Pete Mitchell
@petermitchellnhsn.bsky.social
Heritage at @nenature.bsky.social
'Nature's Cure in Times of Need': collecting stories of how nature has helped you get through hard times, generously supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund
Writing stuff is over here: @pdkmitchell.bsky.social
'Nature's Cure in Times of Need': collecting stories of how nature has helped you get through hard times, generously supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund
Writing stuff is over here: @pdkmitchell.bsky.social
Pinned
Discover the North East Nature Archive
YouTube video by Natural History Society of Northumbria
www.youtube.com
Found this video of me introducing the archives of the NHSN on our YouTube channel - if you can ignore my face and delivery, it's a decent introduction to some of what's cool in our collections: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnon...
OK that's me out! Here's a nice song about dinosaurs and the deep time of natural history. Bye bye www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T-Q...
So Little Happened For So Long
YouTube video by nev clay
www.youtube.com
October 30, 2025 at 11:24 AM
OK that's me out! Here's a nice song about dinosaurs and the deep time of natural history. Bye bye www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T-Q...
Reposted by Pete Mitchell
The lads at @neheritagelib.bsky.social do excellent work and I'm very chuffed to be representing @nenature.bsky.social in this year's NE History Compendium
October 29, 2025 at 10:22 AM
The lads at @neheritagelib.bsky.social do excellent work and I'm very chuffed to be representing @nenature.bsky.social in this year's NE History Compendium
I'm finishing my contract at @nenature.bsky.social this week, so this account will be going the way of all digital flesh on Thursday - I'll still be on Bluesky at @pdkmitchell.bsky.social though (and also on the Other Website, although that's currently full of nazis so I wouldn't recommend it)
October 26, 2025 at 1:48 PM
I'm finishing my contract at @nenature.bsky.social this week, so this account will be going the way of all digital flesh on Thursday - I'll still be on Bluesky at @pdkmitchell.bsky.social though (and also on the Other Website, although that's currently full of nazis so I wouldn't recommend it)
Gutted that I missed both Space Penguins and Great Auks - two of my principal interests - last night. NHSN's Monday night talks program is great though, and also free and open to all: www.nhsn.org.uk/wp-content/u...
October 21, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Gutted that I missed both Space Penguins and Great Auks - two of my principal interests - last night. NHSN's Monday night talks program is great though, and also free and open to all: www.nhsn.org.uk/wp-content/u...
One for the Real Moss Heads here. You know who you are
We really love this moving blog from our fantastic volunteer Julia, about the life and work of the pioneering North-east bryologist and moss maven Evelyn Lobley: www.nhsn.org.uk/evelyn-m-lob...
Evelyn M. Lobley: Champion of the small, but mighty, mosses
Library and Archive volunteer Julia Rand explores the life and legacy of one of the North East's most influential bryologists Evelyn Lobley, undated photograph Evelyn Lobley (1902 – 1977) was a local ...
www.nhsn.org.uk
October 20, 2025 at 1:16 PM
One for the Real Moss Heads here. You know who you are
Absolutely bonkers that the Hancock used to have its own Andean condor. All available accounts suggest that it was extremely annoyed at being kidnapped from Chile and shipped to Newcastle and put in a cage, and spent the rest of its life trying to bite people's fingers off. As you would, to be fair
Did you know that Great North Museum: Hancock once had its own live condor? Us neither, until our brilliant volunteer Julia found it in our Society Transactions: www.nhsn.org.uk/that-condor-...
That Condor Moment
NHSN library and archive volunteer Julia Black explores the life and legacy of the Hancock Museum's very own condor While preparing the Summary for one of the recently digitised NHSN Transactions, I w...
www.nhsn.org.uk
October 20, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Absolutely bonkers that the Hancock used to have its own Andean condor. All available accounts suggest that it was extremely annoyed at being kidnapped from Chile and shipped to Newcastle and put in a cage, and spent the rest of its life trying to bite people's fingers off. As you would, to be fair
Reposted by Pete Mitchell
Heads up: this is no longer happening, pals, I'm afraid. So if you wish to hear my trenchant views on books, birds, the north, fascists, espresso and/or anything else, you will simply have to befriend me in real life.
And four days after that I'll be in the Hancock Museum, talking to @rsmythfreelance.bsky.social about his many books on natural history and the natural world, why North East nature is just better, and his new project on the political history of conservationism: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/richard-sm...
Richard Smyth: A Nature Writer at Large
An evening with nature writer Richard Smyth in the NHSN Council Room
www.eventbrite.co.uk
October 20, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Heads up: this is no longer happening, pals, I'm afraid. So if you wish to hear my trenchant views on books, birds, the north, fascists, espresso and/or anything else, you will simply have to befriend me in real life.
