented people who, if they feel loved, if they feel valued, if they feel like they can bring their whole selves to work, their contribution is immense.' at least 1,000 members of Co-op staff are reportedly members of the transgender community.

In the letter she said that she wanted to extend her 'personal support to all our trans and non-binary colleagues, those with trans and non-binary loved ones and anyone who will be feeling the impact of the ruling.'

She said that Co-op would continue to be a 'safe place for people, where they can do a great job but also be themselves'. She also made it clear that trans colleagues would be able to continue to use the toilet facilities and changing rooms that best matched their gender identity. 'If that's 'woke', I'm fine with it'.

'On a personal level, I need to take care of my trans colleagues. I always will, and, as long as I’m there, they will be protected. I will absolutely protect those people to the end.' She added. 

The Co-op runs more than 2,300 convenience stores across the UK, as well as more than 800 funeral care facilities, and insurance providers. 

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Bluesky

A Spell For Change by Nicole Jarvis - Book Review

 

'Kate has always been troubled by visions of the future. No matter what she does, her disturbing premonitions are always realized—often with terrible consequences. But Kate has swirling, romantic dreams of a strange boy, and a chance meeting in the woods.

'Oliver returned from the Great War disabled, disillusioned, and able to speak to the dead. Haunted by the death of his best friend and his traumatic memories of the trenches, Oliver realizes that his ability to communicate with spirits may offer the chance of closure he desperately seeks.

'Nora Jo’s mother and grandmother were witches, but she has never nurtured her own power. Always an outsider, she has made a place for herself in the town as Chatuga's schoolteacher, clinging to the independence the job affords her. But when her unorthodox ideas lead to her dismissal, salvation comes in the form of a witch from the mountains who offers her a magical apprenticeship.

'Rumours of a dark force stalking the town only push Kate, Oliver and Nora Jo onwards in their quest to determine their own destinies. But as they close in on their goals, each will have to consider whether what they seek is worth the price.'

Times of great upheaval are a wonderful setting for horror, it's why even some of the most small scale and mundane events used for horror stories tend to be some of the more stressful times in a persons life, such as moving home, having a baby, or losing a loved one. But there are some events that are so big that they change the entire world, and the scars left by a global war the likes of which had never been seen before feels almost tailor-made to explore the complexities of the human condition, and the things that frighten us.

Nicole Jarvis' latest novel picks the days following World War One as it's setting, taking readers to the American south of Tennessee to follow three characters whose lives have been touched, and forever changed, by the supernatural. Nora Jo is a young woman who's using the magics and small spells taught to her by her mother and grandmother to help people, but finds her own life in trouble when she's fired from her job as a schoolteacher when it's deemed inappropriate that a woman of her age to be unmarried. Kate is trying to make enough money to get her family out of their racist small town, but is plagued by terrible seizures that give her frightening visions of the future. And Oliver, the only son of a wealthy family, has recently returned home from the war having become disabled by the conflict, and with the ability to see ghosts. 

Each of the three protagonists are facing personal demons, lives harmed by the expectations and limitations put upon them by society of the time. Whether that's ableism, racism, sexism, or queerphobia, the three of them are harmed as much as, if not more than, the supernatural realm that starts creeping into their lives. And the first part of the book spends a lot of time establishing this, with the book being something of a slow burn, giving its characters and setting time to settle in and breathe before things really start to ramp up. I enjoyed this structure, and whilst I'd have liked the three of their narratives to come together a bit sooner as one of the characters was on their own of a bit whilst the other two intersected, I liked being able to learn more about these people before the horror became more overt.

A lot of this first half was also given over to establishing the setting, from the ambiance of the change of seasons to the places that we'd spend a great deal of time. But Jarvis also played around with folklore a lot too, crafting a darker history to Chatuga that gets under your skin and gives the setting a feeling of disquiet that never quite leaves you. It has a quiet folk horror flavour that isn't always explainable, and relies on deeper fears that have been passed down for generations.

Because of the slower pace of story, the trio of lead characters, and the way that the horror creeps rather than jumps out at you A Spell For Change is a book that is best savoured rather than read in a single sitting. It feels like the perfect book to spend a lazy weekend reading, or something to take away on a quiet holiday with you. People might be looking for more historical horror right now, especially ones that put characters first and deal with themes of pain, trauma, and the ways in which society treats those without power. Sinners has ignited a discussion about such themes, and whilst I would definitely recommend a lot of Black written books that touch upon the specific themes of that film those who are looking further afield, and who are looking to read historical horror of any type, will certainly want to take the time to consider A Spell For Change.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Bluesky

Transphobes Protest Trans Inclusion at Highgate Men's Pond

 

Since the UK Supreme Court ruling on the definition of sex under the Equality Act 2010 numerous organisations have been falling over themselves to use this very specific ruling as an excuse to ban transgender people from spaces and services, claiming that the law has changed and that the are required to do so; something that is incorrect.

