Sarah Aitchison
@saraha73.bsky.social
Archives and cocktails. Mainly cocktails, to be honest.
In one of our archive strong rooms there is a shelf. The shelf does not contain the most exciting or interesting item in the archive but it does contain something amazing. Read this short thread to find out more. 🧵👇
Happy birthday for tomorrow to Mary Shelley who was born on the 30th August 1797. 🎂 Did you know that in her most famous novel, she wrote that Dr Frankenstein travelled to #Orkney to create a mate for his monster? So that was nice. She must have thought it was lovely here.
Continuing my committment to treating viruses with gin and citrus - this time a Next to Last Word.
Attempting to cure the inevitable post-holiday lurgy with an Aviation #ConfinedCocktails. I'm sure this will work.
small, single corridor shopping centre in Stevenage Old Town. Called the 'Magnet centre' after the family that owned the land. odd nik-nak and dress shops... ...and in the mid-90s briefly, hidden at the back, the town's first comic shop. we discovered it as teens. it was like finding heaven /1
ashley fairbanks@ziibiing.com · last mo.tell me about your town’s weird mall
Incredible sight: Brioc, a replica high medieval leather boat, has sailed from Brittany all the way round England, Wales and now Scotland. The crew navigate, dress and cook exactly as their medieval counterparts would have⛵️ bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn0n259yx7no
This is just to say I have OCRed the text thet was in tne arch:ve and whicb yov were prabaldy seamhing for "breahtast" Fargme ms fheg mem debo:w5 sb ?mccf mmb 5c oc1b
I understand there has been some football with added muppets. I have chosen to go to Wimbledon and watch Nikita with his top off instead. There was a gin cocktail beforehand #ConfinedCocktails.
Well I’ve spent the whole of #NorEng drawing the three English lions on a tote bag, time well spent even if we don’t win
I've never been in an escape room but I have tried to leave a B&M without buying anything.
Apparently there is some football on tonight #ConfinedCocktails. In an act of mad planning, I am preparing by attending a beer festival all afternoon
hello from Nantes where it is 38 degrees and I am finding out that it may in fact be possible for me to feel so warm I don't actually enjoy drinking a little glass of wine on a terrace, something I didn't believe was scientifically possible
Archivist pomodoro technique for hot weather - a burst of activity followed by 10 minutes in the stack
Seeking experienced record keepers to join the pool of Peer Reviewers for Archive Service Accreditation in England! New Peer Reviewer training starts in November so now is the time to make an expression of interest: www.archives.org.uk/peer-reviewers
This is a brilliant story. Hooray for archives, and for their staff and volunteers. 📝📄🗄️🗃️ www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
‘Vanishingly rare’ copy of US Declaration of Independence found by volunteer in UK archives
One of 11 surviving copies of ‘Exeter printing’ and only one known outside US was taken from American privateer ship
theguardian.com
Nothing beats holding an advance copy of a book you've spent four years on! SLEUTH-HOUND is about Joe Bell, the Scottish surgeon who inspired Sherlock Holmes! It has everything: Victorian forensics, Jack the Ripper, and even a real Dr Watson. I'm grateful for your support: linktr.ee/drlindseyfit...
My nine year old asked for a Rosetta Stone cake for his birthday
Happy summer #solstice all To celebrate, here's our traditional solstice breakfast - one we call "Sunrise Over #Stonehenge" You're welcome
Ok #ConfinedCocktails, I'm not sure a Martini is a summer drink, but it's relaxing me enough to forget about the heat, which seems to be a sensible aim. Not sure I can drink them on the train tomorrow, though...
Some stray thoughts on gap-filling. Take them for what they are 1. Gaps in archives are not like rips in clothing; they don't have a well defined and wholly known, or in the broadest sense wholly knowable, shape or extent. You can't cut a patch for them or fill them with putty and smooth them over.
Peter Whitewood@pwhitewood.bsky.social · 3mo agoRebranding a hallucination as a ‘critical confabulation’ that can fill archival gaps is a big no from me.
It's a tough gig, but I've just spent 4 hours on the Cheese Barge. Amazing. Pray for my arteries.
She refused to abandon the wedding *because there was going to be a nacho bar* and sorry but this woman is a heroine
Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social · 3mo agoWhat a lovely story this is, I had completely missed the viral original but all of it is absolutely wonderful: