Robert Poole
@robertjrp.bsky.social
Historian improbable on permanent research leave
Farewell Livesey House, University of Lancashire (1970s ex-DSS).'If AI devastates universities the way deindustrialisation hollowed out shipbuilding, I wouldn't want to live next to my former workplace, giving guided tours of a now obsolete lifeform.' Susan Pedersen, LRB, 23 July 2026.
A rare victory for heritage over skyscrapers in Manc-hattan. This absurd pair of blocks, jacked up on slivers of land, would have dwarfed the historic Peterloo pub and blocked nearly all the light from its beer garden. Democracy: the Britons Protection! www.placenorthwest.co.uk/controversia...
Controversial Manchester tower pulled - Place North West
There has been radio silence on Arrowsmith Management’s plans for a 26-storey residential scheme next to the Britons Protection pub since they were lodged in 2022. Four years on, the proposal has been...
placenorthwest.co.uk
This is awful news, and not just for science. When Greenwich Observatory closed in 1998 the site and museum were retained, but how do you maintain a redundant radio telescope? We will lose a major visitor attraction and a huge regional landmark - surely not? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope faces axe in science cuts, BBC understands
Astronomers warn it would tear the heart out of UK science, and leave a generation untrained.
bbc.co.uk
Yes, very rare! A similar map published in the Manchester Observer (see p.66 of link below) added time-lapse images to document visually what happened. It's all in a single frame, but - is this the world's first comic strip? www.manchesterhive.com/view/journal...
A new Peterloo jug is news, because all known examples are printed over a leftover batch commemorating an admiral. This one is part of a new batch on a purpose-made jug, indicating sustained demand. On display soon at the People’s History Museum. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
People's History Museum to display rare Peterloo massacre jug
The jug commemorating the 1819 Peterloo massacre will be displayed at the People's History Museum.
bbc.co.uk
I hadn't noticed before, but at the centre of Joseph Wright's magnificent painting of the orrery are children gazing down upon the Earth. The splendid 'From the Shadows' exhibition has moved from London to Derby Museum, in much better conditions, and free. Derby's good too. derbymuseums.org
Heritage corner 1. Victoria Street in Edinburgh, claimed to be the model for Diagon Alley, is turning into a Harry Potter film set. Meanwhile Oxford University, where scenes were filmed, is morphing into Hogwarts as the souvenir shops cast Harry Potter as Oxford's most famous son.
Moving line-up of veteran players from 50+ years ago to inaugurate (at long last) the first women’s test match at Lord’s. ‘Lord’s is for everyone’ read the regular notices round the ground. It is now.
On the train to London I always look out for the Ovaltine factory, on the right just before Watford. It’s hard to photograph but one winter day the train slowed down …
Politics in trouble, British humour to the rescue. I am looking forward to this epic bye-election battle.
Neglecting routine maintenance can create problems in the longer term. On the other hand, good to see Trafford edging ahead of Cambridge in biotechnology...
Spaceballs? Mel Brooks should be alive now! Hang on …. Mel Brooks IS alive now …. Of all the techno-prophets of the 20th century, it turns out to be the comedian who was closest to the truth. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Likely origin of mysterious ‘space balls’ found on Queensland beaches revealed by Australian Space Agency
Organisation says objects consistent with ‘debris from a foreign rocket body that recently re-entered the atmosphere’
theguardian.com
As Royal Mail progresses towards oblivion, could Andy Burnham please consider a leveraged takeover by the wonderful Trafford Guerilla Crochet Popular Front?
... down among the barley, a pair of skylarks is singing.
Constitutional changes usually require supermajorities, but Brexit squeaked through 51-49 during a brief window when the opinion polls crossed. In France the anniversary is marked by this new graphic novel, 'Thatcher: la Sorcière qui a changé le Monde'.
Burnham at the (Finland) Euston station 👍 The big question: can he fix the ugliest railway gateway to any European city? Tory governments demolished the Euston arch, wielded the Beeching axe, and trashed the remaining neighbourhood for HS2. The north needs a better gateway!
'Beneath the paving stones, the beach' was a slogan of May 1968 in Paris. In June 2026 the Pont Neuf is wrapped to look like limestone: 'beneath the buildings, the quarry'. The 'society of the spectacle' has arrived. Armed police at the exit complete the spirit of '68.
How much is Elon Musk worth? Answer: nothing. Elon Musk is a net liability to planet Earth.
Are you a cyborg? Find out by using this questionnaire, given by the NHS in Manchester to people about to have an MRI scan.
Adieu and homage to Marjane Satrapi of ‘Persepolis’ fame, graphic novelist and Iranian feminist, died (understandably) of a broken heart. But what a life! I hope she features in this canon: www.kickstarter.com/projects/tom...
LOOSE CANNONS: a history of freethinking humanist rebels!
A vivid, illustrated biographical romp through the lives & ideas of freethinking humanist icons who shook the world by Polyp & Goodall
kickstarter.com
This statue of Stockport’s Cockleshell Hero is my kind of history: it’s done in public, neatly captures the essentials, and appears like magic, but on inspection it's firmly anchored in text and footnotes. And it's relevant: Ukraine’s smart citizen heroes are today combatting oppression at sea.
That video of Newtonian mechanics is the perfect answer to anyone who thinks that simple laws and principles can't explain complex effects.
As you can see, Newtonian Mechanics is very simple...
Wandered in bank holiday heat round the rich ruins of Buildwas Abbey. They have lasted 800 years longer than the cooling towers of the nearby power station, sadly demolished in 2019. At the time, someone asked: 'How will they keep Telford cool now?' He had a point. www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-e...
Power station's four cooling towers demolished
Hundreds of people gather to watch as a former power station's cooling towers are brought down.
bbc.co.uk
Not a Dutch still life, but still... A laundry bag, deftly placed by the lovely cleaner at the Gaskell Arms, Much Wenlock, on Spring Bank Holiday morning. Welcome to a beautiful world, baby Mochi.
History departments also go off pop, but not unnoticed. Hertfordshire, top in the UK for research impact in 2014, closed in 2026. Who was responsible: A. The great people who work there, or B. the entities who pushed half of them out? Discuss ... c.org/WsstTdKmmN
Sign the Petition
Save the Humanities at the University of Hertfordshire
c.org
