Drums beat, incense blows through the robes of sword-wielding chieftains in Kumasi, and British dignitaries bow to an African king to offer their gold.
Where will it be kept, who will see it?
What happens when British museums return their treasures:
Scores of actresses turn down roles in play critical of JK Rowling's gender views
Play originally titled TERF C*** features characters like a fictionalised Emma Watson remonstrating with Rowling
But these female roles have not been filled
Shakespeare's Globe has apologised for "offence caused" by a "moment of misjudgement", after sharing a poem directed at "terfs"
Poem was used to promote I, Joan play about non-binary Joan of Arc, and has been deleted
NEW: Writers leaving the Society of Authors after it was engulfed in a row of over gender ideology now offered protection at a rival union that has vowed to defend free speech
New: Libraries across the country are being advised to prevent LGBT people seeing “offensive” gender-critical books
Tips for council libraries suggest hosting drag queen events and limiting copies of “transphobic books” by gender-critical authors
Royal Academy pulls artist’s work from gift shop over ‘transphobic’ views
Jess de Wahls wrote in a blog in 2019 that ‘transwomen are biologically male’
National Gallery states that Just Stop Oil soup-throwing protesters did NOT damage Van Gogh painting, which appears to have been (thankfully) behind glass
Tate galleries shares advice with teachers telling them to use "they" pronouns in class, and get pupils to draw pictures regarding their "bodies and sexuality"
There are calls for Tate to remove what has been branded "gender propaganda"
New: Female-only Welsh publisher now invites submissions from trans and non-binary authors
Has promoted fears that women’s press Honno has “caved to ideology”
The Free Speech Union said: “Freedom of expression is under severe pressure within the literary world, with publishers and literary agents often failing to defend their authors when their speech rights come under attack. “
@SpeechUnion
The Super League has pushed me to finally join the
@nufctrust
The could help bring about a less avaricious, more democratic future for football
(or maybe I'm just glory hunting as NUFC might stand a chance if the 'big six' are banned🤞)
“The freedom of authors to express themselves and of people to read their work without interference or mediation by self-appointed censors is a fundamental human right.”
New: The Crooked House pub was subject to an application for listed status protection - which would have meant permission was needed for any structural changes - just one week before it burnt down… and was subsequently demolished
Gendered pronouns will be purged from official documentation by the Welsh government’s primary arts body
The Arts Council of Wales will remove “he/him” and “she/her" from its literature
Music industry in fourth year of growth after ‘mourn-fest’ of decline.
The industry has clawed its way out of a trough and is now worth around £15 billion, close to 2006 revenue levels
Drake, Ed Sheeran and BTS topping sales.
#music
#business
EXCLUSIVE: James Bond books have been edited to remove many racial references after Ian Fleming’s work was subjected to the judgement of sensitivity readers
NEW: Arts Council England advised all cultural institutions to sever ties with the Russian state.
Exhibitions and concerts should be cancelled, and loan deals for art should be scrapped
#BBC
to address ‘heteronormative culture’ with
#LGBT
reforms.
There will be new 'straight allies', to be identified with badges, and education on transgender issues and non-binary language.
New: Caribbean nations are to formally demand slavery reparations from the Royal family.
New approach being mulled will involve nations bypassing UK government and seeking reparations directly from institutions with links to the slavery
Exlc: India is set to wage a diplomatic campaign to reclaim the Koh-i-Noor diamond and thousands of other treasures from Britain in a “reckoning” with the colonial past 🇮🇳
NEW: Arts Council England new guidance urging museums to consider “right thing to do” when it comes to returning disputed treasures like the Elgin Marbles and Benin Bronzes
Ashington Football Club are deeply saddened to hear to loss of one of our very own World Cup Winners and heroes Jack Charlton.
Jack has always been a proud Ashingtonian and was a welcome visitor at the club over the years. Our thoughts are with Jack’s family and friends.
