It's December 1st - which means I get to share weird and wonderful Victorian Christmas cards, starting with one that looks straight out of #StarWars. @markhamillofficial.bsky.social, is that you?

This is such a fantastic project . What a brilliant way to reinvigorate an ancient well www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Nipped into St John’s at Stamford to see the Christmas trees this afternoon and this took my breath away.

Always nice to pootle through town when the roads are shut for the Christmas market. The Stage was looking rather handsome too. Could definitely see some parallels with the former New Inn at Norman Cross and wondering if it’s the same architect 🤔

This week's Friday Murder... I almost didn't finish. Sometimes, I get about halfway through and I think... why am I telling this story? I think it is so important, as a homicide historian, to never lose sight of why I am telling a particular story. It should never be voyeurism.

Really struggling with my fatigue today and spent most of it on the sofa barely moving. Very much hoping that an enforced rest helps before my trip to Cambridge on Monday because I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of the new PhD students and supervisors 😔

Just catching up with the budget coverage in the papers.

Huge thanks to everyone who has liked and reposted my post. Special thanks to anyone who has bought a copy! ✨

It’s the perfect time to mention that my book makes an unusual and fascinating Christmas present! Only 3 books left at Amazon but plenty available at Pen & Sword or Peterborough Museum

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against women, a day of education, activism, mourning, and solidarity with other survivors. 1 in 3 women worldwide have experienced physical or sexuaI violence from an intimate partner, today and all days we must work to help change this

Today’s deep dive was into the Haitian revolution and I almost wish I hadn’t. It’s an extremely brutal period when tens of thousands of people died but something good did come out of it, eventually

Hands up if you managed to spot Norman Cross on the news next to Kier Starmer’s head when he visited Peterborough yesterday!

I want poetry to be as accessible as possible, and I don't believe there should be a financial barrier to art, so I'm offering three pieces for free, forever 1. The Vow, on love 2. Eulogy, on loss 3. My collaboration with Simba, who work with families going through miscarriage or baby loss 💙🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

We're at the Middle Earth map. We're at the subway map. We're at the combination Middle Earth and Subway map! And you could be too! These maps and more are for sale on my Etsy page! They make great presents for yourself and others! #LOTR #maps #subway www.etsy.com/shop/Surpris...

A few images from the preview event for Tony Nero’s Half a Pencil exhibition at Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery. Definitely worth a visit and there’s so much to see. It opens tomorrow!

Bog-oaks in a palaeochannel #Fenland #FlagFenBasin #Holocene

Met up with my uncle earlier. I think he outed a national treasure (deceased) as partaking in regular ‘naked parties’ in the street he lived on in Peterborough 😳

One of the people I'm researching for a client at the moment served in the Royal Navy between 1803 and 1814 and one of the ships he served on was HMS Canopus. I already knew that Jane Austen's brother, Francis, was the Captain of the ship but it was nice to find his signature on the muster rolls!

Pleased to say I will be giving a talk on Martha ‘Patty’ Clare and what life was like for her and her family in Northborough in July. If you’re a fan of poet John Clare and his Northborough Sonnets, this will definitely be an interesting afternoon

We've got less than ten places left for this talk on Saturday! Due to limited space in the venue there will be no tickets available on the door. Email us at [email protected] to reserve your space before it's gone! For more info and even more events, head to histfestbucks.co.uk

Here at Exeter we are offering three fully funded AHRC PhD places in humanities subjects. Please get in touch if you are keen to come and do research with us! Closing date 23 February 2026: www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...

Just one week to go until the online talk on Dating Ancient Buildings. Part of the session will look at how archaeological survey can build up the evidence for clues to phases of construction... Please do join us at 7pmGMT on 25 Nov: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dating-anc...

Almost in tears earlier whilst trying to research the lives of the men from Africa and the Caribbean at Norman Cross. I need to understand their lives and find a way of sharing their experiences so their deaths weren’t in vain. Can anyone recommend any books that will help? (1797-1814)

If you're wondering how our week is going, one of our team just looked at this section of an OS map and went "Wow, that's a weird shaped lake!" It's the letter 'I' in 'Buckinghamshire'.

I am yet to see a good Christmas advert so far. Has anyone seen any good ones?!

