Happy Friday! This week’s links…

Women who have to travel to England for abortions. I support the right of women to have abortions but I’m reluctant to wade into the rights and wrongs of access to abortion in the Republic. However, it’s appalling that women in Northern Ireland can’t get access to a procedure that is legal the UK. If Northern Ireland is so bloody keen on staying in the Union, then woman should have the same rights as women in the rest of the Union…

The joy of a boring walk.

The Bristol conundrum. Not just London then

Mark Steele on poppy wearing. It’s getting to stage where I don’t want to wear one just to be contrary.

Suzanne Moore on gender and being genderqueer. First up, if someone decides to transition from the gender they were at birth to a different one, good for them. I will use the name and gender pronouns they feel are appropriate if I am aware of them, i.e I have a clear understanding of how they present. That’s just good manners and if I make a mistake, I am happy to be corrected. I have no doubt that there is horrific bullying of transpeople and I have no desire to add to it. I don’t like people  who think they know about and understand my experience of being a woman  better than I do. For the record, this has always been my problem with Germaine Greer. Her experience is not every woman’s experience. We all need to understand and listen to people and their experiences, I can’t speak to BAME women’s experience or transpeople’s experience or middle class woman’s experience. We also need to understand  that for some people the notion of changing gender is deeply disturbing and we need to acknowledge and be sensitive to that too.