I am so excited for this. The child in me can't believe I got to see a film of The Odyssey and read a revival of Redwall discourse in the same week

madeline odent@oldenoughtosay.com · 3w ago

Happy Friday everyone, as promised, here is my personal theory on this. I think Redwall takes place in our world, after an apocalyptic event of the nuclear variety caused rapid but varied growth of all animals, including humans, leading to our extinction and their mental development. Okay? 🧵

I did another podcast episode!

@pgwsocietyuk.bsky.social · 4w ago

The World of Wodehouse podcast series has a new episode. Dr Ollie Randall, the historian, cartoonist and writer of the recently published 'Writers in Whites' tells us all about Plum and his exploits on the cricket pitch. Listen in all the usual places!

Christ, memories are short in politics

Hammersmith Bridge's present seems pretty bloody driverless to me

Delighted to say I'm now a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society!

Royal Historical Society@royalhistsoc.org · last mo.

We are very pleased to welcome 223 historians who join the Society today - as Fellows, Associate Fellows, Members and Postgraduate Members: bit.ly/3TEhyWM Our Fellows and Members teach, research, write and promote #history, within the UK and internationally, in and beyond education #Skystorians 1/2

"This book is an absolute triumph... Randall has made a valuable contribution to cricket's rich social history. His book is a valuable addition to the game's literature." I'm delighted with this review of Writers in Whites, by Paul Edwards in The Cricketer

Loved this book!

Dr Lindsey Fitzharris@drlindseyfitz.bsky.social · last mo.

Look what just arrived in the post! WRITERS IN WHITES by @ollie-randall.bsky.social is the untold story of cricket’s influential role in London’s literary world. PG Wodehouse, JM Barrie, Conan Doyle! History and sports lovers rejoice: shorturl.at/3htcn #skyhistory #booksky

Look what just arrived in the post! WRITERS IN WHITES by @ollie-randall.bsky.social is the untold story of cricket’s influential role in London’s literary world. PG Wodehouse, JM Barrie, Conan Doyle! History and sports lovers rejoice: shorturl.at/3htcn #skyhistory #booksky

Last call to sign up to my Zoom talk this evening, "Doyle and Cricket: A passion for the game". Starting at 7pm! wegottickets.com/f/22404

Ollie Randall: Doyle and Cricket: A Passion for the Game

To an extent that is rarely recognised, cricket played a central part in Arthur Conan Doyle's life. It played an important part in his public persona, his relationships, his self-image, and even his c...

wegottickets.com

And the weather was so hot that we almost witnessed the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian umpire.

Andrew Nixon@andrewnixon.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Away from the big cricket news of yesterday, Austria became the fifth team to score over 300 in a men's T20I as they racked up 322-7 against Hungary, the second highest men's T20I total. Captain Karanbir Singh made the second highest individual score with 164 from 57 balls.

For all the talk of what "this Bazball team" has been through, Root is now the sole survivor of the original team

Most people think Sherlock Holmes began at 221B Baker Street. But Holmes began somewhere far stranger: in a Victorian hospital ward in Edinburgh, where surgeon Joe Bell taught students to read a body like a crime scene.🧵 Here's the US 🇺🇸 trailer for SLEUTH-HOUND. Preorder: linktr.ee/drlindseyfit...

You can sign up here for my talk about Doyle and cricket on Tuesday 1st July!

ACD Society@acdsociety.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Now is also a very good time to register for NEXT WEEK’S Worldwide Doyle lecture by Ollie Randall (“Doyle and Cricket: A Passion for the Game”), Tuesday, July 1, also at 11am PT, 2pm ET, 7pm BST, also online and free, and also easy to register for: wegottickets.com/f/22404.

Writers in Whites has been out for a full month! It's the untold story of a clique of famous writers - from JM Barrie via Evelyn Waugh to Michael Morpurgo - who all played cricket together, and how their cricket-based friendships transformed English literature and culture. "Superb" - @lrb.co.uk

Fun fact: unless I've gone wrong somewhere, Clement Attlee and Ted Heath are the ONLY prime ministers in British history whose time as PM began with winning a General Election and ended with losing one. And both of them eventually lost to the same man they initially beat.

