George McKay
LightNews LightNews
banner
georgemckay.bsky.social
George McKay
@georgemckay.bsky.social
380 followers 260 following 76 posts

Prof Media Studies. Writes about popular music, festival, disability, jazz, peace, protest, gardening, + most recently Oxford Handbook of...Punk Rock. Charcot Marie Tooth. Plays music: double bass, bands (jazz, folk)

Videos
Art 63%
Computer science 11%
Posts Replies Media Videos

georgemckay.bsky.social
George McKay @georgemckay.bsky.social · 20h
And what’s our positions? @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social @sainsburycentre.bsky.social #beninbronzes

Reposted by George McKay, Nick Hubble

asls.org.uk
Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 4d
Sssnnnwhuffffll?
Hnwhuffl hhnnwfl hnfl hfl?
Gdroblboblhobngbl gbl gl g g g g glbgl.
Drublhaflablhaflubhafgabhaflhafl fl fl…

—Edwin Morgan, “The Loch Ness Monster’s Song”
published in CENTENARY SELECTED POEMS, @carcanet.bsky.social 2020
#WyrdWednesday #poem #poetry
www.carcanet.co.uk/978178410996...
The Loch Ness Monster’s Song by Edwin Morgan Sssnnnwhuffffll? Hnwhuffl hhnnwfl hnfl hfl? Gdroblboblhobngbl gbl gl g g g g glbgl. Drublhaflablhaflubhafgabhaflhafl fl fl – gm grawwwww grf grawf awfgm graw gm. Hovoplodok – doplodovok – plovodokot-doplodokosh? Splgraw fok fok splgrafhatchgabrlgabrl fok splfok! Zgra kra gka fok! Grof grawff gahf? Gombl mbl bl – blm plm, blm plm, blm plm, blp.

Reposted by Anna O. Law, George McKay, Ana Lucia Araújo , and 1 more

brookenewman.bsky.social
Brooke Newman @brookenewman.bsky.social · 13d
Here's a sneak peek at a tiny slice of the research included in my new book, THE CROWN'S SILENCE (available for pre-order now and out tomorrow, 1/27)!!! @marinerbooks.bsky.social #booksky #slaveryarchive
www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-...
The British Crown Enslaved Thousands at the Height of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. New Research Reveals Their Stories
A leading historian examines how the monarchy not only tolerated slavery but also administered it, profited from it and sanctioned its cruelties
www.smithsonianmag.com

Reposted by George McKay

wokestudies.bsky.social
Dr Ian McCormick @wokestudies.bsky.social · 14d
Ye see yon birkie ca’d a lord,
Wha struts, an’ stares, an’ a’ that,
Tho’ hundreds worship at his word,
He’s but a coof for a’ that.
--- Robert Burns #BurnsNight
www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/mans-ma...
A Man's a Man for a' That
Is there for honest Poverty / That hings his head, an' a' that; / The coward-slave, we pass him by, / We dare be poor for...
www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk

Reposted by George McKay

jntod.bsky.social
Jeremy Noel-Tod @jntod.bsky.social · 21d
On Cary Grant's birthday, a poem by Norwich poet Ron Nevett which begins with the fact that the city was the first place he performed, as a teenage acrobat. (Further local boasts include the first postcode, the first bellringing peal, and the first book in English by a woman, Julian of Norwich)
Norwich Firsts If you should watch a Hitchcock With dashing Archie Leach Remember it was Norwich Where he began to reach Towards the name of Cary Grant Tanned charmer of Palm Beach But Norwich first, in Norwich first, He bowed in Norwich first If you should get a letter Addressed to NRx Remember it was Norwich In the days of hats and cheques Where they solved the magic cipher That with a line connects The universe, but Norwich first, They sorted Norwich first If tintinnabulation Should reach you from a tower Remember it was Mancroft Where men first proved the power Of ringing sweet-swung changes On church bells by the hour That peal rehearsed in Norwich first, By Norwich Scholars first If you should have a vision That shakes your blood and soul Remember that in Norwich A woman saw the whole Of love inside a hazelnut And watched her words unroll As in this verse, through Norwich first, Revealed to Norwich first

georgemckay.bsky.social
George McKay @georgemckay.bsky.social · 24d
Wonderful debut concert tonight by Musical Keys Ensemble @norwichartscentre.bsky.social #improvisation #disability #communitymusic

