The face on the homepage of Heritage Open Days (England’s biggest history & culture festival) looks familiar 👀 My pre-event to mark the coming centenary of Princess Irene Duleep Singh’s tragic death by suicide in 1926. Grateful to all involved — and to @samaritans.bsky.social for their support 💜

Free Heritage Open Days Festival begins on Friday.

Heritage Open Days events are now on Visit Lichfield. @lichfieldlive.bsky.social ‘A Forgotten Princess: Irene Duleep Singh and the Evolution of Mental Health and Law’ coincides with World Suicide Prevention Day (10 Sept). visitlichfield.co.uk/listing/a-fo... @samaritans.bsky.social Call 116 123

September is World Suicide Prevention Day month 💜 For Heritage Open Days I’ll be remembering a forgotten princess — Irene Duleep Singh — and how her life & death show the evolution of mental health & law over the last century. If you’re struggling, call Samaritans 116 123 @samaritans.bsky.social

@anitaanand.bsky.social I should add — Heritage Open Days (backed by the National Trust) have spotlighted this event on Princess Irene Duleep Singh and the evolution of mental health & law. Timed to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day. 💐 www.heritageopendays.org.uk/submission-e...

2 pages in @anitaanand.bsky.social’s book on Princess Sophia Duleep Singh stood out — about the last princess, Irene. Her struggles with mental health and tragic suicide led me to research further. She’s now the focus of my FREE Heritage Open Days event. www.heritageopendays.org.uk/submission-e...

For anyone who wants to see more research on the English countryside’s relationship with colonialism, there’s this on Capability Brown’s landscape gardens: alanlester.co.uk/blog/capabil...

Saw ‘Marriage Material’ at the Birmingham Rep—an absolutely fantastic adaptation of Sathnam Sanghera’s book. Funny, moving, and brilliantly performed. On until tomorrow (5th July). If you’re near Birmingham, don’t miss it! #MarriageMaterial #BirminghamRep #Theatre #WhatsOnBrum @sathnam.bsky.social

Wishing all my American family and friends a Happy July 4th Independence Day! 🇺🇸 Music of the day: Beach Boys – Surfin’ USA! 🇺🇸🌴☀️ #July4th #IndependenceDay #USA #SurfinUSA #SummerVibes #RedWhiteAndBlue #StarsAndStripes #FourthOfJuly #HappyFourth #JulyFourth #Freedom #American #America #LandOfTheFree

I recommend #BritishMuseum trustee Tiffany Jenkins’ new book—in context with her earlier works. What if our digital present is the ‘Curse of Minerva’ Byron warned of in 1811, after #Elgin took Athena’s marbles? Byron’s daughter, Ada Lovelace, was mother of the digital age… Was the #Curse prophecy?

@alanlester.bsky.social Looks like I’ve found a summary of the debate online. Her new book subtly—and perhaps unintentionally—shows how these debates are shifting: from questions of ownership and reparations to questions about the logic of authority, privacy, exposure & dignity when the tables turn…

How did the debate go? She seems personable, but it’s the book that counts. I’d recommend reading her new book on privacy with her earlier work. It shows the double standards—and the paradox between privacy & exposure. Debates about restitution, reparations, and digital exploitation are converging…

@alanlester.bsky.social Did you ever review ‘Keeping Their Marbles’? Good PR. But that book showed a callousness about exposing others’ private histories. Now there’s a new book defending privacy—yet it barely sees how museums helped create the privacy problem. Curious to know what you think? ☀️

Dear Publishers, When you publish books about privacy—something sacred & sentimental—do you choose authors who grasp that forcing others’ private histories into exposure for “universal good” has consequences? See my #Amazon review of ‘Strangers and Intimates: The Rise and Fall of Private Life’. ☀️

🌻It’s live!🌻 My Heritage Open Days event is listed for Sept 2025. Today marks 186 years since Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s death. This Sept, I’ll share his granddaughter Princess Irene Duleep Singh’s story—her life, mental health, & the legacy of a forgotten royal line. #HeritageOpenDays #MentalHealth

New on Substack: Part 3 of The Curse of Minerva Parts 1 & 2 gave the background and a GCSE-level (ages 14-16) intro to Byron’s prophetic poem — especially relevant to today’s Parthenon Marbles debate. Now we dive deeper. #Substack #Byron #ParthenonMarbles open.substack.com/pub/sundeepb...

