After months of saying how much I'd love to rain, it was bittersweet nonetheless that the heavens opened and torrential showers began just as we got to north Devon for first (and probably only) family holiday of the year. Cooler cloudier weather very welcome too

The novel 'Rebecca' by Daphne du Maurier was published on this day (05 August) in 1938. Our collections include several items relating to 'Rebecca', such as this notebook, which contains chapter outlines for the novel. 📷 EUL MS 144/1/1/4 #OnThisDay #OTD #Archives #LiteraryArchives #DuMaurier

Good morning to everyone, but especially to all the owls, for today is their special day! This lovely tawny owl is from a volume of 76 early C19th watercolour illustrations of birds by an unknown artist. 📷 EUL MS 23; digitised by @dhlabexeter.bsky.social #InternationalOwlAwarenessDay #Archives

We’ve got a great grants programme to help support your #Hampshire #Archives #LocalHistory projects 🥳 We have small grants and main grants that can support your project, and we’re happy to talk to you more about these. Learn more below ⬇️ hampshirearchivestrust.co.uk/grants

Grants - Hampshire Archive Trust

The primary purposes for which the Hampshire Archives Trust is established are to promote the conservation and preservation of archives for the benefit of the

hampshirearchivestrust.co.uk

Some reading to reflect on six years ago in Beirut today. Justice and accountability still awaited

Elamite sculpture silver, gold c. 1500 BCE Elamite culture present day Iran An Elamite warrior attacking a Sumerian goddess, probably Ishtar. #art #ancientart #elamiteart #sculpture #silver #gold #conflict #war #warrior #propaganda #sumer #mesopotamia #ishtar #iran #iraq

When I went to the studio I saw there were a few finished paintings that I wanted to to be in my shop, so I put them there. Jesus and the rainbow window, ancient Norwich houses, Horse Atop the Rooftops. Appreciate all help with my eccentric efforts at being an artist www.chloecumming.com/paintings

John Heathershaw on the current crisis at the University of Exeter (and elsewhere): democracyforsale.substack.com/p/inside-bri...

Inside Britain's university crisis

As teaching staff face job loss, their bosses have netted pay rises and bought advice from a “vampiric” management consultancy, writes Prof. John Heathershaw of the University of Exeter

democracyforsale.substack.com

Also paid a visit to Daunts bookshop, whose regional arrangement - with both fiction & non-fiction arranged under dedicated bookcases for (for example) 'Egypt', 'The Middle East' - primarily the Gulf states, including Yemen & Oman - 'Iraq', 'The Levant', 'Iran' & 'Palestine' provided ample browsing

Popped into Ibraaz. Left with more books than intended

Very enjoyable evening last night at The Royal Geographical Society Gertrude Bell event, launching their 'Routes, ruins and reconnaissance' exhibition, specially viewing the display downstairs of Bell's original photographs and hand-drawn maps, as well as catching up with Newcastle friends

'History and Archives in Practice' 2027: call for participation now open for our annual gathering of historians and archivists, co-hosted with @ihr.bsky.social and TNA. HAP27's theme is connecting past and future with sessions on advocacy, value and applied history bit.ly/3RGHbWy #Skystorians

'History and Archives in Practice' (HAP), 2027. Call for participation now open - RHS

History and Archives in Practice (HAP) is an annual partnership event, co-hosted by the Royal Historical Society, The National Archives, and the Institute of Historical Research. Now in its fifth year...

bit.ly

'Scything into the humanities is generational self-harm that will become civilizational if it continues. ... The skills nurtured in the humanities are not an optional extra. They are critical for us to remain ourselves.'

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · last wk.

'The humanities are vital for distinctly human skills, including judgment, proportion and the ability to approach problems that have no empirical answer. There is no future in which these skills are not vital.' (And yes, both the 'great' university trope and the platform are ick). 1/2

Also the feeling, currently being lived painfully and angrily by hundreds of academic and academic units across the UK including at Exeter, when you've worked sedulously and very effectively for years to attain research and/or teaching excellence, only to be at risk of sweeping redundancy.

University of Exeter Special Collections@exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social · last wk.

