What's the experience of independent historians when it comes to research & journal publishing? bit.ly/3NpBbf1 In this new 'Transactions @royalhistsoc' article, John Sanders assesses historical precedents and current realities of life beyond the academic mainstream 1/2

National Fossil Day seems like a great excuse to post about one of our favourite events in Birmingham's past - the 1938 Pageant of Birmingham when Egbert the dinosaur stalked the streets. Here he is passing very close to where the library now stands. (Ref: Misc Photos/Pageant)

I'm not on this site much any more. But from the age of 5 onwards, nothing has made me more angry than people getting things WRONG about QUEEN ELIZABETH I. It's pathological. I ended up getting a PhD in it. So, some Friday content for you about the Telegraph & Good Queen Bess.

Defeated but not forgotten.

Devastating news that Leiden University, for so long one of the great centres of scholarship in Europe, the university of Grotius and Scaliger, will be stopping or downgrading most of its humanities programmes.

The Dutch invest €595 million annually on urban biking, resulting in €19 BILLION saved in public health care costs alone. That’s how smart govts do the math on investing in better mobility. Let’s be clear — it wastes public money to NOT do it. #CityMakingMath HT Melissa & Chris Bruntlett

When did London become a multicultural city? This tax record from 1483 provides a remarkable insight into the diversity of the medieval metropolis's inhabitants: beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-co…

Arriving home to congestion, fumes and chaos after a budget featuring: ❌ rail fare rises, ❌ railcards up £5 ❌ bus fares up 50% … and fuel duty frozen 🤦‍♂️ These streets were built for railway workers and this community used to be a liveable neighbourhood. We prefer this…?

It’s 31 years since Norwich knocked Bayern Munich out of the UEFA Cup. Here’s the BBC’s live coverage after the final whistle that night. Two mins watching the celebrations and a look at the goal, before the Sportsnight theme sees us out. Glory days.

An announcement for the early medieval scholars who are still left here: Early Medieval Europe is advertising its second BSR Fellowship aimed at early career researchers whose work would benefit from spending one month in Rome. More info at bsr.ac.uk/second-bsr-ear…

We invite applications for the Neil Ker Memorial Fund 2024-2025. The scheme allows early career and established researchers to study Western medieval manuscripts to explore aspects of the manuscripts' production, readership, and use. Learn more: thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/neil-k…

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Birmingham Pub Bombings. The Birmingham 21 Memorial at New Street Station honours the victims. LibraryofBirmingham will light up as a mark of respect, details here: tinyurl.com/37s7j3v3. For more visit our blog: tinyurl.com/21Nov1974 inconnu

Why is this development going to have any parking? It's in the middle of the city. How do we change the car-dependent mindset of the planning department in Birmingham? Any suggestions, Councillor David Barker? birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-…

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Of all the concepts that humankind needs to absorb + act on with extreme urgency, this tops the list.

English spelling is a cruel joke Why does ‘gh’ stay silent in “daughter” but sound like an ‘f’ in “laughter”? The thing is, English spelling is actually 100% logical — for the Middle Ages Here’s how the 'gh' sound disappeared from English, and left chaos in its wake…🧵

Yesterday we recorded episode 21, with Charlie Rozier joined by Rosie Bonté from Brepols and Caroline Palmer of Boydell & Brewer to talk about changes and challenges in the publishing industry and how these can affect the work of Humanities ECRs Released Monday, links in bio

It’s now possible to register for this.

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Decades of Birmingham Civic Leaders should feel eternal shame that Methodist Central Hall is on The Victorian Society's 2025 Top 10 endangered buildings wall of shame list You could have also included The Electric, The Crown and many others in Brum on that list. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…