That was an outstandingly good episode of #WDYTYA with Ruth Madeley. The combination of research trail and the stories and themes that emerged kept me gripped throughout.

These amazing quilts were made by Rebecca Davis, America, about 1846. Via The Met. Will post links in comments.

Bonnie Tyler - Lost In France (Official HD Video)

I took a macro shot of a sea urchin on a night dive. My camera's strobe fired, illuminating its spines, which are made of crystalline calcite, causing them to glow. #marinelifephotography #marinelife #wildlifephotography #wildlife #naturephotography #nature #eastcoastkin #photography

“Remember, milk, eggs, loaf of bread … and pick up one of those No-Penguin-Strips.”

Following along with an Irish Crochet tutorial, and one of the fiddly bits seemed unnecessarily complicated. Was wondering if I HAD to do it that way, and the voices of my ancestors spoke as one, and they said: "Sod That, No One Is Going To See That Bit Anyway." So I have listened and modified :-).

This morning we released Gob to the wild, again. Last year we released Gob, but he was like “no, I don’t wanna,” and he found his way back to the Marmot Recovery Centre. Rather than let him try to hibernate under the Centre, we obliged him and brought him back into care for the winter.

Because you need to gaze upon a newborn whitecoat harp seal. 🤭🥰

Atlantic Puffin heading out to sea against the backdrop of the spectacular Noss cliffs. An amazing trip with glass-calm seas and thousands of seabirds enjoyed by our 'Ultimate Shetland' group. #BirdingScotland #UKbirding #Birds #UKWildlife

This is my favourite.

Sharing some of Monday’s puffin-fest with Serenity Boat Tours from Seahouses. Because everyone needs a bit of puffin colour in their day #Puffins #FarneIslands

Since I did do my PhD in cyanobacteria growth and treatment optimization modeling AND work in the water treatment industry, I’m gonna share my theory as to what’s happening here and how to fix it. People are focusing on the painted bottom of the pool increasing residual heat, and while that 1/19

HAHAHAhaha! they're making the world's biggest synthetic scum pond!!! The coating is a polyurea used inside pipes. It gels in about 3 seconds, making it non self-leveling. The texture is like an orange peel, the perfect substrate for biofilms. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/u...

Reform defeated in protest vote by candidate leading movement to challenge government's embrace of Reform-like policies, while endorsing some of Reform's policies. And, heaven help me, I'd have voted for him too. #TakeYourGoodNewsWhereYouFindIt

Swallowtail flight sequence from my book Butterfly Safari. @savebutterflies.bsky.social @europebutterfly.bsky.social @omsystem.bsky.social

This is a great point. 'Play' itself has also come to have a different meaning / value in the current world - it's something you do to win.

An Edwardian doll made from a shoe; part of the Lovett collection held at St Fagans museum. Found in a London slum, she’s made from a shoe, and black sock, and various fabric scraps. Currently back on display at the Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh alongside other dolls from the Lovett collection.

The Grauniad, 18 June 2026, Journal p5. @theguardian.com #corrections

Norma Jeane Mortenson wed James Dougherty #OnThisDay in 1942. The bride wore a long-sleeved lace wedding dress made by her "Aunt" Ana Lower. The future Marilyn Monroe gifted the dress to her niece Mona Rae Miracle, who altered it to wear to prom. Sold by Sothebys. #MarilynMonroe #wedding

Fun new post from @tomhulme.bsky.social on @notchesblog.bsky.social ! notchesblog.com/2026/06/18/l... If you haven't got yourself a copy of Tom's book, rush to the CUP website and GET IT NOW!!! www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...

I was humming the 'Match of the Day' theme tune while I watched this.

Have you ever wondered how our houses get built back up? Stone by stone of course! These photos show the Ballyvollen Houses from their original location near Lough Neagh in 1995, to their new home at the Folk Museum.

Accurate.

When utilized in literature review, LLMs consistently 1. fail to mention female authors in female-led literatures, 2. insist that men are more influential or more heavily cited when this is contradicted by objective citation counts, and 3. attribute women’s work to hallucinated male scholars.

A puffin, flapping 😍 Isle of May #Scotland #birds

The only World Cup footage you need to see today. 📹: YouTube Rudy Janssens

I'm attending a digital humanities event in Montreal. There was a keynote on AI and something about the talk made me wonder if it had been written by Claude. I said as much in the Q&A. As I posed the question, the speaker shifted, looking slightly uncomfortable. What he said next shocked the room +

Driving to Uig for the North Uist ferry on Friday I glanced across a loch adjacent to the road & noticed a Diver close to the bank & thankfully a lay-by. A quick stop was rewarded with close views of a pair of immaculate Black-throated Divers. Is there a more impeccable bird in the UK? #UKBirding

In 1908 the Lancet called for an 18+ age limit on reading in bed for U.K. children.

A juvenile male Kingfisher #InFlight at Teifi Marshes, Pembrokeshire, yesterday, for #BirdOfTheDay. #UKWildlife #NaturePhotography #EastCoastKin #EKC 🌿

#Ootd is this 1951 Norman Norell cocktail dress. The black wool jersey halter bodice unusual for a cocktail dress, but it was a Norell staple. Jersey was almost exclusively used for sportswear, but Norell used it to make smooth tight and draped silhouettes. #Fashionhistory

Interrupting the usual #familyhistory programming to brighten your day with #flowers! 📸 me

Time for me to repeat one of my ‘sayings’. If you try to solve a problem by passing a law, but people don’t obey the law, you now have two problems where you used to have one.

We need a version of this for the washing up.

I’ve only just noticed that Johnson’s lawn seed has the best retail barcode of all time.

A new swan family came and said ‘Hello’, along the river Great Ouse this evening. The two little cygnets are just adorable 🥰 #adorableanimals #Swans #LoveNature #TheFens Ely, Cambridgeshire

Given how many little "big animals on wheels" we've had from all over the world, I think the prehistoric equivalent of "Truck Kid" might be "Ox Kid." (Ukraine, Crete, Maharashtra, Anatolia)

Please excuse us for a moment while we swoon over the roses at Bodnant Garden. Aren't they magical?

I want to boycott the World Cup, but Scotland's playing, but kick off is at 2am, but they're playing Haiti.

Picked up a very handy (in 1971, before my time) decimalisation converter in our local charity shop. For the rest of his life, my Granda would complain about how many fewer penny sweets you got to the pound 😂🥰

It would appear some of the Scots in Boston are trying start a tradition. Pinched from Facebook #WorldCuo2026 #FIFAWorldCup2026 #WC2026 #TartanArmy #Scotland

Roobarb

No more Springwatch this year, but on the plus side I'm not being traumatised by pine martens any more.

my kid just drew this incredible cat picture, I'm in love

Introducing........ The Pigeon Bag!!!! 🎉🐦 Available for preorder this Saturday, National Pigeon Day! 🪶

👍 Just had an email to say a correction I made on the IrishGenealogy website in March has been actioned. This is a new system; previously there wasn't a way for them to notify you, so you had to check manually if corrections had been accepted, with no timescale. Thumbs up from me! #IrishGenealogy

Does not feature ducks, because ducks are not documents 😊🦆

Treated myself to some fancy yarn, just because. I've never worked from a yarn cake before.

#FridayFrocks – The pearl and crystal #Beadwork on this platinum lamé evening gown, c.1927, by Paul Poiret, is a masterclass in the art of embellishment. #Fashion #Poiret #1920sFashion #1920s