Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
Fiona de Londras Profile picture
@fdelond
Mar 15, 2020 • 7 tweets • 4 min read • Read on X
I'll mostly be staying at home over the coming days, but we can still support our local businesses. Yesterday we got wine and cheese from the brilliant @graceandjameskh -- I am sure if someone rings ahead with a budget + wish list they can prepare an order for pickup.
They also own the excellent POLI next door, which does a takeout service. If, like us, you want to make sure these two brilliant businesses are still standing at the end of this, maybe order wine/beer from G+J and a pizza from Poli to pick up this eve wearepoli.co.uk
Other fantastic businesses to try and support include @artefact_bham -- brilliant coffee (incl. takeout) and let's not forget how wonderful they were to us during #ucustrikes. @loafonline is a wonderful cooperative bakery w. strict hygiene protocols. Pick your bread up there.
When we're spending a lot of time at home, it's nice to have nice things around us. @isherwoodandco does the most beautiful succulents in the world, and is a relatively new independent business also in Stirchley. Pick something nice up there if you can.
If you're more into craft beers and very very good ciders than wine, then @CotteridgeWines has a great selection and the shop is never very packed so should be fine to have a wander around and pick some nice things up.
The best meat and fish in Birmingham come from @Rossiters and if you ring ahead they will have your order waiting for you. My top tip? Get some of their (vacuum packed) oxtail and make this brilliant, cheap and delicious stew with it thespruceeats.com/italian-ox-tai…
You can pop into @TheCleanKilo right next door for your vegetables, pasta and pulses.
I am sure there are plenty of great independents in other parts of the city too, but on our end of town we're spoiled. Let's try and make sure it stays that way when this is all over.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Fiona de Londras

Fiona de Londras Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @fdelond

Fiona de Londras Profile picture
Aug 11, 2021
I've been off for a few weeks and barely looking at the papers, but of course caught the news re A Level results yest (btw young people: ignore the begrudgers). Given the (comparatively v. weird) way uni offers work in the UK, there are going to be BIG first year cohorts. 1/?
As a result, lots of places are going to be hiring many people v quickly. Some of these jobs will be permanent but many (most?) will likely be fixed-term teaching-focused jobs with little or no research time built in, esp. if unis plan not to maintain this intake size. 2/?
This puts ECRs, including people just coming out of PhDs, into a difficult position. People need jobs: they have bills and lives and they have worked extremely hard on slender or no scholarships for a long time. Of course they will apply for and get these jobs. 3/?
Read 12 tweets
Fiona de Londras Profile picture
Sep 25, 2020
This is awful and I just can't understad how we have come to this, but I have some thoughts... theguardian.com/education/2020…
First the obvious bit: the university sector has for decades been marketised & commercialised by government policy, made responsible for its own financial viability. As a result, it has built a (very profitable) infrastructure around a mode of delivery and 'student experience'.
That infrastructure includes accommodation (often tens of thousands of places), meal plans, sports facility memberships etc. In the absence of meaningful government support for the HE sector during the pandemic, these remain essential sources of income for unis.
Read 13 tweets
Fiona de Londras Profile picture
Sep 18, 2020
A near-lockdown is starting to feel rather inevitable. I am so pleased that we were able to relocate to South Devon this week and work, walk, eat, relax here for a change of scenery. It's been a tonic, and we are sharply aware of how lucky we are to have been able to do it.
What surprised me was the deep melancholy I got this week. The scenery and walking are wonderful in their own way, but they are not the kind of holiday activities that fill me up and restore me. I need museums, galleries, busy streets, energy, exploring cities, deciphering menus.
On top of it all it became pretty clear to me that the return to the office that I have been *aching* for, and which I anticipated happening on Monday, might not happen at all or for long. I miss my room, my colleagues, the campus so much. It's another place that gives me energy.
Read 5 tweets
Fiona de Londras Profile picture
Sep 18, 2020
"These were in many respects the bad old days, unworthy of anyone’s nostalgia. There was too little transparency, permitting countless small abuses...favouritism and prejudice...laissez-faire concealed unequal workloads and, in some cases, sheer indolence" lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/…
"...half of UK universities’ £40 billion annual income comes from fees...Academic heads of department...are set aspirational admissions targets which often prove unachievable due to the vicissitudes of an unstable market. The usual outcome... is misery over happiness"
"Even if it’s a good thing for fee-paying students to have a say in what their money buys, a transactional mentality has led to paradoxical demands for more contact hours and the right not to use them...Unlike other...services...students get out of a degree what they put in"
Read 7 tweets
Fiona de Londras Profile picture
Sep 18, 2020
"demanding a Christmas suspension of pandemic hostilities...attempt[s] to maintain the illusion that we’re in charge...I don’t want Christmas to be cancelled either, but...it’s not about Christmas, really. It’s about not wanting darkness to swallow us up" theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
On the idea of Christmas being 'cancelled': I increasingly feel like maybe Christmas, which will be different, might be more meaningful. No crazy shopping, scaled down meals, no big parties, no painful 'office parties'. Instead: quiet days, long walks, time together, TV movies.
I don't have children so I know that my Christmas is different. But maybe a scaled back Christmas would be nice for children too, including (whisper it) Santy having a budget (like before!). Could we revert to a big present, a small present, & a surprise?
Read 5 tweets
Fiona de Londras Profile picture
Sep 10, 2020
Oh. Oh dear. If we were writing formative feedback we might start with the killer phrase ‘I can see you have given this paper some thought, and there are some interesting ideas here, however....’
‘It would have been helpful had you paid closer attention to the differences between international legal obligations, and constitutionally permitted legislative action as a matter of domestic law’ etc
Very seriously: there will be public and international law tutorials devoted solely to using this ‘opinion’ as a teaching tool in a. the relationship between national and international law, and b. the importance of critically assessing the accuracy and weight of sources...
Read 5 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

Send Email!

:(