Taking place TODAY - sign up via Zoom here: uofglasgow.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

I always like to learn new words. My legal friend has introduced me to oleaginous in recent weeks and today's contribution of 'eshittification' from @drbeard79.bsky.social is a welcome addition.

After a week of Chelsea and now Springwatch, my (possibly) unpopular opinion is that there should be as many nature/gardening programmes on TV as there are crime dramas and murder mysteries.

BARS International Conference 2028: Second Call for Expressions of Interest We received no firm responses to our initial call for Expressions of Interest in hosting the 2028 BARS conference. We’re therefore reopening the call for EoIs until June 19th: www.bars.ac.uk/blog/?p=6451

My spiritual home

Pilgrims

I’m used to the “split night” but I’ve reached a level of insomnia that when the first bird starts the dawn chorus (right about now), my first thought is “i appreciate you’ve survived the night, but you’re getting a bit ahead of yourself”

an endless sky of honey

Noticing this…🚗 🤷🏻‍♂️ #Cullercoats #Tynemouth #WhitleyBay

Woodpigeon takes flight

Lenticular

I am so happy that Arit’s garden won the People’s Choice Award for so many reasons, not least because, in addition to technical brilliance, a great garden holds emotion. Monty is right to say that it aspires to poetry

“All the best gardens aspire to poetry… we need poetry” - as befits an English graduate, great to see Monty Don interviewing the fabulous Lemn Sissay (ironically the second time he’s popped up in my viewing today as I revisited Dwight Turner’s brilliant NCPS conference talk on intersectionality)

The Scottish Polish Cultural Association organises an online launch for 'Eagle and Lion: Polish Poems and Scots Translations' (Grace Note Publications, 2025), edited by IASSL member Derrick McClure and Tom Hubbard. 3 June, 7:00 pm, on ZOOM. To register, please email: [email protected] 🇵🇱 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Gutted to miss the Students' Union Teaching Excellence Award ceremony tonight due to continued recovery. I really hope it's a win for the School of English (and not just selfishly). Student experience is our bread & butter and the nominator came in feeling intimidated by poetry and left loving it

I love *everything* about Chelsea but one of the smaller joys is noting the sheer power of nominative determinism in the gardening world. A sculptor called Wood is my favourite so far.

Having been in medical recovery, I'm over a week late in paying tribute to Dr Laura Squance, gone 10 years this May: my high school bestie who became a talented GP in spite of a congenital condition, the complications from which claimed her aged just 32. Because of you, I take nothing for granted x

This is going straight on our reading list for our final honours module Enlightened Romantics, alongside the wonderful 'Scottish and Irish Romanticism'. Congratulations @murrayp.bsky.social

My actual parents

Really pleased to see four nations Romanticism coming up strong here and not before time

BARS Digital Event Reminder for Monday 18th May: Science and Medicine in Women's Writing During the Romantic Period Register in advance for this webinar: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

BARS News: Stephen Copley Research Award Applications Open (deadline June 1st 2026) Postgraduate researchers and early career scholars working in Romantic Studies are invited to apply for a Stephen Copley Research Award. More information: www.bars.ac.uk/main/index.p...

one of the nicer things about post-op recovery has been watching the last episodes of “The Other Bennet Sister” with my 5 yr old who watches it with 💯 attention. She might graduate to Andrew Davies’ Pride and Prejudice next.

Quickest turnaround from “aaah so cute, these gorgeous Scarlett bugs are spooning 🥰… to oh Sh1t, I planted lillies…”

Waiting for my spot on the list, in a comfy chair with an excellent read from @jolyon.goodlawproject.org

New appearances in the garden

On a marking blitz to try and get as much done for my finalists before my medical leave kicks in. I've really enjoyed reading their dissertations so far. Having supervised a prize-winning dissertation two years in a row, can we make this a hatrick? ;)

Sailing to Philadelphia-Knopfler/ Taylor Nightswimming -R.E.M. River -Joni Mitchell Bittersweet Symphony -The Verve Gimme Shelter -Rolling Stones I Grieve - Peter Gabriel Another Day in Paradise -Phil Collins Slipping Through my Fingers -ABBA Go Your Own Way—Fleetwood Mac Days of our Live— Queen

King of the perch takes off

I've only just reconciled myself to the abbreviation of dissertation to 'diss' in Unispeak but like hell are we going there with 'Meno' for menopause.

Interested to see that 80% of the sales of my most recent book are international (outwith UK). thank you to you all for your support :) link.springer.com/book/10.1057...

'Bede, the medieval theologian revered as the father of English history, recorded the nine-line poem in the eighth century. The Old English version discovered in Rome is believed to have been transcribed by a monk in northern Italy between AD800 and AD830.'

POV you’re northern Irish and living in England. the last tub of Lindy’s yoghurt that you smuggled in is now finished 😢

I've found Carl Rogers' work indispensable in my teaching (my students agree) so it's good to hear Person-Centred colleagues like Patricia Foster reiterating that the core conditions were never meant to be kept inside therapy but are ways of meeting people more broadly in education & public life

'Dutch universities have welcomed new detail from the country’s recently formed government about how it intends to restore a substantial portion of the funding for research and higher education that was cut by its predecessor.' Good sense and good science policy prevails in the Netherlands. 1/2

Recapping 'The Future of Person-Centred Therapy' conference - incredibly insightful not least bc speakers are challenging the corporatisation of therapy through organisations which, they argue, are widening the gap between theory and reality. Therapists need to be free to talk about global injustice

Our estates team knocking it out the of the park again with the spring bulb planting #bloomscrolling

Spotted the sandmartins back at Cullercoats, soaring above John Street. 🖤 🤍 🤎 @chris4nature.bsky.social you might get a chance to snap them - they always elude my camera skills!

Happy Saturday #bloomscrolling

Rock In Peace Dave Mason, singer-songwriter and guitarist best known as a founding member of Traffic, and his solo career and work with George Harrison, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Fleetwood Mac, Leon Russell, and more. Gone to the big gig in the sky.

Dream positions: 3 (!!) PhD placements at the Prize Papers with emphasis on finding students with the following language skills: French, Spanish, Dutch, and Scandinavian languages. (Of course, I emphasize the Dutch language!) www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/professional...

BARS Research and Innovation Event: Applying for Funding Reminder: THIS MONDAY 20 April 2026, 10am-1pm UK time via Zoom Join us: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

If you'll be near Sheffield on 18th June, check out this free lecture and film screening hosted by @radcliffecup.bsky.social! Tickets and more info on their Eventbrite page: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/women-in-w...

You still have time to get your abstracts in for 'Placing the Nineteenth Century', hosted by EHUNineteen's PhD students!

So pleased with my spring pots which have come into bloom whilst we‘ve been away #bloomscrolling

Wigtown Bay

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam. RIP Moyà (photo courtesy of Andrea Corr who is pictured next to her here)

A lovely round sunset