Vivienne Dunstan
LightNews LightNews
banner
vivdunstan.bsky.social
Vivienne Dunstan
@vivdunstan.bsky.social
1.6K followers 1.5K following 1.9K posts
Academic historian, genealogist, former computer scientist, Doctor Who fan and accordionist. Scottish Borderer from Hawick now living in Dundee, Scotland. Pronouns she/her. Equality ally. #BLM. https://vivdunstan.co.uk
Posts Replies Media Videos
vivdunstan.bsky.social
New exhibition celebrates town's Norwegian links www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
New exhibition celebrates the links between Norway and Dumfries
Dumfries Museum marks the town's role in hosting thousands of Norwegians during World War II.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Reposted by Vivienne Dunstan
lbflyawayhome.bsky.social
Other work of the Ladybird artists.
The delicacy and detail here
‘Autumn Wedding’
Artist : SR Badmin
A finally detailed mixed media illustration of an old church completely surrounded by autumn trees. Right in the foreground, near the Lichgate, a wedding scene is taking place
November 11, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Reposted by Vivienne Dunstan
chrismpaton.bsky.social
This Remembrance Day I'll be looking at the often forgotten side of war, the civilians caught up in conflict, by discussing my own family's ordeal in Brussels, Belgium, in the First World War. The talk is at 7pm (UK time), details below 👇 #RemembranceDay
chrismpaton.bsky.social Chris Paton @chrismpaton.bsky.social · 2d
This Tuesday, in remembrance of the civilians who endured hardship and loss in times of war, the "Trapped in Brussels in the First World War: A Civilian Story" webinar will be run at 7pm UK time (recording available for a week after).
Registration £10 us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi... #genealogy
November 11, 2025 at 8:39 AM
vivdunstan.bsky.social
The Scottish WW1 piper who marched through gas, bullets and bombs to save his regiment www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Calls for WW1 piper, who won the Victoria Cross, to be honoured with a statue
Daniel Laidlaw was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery in the face of battle.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 9:02 AM
vivdunstan.bsky.social
Gold jar from Galloway Hoard on display for first time www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Gold jar from Galloway Hoard on display in Kirkcudbright
It resembles a perfume bottle and a Latin inscription on it suggests it had a religious function.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Reposted by Vivienne Dunstan
chiarab.bsky.social
My cozy fantasy novel inspired by my love (and fear…) of Scotland’s mountains, misadventures in academia, and time spent adventuring in Dungeons and Dragons, will be out next July!!
thebookseller.com The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · 4d
Del Rey has acquired The Inn at the Foot of Mount Vengeance, an "uplifting and heart-warming" fantasy adventure by Scottish debut author and academic Chiara Bullen. The book will publish globally in July 2026 👇 #BookSky
Del Rey snaps up Chiara Bullen's 'uplifting and heart-warming' fantasy adventure
ebx.sh
November 8, 2025 at 6:07 PM
vivdunstan.bsky.social
Dundee University and US surgeons achieve world-first stroke surgery using robot www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Dundee and US surgeons achieve world-first stroke surgery using robot
A Dundee professor carried out the first remote thrombectomy on a human cadaver.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Reposted by Vivienne Dunstan
martin-dunstan.bsky.social
A cute dog sniffing the leaves by the Dighty Burn near the Seven Arches (Balmossie) Viaduct in Monifieth. 📷📸🎞️ #dogs
A close-up image of a small, white, short-haired dog with a curly tail sniffing at wet autumn leaves. They have a light brown patch behind their shoulder and at the base of their tail; their ears are fluffy brown.
November 9, 2025 at 12:36 AM
vivdunstan.bsky.social
Continuing our rewatch of a favourite Doctor Who story. www.imdb.com/title/tt1205...
"Doctor Who" Forest of the Dead (TV Episode 2008) ⭐ 9.4 | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
45m | TV-PG
www.imdb.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:12 PM
vivdunstan.bsky.social
For Remembrance Sunday a repost of my blog post about the WW1 experiences of my great granddad from Melrose in the Scottish Borders. vivsancestry.wordpress.com/2014/08/05/r...
Remembering great-granddad’s WW1 service, 100 years after he enlisted
This week has seen many events commemorating the 100th anniversary of Britain joining World War One. My great-granddad John Dodds served during the war, as did my husband’s great-granddad Edw…
vivsancestry.wordpress.com
November 9, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Reposted by Vivienne Dunstan
alisonfisk.bsky.social
Happy Sunday! 🦛 💙

Adorable ancient Egyptian blue faience hippos made by artisans some 4,000 years ago!

