The morning of the second of March. Five and twenty past eight.
"I'm terribly sorry to call so early," said the Dragon of Kensington Church Street to Old Fox, "just wanted to wish you a happy St David's Day for yesterday! I quite forget, I'm ashamed to say. May I make a toast over the telephone? I'm drinking a very nice cup of tea as I speak."
Old Fox made the necessary salutations and soothing phrases – "quite alright," "no bother at all!" "I believe the Bishop would enjoy an extra day!" – and together, one in a warm, book-lined study in a Dorset cottage, the other in a rather smart sitting room in a London flat, they toasted Saint David and his mother, Saint Non, and her mother and grandmother before her, and then they settled down to a very enjoyable catch-up, as the first warm sun of the year streamed in and the first daffodils nodded in park and field.
02.03.2026 10:22
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Beneath a cloudless sky, lark-song glass-bright in the fields, Old Fox and Pine Marten were picking the first daffodils, from the long garden lawn which sloped down to the river. It was an early March day of such sweet beauty that their flagging spirits were lifted & their hearts sang, as they filled their baskets with the pale, papery flowers.
01.03.2026 12:01
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Tell us about St Piran, said Wolf, who loved the well-worn tales. "Well," said Old Fox, as if telling for the first time, "he was tied to a mill-stone by jealous fellows in Ireland, and thrown over the top of a cliff as high as our White Nothe. The sea below was dark and stormy and heaving, but the moment that worn old stone broke the water, it calmed, calmed to the glassy still of a mill pond itself! He floated day and night like a calm, spinning otter, gazing up at the passing summer clouds and the bright stars, until he reached the coast of Cornwall. He washed up at first light, and was found and untied and blanketed and fed and watered by his very first disciples - a Fox, a Badger & a Bear. A very scholarly trio from the nearby village. Good and sensible companions. Kind as could be. Noble Cornish folk.
And he taught them there on the long, curved beach of
Perranzabuloe, where we went that time on our holiday, where the Atlantic roars day and night. Their seminary was in a sheltered hollow full of flowers - shepherd's needle and sea thrift and weasel's-snout - and butterflies, so many butterflies, their wings as silvery and bright as a mermaid's scales.
Happy St Piran's Day, one and all!
05.03.2026 10:12
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engraving of a man in 18th-century clothes with black robes and a white collar, wearing a long grey curled wig.
#OnThisDay 1710 the state trial of Dr Henry Sacheverell got underway in Westminster Hall.
Sacheverell had infuriated the Whig ministry by preaching against the 1688 Revolution. Their efforts to impeach led to widespread rioting and ultimately brought the ministry down.
#HistParl
27.02.2026 10:52
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I think we would be inclined to agree. It's a period that needs to be much more widely known.
We would also speak out for George II (much overlooked, bar a spike around 1745-6 for obvious reasons).
27.02.2026 12:08
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Parliamentary History
Click on the title to browse this journal
The 2026 special issue, edited by Naomi Lloyd-Jones is now live! The issue is the product of a 2023 conference at @durhamhistory.bsky.social discussing collective action and the politics of organisation in Britain and Ireland in the long nineteenth-century:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1750...
27.02.2026 14:19
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Congratulations to our colleague in the @victoriancommons.bsky.social section, Naomi, on this splendid special issue of Parliamentary History.
27.02.2026 14:13
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Guinea coin
The guinea was a gold coin introduced by Charles II, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where much of the gold used to make the coins came from.
#history #17thc #c18th
08.03.2026 15:46
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Haven't been able to access the account for a couple of weeks. Have emailed them about it but sacking all the staff seems to have resulted in much longer response times!
06.03.2026 17:07
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Declaring "Mission Accomplished" - that always works out well for US Presidents
07.03.2026 21:51
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Currently locked out of my Twitter account. Have emailed them but seems cutting that many staff has an impact to response times.
05.03.2026 16:15
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IRS improperly disclosed immigrant tax data to DHS: Report
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) improperly disclosed confidential tax data of thousands of people to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as part of the Trump administration’s push to crack…
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) improperly disclosed confidential tax data of thousands of people to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as part of the Trump administration’s push to crack down on immigration enforcement measures across agencies.
TAT: [Nationalism | Weakening Civil Rights]
12.02.2026 16:31
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Trump nominates hospitality executive to lead National Park Service
Scott Socha, whose company sued to claim trademark rights to Yosemite name, criticized by conservation groups
Trump nominates hospitality executive to lead National Park Service (NPS). The NPS has historically been overseen by people with experience in conservation and land stewardship, whereas Trump's nominee Scott Socha owns a food and hotel management comp...
TAT: [Attacking Education | Hollowing State]
13.02.2026 15:15
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I passed my viva with minor corrections!
A huge thank you to my examiners @janmachielsen.bsky.social and @profelainechalus.bsky.social for such a positive and constructive experience!
04.02.2026 15:42
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Congratulations and well done, Holly!
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Don was taken into custody by federal agents last night in Los Angeles.
30.01.2026 12:58
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First Nations chiefs laugh at the idea they'd be better off in an independent Alberta
Indigenous leaders call out Jeffrey Rath, one of the leaders of the separatism movement.
First Nations chiefs laugh at the idea they'd be better off in an independent Alberta - Indigenous leaders call out Jeffrey Rath, one of the leaders of the separatism movement edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
30.01.2026 08:04
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