Dr Karen McAulay
@karenmca.bsky.social
Musicologist historian, RCS Fellow, @iashedinburgh.bsky.social alumna. Social History of Amateur Music-Making & Scottish National Identity: Scotland's Printed Music 1880-1951 (Routledge).
https://karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/
Wary of folk w/o profiles!
https://karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/
Wary of folk w/o profiles!
Pinned
Dr Karen McAulay
@karenmca.bsky.social
· Jan 12
Proud Addition to my Published Output: Women Pursuing Musical Careers: Finding Opportunities in Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Scottish Music Publishing Circles
Published online today, 12 January 2026, in the RMA (Royal Musical Association) Research Chronicle, by Cambridge University Press, on Open Access:- click here. Writing this article was enormously f…
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog
Proud Addition to my Published Output: 'Women Pursuing Musical Careers: Finding Opportunities in Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century Scottish Music Publishing Circles', new article!
#RMAResearchChronicle #PortfolioCareers
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/01/12/p...
#RMAResearchChronicle #PortfolioCareers
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/01/12/p...
Well-fired?!
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/02/11/r...
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/02/11/r...
Reader, I Killed It
I thought I’d make bread for lunch. (It’s a semi-retirement day.) The idea occurred to me too late, so I decided to try the bread-machine’s fast-bake setting. I measured my ingr…
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog
February 11, 2026 at 4:36 PM
Well-fired?!
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/02/11/r...
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/02/11/r...
Reposted by Dr Karen McAulay
My favourite captcha, recently reposted.
February 11, 2026 at 12:36 PM
My favourite captcha, recently reposted.
I have killed it. The bread machine's fast-bake underbaked it. I subsequently overbaked it. But I did compose an excellent response to Checkatrade, which took all my powers of concentration ...
#DeadBread
#WellFired loaf
#DeadBread
#WellFired loaf
February 11, 2026 at 12:42 PM
I have killed it. The bread machine's fast-bake underbaked it. I subsequently overbaked it. But I did compose an excellent response to Checkatrade, which took all my powers of concentration ...
#DeadBread
#WellFired loaf
#DeadBread
#WellFired loaf
Reposted by Dr Karen McAulay
Theatre 118, a grassroots Glasgow theatre company, was given just seven days to move out of its premises @neilcooper.bsky.social @brianjaffa.bsky.social @heraldscotland.bsky.social
Forget Edinburgh Festivals for a moment, closure of this Glasgow theatre is a tragedy
The last week has seen the sudden closure of one of Scotland’s most important arts venues, Not the CCA, which had been an accident waiting to…
www.heraldscotland.com
February 11, 2026 at 11:18 AM
Theatre 118, a grassroots Glasgow theatre company, was given just seven days to move out of its premises @neilcooper.bsky.social @brianjaffa.bsky.social @heraldscotland.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr Karen McAulay
📢FESTIVAL OF SOCIAL HISTORY📢
❓Celebration of 50 years of the Social History Society
📅 Fri 24 April
📍 Senate House, London
🫰£30 (£10 non members)
Join us for panel discussion, stalls & tours, plus keynote from Prof. Naomi Tadmor.
🗃️ #EarlyModern
socialhistory.org.uk/events/festi...
❓Celebration of 50 years of the Social History Society
📅 Fri 24 April
📍 Senate House, London
🫰£30 (£10 non members)
Join us for panel discussion, stalls & tours, plus keynote from Prof. Naomi Tadmor.
🗃️ #EarlyModern
socialhistory.org.uk/events/festi...
Festival of Social History
To celebrate 50 years of the Social History Society, we’ve teamed up with the Institute of Historical Research to host a Social History Festival! The festival will feature two expert discussion pan…
socialhistory.org.uk
February 11, 2026 at 9:08 AM
📢FESTIVAL OF SOCIAL HISTORY📢
❓Celebration of 50 years of the Social History Society
📅 Fri 24 April
📍 Senate House, London
🫰£30 (£10 non members)
Join us for panel discussion, stalls & tours, plus keynote from Prof. Naomi Tadmor.
🗃️ #EarlyModern
socialhistory.org.uk/events/festi...
❓Celebration of 50 years of the Social History Society
📅 Fri 24 April
📍 Senate House, London
🫰£30 (£10 non members)
Join us for panel discussion, stalls & tours, plus keynote from Prof. Naomi Tadmor.
🗃️ #EarlyModern
socialhistory.org.uk/events/festi...
Very, VERY tempting! Checking diary ...
📢FESTIVAL OF SOCIAL HISTORY📢
❓Celebration of 50 years of the Social History Society
📅 Fri 24 April
📍 Senate House, London
🫰£30 (£10 non members)
Join us for panel discussion, stalls & tours, plus keynote from Prof. Naomi Tadmor.
