‘Every mickle makes a muckle’ Charles Madge collects some wonderful proverbs from his Glaswegian working-class informants in Wartime Patterns of Spending and Saving (1943)

Always intrigued when a student photo on file differs quite dramatically from the individual that I've encountered in my classroom. A reinvention of the self has evidently occurred and I feel vicariously excited for them.

We are pleased to be supporting the "Modern British History and the 'Environmental Turn'" worshop at Lincoln College, University of Oxford @oxhistoryfaculty.bsky.social) on 16 - 17 September 2026 See call for papers (closes 15 May 2026) below: pastandpresent.org.uk/call-for-pap...

It's been the week for school concerts, which means Coldplay arranged for violin, flute and guitar, an Abba medley belted out by wind-band plus possibly the most charming rendition of Entrance of the Queen of Sheba I have ever heard, courtesy of a year-seven marimba ensemble.

‘If you want to go to a forest, phone Werner.’ John Berger to Susan Sontag, August 1990. (I wonder whether this is still Werner’s number…)

I am called upon to provide a 'wet signature'. What an unlovely phrase.

Asking AI to summarise one of your own articles is distressing. The result is superficially accurate but so much nuance is lost, not just of argument but of tone, voice, style - everything that makes an article a piece of *writing* which tries to create a *reading* experience for its audience.

Had an appreciative little note from a reader in my email this morning. Never underestimate the importance of these things. Writing is a pretty lonely, unrewarding experience on the whole, and often it can feel pointless. So it is enormously encouraging to know that someone’s enjoyed what you wrote.

Great to see the Guardian covering this kind of work, by @drkrisztinailko.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

How to Reach a Broader Audience: An Introduction to Non-Fiction Trade Publishing in 2026. The IHR-Curtis Brown initiative aims to de-mystify the process of writing for broader audiences and navigating the publishing process. FREE online 26 March 2-4pm www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

My take on the Gwyneth Paltrow Oscars dress discourse: this was a clear case of GP, a stunningly beautiful woman in her 50s, trying to be not boring, in which she succeeded.

Please share! EHR is hosting a free one-day symposium at St John's College, Oxford, on Friday 17 April, 10-6, on the theme 'When there are no sources'. Further details and how to sign up here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/when-there...

I don’t think Churchill & Austen etc are entitled to stay on the banknotes forever but as a lifelong and avowed enemy of all things ‘twee’, I do fear for the future of our currency.

Revisiting the pioneering @demos-uk.bsky.social study, The New Old (2003) & it's fascinating to consider how the Boomer discourse has transformed in two decades as this cohort has aged. (Also, 'TV dinners' anyone?!)

Maybe this should be the new way for academics to deliver lecture content?

I've got a bad feeling about this. www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l5R...

The more interesting point (possibly what T-C was attempting to get at) is how film exists as a genuinely popular art form, unburdened by the 'elite' associations of opera & ballet & through which quite sophisticated & complex ideas can be communicated to mass audiences www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Excellent news - this will be an immensely important archival collection for future historians of gender, politics and public life in the Thatcher and New Labour era.

Maybe most Gen Z men don’t have wives - ask them again in ten years?

Lots of bared flesh in Cambridge today. Guys, I love your spirit, but it’s really not that warm.

Why am I startled by the hard thud of a phone hitting the floor - on a bus, plane, in a cafe etc? Is there something uniquely disturbing about the timbre of it or is it simply because phones are now the primary thing that people drop in public spaces? (Is what I have been thinking about today.)

We are advertising a two-year lectureship in Modern British History at University of Cambridge, please spread the word! www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/assista...

Honestly, not sure 'distinctly British wit' is going to win it for us, but worth a try.

Friends, can I ask you to spread the word that we have a THREE-YEAR postdoc in American history at Cambridge up for grabs - ANY field, but applications are due March 1 so don't delay - apply, apply, apply! networks.h-net.org/jobs/69790/u...

For all my tech-themed plaints, there is something tender and wonderful about sitting at my desk at home, watching three beloved dots (2 x daughter, 1 x husband) on a map on my phone screen gradually converging as they make their way back to me.

