Dr Ailsa Boyd
@ailsaboyd.bsky.social
Victorian art history, design, literature, house history, Scottish heritage #retrofirst
‘Rubbing Spittle into Cuts’: An Exhibition of Paintings & Sculpture by Daniela Ironside & Gregory Rankine at the Glasgow Art Club 19 Sept - 17 Oct
‘Rubbing Spittle into Cuts’ 19 Sept – 17 Oct 2026
‘Rubbing Spittle into Cuts’: An Exhibition of Paintings & Sculpture by Daniela Ironside & Gregory Rankine
gregoryrankine.wordpress.com
101 St George’s Road, Glasgow in the 1930s when it was the Norwood Cinema. There is now an application to demolish the current Q Club and adjacent buildings for student flats. Image from Scottishcinemas.org.uk
The Edith Wharton Summit at The Mount, USA I presented at the Edith Wharton Summit in the US on Wharton, Walter and Matilda Gay, on paintings of empty rooms, and imagined interiors. My last visit to Wharton’s house was 26 years ago.
The Edith Wharton Summit at The Mount, USA
I presented at the Edith Wharton Summit in the US on Wharton, Walter and Matilda Gay, on paintings of empty rooms, and imagined interiors. My last visit to Wharton’s house was 26 years ago.
ailsaboyd.wordpress.com
This year I am joining WESTFEST to talk about ‘The Arlington Baths, The Alhambra and Owen Jones: Islamic Architecture and Design in the 19th Century’ on 16th June @ 7pm FREE
WESTFEST: ‘The Arlington Baths’ Heritage Talk
This year I am joining WESTFEST to talk about ‘The Arlington Baths, The Alhambra and Owen Jones: Islamic Architecture and Design in the 19th Century’ on 16th June @ 7pm FREE
ailsaboyd.wordpress.com
This year I am joining @westfest.bsky.social to talk about ‘The Arlington Baths, The Alhambra and Owen Jones: Islamic Architecture and Design in the 19th Century’ on 16th June @ 7pm FREE Full details here: tinyurl.com/45929yuw
Free Talk! WESTFEST 16th June @ 7:00 pm westfest.uk/event/herita...
HERITAGE TALKS: THE ARLINGTON BATHS, THE ALHAMBRA AND OWEN JONES: ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN IN THE 19TH CENTURY *NEW* - WestFest
What inspired the architecture of the Arlington? Dr AILSA BOYD will examine an extraordinary book on the Alhambra published by designer Owen Jones and discuss how it inspired the Victorian […]
westfest.uk
Meet James Bembridge, the Reform candidate for Westminster in next month’s local elections. As well as this tweet, Temu Lex Luthor here, has also been quoted as saying "Most NHS nurses look like they're eating food banks out of business." Don’t let him get his deposit back.
Great idea! Link to petition in post below
Cat Hobbs@cathobbs.bsky.social · 4mo agoWoop woop! Feargal Sharkey totally nails it on Channel 4 News just now 🔥🔥🔥 Calling for a REFERENDUM so the public can decide whether to bring water into public ownership With @windrushwasp.bsky.social + anti sewage groups SIGN THE PETITION if you agree 👇 petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76...
Going by the snow that's currently pelting down outside my window, we have entered "third winter".
Very sad to see this part of the former Western Infirmary being held up by shipping containers. Is this an emergency fix? The road was closed on Monday due to a dangerous building. 62 Church Street, Glasgow, Western Infirmary Outpatients, Dispensary and Chapel, built c1913 by Sir John James Burnet.
#savetrongate103 Protest ongoing at GCC’s City Property at the hike in rents and forced signing of contracts for all the vital arts organisations. Why does Glasgow City Council not care about the arts which make this city great?? #protest #glasgowarts #artistsmakeglasgow #artmakeslife
“In societies where freedom is under threat, an informed citizen is countercultural and deep reading is an act of resistance. Just as protest and vigilance are essential, so is the ability to read and think.” newrepublic.com/article/2076...
Nonfiction Publishing, Under Threat, Is More Important Than Ever
Cuts in publishing and book reviewing imperil the future of narrative nonfiction, and our understanding of the world around us.
newrepublic.com
Book now for 'The Arlington Baths, The Alhambra and Owen Jones: Islamic architecture and design in the 19th century’ with Dr Ailsa Boyd @ailsaboyd.bsky.social. Fri 13 Mar, 7pm, free! @glasgowheritage.bsky.social @glasgowschoolofart.bsky.social @victurk.bsky.social @thevicsoc.bsky.social
The Arlington Baths, The Alhambra and Owen Jones
An illustrated talk on how Islamic architecture and design inspired the 19th century architecture of the Arlington Baths Club.
eventbrite.co.uk
The Turkish sauna in the Arlington Baths Club, Glasgow is 150 years old, and I'm giving a lecture on the history and context of the baths on 13 March 2026 at 7pm.
Lecture at Arlington Baths Club, 13 March 2026
The Turkish sauna in the Arlington Baths Club is 150 years old, and I'm giving a lecture on the history and context of the baths on 13 March 2026 at 7pm.
ailsaboyd.wordpress.com
Our beautiful Turkish bath is 150 years old! In this illustrated talk, art historian Dr Ailsa Boyd @ailsaboyd.bsky.social will discuss 'The Arlington Baths, The Alhambra and Owen Jones: Islamic architecture and design in the 19th century’. Fri 13 Mar, 7pm, free!