📷 by me

#Archaeology
My photo collage shows four hippo statuettes made of Egytian blue faience, a ceramic material made of ground quartz. Their bright-blue shiny bodies are decorated in black with depictions of Nile river plants such as water weed and lotus flowers. This decoration depicts their marsh habitat as well as having various layers of symbolism associated with regeneration. For example lotus flowers open in the morning and close at night, symbolising rebirth. Blue faience hippos have been found in Middle Kingdom tombs of high ranking officials. It’s thought they were placed in the tombs to aid the rebirth of the deceased. Hippo top left - Walking hippo shown in profile facing right. Height 11.5 cm, Length 21 cm. Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Top right - Roaring hippo (looks like the hippo is smiling), seated, with head at left and turned inwards to front. Height 7.5 cm, length 12.5 cm. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. Bottom left - Standing hippo in profile facing right. This hippo is part of the Met Museum’s collections and is popularly known as ‘William’. Height 11.2 cm, Length 20 cm Bottom Right - Reclining hippo with head on the right, facing front, and tilted down. Egyptian Museum, Cairo
November 9, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Reposted by Vivienne Dunstan
lbflyawayhome.bsky.social
“Among the fallen beech leaves”

Artist: CF Tunnicliffe
(What to Look for in Autumn, 1960)
A red squirrel is pictured burying a nut at the foot of a beech tree while nearby we see a hen blackbird - and a jay flying overhead
November 9, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Reposted by Vivienne Dunstan
martin-dunstan.bsky.social
A lone goldcrest flitting about a tree almost never still. 📷📸🎞️🪶 #birds #ukwildlife
A small brown bird with a slightly grumpy expression perched on a branch among several green leaves. They have large black eyes with white spectacle rings and with a dark moustache looking like a mouth. Their wings are black with thin gold stripes. The edge of their distinctive gold crest is just visible on the top of their head.
November 9, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Reposted by Vivienne Dunstan
martin-dunstan.bsky.social
Female and male siskins feeding on seed cones near the Seven Arches (Balmossie) Viaduct of the Dighty Burn in Monifieth. My first proper sighting of these birds. 📷📸🎞️🪶 #birds #ukwildlife
An image of branches and seed cones with two speckled grey and yellow siskin birds feeding on them. The female on the left has a grey back and head with dark speckles throughout; their breast is white with black stripes and spots. The male on the right is mostly yellow in colour with a dark cap, yellow and black wing stripes, and a white belly with back spots. The male is hanging upside-down.
November 9, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Reposted by Vivienne Dunstan
vivdunstan.bsky.social
Some photos from my husband's Saturday walk in the Dighty Burn wooded river valley near our home in eastern Dundee, Scotland 📷📸🎞️🪶
A dipper perched facing left on a mossy rock in a river with green banks and scattered autumnal leaves behind. A fluffy white and tan colour dog approaching towards the camera, head down, probably sniffing the leaf covered ground. It looks a bit like a Dandie Dinmont Terrier and also a poodle cross. A horse chestnut leaf in fiery red and orange autumnal colours, seen against a background of green leaves and white sky. A grey heron perched facing left, high in a conifer tree with lots of fine branches. The bird has very noticeable black markings as well as the more usual grey, including black on its shoulder, the top of its head, and further down its body as well.
November 9, 2025 at 12:55 AM
vivdunstan.bsky.social
Some photos from my husband's Saturday walk in the Dighty Burn wooded river valley near our home in eastern Dundee, Scotland 📷📸🎞️🪶
A dipper perched facing left on a mossy rock in a river with green banks and scattered autumnal leaves behind. A fluffy white and tan colour dog approaching towards the camera, head down, probably sniffing the leaf covered ground. It looks a bit like a Dandie Dinmont Terrier and also a poodle cross. A horse chestnut leaf in fiery red and orange autumnal colours, seen against a background of green leaves and white sky. A grey heron perched facing left, high in a conifer tree with lots of fine branches. The bird has very noticeable black markings as well as the more usual grey, including black on its shoulder, the top of its head, and further down its body as well.
November 9, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Reposted by Vivienne Dunstan
cerihoulbrook.bsky.social
The folkloric belief that catching twelve falling leaves ensures good luck for a year = the perfect excuse to just stand here and wait long enough for twelve leaves to fall #AutumnVibes #Folklore