One place that has refused to ban transgender people, and change their long standing stance on the matter, are the Highgate Men's Pond. The pond, which has been inclusive of trans men for many years, has a statement on their website (the very first thing you will see there) that informs the public that they are 'working through the implications' of the ruling before they make any changes. They have also instructed their staff at the pond not to engage the public in discussion on the matter, likely so that misinformation isn't given out, staff are safe, and that no one is left upset.

However, a number of transphobic campaigners, who have made the eradication of transgender people from public life their goal, do not find this to be acceptable. These 'feminists' have called the decision to not segregate a minority group 'unlawful', demonstrating that they have about as much of a grasp on the law as they do reality in general.

A very small group of protestors, apparently just three of them if their photo is anything to go by (we'll be generous and say a fourth is taking the photo), decided that the Ponds choice to be careful and thoughtful in their actions was so enraging that they would give up their time to protest the matter. Calling it 'Bank Holiday Men-day' these three/four old white women went to the pond 'dressed as men', donning inflatables, a crown with the word 'thief' scrawled on it, and a fake beard.

49-year-old Venice Allen, one of the transphobes in attendance, said 'We will continue to invade the men’s space until ours is female-only again! There are three ponds and people with gender identities are safe and welcome at the mixed sex pond.

'Not content with breaking the law, the City of London Corporation is now dragging its own staff into complicity. This draconian order appears to gag workers from even acknowledging their employer’s unlawful conduct to the public,' she said. 'It also instructs staff to report any instance of a swimmer having the temerity to question the breach – effectively encouraging them to inform on concerned members of the public to senior corporation bosses. It’s chilling.'

The Pond has indeed instructed its staff not to speak out on the matter, with notices in their staff huts outlining the best course of action to take if someone brings up the matter with them. It states 'Until further notices from our senior management team we must not get drawn into any conversations with swimmers or visitors about the ruling.'

In regards to questions from the public it tells them to reply 'We are continuing as we are until we hear further from our senior management team.' They are also told to pass any questions on to the press office, and report any swimmer who raises concerns over the lack of single-sex provision to their line manager. 'Please make sure you report any issues or inappropriate behaviour related to the above, using our incident reporting form and let your team leader know so we can escalate accordingly.'

Hardly 'draconian', the instructions seem to have been crafted as a way of protecting its staff from potential abuse, whilst also being able to gauge the public response on the matter. Of course, for people obsessed with the genitalia of complete strangers who want the world to work only their way, this would seem like a nightmare scenario.

A spokesman for the City of London Corporation said 'It is completely false to suggest that the City Corporation is not compliant with existing UK law. We take our obligations very seriously and a carefully considered decision in this complex matter will be taken in due course. In line with many other affected organisations we are carefully considering the judgment and awaiting statutory guidance from the EHRC which, by law, service providers must take into account.'

This anti-trans demonstration, which seemed to only consist of three/four people is overshadowed by the multiple pro-trans demonstrations that have taken place across the UK since the Supreme Court ruling, demonstrations that have attracted hundreds of thousands of people, and shows that the general public back trans people more than it does silly women in fake beards who want to boil people's lives and rights down to what genitals a doctor saw when they were born. 

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Bluesky

More Than 2,200 UK Writers Sign Open Letter in Support of Trans People

 

Over 2,200 UK writers have signed an open letter condemning the recent UK Supreme Court ruling that has been used to ostracise trans people, and has sparked changes in policies and guidelines across multiple organisations and businesses that have effectively barred trans people from safe spaces. The letter expressly supports the trans community and calls for others to do the same.

The letter says 'As outlined by the Good Law Project, this Supreme Court hearing took place on shaky legal ground and without the involvement of any trans voices; they also noted that had any trans organisations been involved, they would likely have been faced with harassment and threats.

'The UK has become an increasingly hostile place for trans and non-binary people, with a 186% increase in hate crimes against trans people in the last five years. We are deeply concerned that this ruling will embolden a bigoted but powerful minority in their harassment of trans and non-binary people and attempts to hound gender non-conforming people out of public spaces. This will have consequences not just for trans people but for anyone who deviates from gender norms, making society less safe for everyone.

'This Supreme Court ruling contributes to the erosion of the rights of marginalised LGBTQ+ communities globally. This has been seen recently in Uganda, Hungary and the US, to name only a few examples. Transparency International UK, which aims to fight corruption worldwide, warned two months ago about the impact of private donors’ influence in British politics, “with the US showing what could happen here if money in politics is left unchecked”.'

Signatories of the letter include high profile names such as Russell T Davies, Sara Pascoe, Billy Bragg, James Acaster, Aisling Bea, Kat Ellis, Una McCormack, Lewis Hancox, Jay Hulme, and others.

The open letter can be found here.

This letter is one of many that have been created over the last week from various groups, including UK writers, sportspeople, and historians.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Bluesky