Hot cross buns based on @nigella.bsky.social's recipe - some of the buns are more Christian than others. Never have the patience to do perfect crosses.

This year's Simnel cake!

Beautiful evening in Buckingham yesterday

Good to see the #histbookchat custom feed community thriving! Thank you!

The #histscalemodels custom feed community continues to grow. Stats for total views over the past month. Thank you.

A rather special #histbookchat this week - Notes for Commanding Officers (Nov 1918). In pristine condition. A gift from someone I helped with researching William Chappell's time in Italy during the war.

The first bluebell - ignore my previous post, that was Grape Hyacinth (Muscari)!

This is the first in a series of posts looking at welfare of British troops in India & Burma. I begin by tracing the impact and fallout of a ‘damaging’ article in the Sunday Pictorial using Cabinet and War Office papers in TNA. #milwelfhist #skystorians matteatonmedia.substack.com/p/i-accuse-m...

This has been too long on the #histbookchat tbr pile. And it was worth the wait - enjoying it immensely so far. Popping those sww myth balloons as we go - sectarianism, Democracy, and peaceful English shires. Britain at Bay by @alanallport.bsky.social

Happy Thursday - the first of the bluebells are out in my garden!

Latest #histbookchat acquisition is this biography of Vaughan Williams by Simon Heffer in an effort to better understand the English Pastoral School and their work during the SWW.

Reading about that oh so special relationship and Ed Murrows role in persuading the US to join the fight against fascism during the SWW. #histbookchat

I'm not sure General Dan Caine has said the word 'awesome' enough in today's briefing on Iran.

On business in Paris this week. Managed to sneak in some historical research this time by visiting 24 Quai de Bethune, the former home of Virginia Vernon during the Second World War. Beautiful weather!

I'm sure I'm not alone, but my consumption of classical music has increased exponentially to distract from the news. My post this week looks at the role of the performing arts in defeating fascism and raising morale during the Second World War. matteatonmedia.substack.com/p/and-now-fo...

Wonderful walk and talk arranged by Wendover's @realmagicbooks.bsky.social last Sunday. Jack Cornish from the Ramblers talked about Edward Thomas's The Icknield Way. Lovely bunch of people - support your local bookshop! www.instagram.com/reel/DVWv1tX...

This week's #histbookchat reading is The Fortress by Raleigh Trevelyan - the diary of his time in the Anzio beachhead.

No time to see historical sites during my visit to Istanbul this week. But I got an amazing view from DigiTurk's rooftop yesterday - the Bosphorus and you can just make out Hagia Sophia in the distance. Next time.

Letting sleeping dogs lie. In Istanbul for a few days.

"Defensive strikes" - double plus good!

This week's #histbookchat is a collection of essays looking at the sociopolitical aspects of the SWW. The Peoples' War? Been after this title for a while and when I saw it for under a tenner, it had to be mine!

Guys- if you see this happening in public, don't tolerate this kind of behaviour! WTF? There’s an epidemic of men pushing women, and it needs to stop | Society | The Guardian share.google/JfdD9WuX5VOa...

2026 MWHN Conference - call for papers! Join us in Romania this June to discuss all things military welfare and civil society. Deadline: 14 March 2026. CfP attached and full details at militarywelfarehistory.com/2026-confere... #milwelfhist #civilsociety #charity #philanthropy

Been reading The Deserters by Charles Glass this week. Stories of US and UK troops who left their units, either consciously or through no fault of their own, during the SWW. I wanted a bit more analysis but some interesting stories here. #histbookchat

I'm a bit of a fan of Leslie Howard. Having met his great-grandson and filmed an interview for a new TV documentary this week, I've written a two-part blog post on Leslie's contribution to the Allied war effort. matteatonmedia.substack.com/p/the-quinte... 🗃️

One of the strangest lunchtimes for a while - appearing as a talking head on a documentary about Leslie Howard at the Cinema Museum.

John Kettley (is a weatherman) by A Tribe of Toffs, anyone? youtu.be/Db6WHtNV5-I?...

This week I'm reading Theatre at War 1914-18 by L.J.Collins. Concert parties, pierrots, and musical hall were all being used to maintain troop morale. #histbookchat

My view this morning! Giving a talk at The Shard.

Having binged it ladt night, the new Mackenzie-Crooks series, Small Prophets, is kind of wonderful.

Did Nick Robinson just say that the UK would look as bad as Italy if Keir Starmer steps down as PM on BBC R4 Today? Implying that a quick succession of PMs makes us appear like a joke. In the past 10 years Italy's only had 5 PMs - the UK is currently on 6 for the same period. Arrogant much?

Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work. "Technology is the easy bit."

Reading Flight 777 by Ian Colvin this week. Published in 1957, it explored the mysterious circumstances of Leslie Howard's death in June 1943. Easy to forget what a huge star of stage and screen he was at the time of his disappearance. #histbookchat

Snowdrops beginning to bloom and a glimpse of sun!

Attended a lecture on the bombing of Dresden this evening. A difficult topic expertly handled by @spitfirefilly.bsky.social

Sunday vibes

Well, I don't care what people say, I'm warming to Star Trek Starfleet Academy.

Next up is Warriors by J. Glenn Gray. Been on the TBR pile for too long and now fits well into my current research into troop experiences. #histbookchat

Very pleased to announce that the cover design for my first book has been finalised. Co-authored with Professor Adam Fairclough, Madam V: Virginia Vernon's War will be published by The History Press in August. The story of this fearless woman needs to be told! #histbookchat #booksky

"Ye Hypocrites, are these your pranks To murder men and gie God thanks Desist for shame, proceed no further God won't accept your thanks for murder." - Thanksgiving to a National Victory, Robert Burns

At some point on Friday I passed the 50 mile mark! I'm also closing in on £1250 in donations (my original target was £250). Please help me get to my new target & thus support this fantastic cause. fundraise.dementiauk.org/fundraisers/...

“A gigantic icebreaker is sailing full steam ahead, shredding the old world order. And the name of that ship? The Donald Trump.” My dispatch from Moscow for BBC Radio’s From Our Own Correspondent.

Well, eldest son managed to get a place at McGill next academic year, so we're going to get to see a lot more of Montreal! Excited for him.

Idiots - succinctly put. #thearchers

Fear and the frontline soldier's experience are discussed in my blog post this week, based on a memoir by an officer at El Alamein. A sensitive and, at times, shocking topic, but for me it highlights the bravery of ordinary people placed in brutal situations. open.substack.com/pub/matteato...

This week I have been mostly reading The Sharp End of War by John Ellis. He writes about the experiences of the Allied soldiers during the SWW from fear to boredom. Highly recommended. #histbookchat

My brain is melting listening to Trump's address to Davos. He's just claimed that the FWW ended because of Spanish Flu.

Choux Farci at Pique Nique, Bermondsey. Delicious. This was shared between two, but it's fair to say that I've had my quota of pheasant for January!

A new one to spot on my walks in the Chilterns! BBC News - Rare fungi spotted at The Box Moor Trust Estate in Hertfordshire - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

For your holiday weekend reading & reflection, here’s my 259th #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books from the past week. Add more below, share as widely as possible, & solidarity, all! 🗃️ blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...