Russian classical music will not be boycotted British orchestras because it is “part of the western cannon”
Association of a British Orchestras tells me regardless of Ukraine within, the genius of Rachmaninoff belongs to “all” and “not just Russia”
NEW: Gender-critical books set to be reinstated in the library of a Labour council after a backlash against "censors" removing them from display.
But council may to ensure that books questioning gender ideology are still not “promoted” in its libraries
New from Iraq:
Sumerians - who first told of the Flood story echoed in the Bible - were forced to invent a “civilisation-saving” device to control water and stave off drought 4000 years before the technology was thought to exist
BBC plaque celebrating the “first black Briton” has been removed because scientific evidence shows she was not African in origin.
The sign honouring “Beachy Head Lady”, was erected in an East Sussex village as part of the 2016 Black and British series
Haile Selassie’s grandson has bought an Ethiopian shield at auction in order to reclaim it from Britain, and return the artefact to its homeland.
The shield was taken by British forces in 1868
Alfred, Lord Tennyson has been named as an LGBT historical figure on a tour for schools, despite a lack of evidence that the poet had any homosexual relationships
A University of Oxford museum has hidden an African artefact because it “must not be seen by women”
The move to guarantee “cultural safety” is intended to ensure female visitors do not inadvertently break cultural taboos
The British government has said the Parthenon Marbles will be off the table in planned talks with Greece… which were requested by UNESCO to discuss the Marbles
Frantic search for missing girl, 13, who didn't make it to school.
Police have asked the public to call 999 with any information or sightings.
You can share
@MPSMerton
@MPSKingston
@MPSWandsworth
🇮🇳 🇬🇷 India may become ally in Greece’s fight for the Elgin Marbles as part of plans to support victims of “colonial appropriation”
India will use its G20 presidency this year to cajole member states to support the return of historical artefacts
Moped crime in
#London
laid bare as epidemic rocks to capital
"They are not working on their own. They have international experts and the backing of organised crime.
“Kids stealing mopeds is the business end of organised criminal networks.”
@DavidVidecette
No 10 has raised concerns on behalf of taxpayers, after the Telegraph discovered a London theatre receiving an annual £150,000 in public funding via the Arts Council staged its own show for an “all-black audience”.
"It really gets rid of any prejudices as to what a body should look like"
"It’s very healthy"
Life drawing advocates believe sketching naked men and women should be part of a balanced curriculum
@LondonDrawing
@spiritedbodies
via
@telegraphnews
@stonewalluk
Advised the BBC on the use of identifiable 'straight allies', an idea that has been implemented elsewhere namely: Police forces, The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Sky and BuzzFeed
Council fails in bid for court wardship of terminally ill girl Melody Driscoll but family could be left 'in limbo' by Croydon Council decision
@KazzMarie
#nhs
Grenada calls wealthy British families with historic links to slavery to and set up charities to pay reparations, following the example or Laura Trevelyan
It is hoped family charities could provide a “model” for paying reparations to the Caribbean
Gender-critical editor claims to have been dropped by agency over ‘five o’clock shadow’ tweet which questioned the ready acceptance of people with “heavy 5 o'clock shadow” as women.
EM Forster’s A Passage to India has been given a trigger by publishers warning for “offensive” language, prompting concerns English literature is being tarnished by American cultural fixations.
Been an exhilarating experience covering the heart of London for the past two years.
Now joining
@PA
for the next challenge.
Contact me on here with any stories
Another British museum’s guidelines may restrict public access to artefacts because of cultural sensitivities about women viewing them.
Policies for handling “culturally restricted objects” will inform displays
Caribbean nations are set to demand slavery reparation from European nations aided by lobbyists paid for by an Irish billionaire
Bespoke reparations plans - to be presented to EU and UK - may be ready in a matter of months
BBC Proms ticket holders have been told they will be barred from bringing “protest flags” to the Last Night.
Explicit rules bar flags linked to “hatred”
Westminster Abbey to return sacred tablet to Ethiopia after consulting with the Royal Household
The Abbey, under the jurisdiction of the King, has been repeatedly asked to return the ‘tabot’
Decision marks major victory for repatriation campaigners