Really enjoyed this and reflecting on family traditions, where I bought every ornament, and that at a distance I know exactly what my parents and whoever is visiting will be doing. And that hubby and I had our own rhythms, set by our 2nd Christmas in this house and unchanged!

Best news of the day.

Always a December joy and another piece of evidence that, the older I get, the more I enjoy the build up and anticipation than the actual Thing sometimes.

As we hurtle towards Christmas Day, take time to remember that the end of any journey is rarely as interesting, or exciting, or as memorable as the journey itself. Take time to enjoy December. #WinterIsHere #TinyJoys #TimelineCleanse

A nation remembers. Parliament's Elizabeth Tower is illuminated with poppies in front of the statue of Sir Winston Churchill. A powerful reminder of courage, sacrifice and the enduring spirit of those who served. @ukparliament.parliament.uk @houseofcommons.parliament.uk @houseoflords.parliament.uk

4 Nov 1605: In the nighttime #otd Thomas Knyvett searches vaults under the House of Lords which results in arrest of Guido Fawkes (NT/BM)

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

In London tonight? Like history (and beer / pub snacks)? I'll be speaking tonight on #medieval #queenship at 'Curious Histories', alongside papers on the River Volga in Russian history and the early years of the 999 service on UK policing. A few tickets left www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/curious-hi...

Not wanting a commercial organisation to have rights to my name, work and even likeness, worldwide, irrevocable, for whatever purpose, I'm afraid I've deleted my account without accepting their T&Cs

"Flags, is it?" Typically heartwarming South Wallian response on a #Caerphilly railway bridge to recent small pockets of nonsense www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-n...

Knew it was coming but, still, 10 seconds past 3, with my phone, 2x work phones, and then the blessed Alexa joining in with the alert, stomach almost jumped up my throat!

Very sad to read a topline statement that "the skills brief" will be leaving Department for Education and moving to DWP. Won't help with the equalisation of technical and academic qualifications one bit.

Lovely and 100% relatable post

#OTD 1752, Britain went to bed like usual. But when they awoke, it was ‘eleven days later’ on Thursday 14 September. Find out why...👇 @georgianlords.bsky.social

I'd already had two "podcasts" created from MY work before a kind skeet in my feed pointed me to these instructions. Absolute liberty, this whole thing!

It was a very strange time. I'd already been awarded a postdoc grant for study in Paris starting 1 January 1998, so had booked in my PhD viva in mid-November with, now, a hard deadline to finish writing up and was pretty well only halfway through. More than one chapter not even planned out!

Excellent post by @matthewbarnard.phd which includes this insightful point about UKHE's 'hostility towards intellectualism' 👇 Thank you for writing the piece @matthewbarnard.phd

Knowing your brand and running with it. Tidy job, transport for Wales

Bloomin Nora. Got a numbers-based 1% question for the first time. #1%club

Met an old friend on my way to the train ❤

Grateful to be quitting for a few days to fresher Cymru

Does it count if they don't know they're your nemesis/ likely don't know you exist? (Rivalry feeling a bit mutual). Asking for a friend....

These are people who know what they're talking about, first hand. No-one should count on Putin's Russia relinquishing its grip on occupied parts of Ukraine if the West now accepts Russian conquests 'de facto but not de jure' .

Went so well as a policy in the Mid 30s after all 🙄

Mediterranean blue skies at Wapping today on the Thames Foreshore at low tide. Boats & barges have been moored here for centuries, close your eyes and you can hear the shouts & curses of dockers as goods were unloaded from lighters and winched up into wharves above. Literally a portal to the past.

An unexpected pleasure of Him Indoors having spent his teens/20s preoccupied wine, women and song means I get to introduce him to classic movies and TV from late 70s and 80s. Today it was "Amadeus" at BFI. Joyful!

Otherwise, a beautiful day in Westminster. Though I hate to give the lizard OH (already back into thick hooded cardigan inside) any credence, there was a fresh bite to the air on the walk past the Supreme Court on Parliament Square.

Just don't ... Me this morning, already forgotten the name of the colleague to whom I was introduced this morning. Also me, whilst doing make-up sang word perfect a lesser-known Christmas carol not sung since school in December 1985

#OTD 1925, Plaid Cymru was formed at a meeting of six leading Welsh nationalists, including the poet Saunders Lewis, at a cafe in Pwllheli. Its first MP, Gwynfor Evans, was first elected in 1966 and since 1974 the party has maintained a consistent presence in Parliament.

Connections Puzzle #786 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 So bizarre, the switches in levels of difficulty (and what they think is the hardest line!)

The frequent changes on quite short journeys in the valleys took some getting used to. But, if you can't concentrate behind the wheel sufficiently to adapt to what is clear signage, perhaps (controversial!) driving may not be your thing.

A giant piece of street art has appeared outside Cardiff Central Station, and it’s stopping people in their tracks

Medieval Street Art Unveiled in Cardiff www.medievalists.net/2025/08/medi... #Wales #Cardiff

Oh goodness! Doubt I'll be able to squeeze in a visit before this exhibition closes in early October, but if you can you'll love it. Chantilly well worth a visit just for itself if you're at leisure in and around Paris

Because I'm still not organised enough to set up scheduled posts, I missed marking the #medieval harvest festival of Lammas Day yesterday.

Brilliant set from @seannwalsh.bsky.social at Ealing Comedy Festival. Looking forward to @ivograham.bsky.social , @johnshuttleworth.bsky.social and @marcusbrig.bsky.social in 2nd half

Tis true. Half of my PhD-rooted presentations had Q&A around "none of the contemporary sources say that"

You can see why we snapped them up. 26 bangers, 4 duds, for the price of 6 singles.

the thing about books is that, if you go back to the book to look at it again, it will give you the same answer it gave you the first time. This is an important quality in sources! Even Wikipedia, which *can* be updated, preserves its edit history!

Or just give people more time to cross the Road. If i step the nanosecond the green man appears, I'm not halfway when the 10 second countdown starts

Let's give this a go with some historical opinions.

Goodness me, no, not at all, not a soul in the 4 countries of the United Kingdom ever had a cross word or fisticuffs about interpretations of the liturgy, church decoration, the role (or none) of priests, the nature of communion bread/wafers, the permitted language of the Bible from 871 to 1901.

Hahahahahah. God give me the confidence of a mediocre white man.

This is so brilliant, providing cycling/walking formal connections between the wonderful green spaces in LB Ealing that cluster around the River Brent. Hoping for holistic use of the area, too, for flood prevention measures as well as encouraging wetland flora and fauna.

Great resources for colleagues developing reading lists for next term/semester.

Bonne fête to all my French friends

Such a relaxing and sunny week at Warners Sinah Warren on hayling island! Glad to have the weekend back at home, though, before a particularly busy week back at work.

#OnThisDay, 5 July 1957, Althea Gibson becomes the first Black person to win a #Wimbledon Singles tennis trophy. Blogpost by Moira from 2019: illustratedwomeninhi... Newsreel: youtu.be/2EJCqBsh2Dk...#OnThisDay,#Wimbledon#BlackHistory #TennisHistory #WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory 🗃️ 1/2