🗃️ #EarlyModern
socialhistory.org.uk/events/festi...
❓Celebration of 50 years of the Social History Society
📅 Fri 24 April
📍 Senate House, London
🫰£30 (£10 non members)
Join us for panel discussion, stalls & tours, plus keynote from Prof. Naomi Tadmor.
🗃️ #EarlyModern
socialhistory.org.uk/events/festi...
February 11, 2026 at 9:15 AM
Very, VERY tempting! Checking diary ...
Bit of stitched trivia here: cloth book loosely about historical #LegalDeposit music 🎶.
Second edition.
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/02/10/c...
Second edition.
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/02/10/c...
Cloth Book about Historical Legal Deposit Music
I made this cloth book after I’d finished the ‘Claimed from Stationers Hall’ research project. Something was missing, though: it lacked explanatory captions. This week, I revised …
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog
February 11, 2026 at 8:40 AM
Bit of stitched trivia here: cloth book loosely about historical #LegalDeposit music 🎶.
Second edition.
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/02/10/c...
Second edition.
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/02/10/c...
Cloth book updated! A decade after I started thinking about historical legal deposit music, I revised my fabric rendition of my research findings ...
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/02/10/c...
#Creativity
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/02/10/c...
#Creativity
Cloth Book about Historical Legal Deposit Music
I made this cloth book after I’d finished the ‘Claimed from Stationers Hall’ research project. Something was missing, though: it lacked explanatory captions. This week, I revised …
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog
February 10, 2026 at 8:48 PM
Cloth book updated! A decade after I started thinking about historical legal deposit music, I revised my fabric rendition of my research findings ...
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/02/10/c...
#Creativity
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/02/10/c...
#Creativity
Disappointment is ...
Knowing the books you seek are 150 years old and rare as hen's teeth - but still hoping they might be in the first two secondhand bookshops you try.
But they aren't.
#WildGooseChase
Knowing the books you seek are 150 years old and rare as hen's teeth - but still hoping they might be in the first two secondhand bookshops you try.
But they aren't.
#WildGooseChase
February 10, 2026 at 3:34 PM
Disappointment is ...
Knowing the books you seek are 150 years old and rare as hen's teeth - but still hoping they might be in the first two secondhand bookshops you try.
But they aren't.
#WildGooseChase
Knowing the books you seek are 150 years old and rare as hen's teeth - but still hoping they might be in the first two secondhand bookshops you try.
But they aren't.
#WildGooseChase
Aaaaargh! Had my finger ON the light switch, when ...
"LEAVE IT!!!!!", I'm ordered.
I am a 67-year old postdoc. I did not turn the light off.
#Controlling @shadowsofcontrol.bsky.social
"LEAVE IT!!!!!", I'm ordered.
I am a 67-year old postdoc. I did not turn the light off.
#Controlling @shadowsofcontrol.bsky.social
February 7, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Aaaaargh! Had my finger ON the light switch, when ...
"LEAVE IT!!!!!", I'm ordered.
I am a 67-year old postdoc. I did not turn the light off.
#Controlling @shadowsofcontrol.bsky.social
"LEAVE IT!!!!!", I'm ordered.
I am a 67-year old postdoc. I did not turn the light off.
#Controlling @shadowsofcontrol.bsky.social
As a postgraduate student many moons ago, I felt a profound sense of failure when Saturday nights were spent at the launderette. Where was my social life?
I'm now semi-retired. With my own washing machine. Saturday nights at the ironing board bring a similar sense of profound dissatisfaction!!
I'm now semi-retired. With my own washing machine. Saturday nights at the ironing board bring a similar sense of profound dissatisfaction!!
February 7, 2026 at 9:23 PM
As a postgraduate student many moons ago, I felt a profound sense of failure when Saturday nights were spent at the launderette. Where was my social life?
I'm now semi-retired. With my own washing machine. Saturday nights at the ironing board bring a similar sense of profound dissatisfaction!!
I'm now semi-retired. With my own washing machine. Saturday nights at the ironing board bring a similar sense of profound dissatisfaction!!
Terminology to Attract Attention (be careful what you blog!) karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/02/07/t...
Terminology to Attract Attention
Remember last May, I blogged about which of my articles had attracted the most ‘hits’? The Value of Using a Sensible, Meaningful Title I learnt the hard way that words with more t…
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog
February 7, 2026 at 9:18 PM
Terminology to Attract Attention (be careful what you blog!) karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/02/07/t...
Another fresh day to endure.
When people are abusive, it's hard to imagine that they're actively planning it, in the moment.
