Alison Spring
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acspring.bsky.social
Alison Spring
@acspring.bsky.social
1.1K followers 97 following 1.2K posts
Glasgow-ish based
Qualified Genealogist @ RQG, specialising in Scottish research https://tinyurl.com/FrugalFH
Speaker - see my talks listed at https://tinyurl.com/yb9cht29
Frugal Family Historian - http://scotsancestors.blogspot.com
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acspring.bsky.social
Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · Jun 18
I've just added some new presentations - if you're a family history society or heritage group looking for speakers, take a look at my list of topics at tinyurl.com/2s4jch96 and get in touch!
Leafy postcard with information on it as follows: Alison Spring family history speaker NEW PRESENTATIONS FOR 2025! Introduction to Scottish Church Records Dive Deeper into Scottish Church Records Researching Urban Ancestors in Scotland Plus many other talks including… Getting More Out of FamilySearch.org Glasgow Poor Law Application Records Tools for Your Graveyard Research Kit FULL LIST & DETAILS @ https://tinyurl.com/2s4jch96
acspring.bsky.social
New post on the Frugal Family Historian blog. Free records for Remembrance weekend, YouTube, podcasts. It's all about researching, and picking up new skills. Learn more, do more, spend nothing. #GenHour scotsancestors.blogspot.com/2025/11/lear...
Learn/do more, spend nothing
scotsancestors.blogspot.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:00 PM
acspring.bsky.social
New post on the Frugal Family Historian blog. Free records for Remembrance weekend, YouTube, podcasts. It's all about researching, and picking up new skills. Learn more, do more, spend nothing. #AncestryHour scotsancestors.blogspot.com/2025/11/lear...
Learn/do more, spend nothing
scotsancestors.blogspot.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Reposted by Alison Spring
hedgehogsociety.bsky.social
This bonfire night, check bonfire piles for #hedgehogs.
Don't burn a hedgehogs home.
Look BEFORE you light.
🦔 🦔 🦔

