Malka is here to tell you that I’m the worst (I shut the kitchen door with her on the outside – for very legitimate reasons)

someone is skeptical of my surgical skills when it comes to catnip mice

grabbed the nearest vaguely celebratory drink to mark the day I made something-resembling-stuffing for the first time in my life (some improvisation occurred) #ConfinedCocktails

tried to use my bed to sort my laundry. will have to sleep on the sofa

good morning … surprise location!

good morning Fulham! and happy Christmas everyone. (am volunteering not walking as I can’t get to anywhere new-to-me but parkrun never stops)

BlueSky being amazing (and distracting me from the imminent penalties too) 👏👏👏 www.canterbury-archaeology.org.uk/st-mildreds-...

fellow archivists, you can give me a virtual hug because what awaits me in 2026 is approx 70 more boxes of glass slides, in addition to the 25,000 slides I already knew about (about 18k of which are digitised) 🫠

are you bored at Christmas? want an opportunity to escape from your relatives because you are Making Valuable Contributions to Scholarship? can I interest you in looking at (labelled!) slides from the early 20th century, architecture and archaeology? all I need you to do is write down the label.

challenge – how well do you know Canterbury? (looking for an unidentified building and/or more volunteers to look at glass slides from the early 20th century!) collections.sal.org.uk/gls.02.1353

If anyone has a recommendation for a London-based data recovery service (external hard drive, on a Mac) – I am, unfortunately, in need

if anyone is already bored with being on leave for Christmas, feel free to find out for me what George Grant MacCurdy’s wife was called … apart from my ideological objections this also makes metadata so much harder

If anyone has a recommendation for a London-based data recovery service (external hard drive, on a Mac) – I am, unfortunately, in need

good morning Bicester!

good morning Southampton!

yarn inspector duties, part two

yarn inspector duties, part one

here’s a weirdo who prefers paper to yarn

never change, Bury St

should probably have used this to publicise the fact that I could really do with a bit of volunteer help on these (digitised) letters! collections.sal.org.uk/san.19.02 can promise you that 1. it's pretty straighforward and 2. one of them contains a very cute drawing. DMs are open

going to make this my automatic reply (from 1910s correspondence mostly about castles)

Penny has discovered the valerian fish

Most Christmas cards have similar image themes, but for an Antiquary, something a bit different is preferred. A photograph of Hagar Qim Neolithic Temple, Malta, would be perfect!

first outing for these beauties (with bonus Penny) pattern: Love & Liquor by General Hogbuffer (free!) yarn: Undercover Otter Squirm in I’ve Been Slimed (souvenir from Amsterdam)

when you’re just going to look at some boring mid-18th century genealogical notes and find beautiful surprises … #thatarchivistlife

PSA: if you object to wrapping paper and have a fabric stash …

I know there’s a lot that needs fixing in the NHS but for an easy win – ad-free Spotify during MRIs please

best parkrun ever. finished 13th, fussed over a tiny kitten, did not get covered in lava

breakfast buffet had a fill your own cannoli station. I had one for every England wicket taker

fell asleep listening to @tennispodcast.bsky.social and dreamt of a huge boat going down the Thames as part of Wimbledon opening ceremony. you heard it here first

why do we have to work to get our treats

cheese soufflé gang rise up

good morning Sheppey

laundry day is the best day

I can promise nobody forced Penny into a cupboard to sit on my shoes, even if her face suggests this version of events

Malka content from last night in case she feels neglected

I have worked in organisations that resemble far too many of these

obligatory anti-fireworks photo (Malka is of course sitting on the windowsill lapping it up)

“‘tis the season 🫠 (opposite my office)

Our staff are fiendishly friendly today, ready to welcome you into the depths of our Library.....if you have the guts to enter....

socially awkward household

Dundee has perfect light and perfect industrial dereliction fyi

am enjoying Scotland tremendously

wet wet wet Krupunder See

Hampstead Heath – Fulham Palace – Wimbledon Common – Crystal Palace – Finsbury Park – Hackney Marshes – Lloyd – Highbury Fields – Mile End – Gladstone – Richmond Park – Beckton – Barking – Wanstead Flats – Old Deer Park – Tooting Common – Pymmes – Ally Pally – Southwark – Osterley –

parkrun tourists really are a special bunch

good morning … Bremen!

hello friends! I will be in Scotland (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee; open to other offers in that general region) the week of 13 October if anyone has any recommendations for museums/yarn shops/brunch and/or would like to see me for any of the above

turns out Malka loves golf balls

that’s not really how …