The Past and other Places

A common toad sitting against a kerb by the side of the road

Current mood

#Edinburgh #ToadPatrol

It's #Wrensday. Something to shout about at #Springtime

It’s ‘mystery box’ day in the archives: like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, you can never tell what you’re going to get. In this folder, writs of execution (on property, not life) from 1869 & 1792 are side by side. Other than suffering from historical whiplash, I’m finding really helpful stuff 🗃️

Clothes line in Glencaple, Scotland, 1954, photo by Edwin Smith.

Bird's eye oblique view of modern office buildings, car parking, access routes and green areas within a suburban residential area. The area to be redeveloped is outlined in red.

Scottish Water is submitting an application for Planning Permission in Principle for the redevelopment of their Fairmilehead office site, off Buckstone Terrace, #Edinburgh.
#redevelopment #planning
www.scottishwater.co.uk/in-your-area...

Edinburgh international festival will explore America’s creativity and cruelty, says director August festival presents largest-ever jazz programme alongside full-scale operas and Scottish folk music This year’s Edinburgh international festival will showcase American art that celebrates the creativity and energy of the US, while also exposing its cruelty and hypocrisy, its director has said. Nicola Benedetti, the Grammy-award winning violinist now presenting her fourth festival, said Donald Trump’s explosive second term as president made that quest more important than ever. Continue reading...

Edinburgh international festival will explore America’s creativity and cruelty, says director

bsky.app/profile/past...

Detected in Edinburgh.

News: From Squirrel to Mackerel, The Royal Bank of Scotland Celebrates Nature and Culture in Their Currency to celebrate nature and culture,was the primary purpose of the design. the project was initially initiated following the bank of england's decision to switch from paper to polymer notes in 2016. the £...

The story of how designers helped the Royal Bank of Scotland put women on the front of their banknotes and living creatures on the reverse. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 1/2
#herstory #Scotland #nature
www.thedesignstory.com/blog/news/ne...

The Royal Mile aka High Street in Edinburgh lined with colourful bollards. Scotland and UK flags flying on the empty street very early in the morning.

A peaceful High Street in the early hours

© Dave Coulson Photography

#scotland #edinburgh

With Alt text because it's important

Ah.

Prioritising AI data centres could block new homes, builders warn The government plans to give data centres priority access to the electricity grid to speed up development.

Data centres burn huge amounts of power but provide very few jobs. Are we covering the countryside and using up power connections to enable bitcoins to be mined?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

'Green' data centre for Edinburgh rejected by councillors BREAKING NEWS: Councillors 'unconvinced' of developer's sustainability claims

Edinburgh councillors threw out plans for a 140MW data centre. There was cross-party agreement in refusing the plan, with concerns about ‘how it affects the climate emergency’ and ‘how emissions could be minimised’. In no way was the proposal 'green'.
www.edinburghminute.com/green-data-c...

Harold Wilson was born on this day 1916 in Huddersfield. Formed Labour governments after four general elections, more than any other leader. (Portrait by Ruskin Spear, National Portrait Gallery).

Current issue banknotes | NatWest Group Heritage Hub Details about the banknotes of the Royal Bank of Scotland in current circulation.

The Royal Bank of Scotland's current £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes are part of the 'Fabric of Nature' series, begun in 2016. For a closer look at the women on the front ⬇️ 2/2
www.natwestgroup.com/heritage/sub...

News: From Squirrel to Mackerel, The Royal Bank of Scotland Celebrates Nature and Culture in Their Currency to celebrate nature and culture,was the primary purpose of the design. the project was initially initiated following the bank of england's decision to switch from paper to polymer notes in 2016. the £...

The story of how designers helped the Royal Bank of Scotland put women on the front of their banknotes and living creatures on the reverse. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 1/2
#herstory #Scotland #nature
www.thedesignstory.com/blog/news/ne...

I'm so disappointed when I see really cool artwork in a post and go to share it l, only to realise it doesn't have alt-text. Because then I don't share it. And I want to share cool art with people. Please add alt-text to any images you post. You can even enable in-app reminders to help you remember.

