Sarah Chalmers Page
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Sarah Chalmers Page
@sarahchalmerspage.bsky.social
270 followers 280 following 610 posts
Inveterate generalist. Still European, whatever anyone says.
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Tonight I have been mostly learning about Medea, the earliest example I know of bombed at the box office then became a classic, in every sense of the term. Thank you to @nataliehaynes.bsky.social It was a brilliant night.
I am on the bus holding a copy of No Friend to This House by Natalie Haynes. My hand is in shot, I am not. The book is teal with an awesome sheep- it is, in fact, the golden ram with the golden fleece from Jason and the Argonauts. No, the kraken was only in the film. The golden ram has duck egg horns. There's a sticker saying the book is the signed indie edition, and it is. Natalie signed it for me even though I am tired and probably spouted utter nonsense.
September 21, 2025 at 9:12 PM
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And a rare Covid memorial. It reminds us to think about both what we lost and what we learned. It's peaceful.

As far as I'm concerned we need one in every town centre and elected officials should have to lay a bunch of flowers at them before anyone gives them so much as an official lanyard.
Memorial to covid- it is a small metal plaque in a garden. Text reads Covid 19 pandemic 2020. For our today and tomorrow. This is a quiet place to reflect on what we have lost, what we have learned and what we now realise is important in our lives. The garden above the sunken garden in Castle dykes Park, dumfries. I can't name the flowers buy there are three planters, the middle one is big ans round and full of red autumn flowering blooms. The left hand rectangular planter has little red things - sort of pansy sized, but not. The right hand planter is dying back. And the wall has a very old, well kept ivy growing on it. The memorial plaque is illegible in this image- text is in the alt text for the other image in this post.
September 16, 2025 at 6:41 AM
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And Dumfries seems good at memorials to things that others forget. Exhibit A- a memorial to the Merchant Seamen who died in the world wars keeping our food and goods coming in. Britain has never stood genuinely alone. The convoys were unarmed and targeted and broke blockades.
Merchant Navy memorial, dumfries Dock Park. Yes, docks. It was a navigable river. Anyway. The memorial is two rough blocks of sandstone shaped into a ship. On the upright block of stone- the bridge- is a plaque asking us to remember how vital the Merchant ships were, and how many of their crews have no grave but the sea. On the deck of the stone ship is a wreath of poppies and a blue, white, green and red wreath. The ship is on a concrete base in the lawn, and surrounded by green grass and yellow autumn leaves.
September 16, 2025 at 6:34 AM
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The words of the prophets are written on the walls of perfectly lovely bird hides in wildfowl trust reserves.
It's a wooden sign on the ramp up to the windows in a hide at the WWT reserve in Caerlaverlock. It is wood coloured and has green edges. And in a serif font it reads: "step 1. Here you are in this moment in time. Take a breath in and out. This is a timeliness of where you are now. It has changed over thousands of years and will continue to change."
September 16, 2025 at 6:30 AM
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Reading Together by @ecetemelkuran.bsky.social

I'm struck by this bit- about how even in accepting refugees people would rather see a thing to help than a whole person with a life and who might be able to help others... thread coming... I've put the transcript in the alt text
Black text on white paper, highlighted in bright pink. The bright pink highlight reads "Because as Gassama and I know very well, if you take refuge in a foreign land the most curious deprivation that comes with your new life is that nobody asks for your help anymore. It is mentally and emotionally more manageable for the natives to see the refugee or the exile as only the receiver of help. Welcoming a refugee with basic needs is always more manageable for the hosting society than accepting the fact that they might he welcoming into their space a real person, a new life."
September 10, 2025 at 6:22 PM
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This is the Peterloo Monument in Manchester. It took 200 years from the Massacre to build the memorial, unveiled in 2019.

Eighteen deaths confirmed and no count of deaths from injuries- the first to die was a toddler in his mother's arms.

The soldiers were drunk. The civilians were unarmed.
The Peterloo Monument on the site of the Peterloo Massacre on the edge of Manchester City centre. Its a squat pyramid of concentric circles of stone, in different colours. There's a gandrail so you can go up it- I think there's a ramp at the other side too. It's engraved with the names of the confirmed murdered, none of whom were armed, and linked hands of solidarity. Its also engraved with other massacres perpetrated by the British Army.
September 7, 2025 at 8:35 AM
sarahchalmerspage.bsky.social
At 8am, starting with the babies, @magscotland.bsky.social started reading the names of children killed in Gaza. At 5pm they had reached the 6 year olds. And these are only the children there were people left to look for.