So - it must be subconsciously motivated.
If so, what hope of ever changing whatever is going on subconsciously?
#abuse @shadowsofcontrol.bsky.social
When people are abusive, it's hard to imagine that they're actively planning it, in the moment.
So - it must be subconsciously motivated.
If so, what hope of ever changing whatever is going on subconsciously?
#abuse @shadowsofcontrol.bsky.social
February 7, 2026 at 7:40 AM
Another fresh day to endure.
When people are abusive, it's hard to imagine that they're actively planning it, in the moment.
So - it must be subconsciously motivated.
If so, what hope of ever changing whatever is going on subconsciously?
#abuse @shadowsofcontrol.bsky.social
When people are abusive, it's hard to imagine that they're actively planning it, in the moment.
So - it must be subconsciously motivated.
If so, what hope of ever changing whatever is going on subconsciously?
#abuse @shadowsofcontrol.bsky.social
'Will there be a cooked breakfast in the morning?', I'm asked.
'If you ask nicely, I'm sure -', I begin.
'Whaddaya want, a 5 star address? You needn't bother if it's too much trouble. Honestly, you've changed!'
'Hey, I was just teasing', I laugh, but he says he's sick of me belittling him.
#abuse
'If you ask nicely, I'm sure -', I begin.
'Whaddaya want, a 5 star address? You needn't bother if it's too much trouble. Honestly, you've changed!'
'Hey, I was just teasing', I laugh, but he says he's sick of me belittling him.
#abuse
February 6, 2026 at 11:32 PM
'Will there be a cooked breakfast in the morning?', I'm asked.
'If you ask nicely, I'm sure -', I begin.
'Whaddaya want, a 5 star address? You needn't bother if it's too much trouble. Honestly, you've changed!'
'Hey, I was just teasing', I laugh, but he says he's sick of me belittling him.
#abuse
'If you ask nicely, I'm sure -', I begin.
'Whaddaya want, a 5 star address? You needn't bother if it's too much trouble. Honestly, you've changed!'
'Hey, I was just teasing', I laugh, but he says he's sick of me belittling him.
#abuse
Reposted by Dr Karen McAulay
Sir Guenter Treitel came to the UK on the Kindertransport. He became the foremost authority on English contract law.
Famously, he held the Rolling Stones to their contract to play the Magdalen Ball in 1964 for £100 - they had suddenly become superstars after being booked as unknowns in 1963.
Famously, he held the Rolling Stones to their contract to play the Magdalen Ball in 1964 for £100 - they had suddenly become superstars after being booked as unknowns in 1963.
Magdalen launches Sir Guenter Treitel Scholarships.
Each year, three Sir Guenter Treitel Scholars will be provided with full funding (fees and maintenance) to study the Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) at Magdalen College.
Read more: www.magd.ox.ac.uk/news/magdale...
Each year, three Sir Guenter Treitel Scholars will be provided with full funding (fees and maintenance) to study the Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) at Magdalen College.
Read more: www.magd.ox.ac.uk/news/magdale...
February 6, 2026 at 3:53 PM
Sir Guenter Treitel came to the UK on the Kindertransport. He became the foremost authority on English contract law.
Famously, he held the Rolling Stones to their contract to play the Magdalen Ball in 1964 for £100 - they had suddenly become superstars after being booked as unknowns in 1963.
Famously, he held the Rolling Stones to their contract to play the Magdalen Ball in 1964 for £100 - they had suddenly become superstars after being booked as unknowns in 1963.
Reposted by Dr Karen McAulay
📣Apply for Small Grants Funding!
Are you looking to conduct research into social or cultural history? Do you need support with archival visits, organising a conference, or buying specialist equipment?
⏰Our next funding deadline is 1 March
socialhistory.org.uk/funding/smal...
Are you looking to conduct research into social or cultural history? Do you need support with archival visits, organising a conference, or buying specialist equipment?
⏰Our next funding deadline is 1 March
socialhistory.org.uk/funding/smal...
Small Grants
The Social History Society maintains a Small Grants Fund to support our members to carry out research activities and hold events. We give priority to activities and event that would otherwise remai…
socialhistory.org.uk
January 23, 2026 at 4:52 PM
📣Apply for Small Grants Funding!
Are you looking to conduct research into social or cultural history? Do you need support with archival visits, organising a conference, or buying specialist equipment?
⏰Our next funding deadline is 1 March
socialhistory.org.uk/funding/smal...
Are you looking to conduct research into social or cultural history? Do you need support with archival visits, organising a conference, or buying specialist equipment?
⏰Our next funding deadline is 1 March
socialhistory.org.uk/funding/smal...