I measured the water captured in the garden buckets since Thursday evening and we’ve had 75ml of water! That’s also from a sheltered space in the garden, so I suspect it’s closer to 80ml really. No flooding here but lots nearby

Worth noting that if the BBC is defunded then Children in Need dies too. Hundreds of charities including hospices will be forced to close and the poorest in society will be the ones who suffer the most

Had a little chuckle when I found this in the records earlier

I was lucky enough to see them in situ, so to know they’re properly preserved and now on full display makes me very happy

Pootled up to St Guthlac’s in the most beautiful weather. Chatting to the vicar, he told me that the door was 150 years old but the tracery is 13th century! Fantastic bit of Victorian restoration

The news is out! Really nice piece by Jack Blackburn of @Times about the genetic study been leading into Hitler’s DNA. It’s been a massive group effort as part of a documentary with the team Blink Films & a huge number of experts! We have to put the caveats in and the article does that nicely.

Are you looking for an expression to deliver at the end of a truly cutting remark? A new clunchfist? The 1632 play "The Rival Friends" has you covered. Wrapping up a line of insults, one character concludes with this hammer stroke: "There's sauce for your eels!" Devastation. 🗃️🧪

Every time I finish a chapter of my thesis

I have added masses of locations to my map identifying where Norman Cross POWs were born. New locations in Germany, Italy and America and new countries added too. Best find was a country in Africa, so I’m really pleased with that. Potentially another religion represented as well 😃

Re-upping for #RemembranceDay

I have added masses of locations to my map identifying where Norman Cross POWs were born. New locations in Germany, Italy and America and new countries added too. Best find was a country in Africa, so I’m really pleased with that. Potentially another religion represented as well 😃

“So it was, on that misty morning, that Brenda set off for the capital. She knew not what she would find there, only that the time had come to move on - away from small-minded rural attitudes and people who called her ‘Oreo’ and ‘the wide panda’ - to seek a more fulfilling life.”

This is my latest novel. (It almost killed me.) One person who reposts this extract www.tom-cox.com/granny-kettl... will receive a signed hardback AND one of these fab original linocuts You might like it if you like: Folklore Old buildings Friendship Records The power & magic of landscape ..

Hi there! We’re the Archive Sector Leadership team at The National Archives UK. We support archives of all types and sizes across England. Lend us a follow and we’ll keep you updated with opportunities for free training, networking, grants, written guidance and more! (1/2)

Youngest woke me at 4am before leaving to travel to the cenotaph. I have not found sleep again 🥱

Highlights of the day: •an early BA bucket 🤤 •a POW at Norman Cross from Norway •a ship of POWs at Norman Cross from the Indian Ocean •a hidden key to a map being revealed Something for everyone there. The joys of working at a museum!

Highlights of the day: •an early BA bucket 🤤 •a POW at Norman Cross from Norway •a ship of POWs at Norman Cross from the Indian Ocean •a hidden key to a map being revealed Something for everyone there. The joys of working at a museum!

The Courtauld is offering a a new fully funded Peter Fergusson PhD Scholarship in English Medieval Architecture for eligible projects focusing on England from the eleventh to the early sixteenth centuries. Statement of intents are due by 17 November 2025.

Back to the museum today to rootle through some documents in search of interesting people. Hoping the rain holds off for my trundle to the ARU library too.

Really enjoyed watching Sandi Toksvig’s Hidden Wonders on 4od. Lovely to see the emotion behind the discoveries and to learn about the two sides of burials at the dig. Definitely recommend!

Me: have you heard that James Watson has died, of Watson and Crick? Youngest: I haven’t watched that 🤷‍♂️ (He’s embarrassed now I’ve explained it 😂)

Helpston level crossing gates have failed twice in the last few weeks and if National Rail need me to go and give an illustrated talk on the history of level crossings on that particular stretch of line, I am available...

Found a cooper! He lived at Norman Cross for 11 years. Did he make some of the miniature barrels in the collection at Peterborough Museum? Potentially! Very excited to have a name!

Could you co-supervise a PhD working with unexplored areas of our collection? We’re seeking proposals from academics at HEI’s on four specially selected research themes: bit.ly/BritishLibra...