Owen Massey

"Benedictus benedicat"

Nothing new about this news, sadly, but a useful reminder:

Shame. I see Bristol Labour are as car-brained as Oxford Labour. Without cars, Park Street there and St Giles’ here could be equally grand …

Some more information about the Magdalen 1964 Ball, from the College archives.
It looks like the Rolling Stones played three sets! No wonder they were annoyed.
And it looks like the Star Attraction might have been John Lee Hooker. Wow.

‘Look what you made me do’

Gotcha!

What's her counterpoint? Is it that she accepts that cars cause harm and she doesn't care?

Photo showing the inside of a book binding

Hidden in the binding of this 16th century French herbal, a book describing the uses of plants, are sheets of printed 'waste' used by the binder to bulk up the cover. This seems to be a frame for something never printed #fragments #bindings

My favourite scam email so far. 75-year recluse Patrick Süskind, author of modern gothic classic Perfume - a man who rarely grants interviews and allows no photos - has contacted me to tell me he loves my book and wants to connect as a ‘fellow author’. I should tell him he’s misspelling his own name

It’s a multi year project for renovating a world heritage site and Parliament of the United Kingdom and year on year it’ll probably cost the budget of a mid-range council so no, not really

Expert Comment: Cuts to fundamental research will hurt the UK’s Chris Lintott, Professor of Astrophysics at Oxford’s Department of Physics, responds to the news that University funding for astronomy and physics research will be cut by almost a third.

Oxford Professor of Astrophysics, Founder of Zooniverse and presenter of BBC’s Sky at Night, Chris Lintott, warns the Government against cuts to fundamental research in an article for the University of Oxford.

I think they still have an interest in ‘My Barbers’ opposite.

me standing in a record shop Man who really doesn't even bike too often thrilled at the opportunity to defend the behaviour of every cyclist in every city for all of time. THE ROVÉLO RECORD

"Man who really doesn't even bike too often thrilled at the opportunity to defend the behaviour of every cyclist in every city for all of time."

Black and white photograph of 8 men posed for a group photo. The group are members of the Magdalen College Fire Brigade and 7 of them wear a uniform. The names of the men are recorded underneath the photograph in blue ink.

This photo shows members of the Magdalen College Fire Brigade in 1935. Founded at some point before 1925, it was formed exclusively of college staff. College fire brigades would often compete with one another, including for a rowing ‘Challenge Cup’.

Excellent piece on how universities are important economic players in local economies, but also how they have been giving people hope about the future in very practical ways. 5min read.

YouTube video by Lincoln College, Oxford University Lincoln's Hidden Spaces: Mitre Vaults

I had so much fun exploring the medieval vaults of Oxford’s Mitre Inn (now Gusto Restaurant) as part of @lincoln.ox.ac.uk’s Hidden Spaces series- check out the video on YouTube or Instagram! 🤗🎉

youtu.be/OkDTotazAhs?...

Wikipedia at 25: What the web can be - Anil Dash A blog about making culture. Since 1999.

When writer and tech entrepreneur @anildash.com first heard about Wikipedia, his reaction was:

“Well… good luck to those guys.”

That was 25 years ago. Now, he recognizes Wikipedia’s unbelievable collective generosity and reflects on how it’s adapted to each new era of the internet.

Neil Gaiman: it's me neil gaiman, imagineer and dreamweaver
Gaiman: have you ever considered
Gaiman: the incredible power of story?
Gaiman: but perhaps even more powerful are the stories that we don't tell
Gaiman: anyway here's my NDA

This 2017 banger by Caroline Framke remains eternally relevant www.vox.com/culture/2017... @carolineframke.bsky.social

Now's our chance to put a stop to amplified busking in Oxford!

bsky.app/profile/oxfo...

I have no advice, just solidarity! No such thing as a half-finished pack in my experience.

Magdalen's Great Tower

The lower section of the staircase already has handrails on each side

A new handrail will be installed on the spiral staircase of Magdalen’s Great Tower to help bleary-eyed choristers reach the roof on May Day morning. Currently, only the lowest third of the tower has a handrail on each side (pictured); above there, choristers must hold on single-handed.

'The MS. on which I found my text is [redacted]. And I here beg leave to offer to that Society my grateful thanks for their courtesy in allowing me to take it away, and use it at my leisure.'

Man, the 1880's were a wild time in manuscript studies.

'I need not detain the reader with a history of my tedious researches among the various MSS...' *screams internally in the library*

'This principle was part of their commitment to equality in higher education: like male students, they should have the right to be both serious and silly at University.'

@somervillecollege.bsky.social

St. George's flag being removed, next to the E4 bus stop. It is dark.

Local residents removed 8 flags hung around Oxford last night in response to an organised campaign from a group calling themselves the ’Raise the Colours Oxford’, who brought activists from the Midlands and Sheffield to ‘make Oxford look patriotic’

Capturing Carrington A speculative search in the right place at the right time turned up what is thought to be the only image of the eponymous solar observer.

Fun astronomy/archives story - Kate Bond @royalastrosoc.bsky.social has tracked down the only photograph of 19th century astronomer Richard Carrington, who spotted the first recorded solar flare. academic.oup.com/astrogeo/art...

It’s funny you never hear any university leaders saying “we must make sure we end our genocidal complicity immediately in case the Greens get in government!!” but the racist far right can basically rule without winning 🤷🏼‍♀️

Outside the Level 2 Reading Room in @bodleian.ox.ac.uk there is a wellbeing display. Here are some it's little zines that genuinely made me smile.

you:
[stressing for days to send the perfect single email]

billionaires:
hi, . w=en r we mee&ting to do iLlegiL stuff , . ?