I’m an writer and I don’t use AI because, as you might recall my mentioning earlier, I’m a writer.

Laura Keating@lorekeating.bsky.social · 5mo ago

I keep seeing "all authors use AI, the real issue is they're being forced to be sneaky about it" headlines. Full stop No. This is a lie peddled for normalization. It's schoolyard-level pressure tactics "C'mon, all the cool kids are already doing it. We won't tell. It's fine. We're on your side."

Bleak thread. I just got an article placed in a peer-reviewed journal. Yesterday I got the finalised proofs, with a 72-hour window to sign off on them. The journal's publisher has subedited with AI, mangling some sentences into nonsense. I refuse to have this inserted drivel published under my name

Jeff Sharlet@jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 2mo ago

At the end of the term I asked my college creative wriing students to submit anonymous thoughts on AI. No real surprises: Mood ranges from resignation to despair, capitulation from embittered erosion of standards to total, feelings of betrayal from deep to furious. 1/

My only regret from yesterday's interview with the incomparable @norcrosscricket.bsky.social is that we didn't coordinate our outfits better

Lovely tea time chat between @ollie-randall.bsky.social and @norcrosscricket.bsky.social on the Surrey livestream, talking Writers in Whites 🏏 #Cricket

May highlight #1: launching Writers in Whites at a cricket match, and speaking on writers' affinity for playing cricket while proving, with my own inept performance, that this is not always the case

My piece, about Writers in Whites and the literary cricket culture wars, is out in The Times today: www.thetimes.com/sport/cricke...

The decline of literary cricketers and ‘Englishness’

From PG Wodehouse to JM Barrie, famous writers were proud to play for Conan Doyle’s ‘Author’s XI’ — until shifting attitudes led to brutal lampooning

thetimes.com

"I became a detective in women’s cricket and found treasure in an old Lancashire cowshed." The Women in Whites is out on 1 June! www.waterstones.com/book/the-wom...

The Spin | I became a detective in women’s cricket and found treasure in an old Lancashire cowshed

The MCC Library has gone from three books to a proper archive with scrapbooks, letters, diaries and newspaper cuttings

theguardian.com

“Westminster needs to wake up…” An important statement from the RHS today on the unfolding situation in UKHE.

Royal Historical Society@royalhistsoc.org · 3mo ago

The Society's President and Council have released the following statement on the proposed closure of undergraduate degrees at the University of Hertfordshire, in #History and the wider humanities bit.ly/4dmV5oO This comes at a time of further bad news from Essex and Nottingham #Skystorians

I'm still so pleased with how they put the book together

NOW ON YOUTUBE: Two bonus episodes: Bonus 1 - The Feldkirchian Gazette with Philipp Schöbi www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XBm... Bonus 2 - ACD and Literary Cricket, with Ollie Randall www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGku...

And we're underway! Writers in Whites had a double-header book launch, with a cricket match in Oxford on Sunday and a pub event in Vauxhall on Monday. Somewhere between 150 and 200 people came to one or the other - there was lots of enthusiasm and goodwill. I'm tired and very happy.

Thank you to Doings of Doyle - I really enjoyed recording this podcast episode about Writers in Whites!

Doings of Doyle@doingsofdoyle.com · 3mo ago

New bonus episode is now available on Patreon for supporters on free and paid levels. @drmjones.bsky.social interviews @ollie-randall.bsky.social about his excellent new book ‘Writers in Whites’ about the literary cricketer circles. The podcast will be in the feed for all from Monday 18th.

My book has arrived! It exists in the world!

HEY IT'S ME! (it's my book being reviewed, and it's an extremely nice review, and also an excellent essay overall, I recommend a read)

London Review of Books@lrb.co.uk · 5mo ago

‘It had taken two centuries, from Chaucer to Cervantes, to destroy the myth of chivalry. The myth of cricket was in ruins after little more than a decade.’ Ferdinand Mount on E.W. Hornung, Raffles the gentleman thief, and cricket. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

The first review of Writers in Whites is out - AND it's in the @lrb.co.uk no less, by Ferdinand Mount - AND it calls my book "superb"! I am, as you can imagine, thrilled at this terrific turn of events. You can preorder it here: fairfieldbooks.co.uk/shop/writers...