James_AL_Downs

Remember her name: Aliya Rahman

Her testimony is everything and it deserves to be heard, by everyone. Decide for yourself.

It’s powerful. It’s gut-wrenching. And no one should have to survive what she did.

ICE MUST GO‼️

This seems like a good idea — English professors double down on requiring printed copies of readings
yaledailynews.com/articles/eng...

An interesting report on the role of bookshops in the community. Focused on Wales but can equally apply to England, Wales, Ireland 📚📚📚🌞

www.booksellers.org.uk/getattachmen...

Photo of three barrels - labelled 'Peach', 'Elderberry' and 'Apricot' - on an ornately carved wooden shelf, with two carved figures on the posts to the left

Peach, elderberry or apricot? Choices in a Devon pub

AOB can cover a lot of ground

I'm sure a case could be made for dropping into Glamorgan Archives for an informal visit, with a few spare hours after before returning east

SO EXCITED for this footage. I've been watching thousands of crows roost at sunset for awhile, but I've struggled to get quality flying in front of moon footage.

Last night I captured 8 of the 10,000+ crows take the path I've wanted.

More, better, to come in the future! But super jazzed for now 🪶

An Unexpected ‘Indian’ Language in the Middle East Delighted and motivated by the positive response to my recent article, Greek, the Asian and African Language, my mind has been occupied by an eagerness to share another example of historical l…

My website offering for February is a labour of love about ancient peoples, migrations and languages popping up where we today might not expect them. It's a biography of an old Indo-European language that met with success in the Middle East, with some help from horses.
dannybate.com/2026/02/01/a...

Photo of a ruined building in mist behind a stone wall

Foggentor living up to its name

Photo of a single standing stone on a misty moor

Photo of double stone rows on a misty moor

Photo of double stone rows on a misty moor

Photo of double stone rows on a misty moor

For #StandingStoneSunday I've come up to the double stone rows and menhirs of Merrivale on Dartmoor in misty dtizzle

With XXIII chapters, it certainly was

Cover of an old notebook with the title 'Ben Huf' written in a childish hand over a sketched map of Italy and drawings of a Roman soldier, sword and galley

Child's coloured felt pen drawing of an angry-looking Roman soldier with the caption 'Tergius after reading the ransom note'

Pencil-drawn plan of a Roman barracks

This reminded me of a similar childhood creation, with Roman villains such as Tergius and Wartius, a Gaul named Pierre ("Magnifique!" etc), odd details - such as a forged seal made with a potato dipped in grease - and I suspect (unlike yours) a great deal of historical inaccuracies

Cropped image from a book showing a colour illustration of a zebra in side profile, standing on grass in front of a green landscape.

Good morning to everyone, but especially to all the zebras, for tomorrow is their special day!

To pre-celebrate International Zebra Day, here is an illustration of a zebra from 'Animated Nature' (1828) by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon.

📷 Reserve 590 BUF

#InternationalZebraDay #RareBooks

Photo of a flooded field at sunrise, with tree branches over the water

Had an early morning stroll near Brampford Speke - water levels have dropped a little overnight but many paths, like this one, remain impassable #Devon

Call for Royal Historical Society PhD funding with text: The Royal Historical Society offers two annual PhD Fellowships for postgraduate historians in their third year of research at a university in the UK or overseas in order to complete a doctorate. The Fellowships comprise: Two RHS Centenary Fellowships: each Centenary Fellowship runs for 6-months and is worth £8,500 for final-year PhD students to complete their dissertations and to develop their research career. All Fellowships are open to candidates without regard to nationality or academic affiliation. They are jointly held with the Institute of Historical Research (IHR), University of London, where Fellows are based.

PhD funding for early career historians completing a doctorate.

Applications are invited for the Society's Centenary PhD Fellowships for the academic year 2026-27 bit.ly/49MzqmT.

Two awards of £8500 per student, held jointly with @ihr.bsky.social. Closing date: 31 January 2026 #Skystorians

Portland Black Memory Lab preserves community history through free workshops Monthly sessions offer archiving skills and resources to document underrepresented stories in Portland's Black community.

Monthly sessions offer archiving skills and resources to document underrepresented stories in Portland's Black community.

Photo of dvd cover of Iranian film 'The Color of Paradise' sowing three children running through flowers

Watching 'The Color of Paradise' [رنگ خدا] tonight. I've been trying to learn more Persian in recent months for archive purposes but wish I had a better understanding #Iran

That's most generous of you - and I'll be very intrigued (agog, even) to read what else there is on this topic.

Donate SUPPORT MERIP'S CRITICAL WORK BY DONATING For 50 years, MERIP has published critical analysis of Middle Eastern politics, history, and social justice not available in other publications. Our articles…

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buff.ly/Wrm3aPi

YouTube video by Hill Museum & Manuscript Library Winter Lecture Series: Building a Digital Library

Here's the @visithmml.bsky.social webinar from yesterday. It was especially interesting on the process of moving digital images from the field to tagged, backed up, and usable MS facsimiles, and on details of the photographic process in the question period at the end. youtu.be/CXR18p1M1sc?...

Look forward to the book!

Chloe is just mind-blowingly talented! Do check out her work. 🙂

French senate adopts a bill to ease the return of colonial-era artifacts to their countries of origin The new legislation aims to broaden the restitution of colonial-era assets, introducing clear criteria and a transparent process for handling requests from the countries involved.

French senate adopts a bill to ease the return of colonial-era artifacts to their countries of origin

Just 4 days left to apply! ⏰

Apply now for the CBRL Andrea Zerbini Award - funding of up to £4,000 to support research and travel to the Levant.

🗓 Deadline: 1 February 2026 (Midnight GMT)

🔗 More details: www.cbrl.ac.uk/news/cbrl-an...

I locked up an archive seminar at 6.30 last week.

Marc Owen Jones - Dysinfluence: Transnational Deception Operations in the Middle East

Very excited about @marcowenjones.bsky.social presenting on "Dysinfluence: Transnational Deception Operations in the Middle East", Tuesday 3 February, 17:00-18:30 London time. For details and to register, please see
www.exeter.ac.uk/events/detai...

I was 'on' Osney last week but was unaware of its monastic/eel history. Fascinating to learn

Photo of three books by Tom Cox - 1983, Villager and Notebook, along with the CD Wallflower

Quiet thoughtful as well as wildly audacious genre-bending use of bold imagination! I got my copy of Notebook signed by @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social at the Exeter launch of '1983' with music by Ben Tallamy. Try reading Villager along with RJ McKendree's 'lost' psychedelic LP Wallflower

This is the last of the books I wrote for Unbound (and didn't get paid what I was owed for) to be republished by @swiftpress.bsky.social.

The new version can be pre-ordered here for April: blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/pro...

I read a similar article on the militarisation of UK police dress a long time ago - late 1990s I think - that commented on the end of the soft chunky pullover phase and the introduction of combat trousers tucked into boots etc