Rob Dale

Pink magnolia in flower at the National Archives

The magnolia is out at the National Archives in Kew!

There has been a lot of talk about "broken Britain" of late. But, I've just someone writing with one of those four colour Bic biros in the British Library. Tut, tut.

But, if you sub-contract out something like letter writing, how do you know what you think? Yes, you might meet some objective standard, but how do you work out subjective thoughts? I really do think we are at risk of losing something. 3/3

I have several correspondents who send lovely messages, full of wit, and thought, and care. They are a joy to receive. We might think of letter writing in the past as part of exploring selfhood, finding one's voice, and so on. 2/3

Penny dropping on some things for me today. On a train where people are using Chat-GPT to write (and get feedback) on emails. Never really believed people would do this. But, apparently they do. It makes those messages with slightly artificial tones make sense now. 1/3

Congratulations. Will be getting a copy.

Blue fountain pen.

A couple of difficult jobs today, but made far more enjoyable by being able to do them with my (relatively) new fountain pen.

In memory of Pete, we have launched the Pete Duncan Memorial Fund, which will support PhD students at the School. Donations can be made via peter-duncan-2026.muchloved.com

Finally managed to get back into all work systems at 20.45 today. Had to uninstall all Microsoft office applications from my computer. Crumbs that was stressful.

Red Plenty: 'Bizarre and quite brilliant.' Dominic Sandbrook, host of THE REST IS HISTORY Red Plenty: 'Bizarre and quite brilliant.' Dominic Sandbrook, host of THE REST IS HISTORY eBook : Spufford, Francis: Amazon.co.uk: Books

The Kindle Daily Deal today (here in UK) includes several books by Francis Spufford including - Red Plenty: Inside the Fifties Soviet Dream. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
amzn.eu/d/02lSeLHY

Apparently it isn't just me, thanks to colleagues for help

I've lost most of the afternoon going round a doom loop of trying to order a book to the BL only to reset passwords on my Newcastle account, get logged out of everything and then my account gets blocked. Restore, try to get into BL catalogue and it kills my Microsoft account again.

Friends can anyone help? I am trying to log into the British Library catalogue for the first time with a renewed card. Why does it keep resetting my Newcastle password?

'Socialist Internationalism represents a significant and valuable addition to a growing field of study, offering a promising indication of the directions being pursued in research on the global Cold War.' Slavic Review

📘 https://bit.ly/3XyHQsv

Congratulations Anna. I missed this.

Silence and Plurality: Emotions of Adolescent Suicide under 1930s Chinese Political Culture Jianhao Xu, Newcastle University. This blog accompanies Xu’s forthcoming article in Cultural and Social History.  The historical context examined in this study is the profound social and poli…

@jianhaoxu.bsky.social has also written a blog post about his work on the @socialhistsoc.bsky.social blog here: socialhistory.org.uk/shs_exchange...

Politics, Media, and the Representation of Chinese Youth Suicide and Melancholy (1930–1937) In the 1930s, Chinese media extensively reported on youth suicides, commonly attributing them to patriotism, academic pressure, and economic hardship. Adult commentators overwhelmingly condemned th...

Congratulations 🎉 to @jianhaoxu.bsky.social whose article below is available in @cultsochistory.bsky.social ahead of publication as #openaccess
I help supervise Jianhao with Joseph Lawson and @lauratisdall.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1080/1478...

Well done Jianhao!

If pressed I would say that one of the big changes over my career is how HEIs have moved from being "business like" to run like businesses.

One day, I'd really love to be able to write a book review for one of the bigger outlets (newspapers, LRB, TLS, etc.) Just once, for the opportunity.

Bad news. Nothing to serious in the grans scheme of things. But, I could cry, and probably will.

Russia soldiers tell BBC they saw fellow troops in Ukraine war executed on commanders' orders Four men expose the horror and brutality of conditions in the Ukraine war, with two saying they saw soldiers being shot for refusing orders.

The conduct of Russian's army has been appalling. Its conduct in Chechnya and Afghanistan indicated many problems. But, I can't help wondering how far this stems from the celebration of the Soviet WW2 and penal battalions, blocking detachments, orders No.227 and No.270.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

2026 MWHN Conference - call for papers!

Join us in Romania this June to discuss all things military welfare and civil society. Deadline: 14 March 2026.

CfP attached and full details at militarywelfarehistory.com/2026-confere... #milwelfhist #civilsociety #charity #philanthropy

Thanks for this. Extremely useful to have this.

Putin's two week war enters its fifth year. Ukraine continues to fight. Ukraine continues to impress. #standwithUkraine 🇺🇦

To mark the 4 year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, here is a drawing inspired by a Ukrainian mother Tetiana, whose 27-year old son Maksym was killed fighting in the war. She tells me"it’s not possible to describe the burden of the pain I’m bearing... www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

*Au Revoir les Enfants
*La Haine
* Wuthering Heights (1939)
* The episodes of 15-1 my history teacher has been on.

I used to know a school teacher, who argued the problem with schools was that because everyone had been to them, everyone thought they knew how to run them. As participation in HE has increased, perhaps you get something similar? There are more people to chip in with their view.

What weird nostalgia mash up! It reminds me of the stuff I sometimes encounter for enthusiasts of the Soviet Union, which tend to enthusiasm for past cultural politics. The images from Bond, Dad's Army and Sharpe being a case in point. How can anyone look back as drinking Master Brew with fondness?

I've enjoyed watching bits of the Winter Olympics. But, it is worth reflecting on the environmental impact.
www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/f...

Two x female 2.8mm spade connectors soldered to a dynamo lighting circuit.

A fully functional and shinning rear bike light.

Small thing, but very proud I managed to breathe new life into my dynamo rear light. Despite my bad soldering and even worse eye sight. I've repaired it. Just a bad connection. Just needed 2 x female spade connectors. Don't believe it when they tell you academics can't do practical things.