Richard Wragg

🎉Happy New Year from the Rare Books and Special Collections Group!🪩

If you're struggling to get back to concentrating on work this morning, why not ease yourself back in with a hot beverage and our Autumn Newsletter?

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Well, I wouldn’t put a human in a box and take them to the vet…

A pet carrier at the vets

Poor Bertie isn’t feeling well, and so to the emergency vet. I was rather looking forward to a quiet evening; should have known better.

Looks like a great evening was had by all. Don’t think we’ll make Sigur Ros but @tanyakirk.bsky.social was ready to sell a kidney for Belle and Sebastian tickets at the RAH

A restaurant table and bill

Sat in a restaurant observing a table desperately waiting to pay. I don’t suppose anyone relevant is reading this but, if you are, it’s very simple: when someone asks for the bill, they want to leave. Every minute they wait is ruining an otherwise great experience.

Ha, that makes two of us!

What do you mean ‘other people’s conferences’? It’s a special collections conference and belongs to you too! Really appreciated your contributions to the conversation. Hope to see you in Cambridge next year.

This, from the Quakers, is a pretty good example of how to resist pressure from bigot lobbying groups. Effectively “we legally can allow trans people to use the loo, we morally should, and we tried it and nothing bad happened”

Ah, that moment when you remember too late to update the shopping order and realise that food for the week consists of a bottle of whisky.

If you play or would like to play Fantasy Football (‘soccer’ to some) this coming season (starts Fri 15 Aug) join the mini-league

“Rare Boots"

It has people who work in libraries and with rare books collections but all are welcome!!

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League Code: 63hge9

Somerset…

A book and a glass of wine outside an old building

Book, wine, and a Landmark Trust. There are worse ways to spend a Sunday.

Page from the calendar of the tres riches heures for August

Love is… the amazing @tanyakirk.bsky.social has just booked for us to see the Tres Riches Heures in August. Not the best time to visit Paris, but there will never be a bad time to view such an amazing manuscript.

A very good episode it is too, with a wonderful special guest.

Morris dancers in Brighton

A terrible picture but hankies can just about be seen. A wonderful day in Brighton seeing old friends and celebrating Brighton Morris’s Day of Dance.

We're hiring!
SENIOR DIGITISER, Library and Archives
🔎Based: South Kensington, London
🔎Fixed term contract (23 months)
🔎Hours per week : 36
🔎Closing date: 08/06/2025
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Alt text: Reel of man digitising artwork.

I’m in town later in the month, but only for a night. Hoping it doesn’t get too messy with the championship celebrations (congrats by the way)

Unrelated, know anything about a restaurant called Nord? I have a reservation but know nothing about the the places to eat in Liverpool.

So said the Caesars as Rome crumbled… though I appreciate the sentiment.

A room with bare plaster

Somehow this room looked nicer when I couldn’t see the bricks in the walls. What a lovely weekend it’s been stripping wallpaper (and quite a bit of plaster)

A plate of schnitzel in Berlin

Sorry to be the person who puts photos of what they’re eating on social media but I fear I was a bit harsh on Berlin earlier. The city’s restaurants have redeemed themselves.

View towards the toilet from a bad table in an otherwise good restaurant

Ah, the joy of being a lone diner… sometimes… sometimes sat in a lively room, feeling amongst company. Other times being sat in a soulless corridor on the way to the toilet, the chatter of the restaurant tantalisingly out of reach. Guess which I got tonight. Oh, and ants crawled out of my salad.

I will have bookshelves built though. That’s non-negotiable.

It really is. I can already feel us moving from ‘great, we can do this’ to ‘fine, the money’s run out so we can live with that’.

An empty bookcase

A pile of books

Is anything more depressing than emptying recently loaded bookcases? (Nb I am aware that many things are more depressing but indulge me. I can’t wait for this house move to be over)

Exciting job opportunity to become St John's College's Special Collections Librarian www.joh.cam.ac.uk/special-coll... - permanent post, salary £41,944-£47,208 (depending on experience) plus benefits. Working with a great collection and a friendly team. @ciliprarebooks.bsky.social #LibraryJobs

Alas, none of the above. But a classic rock Spotify playlist and sheer exhaustion will probably see me through.

The flashing lights from road works seen through a window blind

When my alarm went off at 4.45 this morning I thought to myself: what I’d really like is to get home to is the warm glow of flashing lights as the road directly outside the house is dug up.

Great opportunity to qualify as a librarian whilst working in a wonderful library with fantastic colleagues. Take a look if you’re at the start of your library career.

A pint on a table in the geese pub in Brighton

Ten years ago @tanyakirk.bsky.social and I sat in this pub, at this table, and decided to buy a house. Tomorrow we leave for new adventures. It’s been a good run.