November 7, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Reposted by Vivienne Dunstan
historicalmarker.bsky.social
I was in Glasgow’s famed Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in July, and it’s clearly just starting to wrestle with how slavery and empire made it, and the city, happen. Some exhibits were midway through the journey.
A display at Kelvingrove in Glasgow called “Scots Abroad,” heroically displaying white Scots “civilizing” Black Africans. Over fawning descriptions of items collected by Scots in Africa in the 19th century is a new addition to the Scots Abroad exhibit: a sign that says “Scots Abroad, or colonisers?” Kelvingrove in Glasgow has an exhibit on slavery and empire, including a school desk in 1950s with a sign that says: “Imagine sitting at this desk as a child. You’re in a classroom where teaching resources celebrate the British Empire and reinforce racist stereotypes. How would it shape your beliefs?” A sign in Kelvingrove that says “Colonial Foundations.” It reads: Glasgow's museum collection was initially displayed in Kelvingrove House, the former mansion of Lord Provist Patrick Calquhoun who was complicit in transatlantic slavery by trading in tobacco. Here. display cases were filled with stuffed animals, tools, weapons, antiquities and specimens of raw materials, many from across the British Empire - traces of Britain's exploitation of global resources. In 1888 and 1901 International Exhibitions endorsed Glasgow as the 'Second City of Empire, and both events were celebrations of British imperialism. For example, the 1888 Exhibitions royal reception room showed Indian crafts, and the 1901 Exhibition had displays of war trophies from South Africa. How should Glasgow Museums confront this history and show another viewpoint? Staff at Glasgow Museums are researching how our buildings, collections and practices have historically been connected to transatlantic siavery and the British Empire, and consulting on how we address the legacies af those connections in future displays and programmes. Let us know your thoughts ay emailing VisitorStudies@glasgowlife.org.uk.
November 7, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Reposted by Vivienne Dunstan
handhyorkshire.bsky.social
At Beverley railway station, a remarkable survivor from the golden age of the North Eastern Railway still greets travellers, a tiled map set into the wall beside the train shed exit. Made between 1900 and 1910 by Craven Dunnill & Co. of Jackfield in Shropshire, it is
a remarkable survivor from the golden age of the North Eastern Railway still greets travellers, a tiled map set into the wall beside the train shed exit. Made between 1900 and 1910 by Craven Dunnill & Co. of Jackfield in Shropshire,
November 3, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Reposted by Vivienne Dunstan
caitlindeangelis.bsky.social
There is still so much work to do in making slavery and the slave trade a widely known and acknowledged part of the history of places that have minimized those links in the past.
November 7, 2025 at 3:58 PM
vivdunstan.bsky.social
Doubly vaccinated, Covid and flu. Huge thanks to the NHS staff and volunteers at Douglas Community Centre in Dundee. Extremely efficient. I was by far the youngest person there 😜
November 7, 2025 at 3:30 PM
vivdunstan.bsky.social
Lego boldly goes into the Star Trek universe with $400, 3,600-piece Enterprise-D arstechnica.com/culture/2025...
Lego boldly goes into the Star Trek universe with $400, 3,600-piece Enterprise-D
Kit includes the ship and accessory-toting minifigs of the Enterprise crew.
arstechnica.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:50 PM
vivdunstan.bsky.social
Slavery and colonial trail to be launched in Glasgow www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Slavery and colonial trail to be launched in Glasgow
The trail aims to ensure the city's role in the slave trade continues to be
www.bbc.co.uk
November 7, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Reposted by Vivienne Dunstan
helleborezine.bsky.social
IT’S HERE! Our first volume of strange and supernatural stories for the darker half of the year. Nine new tales by masters of the genre: Ramsey Campbell, Helen Grant, Reggie Oliver, Ally Wilkes, Steve Toase, Verity Holloway and more.

👉🏼 Get your copy on www.helleborezine.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:16 PM
vivdunstan.bsky.social
Another night, another movie trip to Egypt. This isn’t as good as the Peter Ustinov version I adore, and I am fast forwarding through some bits. But it’s entertaining enough. www.imdb.com/title/tt7657...
Death on the Nile (2022) ⭐ 6.3 | Crime, Drama, Mystery
2h 7m | PG-13
www.imdb.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:01 PM