I’ve been critical of Tutankhamun shows for ‘discover glittering treasures’ approach, evoking gaze like Carter’s:white,patrician, expressing supremacy,othering Egypt,non Europ monarchy & religion. And total exclusion of the 60 Egyptian archaeologists & assistants who did the work These 60 Egyptian men (& some boys) were experts but they’ve been excluded. The whole Carter /Canarvon adventure tomb raiding thing should have been retired in the 1920s. That it’s been still going is pretty suggestive.

‘I worked 7 days a week...I didn’t have my own credit card, money or passport’. #Britney was exploited and depressed, forced to earn money she never saw.
Made to have an IUD. Monstrous.
Her father controls her - for cash. The law lets him. Set her free. #FreeBritney

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1407824540978270214

Britney had a few episodes many years ago. Male stars literally attack people and still get to live their lives. Instead she’s been trapped on a money-making machine, forced into such misery that it would harm anyone’s mental health.

Royal baby names have always been a signifier of (royal) power. eg when Victoria was born, her father was convinced she would be Queen and wanted her to be called a name seen as v royal, such as Charlotte etc. But his brother the Prince Regent, in charge of christening, said no. He said - give her the mother‘s name. Victoire was anglicised to Victoria. V herself said she was the first person ever to be called Victoria. Her name was meant by Prince Regent to signify she’d never be near the throne.

The rosary of #MaryQueenofScots, just stolen from @ArundelCastle. As I’ll be saying to @vicderbyshire @BBCNews at 10.30, they are irreplaceable. Her execution in 1587 In Fotheringhay was brutal and directed to be humiliating, in a hostile country. Denied most dignities - #MaryQueenofScots was told last minute in her Fotheringhay house arrest she would be executed next day, they tried to deny her her ladies in waiting (so the executioner would unclothe her - shocking treatment) and those who had once been her friends turned hostile witnesses.

Cries to remove titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex from Harry and Meghan. But Harry’s title of Prince cannot be removed. Thus if they were no longer Duke and Duchess, they’d be Prince and Princess. Which would, one might argue, be even more appealing on the world stage.. Meghan’s title would be Princess Henry of Wales. That is her title through marriage but she does not use it now due to the Sussex titles. But if the Sussex titles removed, she would be quickly called in general speech Princess Meghan or indeed Princess Meghan of Wales....

All my clothes are now covered in cat hair so hope you’re keen for some when hugging is allowed..... Aw glad you like him! He’s a very fluffy British longhair - and my long term romance with black opaque tights is under threat as they’re covered in fluff....

Was great to hear Hannah Cockcroft, multi times Gold Paralympian talk on @BBCBreakfast about her experience of winning the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Founded in 1956, now running in over 140 countries. As @BarackObama said yesterday on Prince Philip, ‘he found a way to lead without demanding the spotlight, serving in combat...touring the world to champion British industry’. Thank you for having me today @BBCBreakfast

During the Allied Invasions of Sicily in 1943,Philip’s ship HMS Wallace (covering soldiers going ashore) was targeted by German bombers . ‘We were the target for tonight & they would not stop until we had suffered a fatal hit’, said Harry Hargreaves,serving with Philip. HMS Wallace couldn’t outpace the bombers. The crew were sitting ducks. With 20 mins before Bomber due to return, Philip, the First Lt had an idea. Crew would throw a wooden raft over side & attach smoke floats. So it would look from sky as if Wallace had been hit and was smoking.

In 2010, landing cards of Windrush arrivals were destroyed. Then people who’d come as kids, like this little boy, now seniors, threatened w deportation, loss of NHS treatments, benefits. Many lost everything & suffering continues. But #SewellReport says no institutional racism. On how report barely mentions Windrush, put brilliantly by @ppvernon - ‘if they had focused on the scandal, they would have had to admit that there was a systematic, structural failure in the way that the Home Office targeted the Windrush generation’ theguardian.com/world/2021/apr…

In 1911,Emily Davison hid in cupboard in Parliament chapel, part of suffragette effort to avoid being counted on Census Night (one group spent night on Wimb Common). E spotted by a cleaner & entered as ‘found hiding in crypt’. Thank you ⁦@theipaper⁩ inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyl… Here’s Emily Wilding Davison’s census form from the Parliament UK site, rights with the National Archives. parliament.uk/about/living-h…

Thank you @CNN⁩ ⁦@PamelaBrownCNN⁩ - talking #HarryandMeghan. We don’t know what will be said with ⁦@Oprah⁩. But the facts don’t look good: a Black woman married into the RF & then comes sexism & racism. #Meghan did what other royal women did -but she got attacked. Lots of coverage saying interview will be damaging. Point is, what went on in 2018/19 was damaging - prejudice, racism (inc mass meltdown over Frogmore) and they had to leave. Whether she speaks about unfair coverage or not (I expect so), it is the case. #HarryandMeghanonOprah

Thanks for spotting me on @BBCBreakfast - as I said, Harry and Meghan are a great loss to the RF - and we have to look at ourselves as a country, the racism against Meghan has been relentless. We think people who marry into the RF are our dolls to torment. I also said that I think the half in /half out model is the future for the younger siblings, as in the Euro royals. It will happen eventually. It could have worked now. The Mayhew said that their Sussex Xmas card reached 250 mil - that star power has been lost to the RF and UK.

Bye bye... Cannot express how much grief I got over this photo. I think I left it on Twitter but removed from Instagram as the stuff towards my followers was just too abusive. It was a FACT. The balloon was flying. But the anger directed towards those reporting on Trump was madness.

'The first woman of colour to marry into the royal family and she's been chased out'. One year since #HarryandMeghan requested a model of part-time royal working. It could have worked - well. But instead the plan and the Sussexes were torn apart. And now we've lost them.

https://twitter.com/Channel4News/status/1219662392512122887

There was misogynoir before the wedding and it surged afterwards. And there became a mass hysteria over the '2.4 million' on Frogmore - when all royals live in Crown properties renovated by the Crown and no one seeemed to mind before.

It’s been a terrible year for everything but wonderful books have been published. So so many I loved, here are a few tweets of some of my favourites: Olivette Otele, @analuciaraujo_ @EJBrand @cspencer1508 Of the many superb novels published 2020, I loved @blgtylr @cpamzhang @richardosman @kileyreid

My lockdown walking chum Otis says hello! Now THIS is what I call a terrier!! Not sure he likes having his photo taken though... I must say, I had never realised how many people TALK to you while you are out with a dog - you dog walkers are a sociable bunch!!!