"Of the 991 history exam questions set in 2023, 357 featured a named individual, but only 31 were women – and nine of those were references to Elizabeth I or her reign." Dr Natasha R. Hodgson of Nottingham Trent University writes this week in The Conversation bit.ly/49ZqTiq

Yes, because this is the purpose of a university education... 🙄😒

Your annual reminder that the most revealing difference between Irish and Scottish Gaelic is definitely in the words for December: Mí na Nollag (Month of Christmas) in Ireland, and An Dubhlachd (the Blackness) in Scotland. So once again may I wish you all a lovely Blackness.

Looking forward to speaking at the Institute of Historical Research Seminar in King's College London next Wednesday evening. I will present research from the @erc.europa.eu COLVET project. Open to all but pre-registration required to attend. Thanks to the organisers www.eventbrite.ie/e/colonial-v...

Thinking of my friend Jacinda today, who lost her life serving in Afghanistan in 2012. We will remember them. www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08...

🗣️ When we speak of camps in Sudan, we mean thousands of people fleeing atrocities to live in fields, putting straw on sticks or mud bricks, foraging for vegetation, fruit and even rats to eat. 📩 Read our latest InDepth newsletter: channel4news.substack.com/p/why-sudan-...

Farage: epic grifter

Timeline cleanse! Lovely holiday in Scotland two weeks ago, visiting Loch Lomond and the Trossachs.

Your Saturday need some spicing up? 😄 Via the link below you can read my latest article (open access) on surveillance of the Scottish public during the Second World War. Enjoy! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Glasgow (and nearby) friends - on Wednesday night, I'm speaking about leisure during the war, Alexandria Library. See you there! Tickets via link below.

Actually really sad to hear that Nigel Latta has passed away. His work on parenting, and his TV shows on difficult topics were really thought-provoking and challenged me to think differently. Stupid cancer. www.1news.co.nz/2025/10/01/p...

If you're in West Dunbartonshire on Wed 8 October, come hear me speak about WWII Scotland 🥳 www.west-dunbarton.gov.uk/leisure-park...

🚨JOB Alert🚨 We are looking for another postdoctoral researcher to cover the history of veterans in the British colonies of Southern and/or East Africa in the interwar period. 24 month contract, deadline October 03. Please share widely. universityvacancies.com/maynooth-uni...

1. Just so we’re clear, this is the clip that got Jimmy Kimmel’s show shelved by ABC. If I’m missing any other clips please let me know.

Customer feedback this week; ‘Please can you get some more diversity at the National Trust by encouraging more hot men to visit.’ Ideas for how we do this v welcome. Nothing too racy please - we are the National Trust not the National Tryst.

Just finished this terrific book from @moffski.bsky.social. It’s the first social history (hope that’s right) I’ve read and I recommend it to you. It’s added a new layer to my knowledge of the UK and the SWW. As historians often say, it’s a bit more complicated than you think. #histbookchat

Tens of thousands of cornflowers in a field in Wicken. Research shows that the sight of them will help you recover from sources of stress more quickly & boost dopamine release in your brain, lifting your mood…in case you need it just now:

It’s my birthday and I’ll give away books if I want to. Spend £20 on books at bertsbooks.co.uk today and I’ll send you a paperback I think you’ll love - at no extra cost! Excludes subscriptions, UK only.

🥳 Have you been waiting for my book to come out in paperback? Later this month your wish will be granted! Pre-order via EUP website and use the code PAPER30 for a 30% discount 🥳 Signed copies can be purchased from me for £24 (incl postage in UK). Comment /DM if interested or international.

'Further questions have been raised about decisions made by the university’s marketing team, including placing expensive advertorials in glossy magazines, overseas trips and celebrity partnerships.' 1/3

Tomorrow's front page 📰 Convicted US felon to arrive in Scotland

Some of the best anti-Trump protest signs in Scotland greeting Trump. This one has Photos of Trump and Jeffrey Epstein that says "best Friends forever." The other says Trump was "shite" in Home Alone 2.

She’s goat her legs oot – her foldin plastic chair oan the gress at Glesga Green – an her airms an enough creamy dimpled bosom tae please Renoir… —Sheila Templeton, “Glesga Fair” from Songs of Other Places: New Writing Scotland 32 (ASL, 2014) Happy Fair Weekend to all the Glasgow Fairies! #poem

People think money has ruined football but the sight of a rapist dictator standing next to a corrupt football official in front of a big gold trophy at a competition bankrolled by Saudi Arabia reminds me the game still belongs to us.

