Lesley A. Hall | Lightnews

Lesley A Hall

@erinacean.bsky.social

12K followers 460 following 3.7K posts

Archivist, historian, reader, Londoner, feminist
@erinacean
@erinacean@h-net.social
www.lesleyahall.net
https://lesleyahall.blogspot.com/

Videos

History 49%

Political science 20%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

Innes M. Keighren @inneskeighren.bsky.social · 17h

Are any historians of #C18 London familiar with Thomas Phillips' lock-up house on Gray's Inn Lane? Although Phillips died in 1770, I believe this is where Jacques-Pierre Brissot was briefly imprisoned in 1784. I would love to know more about it. Thank you kindly!

Cutting from The St. James's Chronicle; or, The British Evening-Post, no. 137 (11–14 June 1768), [3].

Reposted by Margot C. Finn

Lesley A Hall @erinacean.bsky.social · 21h

This was not quite the last collection I catalogued before my retirement from Wellcome: wellcomecollection.org/works/hrsyzq94 He began his research in the 1970s.

Lesley A Hall @erinacean.bsky.social · 22h

Okay, MAYBE he can do this, but I am reminded of that scam where somebody threatens to reveal one's online dodgy porn viewing (what online porn viewing?) which they have somehow discovered, to The World (who? would they care?) unless paid $$$ in bitcoin.

Jason Sanford @jasonsanford.bsky.social · 1d

In a new email received yesterday, this scammer said "if you continue to ignore my messages, I might do something you would regret for the rest of your life. I already have access to your book, and instead of giving it a positive review, I will leave a negative one and damage its reputation." 2/

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

Nick Hubble @thehubble101.bsky.social · 22h

The 2010s: A Decade of Contemporary British Fiction is currently available on the Bloomsbury website at a 30 per cent discount price of £20.29 until Sunday night. This is a flash sale across most Bloomsbury books.

The 2010s

This volume relates the British fiction of the decade to the contexts in which it was written and received in order to examine and explain contemporary trends,…

www.bloomsbury.com

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

We Own It @weownit.org.uk · 23h

Royal Mail delivered letters from your doctor, family and friends, 6 days a week for decades.

Then it was privatised. Now it can't even deliver 3 days a week.

Instead they prioritise profitable parcel deliveries. Take Royal Mail back into public ownership. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Royal Mail staff tell BBC letters sit undelivered as firm prioritises parcels

Staff and customers tell the BBC prioritising parcels can mean missed NHS appointments and late payment fines.

www.bbc.com

Reposted by Steven French, Lesley A. Hall, Fiona Moore

Fishbourne Roman Palace @romanpalace.bsky.social · 23h

We've been on the Northern Line. The idea that it's 2000 years old seems completely reasonable.

A screen snip. At the top is a sentence pointing out that the Northern Line tube line closely follows the route of the Roman Road, Stane Street. Beneath are two maps, on the left Stane street is shown with settlements including Morden, Tooting, Clapham and Kennington marked. On the right is another map with the modern northern line shown. All of the settlements on the stane street map are duplicated on the tube map.

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

Women's History Network @womenshistnet.bsky.social · 1d

This @lgbthm.bsky.social read on the blog about Recovering “Lesbian” Voices in the Middle Ages by Hannah Victoria Johnson
womenshistorynetwork.org/recovering-l...
#LGBTHM #LGBTQ

Recovering “Lesbian” Voices in the Middle Ages: Twelfth and Thirteenth Century Germanic Mystics – Hannah Victoria Johnson

There is, as E. Ann Matter put it in her article “My Sister, My Spouse”, a real “difficulty of speaking about women’s lives in a society which was solidly patriarchal […] and of speaking about sexu…

womenshistorynetwork.org

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

Justin Hancock @justinhancock.bsky.social · 1d

In the research into online sex and relationships young people are always saying how much they value user generated content from social media (but that of they want advice they'll go to websites like BISH). They need safe spaces online to do this (would also recommend The Mix and Scarleteen), but

Oscaaarrrgh @skeletonoscar.bsky.social · 1d

I live in a rural part of the UK & volunteer at a group for LGBTQ+ young people.

Many have been out of education, mostly because of being bullied or ostracised by their peers. When they make friends at group they swap social media details.

Can't stop thinking about how a ban would devastate them.

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

Shell @risu.bsky.social · 1d

Banning social media is meaningless when school tech shares data with social media companies and third parties

So a child reaches 16 and already has an entire shadow profile ready for them, not to mention what is known to HR systems and advertisers.

