Bertha Mason

@thornfieldhall

Firestarter Maker of poor pottery Creator of disappointing dinners Hoarder of unfinished craft projects Lefty, wokey, inclusivey Sunny South East London

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Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· 15d

And whilst successive governments seem to want to write off the younger generation as softies who'd rather take benefits for MH issues than work, it's worth remembering what triggered that surge.

BBC chart sourcing NHS Digital: Showing that referral to children and young people's mental health services started soaring from mid 2020 - Covid time.

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· 15d

Back to pottery classes at last. Picked up some pots I put in for firing before my operation. Experimenting with overfiring, plus some simple eathenware stuff. Still can't paint a continuous thin line with glaze, so my drawings look horribly messy. 🙄 #pottery

Large bowl with matt glazes in brown and white, overfired to look more earthy.

Deep jewellery bowl with ring pillar in the middle and earring holes around the outer lip, painted with bunnies and leaves.

Big stonware fired vase, roughly carved with long grass, birch glaze breaking over carving.

Little earthenware bud vase Simply painted with muticoloured stripes in watercolour style.

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· 16d

As if the AI leeches couldn't get any worse. Anthropic has admitted in court that after digitising books, they destroy them. This includes rare books. You can only presume that their long term ambition is to own history and the truth, making it their own.

The
first factor favors fair use for the training copies.

The Copies Used to build A Central Library.

But that is not the only use at issue. Recall that Anthropic purchased millions of print books for its central library and pirated millions of digital books for its central library, too. It used specific sets and subsets of books for training specific LLMs. And, it then retained all the copies in its central library for other uses that might arise even after deciding it would not use them to train any LLM (at all or ever again). Anthropic seems to believe that because some of the works it copied were sometimes used in training LLMs, Anthropic was entitled to take for free all the works in the world and keep them forever with no further accounting. There is no carveout, however, from the Copyright Act for AI companies.

Because the legal issues differ between the library copies Anthropic purchased and pirated, this order takes them in turn.
(i) The Purchased Library Copies Converted from Print to Digital. Anthropic purchased millions of print copies to "build a research library" (Opp. Exh. 22 at 145, 148), It destroyed each print copy hile replacing it with a digital copy for use in its library (not for sharing nor sale outside the company). As to these copies, Authors do not complain that Anthropic failed to pay to acquire a library copy. Authors only complain that Anthropic changed each copy's format from print to digital (see Opp. 15, 25 & n.14). On the facts here, that format change itself added no new copies, eased storage and enabled searchability, and was not done for purposes trenching upon the copyright owner's rightful interests - it was transformative.

Anthropic purchased its print copies fair and square. With each purchase came entitlement for Anthropic to "dispose[ ]" each copy as it saw fit. 17 U.S.C. $ 109(a). So, Anthropic was entitled to keep the copies in its central library for all the ordinary uses.

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· 17d

Here you go. I can just 'select all' copy on my phone.

Now, details of the legal defence by the Mavor's 0ffice for Policing and Crime, which oversees the Met, are coming out. London Centric has been told that City Hall will claim a senior member of the Met's commercial team was instructed to ensure that Palantir got the £50m contract and that the police's procurement process was formulated specifically to hand the data contract to Palantir The mayor's team will also claim that the Met Police provided inaccurate data to the deputy mayor for policing and crime about the extent to which other companies were in the running for the contract when, it is alleged, Palantir was the only game in town. The mayor's office will also argue that the deal was really blocked because the police's supposed desire to give the contract to Palantir had made it impossible to confirm whether the deal was value for money, rather than for ideological reasons. This has the potential to get very messy

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· 19d

This photo of beachgoers in Moutchic, southwestern France, watching plumes of smoke from the Bordeaux wildfires has been living rent free in my head all day. It needs to be woven into some Raymond Briggs story. Credit: Maximilien Lamy AFP

Dystopian photograph of a middle aged couple sitting in deck chairs on a beach, with a colourful beach umbrella between them. Various belongings, bags, hats etc are strewn around them. He is relaxed with his knee up; she is looking at her phone. There are a few people at the shore or in the water. They all seem oblivious to the giant plume of smoke erupting from the wildfires beyond the opposite shore. It looks as if an atomic bomb has gone off and nobody cares.