If you’re looking for a signed copy of #TheGoodFather, you can get one from the Book Nook in Stewarton and support a fantastic local indie bookshop…💙📚

Spot on. @GraemeTurn2947 theage.com.au/national/netfl…#higherede#auspolol

My book publisher wrote to me to ask my permission for my work to be used to train generative AI. I fundamentally disagree with this, but want to explain to them how wrong headed I think this is. Does anyone have experience of this or an example of how they responded to their publisher?

On its website Crushmate claimed to specialise in “crafting an AI girl of your dreams”, but on social ads it promoted a tool for making nonconsensual nude images of real women. @koltai.bsky.social & @melzxy.bsky.social pull back the layers of the “CrushAI” network. www.bellingcat.com/news/america...

It's #InternationalPicnicDay! Patients and medical staff from the Scottish Women's Hospital enjoy a picnic in the sun in Salonika, c.1916 #WW1 #Histnursing

Edinburghers! I will be chatting all things The Good Father with the Queen of Crime on Wed 2 July at 6.30pm in St Vincent’s Chapel, courtesy of the good folk at Golden Hare Books. This is the first Scottish event on the tour and I am EXCITED! Get your tickets and I’ll see you there…!💙📚

No Sleep ‘til Dunners…

Where I get my ideas from

How did those in Scotland celebrate VE Day in 1945? Read more below 👇 www.heraldscotland.com/news/1842488...

Thought Wales was memorialising Rabbie for a moment there 😅 #Burns

I invite you to register for The Returning Soldier's upcoming conference on veterancy, 30-31 May 2025 at the All Saints Campus, Manchester Metropolitan University. Please share the invitation! Agenda here: returningsoldier.co.uk/events/ Tickets here: mmu.estore.flywire.com/products/dem...

Calling UK citizens and residents! Please consider signing this petition to decriminalise abortion petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...

🚨 Paul Knight will be talking about the 127th (Manchester) Brigade at the Third Battle of Krithia for the @gallipoliassoc.bsky.social Details of how to register to see this talk below ⬇️ Paul is a fabulous speaker with a huge amount of knowledge about WW1 in the Middle East.

Featuring Good Stuff like football, commandos, chocolate biscuits and whisky!

Want to hear me talk about leisure and pleasure in Second World War Scotland? Part of History Scotland's online lecture series, Thurs 30 Jan, £10 per ticket (talk is via Zoom) Please share the news! Tickets via this link: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Missed @MHHVic's excellent "In the Fight: Australians and the war in Burma 1942-1945" conference last year? Well, the talks are now online: mhhv.org.au/in-the-fight-a…. You can also read my paper on Australians in Special Operations: academia.edu/125872084/_Spe�#WeHaveWaye#WWIIIy #WWIII

Nerd paradise! 🤓 Found a 1910 ordnance map of my locale at @Waterstones 🤩 There was even a Mr Walker living a few minutes walk from my house!

How is your Christmas eve going? On this day in 1944, men across Britain had just learned that conscription was to be extended to include those aged 18 and munitions workers who became redundant, in order to "sustain and nourish our armies". Merry Christmas! 🎄

Savlete! This is a reminder, one that I will be posting about often, about the Medieval Conference happening in Victoria, British Columbia, on Feb 1st, 2025. It's hosted by the University of Victoria's Medieval Studies program, and the theme this year is Medieval Utopias. www.uvic.ca/humanities/m...

Meet the team and get an overview of the project over on our website, where you can also sign up for updates and check out recent blog posts by team members: voicesproject.ie

An outstanding defence of the value of humanities research by NZ Historical Association president Miranda Johnson: www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3605...

Well, it's inevitable seeing as I love Muse! Also they were great bus music over summer, before I switched to commuting via train.

Downstream effect of the Marsden cuts: a lot of the fixed term teaching contracts I've been able to pick up have been buy-outs funded via humanities or socsci Marsdens - as well as being devastating for ECR and mid-career academics, this also means a path for the most junior evaporates too

It’s a dark day for research in Aotearoa New Zealand and the ramifications for the country are huge. Minister Judith Collins has just announced our blue-skies funder will no longer fund humanities & social science research and that 50% of what is funded must have economic benefit.

PhD Fully Funded Scholarship Opportunity! Anyone fancy writing on the history of war graves and commemoration? We have a great collaborative PhD lined up with Chester and @cwgc.bsky.social Full details here or DM me: www.chester.ac.uk/study/resear...

Word of the day is ‘suspiring’, from the 16th century: a deep sigh. (Covers exhaustion, relief, sadness, collapses onto the sofa, or whatever fits the bill).