I know the world is awful BUT VICTORIAN NAME OF THE WEEK! Richard Hogsflesh Rogers (1851-1913)

We’re having an open day at Peterborough Archives. It’s a free event but places must be booked. Limited to 6 people per tour 10am, 1pm and 3pm. Enquiries email [email protected]

COVER REVEAL. Really excited to show off the fantastic cover for my new book Sniff from @yalebooks.bsky.social. It’s a history of smells across time and space and hits the shelves on the 8th September. Pre-order from Yale, your local bookshop, or the usual suspects! yalebooks.co.uk/book/9780300...

Incessant grump for a week straight, cured entirely by making a sticky toffee pudding. That lad is on to something.

For International Women's Day, I want to talk about this woman. Despite the name on the photo, this woman was born Ann Amelia Chaplin in 1863, in Bromley.

What a fantastic day at Peterborough Museum for International Women’s Day! @historyhaze1.bsky.social did an amazing job organising the chaos and it was wonderful to meet up with the @pborowomenshist.bsky.social group for our storytelling session

Last call for this, which has just started. I’ll be speaking between 2 and 3, along with my friends at the Women’s History Group, about the role of women in shaping Peterborough.

I am SO EXCITED about this.

Normally, for a Friday Murder, I just tell you the story and we go about our lives. But today, I am going to put my Teacher Hat on. Read this first. It's the assize judge summarising the case for the grand jury. They decide if the trial goes ahead.

This is tomorrow and our panel is at 2pm. Our speakers will be @sophiemhistory.bsky.social, @clairehistory.bsky.social, @historyhaze1.bsky.social, @dot8.bsky.social and Dr Denise McHugh.

Normally, for a Friday Murder, I just tell you the story and we go about our lives. But today, I am going to put my Teacher Hat on. Read this first. It's the assize judge summarising the case for the grand jury. They decide if the trial goes ahead.

I don't have A levels.

At one point, they did tiny cheap World Book Day books FOR ADULTS and BRING THAT BACK

I love it when a coroner spends longer bitching furiously about the local magistracy than in actually directing the jury. GO OFF, THOMAS BADGER, VENT YO SPLEEN

It’s finally, joyfully my last World Book Day There are many things to mourn about my last kid going to secondary in September. BUT NOT THIS BULLSHIT

Ag lab; fitter. I AM RUGGED, I AM

I see your Major Wild Radcliffe, and raise you Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Trusty Tricky!

VICTORIAN NAME OF THE WEEK! Major Wild Radcliffe (1820-1896)

Come and see us talking about our favourite women from Peterborough's history on Saturday! peterboroughwomenshistory.wordpress.com/2026/03/04/i...

How I arrived on Bluesky:

This was also seen in England

Last call for this - it's in THREE HOURS so make haste

On 7th March, International Woman’s Day, the @pborowomenshist.bsky.social group will at Peterborough Museum talking about the women who made the city

TOMORROW, I am doing a short talk on a MURDERER which has everything! Knives! Arsenic! Arson! Adultery! Exhumation! Toxicology! Transportation! Broadmoor! Trying to squidge it into 15 minutes has been a trial. But it's online, so come along... www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-cabinet-...

I wrote a bit about passing my viva, and how I got this far, and also, can we all stare at my tiny grumpy children and wonder at how the HELL I managed to do all this with THEM being like THIS? sophiemhistory.com/2026/03/02/v...

Now my viva has passed I can finally revel and delight in the fact that THERE IS NO FOUCAULT IN MY THESIS

What the fuck are they making mini eggs out of these days? Solid gold?

Thank you everyone. I will write something more fulsome about this whole thing next week but… thank you all so much

Many congratulations 🎊 to @sophiemhistory.bsky.social for an excellent viva today with Prof. Ros Crone & me on the Peterborough Coroner's Court, 1856-1905!! 🌟🌟🌟

Fourteen years ago, I started my BSc at the Open University. Today, I finished up by passing my viva. Enormous thanks to my wonderful examiners @djrgrey.bsky.social and Rosalind Crone. Massive thanks to my supervisors, Prof Paul Lawrence and Prof Donna Loftus and to my hype crew.

Well I didn’t have to get dressed on the bus, so this is already a better day than the last absolutely terrifying day I had

DEFECTION SHOULD TRIGGER A BY ELECTION AND I CANNOT FATHOM WHY IT DOESN’T

Greens won Greens won The Greens have won Trounced Reform and Labour Taking Gorton and Denton

Do not mis-cite statute law at me. I was not there when it was written but I do know where to find it and check your bullshit.

Just been to a GCSE revision evening where the lead encouraged us to take lessons from Team GB cycling to improve performance EPO??

Writing about my thesis significance and all the words have simply departed, they have left my brain, they have gone away.

I've been reading The Devil in the White City and 1) fucking hell, what a piece of research and 2) fucking hell, H H Holmes

Cannot write an article NOW, brain, FOCUS

Come to my talk at Helpston Church on 19th March to hear me wang on about railway accidents for a full 45 minutes.

In 1854, a man was killed at the Maxey level crossing, which was very wide and had two sets of gates. A man operated the Midland gates, a woman operated the Great Northern gates. The man died after letting himself through the unlocked pedestrian gates. Guess who the inquest blamed?

My main takeaway from looking at contemporary evidence of the Forty Elephants was that the press were obsessed with Alice Diamond being A FUCKING GIANT

Told my son about the Roxanne drinking game…

Oooh this sounds like 2010

Lady Historians Doing Actual Research over here!!!! 💪🏻😒

The call for papers for the European Social Science History Conference is out! It will take place in Lyon on 21-24 April 2027. It is organised by @iisg-amsterdam.bsky.social, with thousands of colleagues and lively exchange in many small groups. More info here: esshc.iisg.amsterdam/en

I will say this though Restricting EHCPs won’t reduce the amount of need, only the amount of available funding to meet that need.

Not reading the SEND white paper until next week because … reasons … but what I have heard is already boiling my piss

£15 + skate hire for a single session at the ice rink near me. Which is the only ice rink in about a 50 mile radius. There are no ice rinks at all in Norfolk.

And so I gradually recruit all my friends to the stats-sceptic bench

I'm obligated to post this other incredibly mixed message: