@maryrussell.bsky.social
Theologian, detective. My 19th memoir, Knave of Diamonds, will be released in 2025. Sample the first memoir, THE BEEKEEPER'S APPRENTICE, http://bit.ly/24Pm4hf
They are a treat to watch.
Have you ever seen a Kingfisher?
Alex Mitchell brings John Ruskin's Study of a Kingfisher to life in this beautiful animation.
💙 Study of a Kingfisher, John Ruskin (1819 - 1900), 1871. WA.RS.RUD.201
Alex Mitchell brings John Ruskin's Study of a Kingfisher to life in this beautiful animation.
💙 Study of a Kingfisher, John Ruskin (1819 - 1900), 1871. WA.RS.RUD.201
November 24, 2025 at 5:01 PM
They are a treat to watch.
As the weather has kept us inside for days, I think my husband and I are more in the mode of number 4. We are both restless and quarrelsome.
Which one are you feeling like on this Monday morning?
Shelfmark: Bodleian Library MS. Bodl. 264, found on Digital Bodleian! Explore the manuscript and what other characters it has to offer: https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/ae9f6cca-ae5c-4149-8fe4-95e6eca1f73c/
#MedievalMonday
Shelfmark: Bodleian Library MS. Bodl. 264, found on Digital Bodleian! Explore the manuscript and what other characters it has to offer: https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/ae9f6cca-ae5c-4149-8fe4-95e6eca1f73c/
#MedievalMonday
November 24, 2025 at 4:59 PM
As the weather has kept us inside for days, I think my husband and I are more in the mode of number 4. We are both restless and quarrelsome.
Such a windy day. We've been huddled by the greatroom fire all day. Tea and Mrs Hudson's scones have been a blessing.
November 23, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Such a windy day. We've been huddled by the greatroom fire all day. Tea and Mrs Hudson's scones have been a blessing.
Beautiful.
November 23, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Beautiful.
A cold, grey, rainy day. Cups of tea before the fire are most welcome.
November 22, 2025 at 5:09 PM
A cold, grey, rainy day. Cups of tea before the fire are most welcome.
Extraordinary.
Paul Helbronner was a French cartographer at the turn of the C19th and C20th century who specialized in maps of the Alps. He made a beautiful & long (over 620cm!) panoramic map of the view from Mont Blanc in 1921 and included his climb to the top, with his footprints in the snow @bodleian.ox.ac.uk
November 22, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Extraordinary.
This is lovely.
This beautiful painting on a seated dancer is by French Impressionist painter Jean-Louis Forain.
Born in Reims, France in 1852, Forain began his career as a caricaturist for a number of Paris journals, eventually enrolling in the École des Beaux Arts.
🖼️ Seated Dancer, 1918–1920. WA1987.17
Born in Reims, France in 1852, Forain began his career as a caricaturist for a number of Paris journals, eventually enrolling in the École des Beaux Arts.
🖼️ Seated Dancer, 1918–1920. WA1987.17
November 22, 2025 at 5:07 PM
This is lovely.
I don't find this hard to believe. Human contact is a basic need, even for those of us who are not prone to flaunting our emotions.
"Scientists of the University of Oxford think Neanderthals and early Humans may have held hands "
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Neanderthals and early humans ‘likely to have kissed’, say scientists
Study from University of Oxford looks into evolutionary origins of kissing and its role in relations between species
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:32 PM
I don't find this hard to believe. Human contact is a basic need, even for those of us who are not prone to flaunting our emotions.
I'm no numismatist, but I do find coins like this fascinating.
It was common for Iron Age coins in Britain to reference natural elements, and they often depicted plants and animals. How a coin such as this one would have been used is debated. It may have been used for trading purposes – perhaps it was used to buy a horse itself!
🐴 HCR121176
🐴 HCR121176
November 21, 2025 at 4:30 PM
I'm no numismatist, but I do find coins like this fascinating.
Lovely photograph.
Broad Street featuring some red ivy 🍂
📷 Instagram | Luis_Louis_Lewis (November, 2023)
📷 Instagram | Luis_Louis_Lewis (November, 2023)
November 20, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Lovely photograph.
NEW: Oxford research suggests the Pope’s hesitation to excommunicate Henry VIII didn’t just fail to stop England’s break from Rome, it may have helped trigger it.
Read more ⬇️
Read more ⬇️
Oxford research reveals how papal dithering supercharged Henry VIII’s
A new study from Professor Paulina Kewes, Faculty of English, and Dr Frederick Smith, Faculty of History, of the University of Oxford, argues that the Pope’s fatal hesitation in excommunicating Henry
www.ox.ac.uk
November 20, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Very well done.
Today we’re sharing this remarkable coin as you’ve never seen it before, brought to life by talented animator Dominic Althoefer.
Known as the Oxford Crown, this coin shows King Charles I in front of the city of Oxford. It marks his presence in Oxford between 1642–6, during the English Civil War.
Known as the Oxford Crown, this coin shows King Charles I in front of the city of Oxford. It marks his presence in Oxford between 1642–6, during the English Civil War.
November 20, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Very well done.
Both show a great deal of talent in their visual art.
One place, two creative visions. Clarendon Quad brought to life through pen and photo.
Photograph by spiralling_oxford (Instagram)
Illustration by t.e.sheperd.art (Instagram)
Photograph by spiralling_oxford (Instagram)
Illustration by t.e.sheperd.art (Instagram)
November 19, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Both show a great deal of talent in their visual art.
Today it was cold and windy.
Waffer-thin mist over #Glynde Reach.
Feels like the Sun can’t really be bothered with it today. #landscape #lewes #sussex
Feels like the Sun can’t really be bothered with it today. #landscape #lewes #sussex
November 19, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Today it was cold and windy.
Beautiful.
This print is one of Hiroshige’s best-known works, depicting travellers caught in a summer rainstorm. 🌧️
By accentuating diagonals throughout the composition and intensifying with tonal variation of the black ink in the background, Hiroshige effectively captures the feeling of the driving rain.
By accentuating diagonals throughout the composition and intensifying with tonal variation of the black ink in the background, Hiroshige effectively captures the feeling of the driving rain.
November 18, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Beautiful.
He looks as if he might charge you if you come too close.
November 18, 2025 at 4:35 PM
He looks as if he might charge you if you come too close.
They have been found on my downs.
This small button brooch, with its friendly face, dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period.
Button brooches are a type of early Anglo-Saxon brooch commonly found in the south east of England. Objects like this are typically decorated with an anthropomorphic, or human-style face.
😊 AN1988.47
Button brooches are a type of early Anglo-Saxon brooch commonly found in the south east of England. Objects like this are typically decorated with an anthropomorphic, or human-style face.
😊 AN1988.47
November 17, 2025 at 5:20 PM
They have been found on my downs.
Women have always been influential, but they have rarely been remembered in the history that was written by men.
As creators of educational, religious and charitable institutions, women of means found ways to circumvent the patriarchal power structures of medieval society.
Read more from @torchoxford.bsky.social's Dr Rachel Delman ⬇️
Read more from @torchoxford.bsky.social's Dr Rachel Delman ⬇️
Medieval women’s legacies live on in Britain’s towns and cities
As creators of educational, religious and charitable institutions, women of means found ways to circumvent the patriarchal power structures of medieval society.
theconversation.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Women have always been influential, but they have rarely been remembered in the history that was written by men.
Lovely.
A golden hour glow in Clarendon Quad after the rain earlier this week. 🌧️
November 16, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Lovely.
I will pass on to Ms King all your kind wishes for her recovery. She will appreciate them.
November 16, 2025 at 5:50 PM
I will pass on to Ms King all your kind wishes for her recovery. She will appreciate them.
Ms King is healing nicely and has posted a short newsletter.
mailchi.mp/laurierking/...
mailchi.mp/laurierking/...
The Buzz from Laurie: Now with Added Titanium!
mailchi.mp
November 15, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Ms King is healing nicely and has posted a short newsletter.
mailchi.mp/laurierking/...
mailchi.mp/laurierking/...
It was a glorious morning.
A misty start last week on the South Downs, as the sun rose over Lewes in East Sussex.
November 15, 2025 at 5:20 PM
It was a glorious morning.
It is a beautiful thing.
Autumn and winter flowers are painted across this screen by the samurai artist Watanabe Shikō.
This screen shows the artist's mastery of tarashikomi, the dripping of ink or paint onto areas of wet colour to produce an effect of diffusion – ideal for depicting leaves or petals.
This screen shows the artist's mastery of tarashikomi, the dripping of ink or paint onto areas of wet colour to produce an effect of diffusion – ideal for depicting leaves or petals.
November 14, 2025 at 5:20 PM
It is a beautiful thing.
True.
Amid species and habitat decline, the Ashmole Bestiary c.1210 remains profoundly relevant, underscoring our duty to study and protect the natural world.
Insights courtesy of Dr Andrew Dunning.
Shelfmark: Bodleian Library MS. Ashmole 1511
Insights courtesy of Dr Andrew Dunning.
Shelfmark: Bodleian Library MS. Ashmole 1511
November 14, 2025 at 5:20 PM
True.
I admire his portraits but find this even more compelling.
John Singer Sargent created this piece in 1906.
It shows a balustrade leading to the front door of the church of SS Domenico e Sisto in Rome.
During his visits to Italy, Sargent sought relief from painting portraits and turned to landscapes, both in oils and watercolours.
It shows a balustrade leading to the front door of the church of SS Domenico e Sisto in Rome.
During his visits to Italy, Sargent sought relief from painting portraits and turned to landscapes, both in oils and watercolours.
November 13, 2025 at 3:45 PM
I admire his portraits but find this even more compelling.