Reposted by George McKay

sardonicus.eu
Sardonicus @sardonicus.eu · 25d
'Four centuries old Topiary in the cloister garden at Pazo de San Lorenzo in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.'

www.pazodesanlorenzo.com/en/pazo/
aerial view looking down on a maze that has overgrown but is still looke after thelines and patterns have started to meld into one another

Reposted by George McKay

typejunky.bsky.social
Nick Stone @typejunky.bsky.social · 27d
New site acquired by Norfolk Archaeological Trust, lot of hard work involved over a long period of time, years so I’m told, to achieve this. It’s Moot Hill in Wymondham.

www.norfarchtrust.org.uk/project/moot...
1906 OS map extract showing the Moot Hill site in Wymondham. The Moot Hill logo which shows the shape of the hill including the water filled ditch and the ponds.

georgemckay.bsky.social
George McKay @georgemckay.bsky.social · 28d
Slightly stunned to turn the radio on and hear TWO songs by the great lost English singer-songwriter Kevin Coyne. Brilliant, more please @cerysmatthews.bsky.social #marjoryrazorblife

georgemckay.bsky.social
George McKay @georgemckay.bsky.social · Jan 7
what a local story! This trumpet/horn found in Norfolk could date from Boudicca time of Iceni rebellions against the Romans. It probably was played vertically, the horn 3-4 feet above theplayer, with the skilled musician possibly needing to use circular breathing www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
‘Extraordinary’ iron age war trumpet find in Britain may have Boudicca links
Bronze instrument or carnyx dug up in Norfolk in area inhabited by Celtic tribe led by warrior who fought Romans
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by George McKay

archive.org
Internet Archive @archive.org · Jan 1
Welcome to the Public Domain, I GOT RHYTHM (1930) 🎷

Rhythm changes + a swinging 32-bar progression x now free for everyone to play = remix & rediscover!

Who could ask for anything more?

Learn more ➡️ blog.archive.org/public-domai...

#PublicDomainDay #PublicDomain #CopyrightFree

georgemckay.bsky.social
George McKay @georgemckay.bsky.social · Dec 16
What’s this? Some actual good news for British universitie? Let‘s hope so!
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
UK to rejoin EU’s Erasmus student exchange programme
Exclusive: British students will be able to participate in EU-wide scheme from January 2027, sources say
www.theguardian.com

georgemckay.bsky.social
George McKay @georgemckay.bsky.social · Dec 13
Didn’t know that. And now I have been down a Saturday morning rabbit-hole about Johnson, Pope & disability. enlightanddis.wordpress.com/spectacles-o...
Johnson’s LIFE OF POPE
The mid-eighteenth century was a time where perspectives of disability were in transition. Remnants of the ancient symbolic model of disability, which attributed disabilities to divine punishment f…
enlightanddis.wordpress.com

georgemckay.bsky.social
George McKay @georgemckay.bsky.social · Dec 13
RIP Stanley Baxter. I saw him as a wee boy at King’s Theatre Glasgow in the 1960s. Probably the first time I ever went to the theatre #parliamo youtube.com/shorts/tk2QZ...
‘Parliamo Glasgow’: Stanley Baxter’s most loved sketch from 1989
YouTube video by STV News
youtube.com

Reposted by George McKay

simoninsuffolk.bsky.social
Simon Knott @simoninsuffolk.bsky.social · Dec 13
2/2 In medieval English church art, St Lucy is often shown holding her disgorged eyes either in a bowl or on a book, as here at Eye in Suffolk, appropriately enough, where she also holds the disgorging knife. She's the patron saint of the blind.

Eye: www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/eye.htm

georgemckay.bsky.social
George McKay @georgemckay.bsky.social · Dec 10
georgemckay.org/disability-h...
Disability History Month, new research on Rahsaan Roland Kirk – GEORGE McKAY professor writer musician
georgemckay.org

Reposted by George McKay, Tom Rutter

georgemckay.bsky.social
George McKay @georgemckay.bsky.social · Dec 3
‘clear joy in C major’. Gonna try to wake up like that tmrw morning

Reposted by George McKay

disrightsuk.bsky.social
Disability Rights UK @disrightsuk.bsky.social · Dec 3
This International Day of Disabled People, we’re reminded that disability justice is deeply connected to every other fight for equity.