My Substack debut is turning into a series! Here’s the 2nd post in my study pack for ‘The Curse of Minerva’ by Lord Byron. This one’s geared toward GCSE & US high school students (ages 14–16), helping make Byron more accessible for classrooms & curious minds alike. open.substack.com/pub/sundeepb...

I’ve just joined the Substack community — and here’s my very first post! Let me know if you’re on there & I’ll follow back! #Substack #WritingCommunity #MythologyMatters #WritersOfBluesky #NewsletterLaunch #NewOnSubstack #ContentCreator #ReadThis #Legend #Heritage open.substack.com/pub/sundeepb...

Heard of a ‘Hireling Artist’? Byron coined the term in 1811 — for those who defend imperial theft with big words, small morals & flattery. His poem The Curse of Minerva, about Elgin & the Parthenon marbles, has proved eerily prophetic. #HirelingArtist #ParthenonMarbles #MuseumEthics #ByronWasRight

Imagine writing ‘Keeping Their Marbles’, treating the goddess Athena they belong to as “left field”, becoming a British Museum trustee — then hitting block on a cheeky satirical reel like this. If we can’t laugh a little while talking about the Parthenon marbles story, what are we even doing? 🤷‍♀️📚⚡🏛️

I’m on Instagram more these days— same handle: @SundeepBraich. I wanted to share a reel about my visit to the King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace for an exclusive community group event. And of course, I spotted the Koh-I-Noor diamond 💎 in a painting, which helps contextualise our shared history.

What can modern audiences learn from ancient stories? Find out at my next talk about Leto, inspired by the prefix at the Roman site Letocetum… 12th June,10am, online talk for the English Heritage cohort only 16th June,7pm, in-person talk for a public audience at the Erasmus Darwin House Lichfield

Meet Bridgette and Paula Powers, identical twins who speak in synch and dedicate themselves to animal conservation.

I’m preparing to send out my book proposal. While memoirs can be challenging to market, this one stands apart as it delves into a hidden history linked to the renowned Koh-I-Noor 💎 diamond. If this piques your interest and you’re a literary agent, I’d love to hear from you! 🙏☀️ #literaryagents #MSWL

@alanlester.bsky.social @corinnefowler.bsky.social I’m not sure if you and your colleagues are aware, but Nigel Biggar (or should I refer to him as Lord Biggar now that he’s joined the House of Lords?) has a new book titled ‘Reparations: The Tyranny of Imaginary Guilt’ set to be released this year.

Sundeep Braich (aka me) on P.66 of English Heritage’s Spring 2025 magazine! Turns out I have friends who are English Heritage members and who also read the seasonal members' magazine. They spotted me and kindly reached out to let me know! Are you an English Heritage member? #EnglishHeritage

Welcome to the Longlist! womensprize.com/prizes/women...

Manchester University Press’ new collection of peer reviewed books on coloniaism & imperialism: www.manchesterhive.com/collection/i...

Lichfield Arts are celebrating International Women’s Day 2025 next Saturday, 8th March. I’m planning to be there to talk about ‘The Warrior Princess’ (Sophie Duleep Singh, royal suffragette). Everyone is welcome!🤗 @lichfieldlore.bsky.social @lichfieldlive.bsky.social @lichfieldlocal.bsky.social

10 Days & 10 Tickets Left!! “MEDEA: Accelerate Action” 6th March, 7pm Erasmus Darwin House LICHFIELD A talk to commemorate International Women’s Day. But who is mythical Medea? @lichfieldlive.bsky.social @lichfieldlore.bsky.social @lichfieldlocal.bsky.social www.erasmusdarwin.org/event/medea-...

Poet in Residence wanted for the National Memorial Arboretum for two years to use the Arboretum's landscape and memorials for a series of original poems to share stories with brand new audiences. Details in link. Please share :) www.thenma.org.uk/about-us/wor...

Guess what I found at Birmingham public library📚 today? A poetry book by my talented former creative writing tutor, @tiffanya.bsky.social! Tiffany Atkinson is awesome! 🤩 Her poetry book is called “So Many Moving Parts” published by @bloodaxebooks.bsky.social #poet #poetry #poems #creativewriting

“It seems that almost all the actresses who play the part [of Medea] win Tony or Olivier Awards these days.” - Stephen Fry (Heroes) I adore @stephenfry.bsky.social and his insightful retellings of Greek mythology.

#MosaicMonday Not all mosaics are Roman. Some are Pringles.

