Category Archives: Friend

Lynn’s wake

Wednesday 5th October 2022, 5.55pm (day 4,059)

Lynn's wake, 5/10/22

There are, by now, a number of ‘digital ghosts’ that haunt this blog. I know of, for sure, seven people who have appeared on here who have since died: both of Clare’s grans, our former neighbour Richard, a professorial colleague at work, and three friends, of which Lynn was the most recent, passing away last month. Her last appearance on here was on 30th May. It’s possibly the only one, although I would be surprised if she didn’t also turn up in the background of some other shots: as, technically, she does here.

So what do the rest of us do….. A wake is the party that they hold for you, the one time they know you can’t come. And then we move on. Eventually everyone depicted on here will be dust, including me: I’m only two years younger than Lynn. Whether I will get the chance to let you know I’m on the way out, is as yet undetermined.

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Ivy and Mark get ready

Thursday 22nd September 2022, 9.55am (day 4,046)

Ivy and Mark, 22/9/22

Time for the new academic year to get going. Behind us, as I took this shot, the latest clump of aspirants, our objects of care for this year — the new students. Ivy tries to outline the scale of it all to colleague Mark. I think we’re ready for the whistle.

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Marije sorts it out

Monday 22nd August 2022, 2.25pm (day 4,015)

Wageningen conference, 22/8/22

Welcome to the era of the ‘hybrid’ academic conference, run by hassled people in rooms trying to get the technology to work properly. If we could just stand up and talk it would be a lot more reliable. Still ,Marije — and the other members of the KBSI2022 team — did their best, and it has been worth coming over to the Netherlands, rather than sitting at home and doing all of this crap.

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Day of rest

Sunday 31st July 2022, 4.30pm (day 3,993)

Love shack nap, 31/7/22

It is, perhaps, a little early to be taking a nap, but it was Sunday, after all. We’ve all been there.

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Enjoying the sunshine

Saturday 25th June 2022, 4.20pm (day 3,957)

Outside Railway, 25/6/22

I did very little else other than enjoy some sunshine on this Saturday afternoon; and I was not the only one.

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Prof Brown tells us how it is (or was)

Thursday 23rd June 2022, 12.35pm (day 3,955)

Prof Brown and fans, 23/6/22

During this week at the London Rare Books School I have felt privileged to be taught by Professor Michelle Brown, second from the left here. What an awesome fund of knowledge she has, seemingly knowing absolutely everything that happened to everyone before about 1500 AD. Like being taught physics by Richard Fenynman, and the sort of experience that you just ain’t gonna get through Zoom, sorry.

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Friday afternoon reflections

Friday 17th June 2022, 4.50pm (day 3,949)

In Mark's sunglasses, 17/6/22

Friday, at the end of a busy week, and the sun was out. I make no apologies for heading for the pub. Others thought the same, as depicted in my camera, and in Mark’s sunglasses.

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Alex in the Beyer Theatre

Thursday 16th June 2022, 9.15am (day 3,948)

The Beyer Building‘s exterior has featured before. It was constructed in 1887, meaning this lecture theatre basically reflects assumptions about pedagogy from 135 years ago. And it looks pretty much the same as lecture theatres still do, only with many fewer plug sockets. Alex awaits my talk at 9:30; there were a few other people in the room by the time I started (honestly).

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Lynn outside the Railway

Monday 30th May 2022, 5.05pm (day 3,931)

Lynn, Railway, 30/5/22

The Railway Inn is undeniably close to a main road. But we don’t let it spoil our enjoyment of the outdoor seating; one of Hebden Bridge’s best suntraps. Like the rest of us, Lynn was enjoying it this afternoon.

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Geoff takes Q & A

Tuesday 12th April 2022, 2.15pm (day 3,883)

Geoff takes Q & A, 12/4/22

Golly, an academic conference. Face-to-face, with real people — the first one for me since Bucharest in January 2020. And plenty of evidence as to what we’ve been missing in the travesties that are the ‘virtual conference’ (of which I have only managed to do one, and that briefly, basically because I liked the people that organised it and didn’t want to let them down). Discussion, spontaneity, conversations in the lunch queue, empathy. To the neo-liberal interests, tech giants and health fascists who say we can all do it online now — I say, get stuffed.

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