Good tech journalism would say this

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

Gender and Justice Journal @genderandjustice.bsky.social · 1d

🌟 Enjoy free access to our journal editors’ top articles from recent and upcoming issues. Access these articles for free until 30 April. Congrats to all featured authors! bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/subject/gj-e...

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 1d

More and “Better” Babies: The Dark Side of the Pronatalist Movement

“Today, pronatalism is firmly coupled with “free market eugenics,” meaning it operates through consumer demand rather than state coercion. A small but powerful group of tech elites are emerging as its leaders.”

D. Hicks @danhicks.bsky.social · 1d

www.thehastingscenter.org/more-and-bet...

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

George Severs @georgesevers.bsky.social · 1d

There is a February sale on at @bloomsburyacademic.bsky.social which means you can get my book Radical Acts: HIV/AIDS Activism in Late Twentieth-Century England for just over £16. www.bloomsbury.com/uk/radical-a...

Radical Acts

Drawing on activist campaign literature and materials, broadcast media, and new oral history interviews, Severs reconstructs and discusses the overlooked world…

www.bloomsbury.com

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

History of Parliament @histparl.bsky.social · 1d

This evening, Dr Cara Gathern will be speaking at the next IHR Parliaments, Politics and People seminar on Representations of Women and Sovereign Power at the New Palace of Westminster.

📍 Senate House, London / Online
⏱️5:30-6:30pm

Find out more about the paper and how to attend below:

'Unobtrusive But Not Unimportant': Representations of Women and Sovereign Power at the New Palace of Westminster, 1841-1870 - The History of Parliament

Dr Cara Gathern of UK Parliament Heritage Collections, will be discussing representations of women and sovereign power at the New Palace of Westminster, 1841-1870.

historyofparliament.com

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 1d

‘it was not designed by a big-name architect but by a local council designer, Norman Engleback of the London County Council’
www.ft.com/content/93a0...

Once reviled, now celebrated, London’s Southbank Centre is a genuine civic wonder

The cultural complex’s national importance has belatedly been recognised

www.ft.com

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

Jolyon Maugham KC @goodlawproject.org · 1d

Another blow for the ascientific disaster that is the Cass Review: "It is profoundly misguided to cast health care based on low-certainty evidence as bad care or as care driven by ideology, and low-certainty evidence as bad science."

Trans health care "skeptics" lost a key ally—now they're having a meltdown

The godfather of evidence-based medicine on rejecting anti-trans "misuse" of his work.

www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

Justine Pick @justinepick.bsky.social · 1d

Lecturer in Ancient History and Classics position
Full time and permanent 👇
#skystorians

Lecturer in Ancient History and Classics at Birkbeck, University of London

An opportunity for an academic position as a Lecturer in Ancient History and Classics is available, as advertised on jobs.ac.uk. Apply now and explore other academic job openings.

www.jobs.ac.uk

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Michael Zimmer, Els Torreele , and 3 more Lesley A. Hall, Michael Zimmer, Els Torreele, Joanna L. Grossman, Juan Ramón, Nathan P. Kalmoe

ProPublica @propublica.org · 1d

Pregnancy became far more dangerous in Texas after the state banned abortion, according to ProPublica’s first-of-its-kind analysis, which found the sepsis rate for women hospitalized as they miscarried in the 2nd trimester shot up by more than 50%.

(Published Feb. 2025)

Texas Banned Abortion. Then Sepsis Rates Soared.

ProPublica’s first-of-its-kind analysis is the most detailed look yet into a rise in life-threatening complications for women experiencing pregnancy loss under Texas’ abortion ban.

www.propublica.org

Reposted by Rosemary A. Joyce, Lesley A. Hall

Cake or Death @johngcole.bsky.social · 1d

every time someone says something like "there weren't trans people when I was a kid" or some shit about trans people being a new thing because WOKE all I can think is "motherfucker Dog Day Afternoon was made in 1975"

Reposted by Steve Peers, Mary Feeney, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 8 more Steve Peers, Mary Feeney, Rosemary A. Joyce, Lesley A. Hall, Smith, Stephen D. Murphy, John Maynard, Nelson Flores, Ryan K. Brook, Peter Jacobs, Steven H. Seggie

madeline odent @oldenoughtosay.com · 1d

The drunk uncle theory.