Our struggles connect us. Our solidarity is our strength! 💥
#IDDP
Happy International Day of Disabled People #IDDP25. A group of 25 people of different ages, ethnicities and cultures, all in the same cartoon style. They are celebrating and smiling. 1 is a manual wheelchair user. Background is a blue gradient fading to purple and then pink.

Reposted by Cas Mudde, Steve Peers, Simon Wren‐Lewis , and 4 more

profsob.bsky.social
Maria Sobolewska @profsob.bsky.social · Dec 3
If it were steel works we would have a government bailout plan, yet losing thousands of jobs at unis is met with a shrug. & unlike steelworks universities were profitable when they had foreign students.
You are killing the golden goose… one of our best exports…

HOW IS THIS HELPING GROWTH?!
andywestwood.bsky.social Andy Westwood @andywestwood.bsky.social · Dec 3
Every sympathy for University of Essex (and pressures facing them) but this is very bad news for Southend.

giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Essex university to cut 400 jobs as overseas student numbers plummet
Essex university to cut 400 jobs as overseas student numbers plummet
Roles to be lost are part of wave of redundancy programmes across UK’s higher education sector
giftarticle.ft.com

Reposted by Martin Paul Eve, Fabián Muniesa, George McKay , and 5 more

ucuessex.bsky.social
UCU Essex @ucuessex.bsky.social · Dec 2
It's official: 400 redundancies and a campus closure. At-risk staff will get a letter next week. Absolutely no serious consideration of any of the union's counterproposals.

Please share widely.

Reposted by George McKay

disabilityarts.bsky.social
Disability Arts Online @disabilityarts.bsky.social · Dec 1
Enjoy the @together2012cic.bsky.social Disability Film Festival and view 60 films from 13 countries in 12 programmes over 2 days plus 2 live Zoom-based discussions with international filmmakers.

When - 06-07 December
Where - Online
Cost - Free

disabilityarts.online/events/toget...
Image of Laurels with 'Official selection: Together! 2025 Disability Film Festival

georgemckay.bsky.social
George McKay @georgemckay.bsky.social · Dec 1
@alcs.co.uk hi do you advise ALCS members to join the class action against Anthropic in US? 2 of my books are on the list & I’ve been contacted by the Bartz vs Anthropic team about joining. Any advice appreciated!

georgemckay.bsky.social
George McKay @georgemckay.bsky.social · Nov 21
Yes. Magic. Norfolk magic.

Reposted by George McKay

disabilityarts.bsky.social
Disability Arts Online @disabilityarts.bsky.social · Nov 20
We’re recruiting for a Project Coordinator to support the delivery of our three-year project ‘Cripping Culture: A Journey into Disability Arts Heritage’.

Closing - 08 Dec
Location - Hybrid (Remote + Brighton & Hove)
££ - £32K FTE

disabilityarts.online/opportunity-...

Reposted by Meredith Broussard, Naomi Klein, Marco Festa‐Bianchet , and 10 more

mollycrabapple.bsky.social
Molly Crabapple @mollycrabapple.bsky.social · Nov 18
Hey authors! Check to see if Anthropic stole your book to train their slop generator on. You’re entitled to $1500 per stolen Work.

Look up your work, and if you’re in the database, file a claim
secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup/
Submit a Claim
secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com

georgemckay.bsky.social
George McKay @georgemckay.bsky.social · Nov 14
7-9 pm at the very fine York Tavern, Norwich. ‘Old jazz, new jazz, green jazz, blue jazz’. In the Golden Triangle!

Reposted by George McKay

eastangliabylines.co.uk
East Anglia Bylines @eastangliabylines.co.uk · Nov 11
Back in 1997, there were just 11 booming male Bitterns left in the UK – almost extinct. Thanks to conservation by @RSPB and @NaturalEngland, there are now 283 booming males in 2024.
eastangliabylines.co.uk/environment/...
Hidden wonders: my fascinating encounters with the Bittern
Elusive and majestic, the Bittern’s booming call echoes across Minsmere’s reeds – a symbol of hope and conservation success
eastangliabylines.co.uk

georgemckay.bsky.social
George McKay @georgemckay.bsky.social · Nov 10
Looks like it yes, from when I worked @salforduni.bsky.social

georgemckay.bsky.social
George McKay @georgemckay.bsky.social · Oct 31
WE don’t fkn want him!