End of year reflections ⋆⟡*✩
My final newsletter of 2025
Whilst this newsletter is intended to be sporadic, it is generally in my mind to send it out every three months; around both the solstices and equinoxes. As the winter solstice approaches tomorrow, I’ve been struggling to write what I want to write. I want to slow down for the winter, I want to celebrate this year’s achievements, but mostly my thoughts are elsewhere.
This week my thoughts have been with the 8 hunger strikers, held on remand in UK prisons (some for over a year, twice the legal limit) without bail or conviction - for peacefully taking action to stop UK-manufactured weaponry being sent to Israel. Hunger strike is a way for them to resist the increasingly hostile conditions they face in prison, and the injustices we all still bare witness to as the genocide in Palestine rages on, in spite of the so-called ceasefire.
Our government’s ministers have ignored, declined, even laughed at and denied knowing about, requests from over 50 MPs and over 800 doctors to meet with the hunger striker’s lawyers to come to a resolution in this critical moment. Please follow @prisoners4palestine on Instagram to read about the hunger strikers’ demands, and to keep up to date with how you can help. And to support people in Gaza this winter, please consider donating to The Sameer Project or Bridge of Solidarity, who are both doing vital work in Palestine.
As dissonant as it feels to do so, there is some good news I want to share amidst the darkness. In November, my partner Orion & I unbelievably exceeded our Kickstarter fundraising goal for our photo book t-fags. We have since been working with the designers on the book layout. We can’t wait to launch on Tuesday 24th February at Photo Book Cafe in London. A formal invite will be sent out in the new year - for now, please save the date!
Three photos from t-fags were also selected to be part of NO DRAMA’s 2026 queer calendar. You can DM them on Instagram to preorder a copy.
Huck Magazine have also included our photo Ash III from the series in their annual charity print sale. All proceeds go to Choose Love, who support refugees worldwide, you can purchase one here.
Like last year, I wanted to close by sharing a round up of some of the music that has brought joy and comfort to me this year. I have made a Buy Music Club list of all the releases you can buy on Bandcamp. Honourable mentions that I could not add to the list (due to them not being on Bandcamp): Essex Honey by Blood Orange, Euro Country by CMAT, Virgin by Lorde and LUX by Rosalia. I hope you enjoy discovering some of these special albums.
If you got this far, thank you for reading. Chag sameach, happy new moon, happy solstice, happy new year and merry Christmas ~ here’s to more hope, resistance and love in 2026.
Until next time,
El x