(15) Jason & Medea As Colonial History: RANI SELVARAJAH On Adapting Greek Myth Into 1700s India - YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=stPE...

(138) Is This New Take On Jason & Medea A Success or Failure? Reviewing SAVAGE BEASTS by Rani Selvarajah - YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2cE...

My talk about Medea links Greek mythology with the Koh-I-Noor 💎. Medea seems like the personification of the Koh-i-Noor 💎 itself… Relevant because, according to @anitaanand.bsky.social and @willdalrymple.bsky.social, the ship that brought the Koh-i-Noor from India to England in 1850 was HMS Medea.

My favourite Stoke 'ghost' story is from 1886, when a spectre was spotted in a churchyard near Hanley. A large crowd gathered to see the ghost & started throwing stones at it before two men grabbed it. The spook turned out to be a soldier wafting a white nightdress around the tombs for the lolz 👻

I confess my naivety in choosing to talk about Medea for #InternationalWomensDay. The idea came from how the #Koh-I-Noor #diamond 💎 was brought on a Royal Navy ship named after her, HMS Medea. But Medea is a #controversial female character. Why did the Royal Navy invoke #Medea for their ships? 🤷‍♀️

So much of the Roman settlement at Letocetum near Lichfield still lies hidden. A circular indent in this field alongside Watling St has been interpreted as a possible amphitheatre. I'm sure I can see a cropmark but it may just be a trick of the late winter light

53rd Bsky Morning Journal: “No one who goes against [Medea] can win.” - Liz Lochhead. The #RoyalNavy have named 7 ships after #Medea from #Greek #mythology. In 1850, HMS Medea was entrusted to carry the #Koh-I-Noor #diamond from #India 🇮🇳 to #England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧. Talk: 6th March, 7pm, Erasmus Darwin House

Beautiful brooch of the ‘Lady of Quaregnon’. Merovingian, AD 660-670. Gold, silver, copper alloy, garnet, and glass paste. Diameter 5.6 cm. From Quaregnon, Belgium. 📷 by me #MedievalMonday #Archaeology

Interesting that you started this discussion recently. My main research concerns the Sikh Kingdom, Duleep Singh’s & the Koh-I-Noor diamond. 💎 The Royal Navy ship entrusted with the Koh-i-Noor diamond 💎 was HMS Medea. So, I thought it would be interesting to explore who Medea is. This is not easy…

Now, this is the kind of news I want to see more of. Lovely stargazing 🔭 and observing what’s going on in the cosmos. “During February, there's the opportunity to see a planetary parade in the sky after dark, as six of the planets align to create a celestial spectacle.” Nicer done. 👍 🌙 🪐 🌍

52nd Bsky Morning Journal: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 is one of my favourite quotes about #love. The definition contrasts with the varying versions of the Medea #mythology set in Corinth (where Corinthians derives its name). In Medea, the commentary on love is that it’s a powerful all-consuming emotion…

51st Bsky Morning Journal: Feel free to follow my new Instagram page: @sundeepbraich And… #writingcommunity might be interested in the recent Writing Magazine by @writersonline.bsky.social. It is a bumper issue, with the Writers’ Competition Guide 2025. ✍️ www.writers-online.co.uk/store/digita...

50th Bsky Morning Journal: I’ve started a public Instagram page. Feel free to follow! @sundeepbraich Tickets for my next talk are now on sale. Each ticket will be entered into a draw to win a jigsaw 🧩 puzzle of Frederick Sandys’ 1868 painting of ‘Medea’. www.erasmusdarwin.org/event/medea-... 😊

Artist’s painting of a hippo on a flake of limestone, c. 1479–1425 BC 🦛❤️ Perhaps a practice sketch or a template from 3,500 years ago! MMA excavations 1922-23, Deir el-Bahri, Thebes, Egypt. 📷 The Met www.metmuseum.org/art/collecti... #FindsFriday #Archaeology

49th Bsky Morning Journal: Yesterday, I joined an amazing book proposal meeting on zoom with talented authors @preetidhillon.bsky.social, @lucyfulford.bsky.social & Sheela Banerjee. Their books 📚 sound fascinating! Great discussion about memoir: do you need a proposal or not? #writingcommunity

If you don’t actually use bluesky, and post, your account will never grow. Lotta people complaining that bluesky is dead for them, but follow like 8 people and barely post. Bluesky growth in my experience mirrors your use of it.