The Arlington Baths, The Alhambra and Owen Jones
An illustrated talk on how Islamic architecture and design inspired the 19th century architecture of the Arlington Baths Club.
eventbrite.co.uk
Sunshine ☀️ means that I can look up ⬆️ I have never noticed this pillar detail on what remains of Ashton Road in the West End of Glasgow. It sticks out at the gable end where the rest of the road was demolished for the Boyd Orr building of 1972.
Below, an update on our campaign. The Holocaust Memorial Bill has now received Royal Assent. Once the diggers move in there will be no going back, so we will now be campaigning for a fresh planning inquiry. www.crowdjustice.com/case/stop-go...
Stop Government abusing planning rules to build on iconic public park
London Gardens Trust is a small charity with a big mission to champion London’s historic parks, gardens, squares and green spaces for the benefit of everyone. Case advisor: Richard Buxton Solicitors
crowdjustice.com
An essay I wrote in 2005 about Millais's landscape painting and working with contemporary artists.
Millais and The Sound of Many Waters
An essay I wrote in 2005 about Millais's landscape painting and working with contemporary artists.
ailsaboyd.wordpress.com
I am involved in this hearing about the redevelopment around the Glasgow School of Art. With no progress on the GSA rebuilding, it makes it all the harder to decide on the fate of the rest of the site. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
School of Art concerns over O2 ABC redevelopment plans
Developers are hoping to replace the Glasgow music venue with a public food hall and student flats.
bbc.co.uk
Wikipedia was once an impossible dream. Today, it is 25 years of humanity at its best. Join us in celebrating what has become the backbone of knowledge on the internet. Donate now ➡️ donate.wikimedia.org #Wikipedia25
In Hookland, many a folkloric tale starts not with ‘A long time ago’ or ‘Far, far away’, but with the line: ‘Out across the dark moor where strange songs are still heard …’ For folklore tells strongly of place and our relationships to it. – Dr. M. Benn #Folklore #FolkloreThursday
A wee wander round the Green today + spotted this banner someone has put at the front of the People's Palace - Elseth King RIP 🐦🌳🔔🐟
When you feel depleted of enchantment, walk the wood. It is where magic lives loudly. – #EmilyCBanting, 1982
My latest blog is some original research into art deco architect Gerald de Courcy Fraser (1873 – 1952) who was the company architect for Lewis’s department stores.
The department store architect: Gerald de Courcy Fraser
Gerald de Courcy Fraser (1873 – 1952) was an architect who worked mostly in Liverpool and Birmingham and was the company architect for Lewis’s department stores.
ailsaboyd.wordpress.com
It's official! 🏛️ 🎉 The SF Board of Supervisors has unanimously declared October 22, 2025 as Internet Archive Day — celebrating our 1️⃣ trillion webpages preserved & our mission to provide universal access to all knowledge. Learn more & celebrate with us tonight! ➡️ blog.archive.org/2025/10/22/h...
Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.
There’s a new piece on my website about my recent trip to the South West to a church designed by #OwenJonesArchitect in 1847, St Bartholomew, Sutton Waldron. I was asked to speak at the celebration of the completion of major restorations to the church wall decorations by Owen Jones.
Owen Jones at St Bartholomew, Sutton Waldron
Last weekend I was invited to speak at the celebration of the completion of major restorations to the painted decorations of St Bartholomew, completed by Owen Jones in 1847.
ailsaboyd.wordpress.com
Owen Jones in Dorset I am delighted to be speaking on Owen Jones in Sutton Waldron, Dorset, on Sat 26th September, to celebrate the completion of the restoration of St Bartholomew’s Church. St Bartholomew's, Sutton Waldron (c) Dominick Swift Jones decorated the interior of this 1847 Gothic church…
Owen Jones in Dorset
I am delighted to be speaking on Owen Jones in Sutton Waldron, Dorset, on Sat 26th September, to celebrate the completion of the restoration of St Bartholomew’s Church. St Bartholomew's, Sutton Waldron (c) Dominick Swift Jones decorated the interior of this 1847 Gothic church in his characteristic colourful style. There is a whole weekend of events planned, from a concert, exhibition, activities, thanksgiving service and talks by myself, Philip Emery and Caroline Dakers.
ailsaboyd.wordpress.com
![Screenshot of document: “ according to Arendt, totalitarian regimes employ the following strategies to achieve and maintain power that
‘works from within,’ meaning on an individual,
psychological level:
1. denial of economic realities / promotion of
‘classless’ society and conversion of social /
economic classes into masses, or mobs
2. propaganda and suppression of the media
3. terror, which becomes an “essential function of
government”
4. imposed statelessness, by which regimes decree
who does and does not count as “citizens”
4. supplanting intellectuals and creatives: “The
consistent persecution of every higher form of intellectual
activity by the new mass leaders springs from more than
their natural resentment against everything they cannot
understand … Totalitarianism [] invariably replaces all
first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with
those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and
creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty”
(377).
5. the imperial boomerang, or the idea that
governments that develop repressive techniques to
control colonial territories will eventually deploy those
same techniques domestically against their own citizens.
6. fake government functions, organizations, or
agencies
7. loneliness”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:hdb2v3lkf3ydb64xyyhc4ymv/bafkreihrpcj5ydzfg5purjcljupqspqkeqci3fpwgtgk7z4peygxdcwubq)