Alison Foster
alisonfoster.bsky.social
Alison Foster
@alisonfoster.bsky.social
Zooarchaeologist based in Worcestershire. Malvern Buzzards Running Club. Cats (well, just the one cat). Power metal
Reposted by Alison Foster
The sound you hear is of cricketers all over the world laughing forever.
November 17, 2025 at 4:21 PM
This is a very good article which emphasises the interconnectedness of ecosystems. And yet the editor has chosen to focus on bees for the headline. Anti-pesticide petitions do the same. Yes, bees are very important, but they're one part of a much bigger picture.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
France’s birds start to show signs of recovery after bee-harming pesticide ban
Analysis shows small hike in populations of insect-eating species after 2018 ruling, but full recovery may take decades
www.theguardian.com
November 17, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Reposted by Alison Foster
A closer look at the print that's up for grabs here.
November 14, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Reposted by Alison Foster
Yes, like Finland and maby other European countries who have sensible heritage protection policies that meet their obligations under the Valletta Treaty in a meaningful way. 🏺
The UK needs strict rules like Finland has as well as the same reward system, nobody is making millions, it must not be removed from context and you stop digging/detecting the second you find something and report it as well as heavily restricted areas you can't touch.
November 14, 2025 at 7:36 AM
Reposted by Alison Foster
Watching Labour MPs take a wrecking ball to nature makes me so angry & so sad. Their action tonight voting down amendments to the #PlanningBill intended to protect wildlife & habitats from destruction is so reckless & so counterproductive. People didn’t vote Labour for this 👇
Housing secretary tells Labour MPs to vote down planning bill amendment
Amendment restricts protection for animals to allow faster house building
www.theguardian.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Reposted by Alison Foster
Several minute piece on the BBC.
Lots of detectorists.
No archaeologists.
No-one from PAS.
No-one from museums.
No discussion of the costs or responsibilities involved.

😡

#Archaeology #Detecting #Treasure #BBC #News
November 13, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Reposted by Alison Foster
In the immortal words of Sir Mix-a-Lot: "And ugh, double-up, ugh, ugh".

2 doggy papers are so much better than 1. Both studies a testament to slow science & international collaboration between brilliant people. What it's all about.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The emergence and diversification of dog morphology
Dogs exhibit an exceptional range of morphological diversity as a result of their long-term association with humans. Attempts to identify when dog morphological variation began to expand have been con...
www.science.org
November 13, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Bonkers, but brilliant. 10,000 miles, London to Capetown, in a Reliant Robin (a very small three wheeled car made of fibreglass, affectionately known in the UK as the Plastic Pig. Production stopped in 2001). Raising money for School in a Bag - a great charity.
www.justgiving.com/page/holdmyg...
London to Cape Town in a Reliant Robin - School in a bag
Help Oliver Jenks raise money to support School in a Bag
www.justgiving.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Reposted by Alison Foster
" Grow your own fox in a window box " - First floor #FoxOfTheDay shared by @wikipickie.bsky.social , top work !
November 10, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Reposted by Alison Foster
My new Christmas cards featuring my Robin & Waxwing drawings. Available here: hollygroganart.etsy.com?section_id=3...
November 7, 2025 at 11:24 AM
I saw two Slavonian Grebes at Deeping Lakes, a few years ago. A very happy birder told me they were there and let me use his binoculars. I wish I'd known at the time how special they were!
Delighted to see the Slavonian Grebe ✅ in Dún Laoghaire today
November 9, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Reposted by Alison Foster
Sir David Attenborough is championing a bid by conservationists to raise £30m to secure a vast estate in Northumberland which is being sold by one of the UK's most aristocratic families.

uk.news.yahoo.com/rothybury-es...
Why David Attenborough wants your help buying the UK's biggest plot of land sold for 30 years
The Rothbury Estate has come up for sale, marking the largest single plot of land to enter the English market in 30 years.
uk.news.yahoo.com
November 3, 2025 at 8:00 AM
It's every day now, a seemingly unending sequence of principles ditched and promises broken. I detest this government.
November 5, 2025 at 7:46 PM
What's it like inside your head?
What, right now? I'm wrangling sheep metrics and frankly could do with a bit more cooperation from them.
November 5, 2025 at 2:01 PM
After King and Conqueror, I hope the producers of this new Robin Hood have done some research. Oh.
"Many years have passed since the Norman Conquest.... Norman laws and Christianity have been forced upon the Saxon people..." 
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
Robin Hood review – Sean Bean gifts us the most gloriously bad TV offering of the year
It ticks every box you could wish for in your olde worlde trash: Sean Bean as the Sheriff of Nottingham, faerie smut … and not a bad wig in sight! Hurrah!
www.theguardian.com
November 2, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Reposted by Alison Foster
Passenger pigeon ecology thread! It boggles the mind that we caused the vast numbers of these birds to go extinct. I saw a taxidermied passenger pigeon at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh this summer, and I felt such grief.
Protect our birds.
#Zooarchaeology
Tragically, Passenger Pigeons have been extinct since 1914; interesting to see my puritan relative Cotton Mather’s descriptions from Massachusetts in the 17th century: “They build their nests with little Sticks laid athwart one another, at such distances, that while they are so near together >
November 2, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Hilly 5k this morning. Quite hard work, so I took a welcome breather to say hi to a new chicken at the end of our road - Araucana, I think. They lay blue eggs. #RunningPunks #chicken
November 2, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Reposted by Alison Foster
It is the first day of November—

Throwback to this 2011 trailer I animated and composed for The Scorpio Races.

(Notice the paint is still wet on a bunch of slides because I was so behind on a bunch of real deadlines while I was playing around with this).
November 1, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Sophie's most recent 'favourite place' is the top platform of the cat tree. I think she just likes looking down on people
#Caturday
November 1, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Saw Aynsley Lister last night at the Cube, Malvern. Ticket donated by a friend - didn't know what to expect but this guy is just phenomenal! Brilliant, brilliant blues/rock guitarist/singer/songwriter. Totally recommend.
youtu.be/hEbt9uEMdRY?...
What's It All About
YouTube video by Aynsley Lister - Topic
youtu.be
November 1, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Reposted by Alison Foster
With huge thanks to my friend Patrick for spotting this.

The new MGM Robin Hood series.

Sean Bean as the Sheriff of Nottingham...

...wearing a horse-bit as a cloak fastener!!!!

Crying!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

#Archaeology 🏺
October 31, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Put this on family chat but only the over 50s got it
October 31, 2025 at 7:55 PM
The situation is still critical in Gaza, and families are desperate. Please help if you can - your donation will make a difference.
www.gofundme.com/f/47gkj-help...
Donate to Save Anas’s Family from Starvation and Genocide, organized by Natalie taffal
This Isn’t Life — It’s a Constant Escape from Death Imagine waking … Natalie taffal needs your support for Save Anas’s Family from Starvation and Genocide
www.gofundme.com
October 31, 2025 at 8:53 AM