Did you miss me - in the excellent company of poet Andrew McMillan and writer Saima Mir - on #StartTheWeek this morning? It's repeated at 9pm tonight and available on BBC Sounds. I loved speaking some of Caedmon's Hymn aloud in the original #OldEnglish! ❤️ www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

These are so beautiful. @indikon.bsky.social’s daily photos are a joy and a masterclass in ‘noticing’.

ON stafr m. 'staff, pole, pillar, boundary post, border' (ONP) occurs in a few #Orkney #PlaceNames. Marwick remarks that it is often used of projecting rocks (1923: 58) & notes it in Staves (Stronsay) & Staffs Geo (North Ronaldsay), although the Stronsay application is 'unertain'.

In this #skaldic stanza from the 12th century, 'neighbour of the sausage' is used as a derogatory term for an Icelander skaldic.org/m.php?p=vers...

Only two months to go until this vsnr.org/2025/09/01/w... See you there?

The caves at Greenholm seem to fit the bill.

Wonderful Open Country episode re Fair Isle! We remember Marie's knitting studio, Eileen's fantastic baking and lovely times in the Community Hall talking #placenames and #sagas! www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Gairsay, home of Sveinn Ásleifarson in the #Saga of the Earls of #Orkney!... Will we see the caves in which he hid from Earl Haraldr as we pass Greenholm!? open.substack.com/pub/uonengli...

September research trip is just about to start... waiting to board the Varagen to Eday! #Orkney #PlaceNames

The Dark Side of Kirkwall is back by popular demand. Ghost tour and 3-course supper in the year 1798. Next dates 31/10, 7/11, 28/11, 12/12. www.ticketsource.co.uk/orkney-time-...

There are too many apps. 90% of apps should instead be a better website.

We've just been to the preview of this wonderful exhibition by @papayranger.bsky.social and Saiorse Higgins, a must-see if you're in Glasgow, in fact a reason to go! #Papay #Orkney gsaexhibitions.co.uk/exhibition/s...

Congratulations to @tcfairfax.bsky.social on his successful viva, passed with minor corrections today.

Happy memories of editing works by my favourite poet Sigvatr Þórðarson

Boydell & Brewer have a 40% sae on paperbacks with code PB40! You could, for example, get Heirs of the Vikings for £16.19 boydellandbrewer.com/book/heirs-o...

It's a brave person who invites me to talk on any topic I'm interested in - but I had a grand time with Howard last week, chatting to my heart's content about Viking camps and the Great Army. It was a hugely enjoyable hour-and-a-half for me: the link's below if you'd like to watch or listen 😊

Sweet chestnut rabbit

One observation: in German media, a celebration of the culture of conversation in UK academia and what flows from that.

This works...

Exciting international #runic event in Kirkwall, Monday 20 October 2025. Free, open to all, and with refreshments! #runes #runology #Orkney

Þorfinnr (later the Mighty), youngest son of Earl Sigurðr of Orkney, was sent off aged five for fostering by his mother's father, king of the Scots, while Sigurðr went off to Ireland, where he died at the battle of Clontarf, carrying his own raven banner (Saga of the Earls of Orkney ch. 12). 🧵 1/5

A fabulous looking new book from Tonicha Upham exploring all the Arabic and Persian evidence on Rus burials and sacrifices, complete with translations! #medievalsky #vikings www.cambridge.org/core/element...

Should you happen to be in Kirkwall on Saturday the 25th of October, do come and say hello in the Orcadian Bookshop!

Alongside the ‪@leverhulme.ac.uk, we invite postdoctoral – or equivalent – scholars in the humanities and social sciences to apply for the British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grants. Application deadline is 5 November. Apply now: https://bit.ly/3K4kEyA

#ArtDD2025 View of Jura - again. The evening sun just now cast a golden light across the lower slopes of the island. By the time I’d finished, it was gone. @saocousins.bsky.social @holnicotenh.bsky.social @andykaitken.bsky.social @stevecobbin.bsky.social @indikon.bsky.social

Do you have experience of driving a bus or a lorry but you'd rather carry books? Would you like a job driving around #Orkney, going to schools and delivering books to people? There's still time to apply for the job of driving #BookyMcBookface at: myjobscotland.gov.uk/councils/ork...