Really interesting to see the paupers came from far and wide. #maps

Two gables set in white harl. The earlier gable is crow-stepped an casting a shadow against the sharp white of the other building. Both girnals - grain stores - at Portmahomack in Scotland.

Shadows toward beauty's end - the historic harled girnals at Portmahomack on the Tarbat Peninsula facing the Dornoch Firth.

Mrs MacLeod spinning wool inside her home in South #Uist, c1930s

[photo: Margaret Fay Shaw, NTS Canna House]

bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/03/10/l...

‘I wish I could push ChatGPT off a cliff’: professors scramble to save critical thinking in an age of AI As AI has upended the way students learn, academics worry about the future of the humanities - and society at large

“There’s kind of defeatism, this idea that there’s no stopping technology and resistance is futile, everything will be crushed in its path,” said Clune, the Ohio State professor. “That needs to change … We can decide that we want to be human.” #AI
www.theguardian.com/technology/n...

Coin used as Leeds bus fare was 2,000‑year‑old currency The coin was handed down to Peter Edwards from his grandfather in the 1950s.

"My first thought when I found out its origin was that I would like to return it to an institute where it could be studied by all...My grandfather would be proud to know, as I am, that the coin is coming back to Leeds."

Lovely. ❤️

#Archaeology #Treasure #Detecting 🏺
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Screenshot of a paper abstract in Area by Emma Wainwright, Ellen McHugh & Mamoon Bhuyan (2026) entitled: 'Feeding Hungry Students: Geographies of On-Campus Free Food Provision Across England' with a black banner at the top. In 2023, one in four UK universities was reported to be operating a food bank for their students amidst a ‘cost-of-learning crisis’. With nearly half of students facing financial difficulty, student food poverty has become a vital issue in contemporary higher education, with food banks marking an important addition to on-campus student support. This paper adds to the growing extant literature on food banks by empirically and conceptually examining the geographies of on-campus free food provision across English universities. We define free food provision for university students as food that is free at the point of collection and consumption and is based on presumed and/or evidenced student need. The paper draws on qualitative and quantitative data from a survey administered to all English universities to map provision across institutions and explore on-campus geographies of free food. It makes two important contributions to existing research. First and empirically, it moves the discussion of food poverty and educational institutions beyond a focus on schools and families with children. Second, and conceptually, it extends understandings of food poverty alleviation beyond food banks to consider a broader set of mechanisms through which support is given to those in need, with universities vitally positioned to tackle food poverty given their role in anchoring students in place. The paper concludes by questioning the longer-term commitment and sustainability of free food provision across universities in England at a time of financial uncertainty.

New in Area:

'Feeding hungry students: Geographies of on-campus free food provision across England' by @emmawainwright.bsky.social et al.

doi.org/10.1111/area... #geosky

That'll be why I'm booked as grannie care on KIT days...

This image features promotional material for the Institute of Physics. It includes a smiling person on the right and text on the left. The text reads: "IOP Institute of Physics. Calling all IOP members: Nominate yourself by 5pm on 7 April to stand for election to our Council of Trustees." The background is a mix of red and white with some circular patterns.

IOP members: nominations are now open for our Council of Trustee elections. If you’re passionate about the IOP and #physics, consider self-nominating for a position on our Council. Nominations close on 7 April.

Find out more here: https://www.mi-nomination.com/iop26

@scottishindexes.bsky.social have also updated their Scottish Genealogy Learning Zone, which includes video tutorials. 2/2
www.scottishindexes.com/learning.aspx

@scottishindexes.bsky.social have just released another 100,000 prison register entries! This means that there are now more than one million entries in their Scotland's Criminal Database. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 1/2
#FamilyHistory #genealogy #GenHour
www.scottishindexes.com

For Saint Patrick's Day, I'm doing my Irish Family History Resources Online #genealogy talk again, as a bonus event. Tues 17 March 2026 at 7pm (UK time); Q&As after, with handout available, and a chance to view again for up to a week after

To register (£10) visit us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...