Stephen Barker

@anitaanand.bsky.social Hello, a quick question if I may?
Why did Sophia Duleep Singh not attend Somerville as did her sisters? Thank you.

Hi David, what a pity. Chat would have been great.
Enjoyed talk, which seemed
well received. Lovely to be back in Suffolk again tbh

THIS.

Graph of maternal mortality rate against year for the UK. Rate bounces until and down around 500 deaths per 100,000 births until about 1940, when it falls sharply. It’s been very low (~1–3 per 100,000) ever since.

This graph is astonishing. The people that bang on about “natural birth” and “women have been doing this forever without help” need to be forced to stare at this until their eyes water.

The BBC are locked in a circular logic with to the publicity they give Farage every time he makes another patently unrealisable populist promise: they say they cover him because he’s popular. But he’s popular in part because the BBC gives him so much more coverage than he deserves.

River & Rowing Museum confirms ‘extremely difficult’ decision to close - Museums Association Venue's net losses have averaged £1m a year due to high cost of running building

News | River & Rowing Museum confirms ‘extremely difficult’ decision to close – venue's net losses have averaged £1m a year due to high cost of running building

2nd Test, Eng vs India, day 1. Cloud clearing. Only one question. Will Bumrah play? 🤔😊

To the @britishlibrary.bsky.social again for #India related material. Always a joy. #BritishLibrary

Out talking Hardit #Singh #Malik: The Flying #Sikh of the First World War for the fortieth time tomorrow night in north #Buckinghamshire! 🙂 Always a lovely thing to do.

9 out of 10 of us think the same.

So glad I persevere with small #meadow #flower areas in my garden. It's been difficult at times, but lovely this year again. 🌸

Can’t tell you how much I enjoyed our session on Making empire with the fabulous @anitaanand.bsky.social & @willdalrymple.bsky.social
Speaking in the @britishlibrary.bsky.social as part of the Jaipur Lit Fest made it even more special. 🙏🏼🇮🇪🇮🇳
@voicestcd.bsky.social

My personal highlight at JLF London was listening to Manu S. Pillai, with Mukulika Banerjee, revealing how interactions between maharajahs, evangelicals & imperial forces, have served to shape the cultural & religious identities of India and the UK.
#jlfinternational #jlflondon #jlflondon2025

Great to hear @willdalrymple.bsky.social @anitaanand.bsky.social @janeohlmeyer.bsky.social #JaipurLiteratureFestival @britishlibrary.bsky.social #London
talking Irish Indian links of #Empire. You got to Annie Besant at the end. 😉😊👏

The completely fabulous @janeohlmeyer.bsky.social speaking about her new book Making Empire, on Ireland as England’s colonial laboratory, with the equally wonderful @empirepoduk.bsky.social co-hosts @willdalrymple.bsky.social and @anitaanand.bsky.social ❤️💪

Great start to the #Jaipur Literature Festival, #London @britishlibrary.bsky.social with @Shobhaa De and @Yasser Usman.

Off to the #Jaipur Literature Festival @britishlibrary Looking forward as ever.

Last week completed my 400th public presentation since 2014. Don't post much here now, but thought it worth marking.🙏
stephen-barker.co.uk

Portrait of Otelia Cromwell, the first African American woman to receive a Ph.D. from Yale University, 1926, by contemporary US painter Jennifer Packer #WomensArt

One of the strangest ironies of the last ten years has been watching Britain immersing itself as deeply as ever in memories of WW2 while proudly turning its back on the project that emerged from it.

Ignore them.

I am very sorry to hear about Sergeant. Algernon S. Ward Jr's passing. (1953-2025) I interviewed him back in 2009 as part of the research for my first book. Here he is marching with his USCT comrades during the restaging of the 1865 Grand Review of the Armies. Washington, DC, May 17, 2015.

The signs are there if you know #history. #MAGA

What Union Meant and Why They Were Willing to Fight For It Perhaps right now we are not so far removed from appreciating the commitment on the part of Americans in the 1860s, who stood up and defended the rule of law.

"Perhaps it’s only when the Constitution is so clearly threatened that ‘we the people’ have the opportunity to recommit ourselves to its defense and the continued work of perfecting our Union." 🗃️ kevinmlevin.substack.com/p/what-union...

I can't stand bullies. President Zelensky is now trying to stand up against two of them. We should have his back. #SlavaUkraïni

The bust of Sir Winston Churchill sits in Trump's Oval Office. He was an immensely brave leader who visited Washington, dressed in fatigues, seeking support against a despot. We all know what he would have made of today's unedifying spectacle and whose side he would have been on.

Erm, I'd rather not.

Your best advice this week: to 7th Son's daughter for World Book Day - Beevor's 'Stalingrad'. Made me chuckle. 😊

Beautiful, animated statue of Oliver #Cromwell, a 'townsman' of St Ives, #Cambridgeshire in the 1630s.