In the news @thinkuhi.bsky.social MLitt Viking Studies student, Stephen Barnaby, discusses his research on the Norse in Caithness #viking #History #intangibleheritage tinyurl.com/4mbmx9ct

In ch. 26 of the Saga of the Earls of Orkney, Þorfinnr's attack on Rǫgnvaldr Brúsason in the Pentland Firth was not going well, so he goaded his ally and kinsman-by-marriage Kálfr Árnason into supporting him with a curious comparison ... 🧵1/3

Why what is happening in the United States shows the need for the United Kingdom to repair its own constitution Our polity is there for the taking Substack emptycity.substack.com/p/the-pointl... Personal blog davidallengreen.com/2025/09/the-...

This is fun!

This was fun! We're so pleased with how they turned out!

Really pleased to see these gorgeous fruits of the @ragnasislands.bsky.social project along with core team members @shroomgirl.bsky.social and @matthew-blake.bsky.social

Just looked again on X. While Keir is posting about business, Shabana as home secretary called out violence against police yesterday but nothing about the racism or Musk. Silence from other bigwigs like Lammy, Cooper, Reeves..

Yesterday was the big day: The team of the Glasgow-Maynooth OG(H)AM project celebrated the end of four years of intensive work (2021-5) with the launch - in the venerable rooms of the Royal Irish Academy @ria.ie - of the new, revised and hugely updated 𝕆𝕘𝕙𝕒𝕞 𝕚𝕟 𝟛𝔻 database and website. /1

Huge thanks to everyone who came along on our special Graffiti Tours, put on as part of the Orkney Festival of Archaeology. Here's Curator Fran Flett Hollinrake in full flow! (Thank you to Valeria for the photo) ⛪

Very sad indeed. He was a wonderful leader and colleague at the British Academy

'"You can’t have hobbyist research that’s unfunded going on in institutions. We can’t afford it.”' Such a badly formulated phrasing of the issues, so open to so many misinterpretations. If this is the level of thinking about research among sector leaders and policy-makers, be very afraid.

what's more, this idiom is just part of a quirky general pattern of "kakaó" (cocoa) being used to mean "power" for example you could say "van benne kakaó" ("there's cocoa in this") to talk about both a loud guitar amp and very hot chillies, amongst other things

Kvikk Lunsj on the BBC! I like how this article traces changing ideas of nature and recreation through what people ate outside: www.bbc.co.uk/travel/artic...

The west fjords looking particularly splendid today

Timelapse of the relocation of the #Oseberg ship is now available. On the same page you will also find press images that are free to use (with proper attribution). www.vikingtidsmuseet.no/english/relo...

We're thrilled to announce our fantastic series of free @thinkuhi.bsky.social online and in-person seminars, conferences, and symposia for 2025-26! Discover the full line-up on our website and secure your place today! www.uhi.ac.uk/en/research-...

Such a relief that the ship is now safely on its spot. Impressive work by colleagues at @kult-hist-museum.bsky.social and others! #Oseberg #MuseumoftheVikingAge

Eek, there it is! www.nrk.no/kultur/flytt...

Some updates here, this will still take a while, must be a few more hours. I think around 12 it was slowly entering the new building. And still a way to go and then the slow lowering to its place in the lower level www.vikingtidsmuseet.no/english/news...

Update on this year's excavations at Skaill Farm, #Rousay, #Orkney archaeologyorkney.com/2025/08/18/s...

The best slow TV ever. www.nrk.no/kultur/flytt...

When sharing about the Oseberg ship today and looking for photos of the ship, old and new, here you are: Museum of Cultural History, C55000. www.unimus.no/portal/#/thi...

"leaving what is taught in our universities solely up to market forces undermines resilient subject provision and economic strategy, with lasting consequences for students and for universities’ ability to serve a public good.” 2/2