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· 20d

79% of over-65s hold or can access older persons' free bus passes...but guess which group is least likely to strongly support a cap on bus fares... Yes, the British public, or certainly many of my generation, are self-centred.

YouGov survey 22nd July 2026 on strong support of the £2 single fare bus cap.
All: 55%
18-24: 68%
25-49: 60%
50-64: 50%
65+: 44%

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· 27d

Remarkable, but... (and of course, they will only do it on a misgendered basis. There had to be a catch.)

Between of Free Speech Union tweet from Toby Young. The tweet says: The Free Speech Union has said that, should Heather Herbert join the Free Speech Union, we would do our best to help him.

Heather Herbert posted a vile and deeply offensive statement on the social media platform BlueSky about the tragic murder of Ann Widdecombe.

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jul 13

Oh no! Not Sam Neill 😢 He always struck me as one of the good guys. A really terrific actor, always pitch perfect. I loved the tales from his farm, Two Paddocks. Let's hope he is reunited, and back doing yoga, with his beloved pig, Angelica (he/him). Very sad RIP, Sam.

Sam Neill with his beloved pig, Angelica (he/him), who did in 2024.
At the time, Sam wrote: “HEARTBREAK. My dear old friend Angelica (he/him) died yesterday. My beloved old pig,” Neill wrote. “I rescued him about 18 years ago, and we were close friends all those years .
Sadly i wasn’t at home to say goodbye. He had been doing okay over the winter, but the last few weeks he’d lost condition. And was looking stiff and sore. The vet decided it was kind and humane to quietly let him go. And there he is, at rest.

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jul 8

I'm sure many will find it cheesy, but to my mind this is the most romantic picture ever painted. More amazingly, it is a watercolour, so it is only exhibited for two hours a week - you have to book to see it. The Meeting on the Turret Stairs by Sir Frederic William Burton

Hellelil and Hildebrand, the Meeting on the Turret Stairs by Sir Frederic William Burton.
When Hellelil falls in love with her bodyguard Hildebrand, her father sends her seven brothers to kill Hildebrand. The painting depicts the moment before Hildebrand goes out to meet the brothers, kissing Hellelil one last time. Hellelil is dressed in blue with her back to the viewer, turning her head away from her lover, Hildebrand as he folds her arm around him, kissing it. Hildebrand is coming down the stairs, wearing chain mail and a red tunic, with a sword at his waist.

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jul 8

First, the dolphin, next the bin. Bring it on #BinfacevsFrogface

From 2010. Photo of Nigel Farage and the dolphin who beat him.
Election results: Ukip's Nigel Farage finishes behind John Bercow and
Flipper
Farage wanted to overturn the Speaker who had enraged the electorate by flipping his second home, but in the end he himself was flipped by a candidate dressed as a dolphin

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jul 7

He does have a phenomenally ability to attract criminals into his close circle, though.

Orpington man Joseph
Farage fined for upskirting
offence

Nigel Farage's daughter's long-term boyfriend's parents face ten years in jail after admitting drug charges

An investigation by the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command has led to a former Member of European Parliament for the UK being jailed, after he accepted bribes from a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician in exchange for making statements that supported pro- Russian narratives
Nathan Gill

Reform UK's Farage failed to disclose funds from convictec criminal: Report
George Cottrell provided funds for Reform UK leader's security, drivers, staff and accommodation

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jul 6

He plea dealed (dealt?) away far more crimes than he was sentenced for in his wire fraud conviction. These included laundering drugs money.

