Claire Cock-Starkey
LightNews LightNews
banner
nonfictioness.bsky.social
Claire Cock-Starkey
@nonfictioness.bsky.social
1.6K followers 670 following 790 posts
Writer (Lore of the Wild, Hyphens & Hashtags &c). Big fan of books, libraries, folklore, history. Also studying for a PhD on the folklore of death and dying in 19th century England
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
nonfictioness.bsky.social
Claire Cock-Starkey @nonfictioness.bsky.social · Nov 12
As Bsky seems to be hotting up with tons of new people (hello everyone!) I thought I should reintroduce myself. I am a writer, most recently of children's books on folklore, and part-time PhD student on the folklore of death and dying in 19th c England. 1/5
nonfictioness.bsky.social
Much excitement at the allotment yesterday as our onions have emerged! These are the first things we have planted there so it's a relief that they're actually growing 🌱
A line of small onion sprouts emerging from the ground
November 10, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Reposted by Claire Cock-Starkey
kitdewaal.com
Look at this great fund. £200 for really small charities to spend on boring things. Easy, quick to apply.

Link below.

Please share :)
Boring Fund | Christina Poulton
Applications now open! £200 grants available for small charities, CICs and voluntary groups towards some of those boring but hard-to-fund costs.
www.christinapoultoncreative.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Reposted by Claire Cock-Starkey
dexinst.bsky.social
These are the words of Mary Somerville, writing in her old age.

This pioneering scientist of the nineteenth century is the subject of our Book of the Month blog for November - written and researched by our Library Volunteer Edward Maunder.

devonandexeterinstitution.org/mary-somervi...
November 6, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Reposted by Claire Cock-Starkey
drfrancisyoung.bsky.social
The latest @folkloresociety.bsky.social newsletter FLS News is out today, and contains a CFP from me and @magicnotwitches.bsky.social inviting proposals for our new @universitypress.cambridge.org series 'Elements in Folklore':
November 5, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Reposted by Claire Cock-Starkey
matthewcobb.bsky.social
If you believe either that Franklin discovered the double helix, and / or Watson and Crick stole her data, ask yourself how you know this. Then take a read of this article.
November 8, 2025 at 7:32 AM
nonfictioness.bsky.social
On Wednesday I passed my viva with minor corrections! 🥳🥳🥳

Huge thanks to my incredible examiners Professor Julie-Marie Strange and Dr Carmen Mangion for giving me a thorough but enjoyable grilling and to my supervisor Dr David McAllister for being a wonderful mentor!

#PhDsky #PhDone
Me (middle aged woman with ginger hair) smiling while posing next to a handsome brown spaniel
November 7, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Reposted by Claire Cock-Starkey
stefmowords.bsky.social
succubus - female demon that seduces men

incubus - male demon that seduces women

vengabus - non-binary demon that likes to party
November 6, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Reposted by Claire Cock-Starkey
jperlow.bsky.social
ALERT
November 6, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Reposted by Claire Cock-Starkey
caasbrey.bsky.social
Harvard Gazette: Gazette: “You are the mother of two In ten years you have produced three novels and two short-story collections. Can you talk about your process and how you manage work and family?” Groff: “I understand that this is a question of vital importance to a lot of people, particularly to other mothers who are artists trying to get their work done, and know that I feel for everyone in the struggle. But until I see a male writer asked that question, I am going to respectfully decline to answer it.”
November 5, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Reposted by Claire Cock-Starkey
anatomicalcat.bsky.social
I said that I would post more about my visit to the Chiesa dei Morti. The church contains 18 preserved remains which have been displayed in cases since 1833. The majority were preserved by natural processes which occurred in the burial ground, and were discovered when the bodies were being relocated
A series of preserved remains stood in arched wooden cases with elaborate carved plaques above, and skulls lining the tops of the cases
November 4, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Reposted by Claire Cock-Starkey
jaunty.art
hee-hee-man
I’ve drawn Michael Jackson’s face onto He-Man
November 1, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by Claire Cock-Starkey
depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social
If you're in need of positive and rather wholesome news, there's a high school teacher named Bryan who took a ton of freely licensed celebrity headshots at the New York Film Festival last month for Wikipedia, and I truly can't believe how drastic the upgrade is for some articles (thread)
November 1, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Reposted by Claire Cock-Starkey
paulsinha.bsky.social
Thread. A reminder of some of my alltime favourite facts. Starting with...there are no bridges over the river Amazon.
November 1, 2025 at 9:26 AM
nonfictioness.bsky.social
One of today's tasks is drying out this excellent crop of chillies from the gardens at work to make dried chilli flakes. Hopefully by tonight they'll be ready to be cathartically crushed!
Baking trays with lots of long red peppers lined up on them
November 1, 2025 at 10:25 AM
nonfictioness.bsky.social
Lupin inspecting some excellent Halloween marrows!
Brown spaniel sniffing three enormous marrows with woolly hats and googly eyes
November 1, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Reposted by Claire Cock-Starkey
rspb.bsky.social
Birds but they get spookier each time. 🎃👻

Enter if you dare...🚪
A black background decorated with gold illustrations of branches, stars, swords, ravens, and tiny ghost shapes. In the centre, bold text reads: “BIRDS BUT THEY GET SPOOKIER EACH TIME.” Two ravens perch on bare branches at the bottom, with candles glowing beside them.
October 31, 2025 at 9:24 AM
nonfictioness.bsky.social
Accurate.
stephencollins.bsky.social Stephen Collins @stephencollins.bsky.social · 12d
Posting old halloween comics, #4. From 2015
For this comic you have to imagine it as two separate pictures depicting almost identical scenes. There are three kids dressed as a devil, a ghost and a witch, and they are outside a person’s home receiving treats on a tray from the resident. In the background, their parents - parent 1, parent 2 and parent 3, watch on from the pavement. There are labels pointing to every person in each scene. HALLOWEEN IN AMERICA [Labels]: Joyful [a person at a cosy party seen through the window of the house] Ebullient [Another person at the party, we see them laughing through the window] Charmed [A fully dracula-costumed guy handing out trates at the front door] Home made skull cookies and lemonade [The contents of the man’s tray he is handing out to the kids] Delighted [The first kid on the path, dressed as a devil] Excited [The second kid on the path, dressed as a ghost] Enraptured [The third kid on the path, dressed as a witch] Emotional [Parent 1, stood back on the pavement, beaming in joy] Proud [Parent 2, clasping their hands, tearful] Capturing the moment [Parent 3, taking a photo on their phone] HALLOWEEN IN BRITRIN [The same sort of scene, but in Britain] [Labels]: Angry [A dog barking out the window. There is no party going on in the house. Through the window we see a woman just wtching telly] Offended [The woman having her TV show interrupted] Resentful [Guy dressed in normal clothes, grumpily handing out ‘treats’ on a tray at the door] 2 Celebrations and a Rennie [The contents of his tray] Disappointed [Child 1] Awkward [Child 2] Awkward [Child 3] Awkward [Parent 1, standing with arms folded] Mortified [Parent 2, looking embarassed] Checking for paedophiles [Parent 3, looking suspiciously at the guy answering the door] [ends]
October 30, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Reposted by Claire Cock-Starkey
emilydourish.bsky.social
Cambridge people: help save these bananas from the bin! Cambridge Fruit Company looking to give away 150kg of over-ripe nanas, address in alt. CFC does great work for the Red Hen Project too, all round great people so happy to advertise them. redhenproject.org www.cambridgefruitcompany.com/shop/
A local greengrocer has lots of bananas to give away. Collect them today Wednesday 29th October from 14 Robert Davies Court, CB4 1TP
October 29, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Reposted by Claire Cock-Starkey
monkemma.bsky.social
Wow - those are quite phenomenal headlines given the details of the story.

Ahh look, he’s just a ‘nerdy’ guy. No harm done.

You need to scroll down to paragraph 13 of the Sky piece to find the full story!

🧵
1/9
October 29, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Reposted by Claire Cock-Starkey
annacusack.bsky.social
Just your periodic reminder that there is an early modern pub night once a month for PhDs and ECRs and anyone else who'd like to join in London. If you'd like to be added to the mailing list please DM me.
Woodcut of four individuals around a table which has tankards of ale on it and a candle in a candle stick. One individual on the right as you look at the image is smoking a pipe and standing. The others are sitting. They are dressed in late Elizabethan or early Stuart clothings with some hats with feathers. One individual may be a woman the other three are male.
October 27, 2025 at 8:34 AM
Reposted by Claire Cock-Starkey
anthonymkreis.bsky.social
Whenever people complain about the number of folks relying on food stamps, it is worth reminding them that SNAP is, by too large of a degree, a subsidy for corporations that refuse to pay a living wage and their political allies who reject public policy prescriptions to reduce income inequality.
October 27, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Reposted by Claire Cock-Starkey
adamibbotson.bsky.social
BIG ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS! 💫

A new section of Hadrian’s Wall has been discovered! The furthest west bit found yet - and it is glorious! 🤩

Reported by the great WC21. Link to his full video here: youtu.be/VfVvl3A_sO4?...

#archaeology #history #Roman
October 26, 2025 at 11:55 AM
nonfictioness.bsky.social
Shadow me and my dog at the weir, enjoying the autumn sunlight.
A shadow of me and my dog cast on the sunny Bank of a weir. The river is also in shadow
October 26, 2025 at 9:09 AM
nonfictioness.bsky.social
Forgot to post the completed bao buns last night. They were flipping delicious 😋 stuffed with sticky pork belly, pickled carrots and cucumber. Well worth the effort!
Four bao buns filled with sticky pork, pickled carrot and cucumber
October 25, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Reposted by Claire Cock-Starkey
sarahcoomer.bsky.social
The big thing I did this year and haven't been able to say much about up until now is that I was SOMEHOW asked to illustrate the new Folio Society edition of A Christmas Carol, introduced by Simon Callow. Bit of a dream job. www.foliosociety.com/uk/a-christm...
Limited edition of the Folio Society's A Christmas Carol, illustrated by me. It's bound in red leather with embossed gold wreath and lettering, and the box is lined by and illustration of a snowy night time Dickensian city scene. Surrounded by stuff on my desk (pens, glasses, glue etc). The standard edition of the Folio Society's A Christmas Carol illustrated by me. The book itself featured a view of Scrooge in a long black coat with a top hat and red scarf from the back, surveying the snowy London skyline. The slip case is green and has vignettes of relevent scenes and motifs in the style of Georgian wallpaper. One of the vignettes is a circular cut out, so when the book is in the slipcase you can see Scrooge's head through it. Surrounded by the loads of rubbish I have on my desk. An illustration from the first stave of A Christmas Carol. Scrogge is sat by his fire eating his gruel when across his large but shabby drawing room, Marley's ghost appears. An illustration of the fourth stave, featuring Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas yet to come (who is a Victorian widow in high mourning, completely draped and almost invisible in black net and bombazine). They are in a graveyard, which is based largely on St Cuthbert's Kirkyard in Edinburgh. She points to his grave, and he looks at it in horror. There is a smaller gravestone to his right, capped with snow which features a skull in bas relief and the words 'MOMENTO MORI' in a motto scroll over the top. The moon shines from an Atkinson Grimshaw-esque greenish winter sky, illuminating the dome of St Paul's Cathedral.
October 25, 2025 at 8:06 AM