Please #ShareToMakeAware 🙏

#RememberHedgehogs #LookBeforeYouLight #WildlifeWednesday #bonfirenight #bonfirewarning #wildlifewarning
November 5, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Reposted by Alison Spring
alexvont.bsky.social
Well-meaning Americans in my mentions: kindly do not recommend extremely illegal actions that could land people in the UK with a ten year prison sentence
Reply to a post about the incident in Huntingdon from a US account: “ I cannot stress this enough to people. Carry a small canister of pepper spray and keep it accessible when you’re out in public especially trapped in a train. It’s an easy protective measure we can all take.” Reply from me: “I cannot stress enough to you that pepper spray is illegal to possess, buy, or carry in the UK under the Firearms Act 1968. I strongly recommend anyone reading does not do this under any circumstances.”
November 2, 2025 at 10:29 PM
acspring.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves #Day31 #MementoMori The clasped hands on this stone, in Collace churchyard, symbolise the hoped-for reunion in heaven with loved ones.
A pointed grey gravestone sits in a grassy churchyard. At its head is a carved symbol of clasped hands. Beneath is the inscription "In Loving Memory Of ANN McLAREN Wife Of DAVID GRAY Who Died 16th February 1911 Aged 69 Years And Of Their Family ISABELLA Who Died 7th April 1889 Aged 9 Years And 8 Months CHRISTINA Died In Infancy The Above DAVID GRAY Who Died 10th April 1913 Aged 75 Years And Their Daughters ANN Who Died 14th January 1940 Aged 62 Years CECILIA Who Died 9th June 1946 Aged 87 Years" Photo Credit: Mentiplay on Findagrave
October 31, 2025 at 8:08 AM
acspring.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves #Day30 #Colour In Scotland, the Surname BLUE is almost entirely confined to the west and its islands. One would think it pretty rare, until you scroll through a census and find villages significantly populated by Blues. This particular stone is in Kilkerran Cemetery in Campbeltown.
A wide grey granite headstone is dedicated to as follows "In Loving Memory of Thomas Blue Baker and Confectioner Died 3rd Nov. 1937 aged 48 years also his son Alastair Farquhar, R.A.F. Killed 3rd Dec. 1943, and interred in Brandon, Manitoba aged 21 years Alice Farquhar Wife of Thomas and Mother of Alastair Died 14th March 1974 aged 82 years" Photo credit: Pixturmn on FindaGrave
October 30, 2025 at 8:06 AM
acspring.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves #Day29 #Occupation This memorial is in Elgin Cathedral churchyard and is possibly a relative. My 5th great-grandparents, George Sellar (also a miller) & Janet Arnot, married in 1794, have a stone here but it is impossible to read now. Transcription of this stone is in the alt text.
A simple headstone set directly into the turf bears the inscription "In Memory of WILLIAM SELLAR late Miller in Old-mills who died the 1st of May 1796 Aged 68 years."
October 29, 2025 at 8:03 AM
acspring.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves #Day28 #Column All right, so it's not a column, but it IS one of only two such structures in Scotland, copied from the Irish round tower style. It's now attached to Brechin Cathedral, but was originally free-standing. More at www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-plac...
Beside the cathedral stands a 25-metre tall round tower which comes to a turret-shaped point. Set in its wall, 2 metres off the ground, is the original arched doorway. In the foreground are gravestones and shrubbery.
October 28, 2025 at 7:41 AM
acspring.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves #Day27 #Tree A springtime visit this year to the Scottish county of Angus found me in St Vigeans churchyard amidst some beautiful blossoms on the trees.
A path leads through the gravestones of a churchyard towards its gate. Flanking the gate are two trees full of pink blossoms, standing out against a pale blue sky. A row of stone-built cottages can be seen beyond the gate. A close-up of the pink blossoms shows their beautiful petals and the stems that attach them, in clumps, to a tree. A gravestone leans to the right in the background.
October 27, 2025 at 7:59 AM
acspring.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves #Day26 #Figure An almost life-sized statue of a bishop stands in the nave of the ruined Elgin Cathedral, rather like an enormous chess piece. There are more medieval memorials here than any other Scottish cathedral, apparently. Though not medieval, my 5th ggparents also rest here.
Framed by a filled-in archway in the ruins of Elgin Cathedral stands, at ground level, a statue of a bishop. He is depicted in full Mass vestments: mitre, alb and chasuble. What remains of his crozier is a staff in his left hand.
October 26, 2025 at 8:04 AM
Reposted by Alison Spring
federationfhs.bsky.social
Locally based LDS Family History Centres enable you to advance your research to the next level. #Genealogy #FamilyHistory #TopTip www.exploreyourgenealogy.co.uk/why-use-an-l...
October 25, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Reposted by Alison Spring
pastandotherplaces.bsky.social
Some Scottish Hallowe'en neep lanterns made from swede turnips.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scot...
Your pictures of the traditional Halloween neep lantern
Your pictures of the traditional craft of making Halloween lanterns from turnips.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 25, 2025 at 12:10 PM
acspring.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves #Day25 #GravesideOrnament On a recent visit to my local graveyard, I spotted this beautiful memorial. I especially liked the urn in front of the headstone, but the effect of the whole memorial was stunning.
A shiny black marble gravestone is set in a granite wall, topped by a grey marble pediment. Supporting the pediment are two black marble pillars with vertical gold stripes running their length. In front of the gravestone is a grey marble slab on which sits a bronze urn. It contains two pink bulrushes and rainwater. To the right of the slab is a small gold ball and plant pots containing the remains of plants. The gravestone itself is engraved in Chinese characters and includes, at the top left, an oval-shaped picture of a woman in pink floral Chinese costume.
October 25, 2025 at 7:10 AM
acspring.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves #Day24 #UnusualAnimal Found in the 18thC in the grounds of nearby Dyke parish church, "Rodney's Stone" features a carving of the Pictish Beast, an unidentified animal found on numerous stones around Scotland, variously thought to be a dolphin or an elephant. More at: buff.ly/B6OfAKF
A large upright stone slab is supported by two metal rods. On its face are carved Pictish symbols. Two are snake-like creatures with heads resembling dragons. Below them is the Pictish Beast, shaped like an elephant but with a very long nose rather than a trunk. Below it is the double-disc symbol, a bit like two hand mirrors tied together by their handles. It now stands in the grounds of Brodie Castle in Morayshire.
October 24, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Reposted by Alison Spring
andrewkostrub.bsky.social
Updating my LEGO White House
October 23, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Reposted by Alison Spring
scotwildlife.bsky.social
There's still time to stop Berwick Bank, but only if we make ourselves heard.