Post from Tom Scott:
The BBC (and others) really should qive more detail of the fraud for which Nigel Farage's close associate & benefactor George Cottrell was convicted & iailed in the US. This was to da with him offerina to launder drug money. Here's part of the 2016 indictment. #bbclaurak
Case 2:16-cr-00879-DJH Document 3 Filed 07/19/16 Page 2 of 8

an acronym for "The Onion Router," which is a mechanism to anonymize internet traffic. TOR also enables access to certain websites accessible only through the TOR network; these websites are known as TOR "hidden services" or the "dark web.'
2. Undercover law enforcement_agents contacted Banker, posing as drug traffickers seeking money laundering services for approximately $50,000 to $150,000 per month in drug trafficking proceeds. Banker agreed to help the undercover agents launder their money for a fee, and then proposed that the undercover agents speak with his associate, "Bill."
3. The undercover agents talked with Banker and Bill on March 27, 2014, via an encrypted group messaging platform online. Bill agreed to launder the undercover agents' purported drug proceeds by transferring the property to offshore accounts "with complete anonym[ity] and security." The undercover agents then met with Bill- later identified as GEORGE SWINFEN COTTRELL- in person in Las Vegas, Nevada
4. On June 9, 2014, COTTRELL instructed the undercover agents to send $20,000 in cash of purported drug proceeds to his associate in Colorado, which_wowlthen be laundered through COTTRELL's bank accounts back to the undercoy account.

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jul 6

There seems to be some closeness...

Post from Tom Scott:
It will be interesting to see if the Sunday Times can shed any light on exactly why Farage's LeaveEU associate Andy Wigmore forwarded documents about Cottrell's US arrest to Sergey Fedichkin, "third secretary" at Russia's London embassy. lcan think of only one likely explanation.
12:07 AM . Jul 5, 2026

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jul 6

Yes, true. But I wonder why he didn't mention the fella who scored the other two goals?

Trump post saying Harry Kane is a great player.

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jul 6

Mmm...photos from 2019. George Cottrell with Farage on a walk around with convicted Russian bribe-taker, Nathan Gill (although they don't remember knowing him)

Nathan Gill with his arm around George Cottrell

From left: Nigel Farage, Nathan Gill, George Cottrell.

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jul 1

Wow! Fabulous colours! I got this free with some other plants a couple of years ago, and I've not given it much love. I had put the phenomenal size of it this year down to the brutal pruning I gave it last year, but maybe this year's weather has just been great for hydrangeas.

Massive white hydrangea on a pot next to a crocosmia Lucien. Three biggest flower is the size a dinner plate.

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jul 1

Amazing what is achievable if you make the rich pay their fair share of tax...and in such a short time. Transformation doesn't have to take ten years.

Bluesky post from New York Mayor Mamdani:
In January, our administration inherited a $12 billion budget deficit - a fiscal crisis greater than the Great Recession.
Today I am proud to announce that our balanced budget has cleared the final step and passed the New York City Council,
We balanced the budget by taxing the rich and making government more efficient. We did not balance this budget on the backs of working people, and we never will
Every year that follows will build on these principles: Honest budgeting. Fiscal discipline. Transparent government. And an unwavering belief that working people deserve a government that delivers for them every day A

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jun 30

Old enough to recognise THIS as a data centre!

A library
(Duke Humphrey's in the Bodleian, to be precise)

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jun 28

He has the gorilla knuckle stand. Sadly, he hasn't evolved to have their intelligence or empathy.

Photo of a gorilla, who would look much nicer on an American passport than Donald Trump.

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jun 24

Those lines smack of the old 1934/5 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Jonckheere Aerodynamic Coupe. The Phantom I Jonckheere had a back end like Darth Vader's helmet. Absolutely beautiful, but a nightmare to drive.

Rolls-Royce Phantom l Jonckheere Aerodynamic Coupe

The back end of a Rolls-Royce Phantom l Jonckheere Aerodynamic Coupe

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jun 22

Compare and contrast the fiscal stimulus of Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 with Tory austerity.