Was planning to give this a miss but Carry On Heathcliff actually sounds like a lot of fun. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Please do share this doctoral opportunity with MA/MSt students - four years of AHRC funding to work on the history of children's play in Wales, supervised by me and the lovely and brilliant Dr Jacky Tyrie. Any questions get in touch! www.swansea.ac.uk/postgraduate...

For anyone interested in our 18-month post in British Studies please follow the link below. @ihr.bsky.social www.jobs.london.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...

Recalling how Mandelson visited QMUL in 2011 to unveil the charming statue of Clement Attlee that stands in Library Square (one of the very few political statues I would regret to see torn down) and a group of spirited students heckled him. How right they were. www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2...

Three scholarships for PhD in Arthur Scargill Archive - quite the opportunity. Believe me when I say that I am sure that some of the stuff in here will be quite the eye-opener! (if the good stuff hasn't been already shredded or slapped with an embargo)

Job opportunity: 18 month fellowship in British Studies working @ihr.bsky.social to undertake own research and prep for NACBS2027 @thenacbs.bsky.social www.jobs.london.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...

Interested in writing as a way of 'doing' politics? Then read this new collection of essays, Writing Politics in Modern Britain, edited by @richardtoye.bsky.social & @garylove.bsky.social www.cambridge.org/core/books/w...

Very cool talk on Vivienne Westwood and Britishness by Margot Rashba on Feb 11th. Corsets and safety-pins optional. www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

The dynamic between the host and visiting games teachers at a school sports fixture intrigues me. A simmering mix of professional amity, tribal rivalry, status anxiety and occasional sexual tension.

Save the date! Join us for an online archival workshop with @gpadmoreinstitute.bsky.social and @irrnews.bsky.social to explore the materials and histories of Black activist publishing in the UK from the 1970s: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/archival-w...

Let's talk about the Aylesbury tunnels.

Interesting discussion in this thread.

Ah, the presale is on Monday. That was quick. Well, I will enjoy my power for another three days.

We're hosting a very special roundtable in Cambridge and online on Friday 6th Feb featuring Alissa Klots, Christina von Hodenberg, Catriona Kelly & myself in conversation about work, gender & ageing in post-war Europe. To attend in person or via Zoom register here: www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/events/49412/

The imminent return of Harry Styles has placed in my hands the ultimate parental leverage - at least for the coming months. 'Do this or I won't buy you Harry Styles tickets.' It's a powerful tool.

Following some recent high-profile political defections, @alfiesteer.bsky.social and Dr @emmapeplow.bsky.social have delved into the History of Parliament's #OralHistory archive to explore some historical cases of MPs who 'crossed the floor' and changed their party affiliation.

For a fortifying shot in the arm of sharp historical thinking about neoliberalism, read this (and get your students to read it) from @quinnslobodian.com @tsasson.bsky.social Priya Lal & Gary Gerstle www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Interested in the intersection between policymaking, especially in the UK, and academic research? Come work with us! The @mileendinstitute.bsky.social at @qmulsse.bsky.social is advertising for a new Policy Partnerships Officer. Details and application here: qmul-jobs.tal.net/vx/mobile-0/...

We’ve got a stellar lineup for this term’s Modern British History Seminar in Oxford. Do come along if you’re around! talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/series...

Sincerely experiencing all the adjectives - thrilled, delighted, humbled, honoured, psyched - when I see my name on this list. I have so many colleagues to thank for helping me to sharpen my thinking about ageing, retirement and social change. Excited (another adjective) to get this book written!

If you are in Oxford next Tuesday and histories of ageing, work, race and migration are your thing, do come to my paper: Grey Escape: Britons Retiring Overseas, c. 1980-2010. It may make you think twice about chasing the sun in your sixties... Details here: talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/90a...

This was the actual weather off the north coast of Cornwall on Friday. Quite a stunner.

My New Year's Gift to you all is news that the brilliant, provocative, stays-with-you-long-after-the-curtain-falls JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN is coming to the UK with a short run at London's Royal Court in March/April. Book your tickets now (I already have). royalcourttheatre.com/events/john-...

Christmas Eve at the Bodleian ✨ "The rooms were very still while the pages were softly turned and the winter sunshine crept in to touch the bright heads and serious faces with a Christmas greeting." 📚 | Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

Please, TV Gods, I NEED this to be good and not a terrible disappointment.