The feeling when you've been looking at a handwritten document for an hour and you still can't read THAT word...! This illustration of a sea monster can be found in our sixteenth-century atlas of the counties of England and Wales by Christopher Saxton. 📷 Rare books B 1590/SAX/XX

The feeling when you've been looking at a handwritten document for an hour and you still can't read THAT word...! This illustration of a sea monster can be found in our sixteenth-century atlas of the counties of England and Wales by Christopher Saxton. 📷 Rare books B 1590/SAX/XX

Going to be the first in a new thread collecting examples of #Ecocodicology.

Karin Wulf@kawulf.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Some days you're the [windshield, closed book], some days you're the bug. Work adventures last week @jcblibrary.bsky.social 🪰

We all wish we were more successful Usually, financially But if your art has ever touched ONE person, you are a success at it Don't confuse the capitalist propaganda of this world with the real reward You were/are here, and you Created surrounded by a world that loves Destruction

If you make something— ANYTHING— you are NOT a failed artist. Conjuring something out of various, myriad ingredients is a sort of alchemy & a powerful magic whether it's a song, a drawing, a meal, etc. Not everyone can do it. Sharing it w the world is an act of defiance & bravery Always, be proud

💪 🤖🫧💥 techcrunch.com/2026/07/25/l...

Librarians are hosting viral 'Avoiding AI' workshops for people who are fed up with Big Tech | TechCrunch

At libraries around the country, "Avoiding AI" workshops have elicited unprecedented demand.

techcrunch.com

A valuable summary

Daniel Fedor@dcfedor.bsky.social · 2w ago

Blue Bottle Games, as a policy, does not use generative AI. It's something we've discussed as a team, weighing the pros and cons, and ultimately, we decided it was not for us. Recently, while chatting with a colleague, she mentioned it was useful hearing our reasoning. So: Sharing time! 1/12

Looking forward, very much, to Intervals of Darkness...

Ray Newman@raynewman.bsky.social · 2w ago

“The self-regarding literary psychogeographer who narrates ‘The Horns in the Earth’ gave me lots of opportunities for humour... I had great fun coming up with titles for his books – ‘Avenues and Alleyways: an exploration of the back passages of Britain’ is a particularly puerile example.”

To mark the centenary of her death last month I researched & wrote this ten-page article on 'The Photography of Gertrude Bell', based on a couple of talks I've done & including some photos I took in Mosul, Baghdad and Diyarbekir for then-and-now comparison. Print copy arrived last night #photohist

Farewell to saxophonist Plas Johnson, who played the iconic tenor sax solo for the "Pink Panther" title theme. He said: "We only did two takes, I think... When we finished, everyone applauded, even the string players. And that's saying something. They never applaud for anything." #filmsky #musicsky

The feeling when you enter the air-conditioned Reading Room and finally feel cool again! This illustration of a sea monster can be found in our sixteenth-century atlas of the counties of England and Wales by Christopher Saxton. 📷 Rare books B 1590/SAX/XX

I'm not sorry to see Anas Sarwar stand down as Scottish Labour leader; I think he should have done so immediately following the disastrous loss in May. But doing it now to take up a junior ministerial job in Westminster sends a terrible message about what Labour thinks of Scotland. Really terrible.

This year's Digital Humanties interns have helped to make our Special Collections much more accessible - a big thank you! 🙏

Digital Humanities Lab, Exeter @dhlabexeter.bsky.social · 2w ago

This Year's DH interns worked on an incredible variety of projects and materials. This included glass negatives, VHS tapes, theatre playbills, the Valor Ecclesiasticus, audiobook production, GIS aerial mapping, postcards, items from @bdcmuseum.bsky.social, and posters from the DAME project. #DHLab

Letter from the world's largest disciplinary association in the humanities, the @modernlanguage.bsky.social on the proposed cuts at the University of Exeter #DefendExeterUni

Reposting Chloe's stuff because quite frankly her art will make her rich and famous one day and you'll kick yourself for not nabbing some of her stuff now 👇🏻

Chloe Cumming@chloecumming.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Hi I’m Chloe and I make these small-scale lively handmade mixed media original drawings, these four are still available just in case this is useful info. Actual art at all too reasonable prices. And if you can’t afford it, thank you for looking and sharing etc. #art www.chloecumming.com

Found a shady spot today