Lihkku beivviin! Today (6 Feb) is the Sámi National Day. I've written a short piece on Sámi history in my hometown. At the moment, only available in Norwegian, but I'll try to post an English translation on my blog kystmuseene.no/berlevag/sam...

My in laws got me a three-month coffee subscription for Christmas. The first bag arrived with no issues. It's now 4 Feb and I'm still waiting for my Jan bag… It's not an issue with the roastery, they dropped off the parcel on 12 Jan but the mail never processed the bag 1/2

Instead of, you know, improving their service, Norwegian mail Posten has launched a rewards scheme. You can now gather points for receiving/sending parcels. If I gather 290 points I get a free hot beverage at Narvesen… The key is to distract people, I guess

Spectacular colours!

The Polar Night (mørketid) is gradually ending. The sun finally draws closer, and with it hope

Saw the Book of Kells and Trinity College Dublin. Always a lot of fun to see different universities as a university historian!

Had a great time visiting Marsh’s Library today in Dublin. Trinity College and the Book of Kells tomorrow!

Attending a great conference on early modern university courts in Limerick, Ireland! Met some lovely people and happy that my paper on nocturnal activities at universities was very well received

Big pile of snow

Writing is a messy process. I personally think that it just is. I *have* to write to find out what I want to say and how I want to say it. Attempts at rigid planning tend to dissolve into chaos during the writing process. I hate the (much-needed) clean up, but hey, it is what it is

New addition to my personal collection. Copenhagen professor Jacob Baden’s (1735–1804) journal about the capital’s university (which ran from 1793 to 1801)

That feeling when you've worked hard for something and it's all for nothing

In Norway, you can now buy, for a limited time only, spreadable Brie on a tube (With apologies to my French friends)

Informative and intriguing lecture by @heatherlwellis.bsky.social yesterday on the history of the School Meals Service in Britain @royalhistsoc.org

Nobody tells you how badly you’re gonna scratch up your wedding ring

Stargate SG-1 was just so good. Haven't watched it in years and I think I might rewatch the entire series

Sitting like a shrimp at my desk editing this massive document

Read my review of Johan Östling's recent book on university history. It's a shame his book's only available in Swedish, but I've tried to give a summary on this excellent intro to university history

Leif Hammer @leifhammer.bsky.social reviews 'Kunskapens stora hus: Huvudlinjer i universitetets historia', by Johan Östling @johanostling.bsky.social academic.oup.com/ehr/advance-...

We polished the stone as well

Today a school group and I polished one of the northernmost (and little known) Stolpersteine in the world to remember Phillip Philipson who was deported to and killed in Auschwitz. And I taught them about Norwegian Jews, antisemitism, and the Holocaust open.substack.com/pub/leifhamm...

Teaching about the Holocaust tomorrow to a school group. We're looking at one of the northenmost Stolpersteine in the world, the one for Phillip Philipson (1897-1943)

My poor dad has lost four of his cats this year. One got run over, two from sickness, and today his 15 year old cat passed away from old age. I feel so sad for him

Good morning guys

An op-ed in the student paper the Cherwell, states that universities were “never supposed to function as courts”. But actually, if Oxford starts acting like one it’s a return to tradition (I’m not saying that’s a good thing). Universities used to have self-jurisdiction and their own courts.

Proud of my first museum output! The next task is a historical plaque including a map which will put my GIS skills to the test

How do other people feel about unsolicited constructive criticism?

I put together a historical calendar and received it in print today. Read all about it here: leifhammer.substack.com/p/new-public...

Soaking up what little daylight there is before the dark season. We won’t see the sun again until February

Tonight I’m sleeping on a boat to get to a work seminar tomorrow. Travelling with Havila Castor

Some weak northern lights here a couple of days ago. I haven’t adjusted to the shortening days yet and when it’s pitch black at 3 pm my body keeps thinking it’s bedtime

Happy birthday to my wonderful dad who turns 81 today! Here he is back in August with a bucket full of cloudberries that he picked all by himself

Parents, please check your kids’ candy this Halloween. I’ve just found an ancient metal whistle with the inscription “QUIS EST ISTE QUI VENIT" inside a Snickers bar. I blew it and heard a note of infinite distance, and now I’m haunted by a figure in pale, fluttering draperies. Be safe.

Made overnight oats for the first time and they were excellent

Did you know that "forgotten or carelessly placed chairs can become tripping hazards"? I didn't either until I took the Healty Working Ergonomics course Oxford forced us to complete. /s

UPDATE: This person (who, by the way, had a non-urgent query imo) not only emailed my work, probably tried calling my work phone (off due to vacation), called my private number multiple times, texted it, messaged my Facebook, but they also texted my mother's phone number. That's way over the line!

Had a lovely vacation with my wife. She flew in from the US and we saw Stavanger & Kristiansand here in Norway. Then we went off to Karlovy Vary & Prague in Czechia. Since we're in visa limbo we had to say goodbye for now this morning, which is very hard. I hope we'll be able to live together soon

My email's automatic replies haven't been working while I was off on holiday. Annoying, especially considering I raised the issue with IT and they told me it was working. I did everything right on my end, but it might tie back to a mistake IT made when they created my work account (1/3)

Visited the Battle of Hafrsfjord monument right outside Stavanger

Mourning is a strange thing. I'm fine one moment and the next I'm not

Rest in peace, dear aunt. I don’t know anyone else who found as much joy in music as you did, both as a listener and as a musician. You were kind and generous to all around you, with unfaltering optimism. We will sorely miss you

Mourning a tree I liked that got cut down after a storm

Wrote a blog post about the conference I went to in Trondheim open.substack.com/pub/leifhamm...

When I studied in Trondheim I lived in one of these cosy houses. As far as I remember, these were not purpose-built as student accommodation but repurposed. Still, they don't make 'em like they used to

Started Jon Fosse’s new novel “Vaim”

The conference I attended in Trondheim posted a few pictures. I'm sad to report that I instantly recognised myself from the bald spot… Though the Magdalen tote and the blazer is also a dead giveaway

There's a great interview with Quentin Skinner by Håvard Friis Nilsen (Oslo Metropolitan University) on liberty in the newspaper Klassekampen klassekampen.no/artikkel/202...

Attended a really interesting conference by KulturIT. They make a range of IT services for the museum sector in Norway (and even for some Swedish museums)