Reposted by Pete Mitchell
Correct your maps: Newcastle is Mitteleuropa
LORT BURN SPECIALS: 3 happened and it was great
keep yr eyes peeled for LORT BURN SPECIALS: 4
LORT BURN SPECIALS: 3 happened and it was great
keep yr eyes peeled for LORT BURN SPECIALS: 4
October 19, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Correct your maps: Newcastle is Mitteleuropa
LORT BURN SPECIALS: 3 happened and it was great
keep yr eyes peeled for LORT BURN SPECIALS: 4
LORT BURN SPECIALS: 3 happened and it was great
keep yr eyes peeled for LORT BURN SPECIALS: 4
UNWHOLESOME TREASURE
October 14, 2025 at 4:59 PM
UNWHOLESOME TREASURE
Watching @rach-anderson.bsky.social being a legend as we launch our new Archives and Historical Research course at @nenature.bsky.social
October 14, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Watching @rach-anderson.bsky.social being a legend as we launch our new Archives and Historical Research course at @nenature.bsky.social
I'm going to miss working at @nenature.bsky.social
October 9, 2025 at 12:08 PM
I'm going to miss working at @nenature.bsky.social
This month in Newcastle I'm going to be in conversation with two of my favourite writers! First with Owen Hatherley, discussing his new book, a history of how British culture was transformed by the exodus of artists and intellectuals from Central Europe in the 20th century: bsky.app/profile/lort...
LORT BURN SPECIALS: 3
Featuring OWEN HATHERLEY, ANDREW HANKINSON, KATE LISTON and music from BEN LOWES-SMITH
SATURDAY 18 OCTOBER 7PM
@alphabettitheatre.bsky.social
MAKE NEWCASTLE MITTELEUROPA AGAIN
Featuring OWEN HATHERLEY, ANDREW HANKINSON, KATE LISTON and music from BEN LOWES-SMITH
SATURDAY 18 OCTOBER 7PM
@alphabettitheatre.bsky.social
MAKE NEWCASTLE MITTELEUROPA AGAIN
October 9, 2025 at 9:22 AM
This month in Newcastle I'm going to be in conversation with two of my favourite writers! First with Owen Hatherley, discussing his new book, a history of how British culture was transformed by the exodus of artists and intellectuals from Central Europe in the 20th century: bsky.app/profile/lort...
In my other life I do this and it's excellent and you should come
LORT BURN SPECIALS: 3
Featuring OWEN HATHERLEY, ANDREW HANKINSON, KATE LISTON and music from BEN LOWES-SMITH
SATURDAY 18 OCTOBER 7PM
@alphabettitheatre.bsky.social
MAKE NEWCASTLE MITTELEUROPA AGAIN
Featuring OWEN HATHERLEY, ANDREW HANKINSON, KATE LISTON and music from BEN LOWES-SMITH
SATURDAY 18 OCTOBER 7PM
@alphabettitheatre.bsky.social
MAKE NEWCASTLE MITTELEUROPA AGAIN
October 2, 2025 at 4:29 PM
In my other life I do this and it's excellent and you should come
GET YR ORDERS IN
Last but not least, we feature a piece by Pete Mitchell on the North East’s long love affair with nature and how the Hancock came to be. Naturalism neatly intertwined with the pursuits or every social strata, not least the industrialists who came to found this collection.
September 30, 2025 at 9:10 PM
GET YR ORDERS IN
Reposted by Pete Mitchell
Have you ever wanted to do historical research, but not been sure how to go about it? Join our heritage researchers @rach-anderson.bsky.social and @petermitchellnhsn.bsky.social in Oct for a specially curated course on finding your way through the archival maze: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-introdu...
An Introduction to Archive Research Skills
Join Heritage Researchers Dr Peter Mitchell and Dr Rachel Anderson for a practical, two-part course on mastering archival research skills.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
September 4, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Have you ever wanted to do historical research, but not been sure how to go about it? Join our heritage researchers @rach-anderson.bsky.social and @petermitchellnhsn.bsky.social in Oct for a specially curated course on finding your way through the archival maze: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-introdu...
Reposted by Pete Mitchell
How has paperwork served as a tool of empowerment for people who often find power elusive?
In our latest podcast, a group of historians, archivists, and activists met at the Raphael Samuel History Centre (@rshc.bsky.social) to discuss the hidden history of paperwork 🗃️🎙️
In our latest podcast, a group of historians, archivists, and activists met at the Raphael Samuel History Centre (@rshc.bsky.social) to discuss the hidden history of paperwork 🗃️🎙️
Changing The Record
How has paperwork served over time as a radical tool for empowerment and change?
www.historyworkshop.org.uk
September 30, 2025 at 7:02 AM
How has paperwork served as a tool of empowerment for people who often find power elusive?
In our latest podcast, a group of historians, archivists, and activists met at the Raphael Samuel History Centre (@rshc.bsky.social) to discuss the hidden history of paperwork 🗃️🎙️
In our latest podcast, a group of historians, archivists, and activists met at the Raphael Samuel History Centre (@rshc.bsky.social) to discuss the hidden history of paperwork 🗃️🎙️
Reposted by Pete Mitchell
Newcastle is antifascist
September 27, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Newcastle is antifascist
Really chuffed with this new article on our blog, from Ian Bower, about Geordie legend and champion animal-drawer Thomas Bewick: www.nhsn.org.uk/thomas-bewic...