Reposted by Dr Karen McAulay
No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology
She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.
www.nature.com
February 6, 2026 at 9:09 AM
No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Meet @promiscuousprint.bsky.social ... investigating #legaldeposit materials that were NOT collected by the libraries!
I wonder if you've come across my colleague Hannah Field's Promiscuous Print project? www.promiscuousprint.com/home
Promiscuous Print | Research Project
www.promiscuousprint.com
February 6, 2026 at 7:58 AM
Meet @promiscuousprint.bsky.social ... investigating #legaldeposit materials that were NOT collected by the libraries!
OK, these were the original legal deposit libraries. Which one kept the most legal deposit music? Unsurprisingly, @britishlibrary.bsky.social
(Represented by a complete circular 'pie chart'). Another 10 pages to be captioned yet!
(Represented by a complete circular 'pie chart'). Another 10 pages to be captioned yet!
February 4, 2026 at 12:59 PM
OK, these were the original legal deposit libraries. Which one kept the most legal deposit music? Unsurprisingly, @britishlibrary.bsky.social
(Represented by a complete circular 'pie chart'). Another 10 pages to be captioned yet!
(Represented by a complete circular 'pie chart'). Another 10 pages to be captioned yet!
Maslow's Hierarchy of Reads, for students seeking the shortest possible reading list?
A list of the finest honey-based drinks, called Maslow's Hierarchy of Meads
The library of medieval histories called Maslow's Hierarchy of Bedes
February 4, 2026 at 10:17 AM
Maslow's Hierarchy of Reads, for students seeking the shortest possible reading list?
Reposted by Dr Karen McAulay
Ever wondered what secrets lie in a map? 🗺️
Join us for a day dedicated to all things cartographic. Get a behind-the-scenes look at our map collections, attend talks, and get hands-on with our drop-in activities!
📅 6 February 2026
⏰ 10:30am-4:00pm
Plan your visit > www.nls.uk/whats-on/map...
Join us for a day dedicated to all things cartographic. Get a behind-the-scenes look at our map collections, attend talks, and get hands-on with our drop-in activities!
📅 6 February 2026
⏰ 10:30am-4:00pm
Plan your visit > www.nls.uk/whats-on/map...
February 4, 2026 at 9:01 AM
Ever wondered what secrets lie in a map? 🗺️
Join us for a day dedicated to all things cartographic. Get a behind-the-scenes look at our map collections, attend talks, and get hands-on with our drop-in activities!
📅 6 February 2026
⏰ 10:30am-4:00pm
Plan your visit > www.nls.uk/whats-on/map...
Join us for a day dedicated to all things cartographic. Get a behind-the-scenes look at our map collections, attend talks, and get hands-on with our drop-in activities!
📅 6 February 2026
⏰ 10:30am-4:00pm
Plan your visit > www.nls.uk/whats-on/map...
This is the stitched equivalent of an #ElevatorPitch about my former #ClaimedFromStationersHall research project. To amuse myself, I had made a cloth book, illustrating how much #LegalDeposit music survives in each old legal deposit library. I felt it needed explanatory captions. New subtitle first!
February 4, 2026 at 8:47 AM
This is the stitched equivalent of an #ElevatorPitch about my former #ClaimedFromStationersHall research project. To amuse myself, I had made a cloth book, illustrating how much #LegalDeposit music survives in each old legal deposit library. I felt it needed explanatory captions. New subtitle first!
Just revisiting an earlier research project. I can't actually get very excited about cross-stitch, but cross-stitch lettering is quite relaxing. (Bet our Victorian forebears would disagree!)
#legaldeposit
#legaldeposit
February 3, 2026 at 11:30 PM
Just revisiting an earlier research project. I can't actually get very excited about cross-stitch, but cross-stitch lettering is quite relaxing. (Bet our Victorian forebears would disagree!)
#legaldeposit
#legaldeposit
Thought I'd had a brainwave. Colman's casserole mix (Norwich firm, must be good); & inviting Testosterone Towers to serve themselves.
The lip curled upon being told what it was. And #Self-service was echoed as though I'd uttered an insult.
I don't think He's ready for the 20th century yet ...
The lip curled upon being told what it was. And #Self-service was echoed as though I'd uttered an insult.
I don't think He's ready for the 20th century yet ...
February 3, 2026 at 6:08 PM
Thought I'd had a brainwave. Colman's casserole mix (Norwich firm, must be good); & inviting Testosterone Towers to serve themselves.
The lip curled upon being told what it was. And #Self-service was echoed as though I'd uttered an insult.
I don't think He's ready for the 20th century yet ...
The lip curled upon being told what it was. And #Self-service was echoed as though I'd uttered an insult.
I don't think He's ready for the 20th century yet ...