Add your voice and tell them. Scotland can lead on renewables without sacrificing its seabirds.

Add your voice.👇
www.seabird.org/cancel-berwi...
rspbscotland.bsky.social RSPB Scotland @rspbscotland.bsky.social · 19d
Berwick Bank could kill more birds than any other windfarm on Earth, devastating colonies of Gannets, Puffins and Kittiwakes off Scotland’s coast. 🚨

We support renewables, but not at catastrophic cost to seabirds already in crisis.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3JE...
Add your voice to a campaign to stop an offshore wind farm that threatens seabirds
YouTube video by RSPB
www.youtube.com
October 23, 2025 at 8:07 AM
acspring.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves #Day23 #Cross Edderton 2 is the official name for this stone which stands in Edderton churchyard in Easter Ross. More info at easterrosschurches.co.uk/church/old-p...
A sandstone marker in a churchyard with a large Celtic cross covering one side.
October 23, 2025 at 7:10 AM
acspring.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves #Day22 #Landscape My 18th- & 19th-century ancestors lived on the hills in this photo, taken from the parish burial ground. These are the Heights of Fodderty, a parish near Dingwall in Ross-shire. You can really feel the ancestral vibes in this area. Older grave in the second photo!
Steep green hills with buildings and lines of trees dotted across them lie beneath a blue and white sky and a rainbow. A line of trees separates the hills from a large neat cemetery with rows of headstones. On the heathery hills opposite the cemetery stands a group of four megalithic stones, between 1 and 1.5 metres high. They are all that remains of a chambered cairn at Heights of Brae. No other structures can be seen, and there is a fine view of hills in the distance. More information at https://www.megalithics.com/scotland/heights_of_brae/braemain.htm
October 22, 2025 at 7:19 AM
acspring.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves #Day21 #Bronze Nether Largie Mid Cairn lies at the centre of a Bronze Age linear cemetery in Kilmartin Glen, Argyllshire. Learn more: www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-plac...
Low hills and a massive layer of stones are the backdrop to several granite stones which appear to have previously formed a cist or burial box. Photo credit: Supergolden, Wikimedia Commons
October 21, 2025 at 6:23 AM
acspring.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves #Day20 #Wreath Not strictly speaking a grave, but a memorial to the Commandos who trained in this remote area of the Scottish Highlands in the Second World War. 1,700 of them died in that conflict. My father always broke our summer drive to Skye here, to pay his respects.
The monument to the Commandos stands in front of distant hills. Two of the three bronze statues depicting soldiers of the regiment on top of the monument are visible in this photo, equipped with rifles and backpacks. Two poppy wreaths sit at the base of the memorial.
October 20, 2025 at 7:44 AM
Reposted by Alison Spring
brigitstrawbridge.bsky.social
Autumn Blackbirds on Crab Apples - by Malvern based Batik artist, Marie-Therese King.

More of Marie-Therese's gorgeous batik work, here: mariethereseking.uk

#birds #art #birdart
October 19, 2025 at 8:10 AM
acspring.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves #Day19 #SocialGroup On holiday in Alberta a few years ago, I was taken by my sister-in-law to the town of Vulcan. She was a big fan of Star Trek, and apparently the town has become something of a pilgrimage destination for Trekkies, as this stone shows...
A black marble headstone in the shape of a Star Trek uniform badge is dedicated to Kathryn Elizabeth Larsen who has "gone to the final frontier". A large replica of the USS Enterprise, the starship from the original Star Trek TV show, sits on top of a stone monument in the town of Vulcan, Alberta. Photo credit: Canoe1967, Wikimedia Commons, CCA-3.
October 19, 2025 at 7:05 AM
acspring.bsky.social
This is a screen grab from my DNA "Highlights" after the recent Ancestry ethnicity estimate update. Some actual Irish locations for the first ever time in any kind of evidence! #GenHour
October 18, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Reposted by Alison Spring
synderlic.bsky.social
October 18, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Reposted by Alison Spring
parodypm.bsky.social
Reform are panicking about people pointing out that they want to replace the NHS. So please don't share this clip of Nigel Farage saying he'd rather healthcare was done through insurance companies.
February 8, 2025 at 10:46 AM