There’s a #ghostsign on the wall of a new part of the EastEnders set! (At the entrance of the alley where Jasmine met Chrissie in the car at the start of Part 1 this evening.)

Chrimbo arts and crafts (for the cat’s benefit!)

Well, this is some positive news!

Some Georgian-era sparkle from the Thames this week. A startling cobalt blue paste gemstone, impossible to miss this pop of colour among the beige, brown & grey of the foreshore at low tide. Likely to have been lost from an 18th century gent’s cufflink. The Georgians adored their bling #mudlark

As an academic, what do you do when you literally have no more research ideas?

'AI is coming' I tell the museum stakeholders as I proudly cut the ribbon of our new Artificial Insemination exhibition

Just submitted my claim (www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com?utm_medium=L...). I doubt anything will come of it but you never know. A few extra pennies might be nice!

This was meant to be a reply to @jackshoulder.bsky.social 🙄🤦🏻‍♀️

Happened the night before the start of the MA conference which was actually at St Fagans. Horrible coincidence!

"Art history gives you tools to interpret the visual world and makes you more of a critical viewer of political messages, advertising and a barrage of social media images. It’s dangerous if you can’t examine these things critically". apollo-magazine.com/art-history-...

Yes. Also, why are they out and about if they actually have the flu?

I don’t want to hear anyone calling Suffolk a cultural backwater ever again!

I grew up in the 70s and 80s. If you weren't there, just a little clarification on that Spectator piece. Literally, NOBODY admired Hitler. Apart from nazis. Hope that helps.

“Museums, to me, conjure up an image of being sanitised, stuffy places that only middle-class and upward people go to.” Listen to episode 1 of Radical Museums season 3 now, where Sharon Heal travels to Belfast to meet with the ACT Initiative's William Mitchell: https://ow.ly/YyyA50XGeuM

In a workshop this morning that was repeatedly Zoom boomed. It’s like 2020 all over again! I really feel for the organisers. Hopefully fixed now! 🤞

Anyone else received an email about the class action against Anthropic?

Student awards day! How brilliant our students are! And how brilliant is the OU?!

And this demonstrates why visual literacy is so important!

Horror of horrors! I’ve run out of green tea! A sorry state of affairs. I think it might even warrant an emergency Tescos run!

Ooh, The Hay Wain’s coming back home to Suffolk next year! #Constable250 www.ipswich.gov.uk/ipswich-news...

Revising for my Chinese (spoken) assignment tomorrow evening. A very useful exercise in putting myself in OU students’ shoes! It’s a very straightforward assignment but I am extremely nervous!

So anyway, Rosalind Franklin

Outstanding, no notes

China intimidated UK university to ditch human rights research, documents show www.bbc.com/news/article...

'“What’s particularly exciting is that the findings show these benefits are universal – they can be experienced by anyone. We want to encourage everyone to make time to visit their local museum or gallery and experience these powerful effects for themselves.”' (Jenny Waldman, Art Fund) 3/3

'The study, led by King’s College London, involved 50 people aged between 18 and 40 in the UK. Half viewed original artwork at the Courtauld Gallery in London, while the other half looked at copies of the same paintings in a non-gallery environment.' 2/3

'Enjoying original works of art in a gallery can relieve stress, reduce the risk of heart disease and boost your immune system, according to the first study of its kind.' (Actually, much previous evidence re mental health benefits). Mindboggling to cut the Arts, Humanities in this context. 1/3

Good! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Step into the heritage of The Open University! 🎓 Our latest YouTube Short takes you on a whistle-stop tour of Walton Hall campus, filmed for Heritage Open Days 2025. Discover the peaceful Legacy Garden, the historic St Michael’s Church & more... 👇 youtube.com/shorts/iBOAa... #MiltonKeynes

Wouldn’t it be lovely if academia wasn’t quite so ableist?

Virtually at the @museumsassociation.org conference today and tomorrow. I miss the days and sense of community of live tweeting.

Hi, I’m Julie Cruse. I created AcademicAbuse.com – a dashboard of data, resources & tools to help survivors of academic abuse survive and safely speak out. (1/9 🧵) 🪜 🎓 📜 🍎 ♀️ 👩🏾🔬 👩🏼🔬 👩🏾🎓 #PhDSky #Blackademia #AcademicChatter #AcademicSky #MeToo #HigherEd #PhDChat #TimesUpHigherEd

This is very interesting. HMRC doing stuff that the DfE should also be doing.

Just a reminder before the “big announcement” today. Autism was discovered in 1911 and the modern definition of Autism came in 1943. Tylenol wasn’t widely used until the 1950s. Anyone trying to tell you that Tylenol causes Autism isn’t someone that should be taken seriously.

Facebook has reminded me that I submitted my thesis 16 years ago. 😮

Bluesky educators, please enlighten me. Is use of emdashes really taught in schools these days? Cos I would be very surprised if they were …

Garden officing this afternoon. Here’s the set up. Unseen, new garden parasol!

Here's your annual reminder: whether you received A-level results today, years ago, or never, there's space for you at the @openuniversity.bsky.social!

Going to check myself here, because even though I had been predicted three As (ridiculous), I did achieve a B, a C and an E while experiencing a period of very poor mental health (undiagnosed OCD and depression). So actually, I think I did rather well! :)

A Levels results day still stresses me out … 31 years later. 😓😓😓

Research request from some great colleagues.

Did you know @jackshoulder.bsky.social (half of Museum Bums) does free LGBTQ+ tours of the V&A museum in London? It's impossible not to talk about the Michelangelo's David cast on them! 😁 👍🏛️🍑 #MuseumBums Find out more, last Saturday of every month at 4pm at the V&A

Of interest for UK museum staff and those working with collections relating to migration history, an in-person Migration Network event hosted by @migrationmuseum.org at the Museum of Liverpool on Wednesday 3 September 10:00-15:30.

This is nice. Go and see it.

Jesus and the Devil, caught at a Coldplay gig

@museumbums.bsky.social Some museum bums from Christchurch Mansion in Ipswich for you. Do horse bums also count?!

Co-working day in Norwich today. Pleased with this photo I took on my walk from the station.