Andrew Ayton

Ha, too true. Simpler days.

Ian Hutchinson launches huge throw in into penalty box, flick on to... Ian Hutchinson launches huge throw in into penalty box, flick on to back post sees David Webb rise to head in winning goal, Chelsea vs Leeds United, 1970 FA Cup Final Replay, Old Trafford, Manchester

Ian Hutchinson, over half a century ago.
www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/video...

Yay. Priceless. The right column at the right time. And a gleefully English two fingers to the haters.

We climbed up to Cerne Giant again in September during a visit to Dorset. I’ve been visiting it since my teens. Hope to do it a few more times.

Don’t we all. I retire with a smile.

That is very funny!

Yes, that’s very good. My ignorance knows no bounds!

A little reminiscent of the Cerne Giant, Dorset?

Cover of paperback edition of Herald of a Restless World, including a picture of Bergson, looking straight at the viewer, in the bottom right corner.

Definitely one my books of the year - a tremendous achievement.

Since the weekend, I’ve been pondering ‘cultural coherence’. What is that exactly? Who says that it’s a ‘good thing’? I’m reminded of a Hungarian text, c.1015, attributed to King Stephen: ‘the country that has only one language and one custom is weak and fragile’. Has that not always been so?

On the battle of Brunanburh, 937, the photographed paragraph of Michael Wood’s review reads: But its site has never been identified. The controversy has spawned countless theories, but in the past few decades the view has become entrenched that Brunan-burh was in the Wirral. The theory rests on a single twelfth-century placename, however, and still lacks even a plausible, let alone a convincing, narrative. One would have liked to see Woodman take a fresh look at the whole story.

This bit of Michael Wood’s review of David Woodman’s new book on Athelstan (in @thetls.bsky.social) raised a chuckle. Suitably robust in responding to implausible battlefield revisionism. It’s good to see, via the reviewer bio, that MW’s biography of Athelstan is due next year.

And you've really only just started! A very nice thread, which reminded me of how I too was taken to HMS Victory by my parents when very young (it must have been nearly 60 years ago). My 'maritime turn', as an academic, took rather longer to come about.

A reminder there could always be a hidden Saxon church inside your house

Call for Papers for the 10th Late Medieval France and Burgundy Seminar: Durham University, 12-13 December 2025 Image: Jardin d'amour à la cour de Philippe le bon, duc de Bourgogne, Musée de Versailles Tradition and Innovation For the tenth meeting of the Late Medieval France and Burgundy Seminar (Durham, 2025), we invite proposals for 20-minute papers on the theme of Tradition and Innovation. We would welcome any explorations of this theme based on original research on France and/or Burgundy between c.1250 and c.1500, or which reflect on developments in modern scholarship relating to these territories, in any field, including history, art, literature, languages and music. Papers might examine (but are not limited to considering):  Major shifts in politics, society, culture, literature, art or music within the Franco-Burgundian lands during the late Middle Ages.  The durability of established practices and structures in these regions.  Old and new approaches in historiography looking back at late medieval France/ Burgundy – including new approaches to ‘English Frances’ and ‘Lordship and the Decentralised State’.  Continuity and change in textual analysis and other scholarship relating to late medieval France/Burgundy. We would particularly welcome submissions from postgraduates and early career researchers, as well as scholars at any stage in their research. The deadline for paper proposals (of around 100 words) is 31 October. Please send proposals/queries to Professor Graeme Small (g.p.small@durham.ac.uk) and Dr Andrew Green (admgreen7@gmail.com).

A reminder that there's about a week left to pitch your paper for this year's interdisciplinary Late Medieval France and Burgundy Seminar, the loveliest event of its kind, at Durham in mid-December! There's a great (and non-exclusive) theme, and it's lots of fun for ECRs and senior scholars alike!

On the battle of Brunanburh, 937, the photographed paragraph of Michael Wood’s review reads: But its site has never been identified. The controversy has spawned countless theories, but in the past few decades the view has become entrenched that Brunan-burh was in the Wirral. The theory rests on a single twelfth-century placename, however, and still lacks even a plausible, let alone a convincing, narrative. One would have liked to see Woodman take a fresh look at the whole story.

This bit of Michael Wood’s review of David Woodman’s new book on Athelstan (in @thetls.bsky.social) raised a chuckle. Suitably robust in responding to implausible battlefield revisionism. It’s good to see, via the reviewer bio, that MW’s biography of Athelstan is due next year.

For this southerner, who spent a large chunk of his adult life working in Hull, this is very pleasing. The town has sometimes been unfairly maligned in the past.

English Manorial Rolls In Chicago A massive, almost unstudied source at the University of Chicago

Gossip, paleography, and "a massive, almost unstudied source" in @rayclemens.bsky.social's latest post: open.substack.com/pub/raymondc... #medievalsky

One of my all time favourite church doorways! 😍 The broken pediment with elliptical window is so unusual 🤩
St. Mary’s Church, Conington, Cambridgeshire.

That’s quite a story!

In 1978 as a 2nd year undergraduate at my current institution I received a letter indicating that I was awarded a book prize in Canadian history named for the gent below and from his private library. I duly wrote a sincere thank you letter. 1/2

A translation of 2 rival accounts of an expedition that deteriorated into friction and feuding. The French Conquest of the Canary Islands translated by Craig Taylor and Jane H M Taylor is out now. buff.ly/Ko959Sj #medievalsky

Thanks to #openaccess publishing, anyone can explore groundbreaking research, fresh ideas and inspiring stories. Discover our most read open access books of 2025 👀 buff.ly/jmZeDeN

How the National Trust’s art collections can shape meadow restoration Treasures inside the National Trust’s cultural collections can also draw attention to what is going on outside these estates.

Thank you to @inkcapjournal.bsky.social for this link on the joint project between the @openuniversity.bsky.social and the @nationaltrust.org.uk on the restoration of the floodplains at Attingham, #Shropshire that demonstrates the best of what can be achieved by the arts and sciences together

Yes, though it helps that there is actually a melody!

I remember it well!

Unexpectedly, the OA version of "Mediterranean Connections. The Frankish Kingdoms and the Roman Empire (476–756)", The Medieval Mediterranean 145 (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2025), is already out! (first they told me 27.11, then 30.10) ...Download: brill.com/display/titl...

A banner advert for Matt Houlbrook’s new book Songs of Seven Dials: An intimate history of 1920s and 1930s London

There's just a day to go until @manchesterup.bsky.social publish my latest book Songs of Seven Dials: An intimate history of 1920s and 1930s London.

I thought I should explain a bit about where the book came from.

1/15

My parents’ education was cut short by the Second World War: my father’s scholarship blown away by a V1 rocket, forcing his family to move. But without that, I wouldn’t be here.

So true. I have been very fortunate.

Lovely thread Sonja. In my dotage, I cherish the thought that my expertise in a small subject has done some good, including contributing to the ‘In Our Time’ archive.