Thomas Bewick & the History of Quadrupeds
Ian Bower revisits a landmark book in the history of nature writing Thomas Bewick 1753 – 1828 In my recent blog I considered the life and work of Gilbert White and his hugely influential eighteenth-ce...
www.nhsn.org.uk
September 24, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Really chuffed with this new article on our blog, from Ian Bower, about Geordie legend and champion animal-drawer Thomas Bewick: www.nhsn.org.uk/thomas-bewic...
This is cool:
New on the blog - Sandra Bishop writes about an Arctic journey to Svalbard undertaken by the Newcastle explorer, hunter and naturalist Abel Chapman, from our Transactions: www.nhsn.org.uk/from-north-s...
From North Shields to the Frozen North: A Victorian Adventure
Sandra Bishop explores a tale of travels in the High Arctic from the NHSN's Transaction In the summer of 1881, thirty-year-old Abel Chapman set sail for Spitzbergen. It was a true Arctic adventure: si...
www.nhsn.org.uk
September 23, 2025 at 8:57 AM
This is cool:
Reposted by Pete Mitchell
This guy called Robert used to ring my grandads house to try to talk to him. We all thought he was just an annoying guy, and would tell him to go away Robert and hang up on him. Lots of people made annoying calls to grandad, so we just continued, till grandad said, it's that bloody actor again.
September 16, 2025 at 12:39 PM
This guy called Robert used to ring my grandads house to try to talk to him. We all thought he was just an annoying guy, and would tell him to go away Robert and hang up on him. Lots of people made annoying calls to grandad, so we just continued, till grandad said, it's that bloody actor again.
Reposted by Pete Mitchell
This, by @petermitchellnhsn.bsky.social, is very good if very upsetting
tribunemag.co.uk/2025/09/tyne...
tribunemag.co.uk/2025/09/tyne...
Tyneside Totenkopf
Paralleling scenes across Britain, a summer of far-right phase shift culminated in a stand-off in Newcastle this weekend, as ‘stop the boats’ marchers were opposed by campaigners defending the North E...
tribunemag.co.uk
September 16, 2025 at 2:43 PM
This, by @petermitchellnhsn.bsky.social, is very good if very upsetting
tribunemag.co.uk/2025/09/tyne...
tribunemag.co.uk/2025/09/tyne...
Reposted by Pete Mitchell
As part of our #NaturesCure project, we've been inviting clients of the Angelou Centre in Newcastle to Gosforth Nature Reserve for guided walks and to talk about what nature means to them. Our heritage researcher Mel picks up the story: www.nhsn.org.uk/peace-friend...
Peace, friendship and stories of nature at Gosforth Nature Reserve
Nature’s Cure welcomes the women of the Angelou Centre In recent weeks the Nature’s Cure project has been so excited to welcome the Angelou Centre Walking Group. The Angelou Centre is in the West End
www.nhsn.org.uk
September 15, 2025 at 2:19 PM
As part of our #NaturesCure project, we've been inviting clients of the Angelou Centre in Newcastle to Gosforth Nature Reserve for guided walks and to talk about what nature means to them. Our heritage researcher Mel picks up the story: www.nhsn.org.uk/peace-friend...
Reposted by Pete Mitchell
This is going to be good and if you're in the NE you should come to it
On 16 September, we're really looking forward to hosting Mike Pratt of @northwildlife.bsky.social for a talk about his life and career in North East nature - and a reading from his new book! Tickets available here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mike-pratt...
Mike Pratt: Infinite Wonder - book talk
Mike Pratt in conversation about his new book 'Infinite Wonder: Loving Nature Back to Health' and career as an author and conservationist
www.eventbrite.co.uk
September 1, 2025 at 11:40 AM
This is going to be good and if you're in the NE you should come to it
Reposted by Pete Mitchell
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Nature” (1836)
September 4, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Nature” (1836)
Reposted by Pete Mitchell
It’s day 3 of the pre-order window, which means there’s 4 days left to grab a copy at a discounted early bird price 🐥
A big fat thank you to everyone who’s already grabbed their copy. It means you’ll get yours first an all!
www.northeastheritagelibrary.co.uk/category/nor...
A big fat thank you to everyone who’s already grabbed their copy. It means you’ll get yours first an all!
www.northeastheritagelibrary.co.uk/category/nor...
It's time 🎉
The 2025 edition of the North East History Compendium is available for pre-order. See below for a taster of what you can expect.
Authentic and fresh perspectives of why we are who we are from the best writers in the region.
Pre-Order: www.northeastheritagelibrary.co.uk/category/all...
The 2025 edition of the North East History Compendium is available for pre-order. See below for a taster of what you can expect.
Authentic and fresh perspectives of why we are who we are from the best writers in the region.
Pre-Order: www.northeastheritagelibrary.co.uk/category/all...
September 3, 2025 at 11:54 AM
It’s day 3 of the pre-order window, which means there’s 4 days left to grab a copy at a discounted early bird price 🐥
A big fat thank you to everyone who’s already grabbed their copy. It means you’ll get yours first an all!
www.northeastheritagelibrary.co.uk/category/nor...
A big fat thank you to everyone who’s already grabbed their copy. It means you’ll get yours first an all!
www.northeastheritagelibrary.co.uk/category/nor...