Economist historic chart on Labour productivity per hour worked
showing the USA maintaining growth after the global financial crisis whereas the UK and Europe were relatively stagnant.

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jun 17

Oh look...the USA has reintroduced slavery.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement eased its operating standards for migrant detention centers after being asked by a company that runs more than a dozen facilities, according to a report Tuesday,
The new rules, posted online Monday, no longer require private prison contractors to comply with state and local laws, or to pay migrants at least $1 a day to work for them, The Washington Post said.
The move came after The Geo Group - which formerly employed two of President Donald Trump's top immigration officials and made hefty donations to Trump's 2025 inaugural fund and a Trump-aligned super PAC -- was sued in three states for allegedly violating minimum wage laws, The Post said.

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jun 16

The main argument for the ban seems to be the effect on kids' mental health...but how will they balance the quantitative with the qualitative? Yes, more children are seeking help for MH issues, but suicides are down & do not correlate with social media growth. Spitfires & survivor bias comes to mind

England & Wales suicide rates by age historic 1981-2023
Source: Suicides in England and Wales from the Office for National Statistics
Chart showing suicide rates have declined in all age groups over the past 40 years in all age groups including children.
Dates as graphically available. 2024 aged under 20 suicide rate 5.8 deaths per 100,000 people (ONS)

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jun 12

Quite a bizarre way of announcing that David Hockney has died, BBC! RIP David, always interesting and innovative...and turned down a knighthood.

BBC announcing David Hockney's death with a video of him working and a chiron saying 'David Hockney resigns'.

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jun 11

Do they mean confetti strands? They are a different shape to hundreds and thousands.

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jun 11

Yes. Same as sprinkles.

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jun 11

No, the balls are balls. Hundreds and thousands are the multicoloured sprinkles.

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jun 10

Enough. Tommy Robinson is in Moscow with Errol Musk, whilst whipping up hate against ethnic minorities who are now not safe in their own homes. Farage is stirring the pot. The police need to start treating these people as what they are, domestic terrorists. Arrest the lot of them.

BBC report from Belfast:
23:27 9 June
People being put out 'because they're black'- pastor
A pastor who has been helping those in houses targeted in tonight's violence says people were being put out of their homes "because they're black".
Pastor Jack McKee was at the scene where multiple houses were on fire around the Crumlin Road in north Belfast - he says some members of his church "who have been with us for 20 years" were 'getting put out of their home. had their house attacked. windows smashed. houses beside them burned".
"They're good Christian people anc they're getting put out just because they're black," he says.
"I'm doing my best to help them, it's as simple as that."
He adds that "obviously we're all disqusted" after the attempted murder ir north Belfast last night
"But this doesn't help anyone."
McKee savs that those put out of their homes will "probably" not be able to return to the area, saying that "innocent people" are hurting,
"Men, women, children that are living in fear because of what some idiot did last night.
"I'm angry and l'm disappointed that this is the response of people in our community."

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jun 5

So the appallingly low teachers' pay, which hasn't kept up with inflation, is only an issue when it starts to affect men? And the solution is to pay men more? When all the worst people say they want to take Britain back to the 'good old days', this is what they mean...inequality. Vile.

That said, the IfS has estimated that even after this year’s pay rise, pay of experienced teachers will be around 9 per cent lower in real-terms than in 2010, with earlier career teachers less affected because of recent large increases to starting salaries.

The unions said “we are clear that, to restore the pay lost in real terms and repair the damage done to recruitment and retention, future pay increases in this Parliament must be significantly above RPI inflation”.

Bertha Mason@thornfieldhall· Jun 3

Smart move by Lowe. Sam Freedman is spot on, here. It feels like a tipping point where Restore has out manoeuvred Farage and is starting to position itself as the more reasonable voice of the far right.