You don’t argue with the casually homophobic uncle at Thanksgiving dinner to change his mind; you argue so that the closeted cousin at the kids table knows there’s safe people and better possibilities out there

Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 1d

agree with this (hah) but also think a particular mistake the left made for a long time online, and still makes to an extent, is failing to understand that the person whose mind you may actually change is the one reading the argument you're having, not the one you're arguing with

Ana Marie Cox @anamariecox.bsky.social · 1d

The secret to engaging in social media debate is knowing you will never win anyone over. The best you can hope for is to have people who already agree with tell you you're awesome. You might great a dopamine thrill from the righteousness of your anger! Fine benefits, all. But you will never win.

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

Liz Rees @lizarees.bsky.social · 1d

Sorry to hear that Michael Cook, one-time City Archivist of Newcastle as a precursor to a long and distinguished career, has died at the age of 94 news.liverpool.ac.uk/2026/02/11/o...

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

Andrew Perfors @perfors.net · 1d

When people hear "it saved my life", there’s a presumption made that we mean without it we would quite literally die. And for many of us, that's absolutely true... But for those of us who rely upon it regularly.... it means our lives are made so much better now that they actually feel worth living."

Jessica Kant @jessdkant.bsky.social · 1d

Since Cass is again making the rounds for expounding on all the ways we might make fewer trans kids, here’s a piece on how this discourse erases the lives of trans people doing extraordinary specifically because they embraced who they are. Whose rich lives wouldn’t have happened in the closet.

In defense of trans quality of life — Jessica Kant

Today trans people exist in an atmosphere where it has become normal for strangers to demand of us that we extemporaneously provide inarguable, indisputable proof that without very safe medical care w...

jessk.org

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Michael Morris, Kevin O’Sullivan , and 3 more Lesley A. Hall, Michael Morris, Kevin O’Sullivan, Patrick Stokes, Jason Williams, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò

Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 1d

Fascinating chart with one outlier: Warren Buffett.

At the low end, giving 0.06% of one's wealth is equivalent to:

Net worth -> Lifetime Giving
50K->$30
100K->$60
500K->$300
$1M->$600

Most folks give far more by % in a *single year*.

www.forbes.com/sites/forbes...

America's Richest People Are Not its Most Generous

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

Durham Institute for Medical Humanities @durhamimh.bsky.social · 1d

Next month we're excited to be running a free 3-day Measurement Heretics workshop, bringing together a variety of perspectives to guide the future of ethical, meaningful health data ⚖️

📆 11-13 March (Day 1 is hybrid, days 2 & 3 are in-person)

More info 👇️
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/measuremen...

Measurement Heretics Workshop: Being, Meaning, and Measuring Well

This 3-day workshop brings together international & interdisciplinary perspectives to guide the future of ethical, meaningful health data.

www.eventbrite.co.uk

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Catherine J. Frieman

madeline odent @oldenoughtosay.com · 1d

been a minute since I’ve posted The Manifesto so: trans and disabled rights are human rights, abolish ice and defund the police, free Palestine, fuck antisemitism, give the land and artefacts back, sex work is work, abortion is healthcare, join your union, get your vaccines, corgis are perfect

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

Jason Sanford @jasonsanford.bsky.social · 1d

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Rebecca Sear

D. Hicks @danhicks.bsky.social · 1d

www.thehastingscenter.org/more-and-bet...

Reposted by Christopher McCabe, Lesley A. Hall

Mallory Moore @sexabolition.blog · 1d

"if they socially transition too early we think they can get locked onto a trajectory that may not have been the correct natural trajectory for them"

Direct quote.

Reposted by Dave O’Brien, Lesley A. Hall, Katherine Brickell

Matt Houlbrook @tricksterprince.bsky.social · 1d

If you're in the UK I'm going to be on Thinking Allowed on BBC Radio 4 tomorrow (Tues 17 Feb) afternoon - talking about gentrification in Detroit and London with the wonderful Laurie Taylor and
@sjccorn.bsky.social.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

BBC Radio 4 - Thinking Allowed, Gentrification in Detroit and London

Failed gentrification in Detroit and the human cost of urban redevelopment in 1920s London

www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

Lucie Matthews-Jones @luciejones83.bsky.social · 1d

I’m plotting and planning a presentation for Arts and Humanities PhD students for an EDI conference. I’m speaking on disability. I would love to show what good and great things departments or unis are doing for disabled PhD students. Can you share anything with me? #highereducation #PhDchat

Lesley A Hall @erinacean.bsky.social · 1d

Coda: I have encountered significant collections where there is not even a decent online catalogue to consult in advance of turning up.

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