Ceasefire now.
A long, narrow list of names. It's the width of an A4 sheet and at least the length of a classroom. It's stretched on a set stone floor, which you can't see is in front of the Scottish Parliament. This is the list of 5 year olds. Kites, drawn by children. Bright colours and peace doves, messages of love and hope and olive branches. They're under a layer of plastic on the ground in front of the anti-bomb defense pools by the Scottish Parliament.
September 4, 2025 at 6:45 PM
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Brilliant talk today by @ecetemelkuran.bsky.social at @lighthousebks.bsky.social

A thread! So, firstly, her editors wimped out of her prefered subtitle - How to Lose a Country should be the 7 steps from democracy to fascism, not dictatorship. I have amended my copy...
The front cover of a previous edition of Ece Temelkuran's book How to Lose a Country- the Seven Steps from Democracy to Fascism. My edition has the old title- instead of fascism, it says dictatorship. So the cover now has a piece of scrap paper with fascism in red biro, the font mimicking the block white font of the original cover (which is black with white writing). Except I can't find my sticky tape so it's held on with shiny green and red star stickers.
August 20, 2025 at 7:29 PM
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And I emerged wanting to cry again- why, if it isn't our old pals UKIP,draped in union flags and spitting bile.

I draw what comfort there is from the fact that- image 1- the polis were clearly expecting a warm welcome. And 2- it doesn't look like the nearest pub will serve them when they're done.
Cathedral precinct, Glasgow. There is a line of maybe 10 police tactical response units parked up, right round a block, in front of tall green trees and below a threatening sky. A poster in a glasweguan pub window. The stone is beige blocks and could be Georgian. The poster is a riff on the classic stick man throwing litter in a bin poster, but instead of litter, it's chucking out a swastika. And the writing- casual font- reads "Not in our streets- stand up!"
July 26, 2025 at 2:28 PM
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Saw this in the St Mungo Museum, Glasgow. It's by an artist who had been helping people ID their loved ones in Kosavan mass graves. It shows a cardigan, hung up to dry, bullet holes at heart and lower back. A woman had seen it and broken down. I sobbed uselessly. More in alt text... (1/2)
A painting on a museum wall. It shows a bright, striped, hooded cardigan. It's knitted with a zip. A more civilian garment was never made. The sleeves are green and stretched out on a pole, in a pose that reminds us of Jesus on the cross. The hood hangs down like an exhausted head. There's a small burned bullet hole at heart height, and a ragged mess of burned wool at the exit wound, lower back. Along the back of the image is a glowing horizon. Blackened buildings and burned trees are silhouettes against either fire or sunset.
July 26, 2025 at 2:23 PM
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Any keen Doctor Who fans out there? Saw this and thought of you...

OK, not the clearest in this photo. I was in a boat. I'll explain in the alt text.
This is the River Song Residence, Malacca, Malaysia. Not the world's clearest photo as I was sitting in a river tour boat. The title I'd on a small brown sign in small gold letters, middle of the shot. The image shows some tourists strolling along a river promenade, past some tables and some wooden sliding doors. There's a menu- the kind with the big pictures you can point too. It's a sunny day.
July 6, 2025 at 12:17 PM
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Sunset on Fort Kinnaird. I'd love to provide a beautiful view of the hills or something, but I'll take the sunsets I can get.
Sunset reflecting in the massive glass facade of the Primark in Fort Kinnaird, Edinburgh. Its bright orange, and looks like fire- the clouds are slightly distorted into waves.
June 19, 2025 at 10:11 AM
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Universe grant that I am never too cynical or too worn out to appreciate the absolute score that is getting the front top seat on an Eastbound number 44 bus in Edinburgh.
Salisbury crags from Regent Terrace. Not the best framed shot. Your view of the mighty basalt cliff face, rising diagonally above green slopes and the dark patches of gorse, is partially obscured by a crane, some lampposts and a cluster of parked cars. But it is literally the view from the bus. The sky is lowering- I really hope i am home before the blueblack clouds drop the rain.
June 5, 2025 at 1:31 PM
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My daughter is explaining that this is a god-cat called Sushi Quanzododecahedron-Page. Cursed to cat form, she likes tummy rubs.
A white cat plush toy with large round blue eyes, yellow ears, and an inexplicable blue sushi piece plush on its back. I have no idea why. It's vaguely Asian looking. I assume this is pop culture to which I am not privy.
June 1, 2025 at 1:02 PM
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The new play park in the Granton Gasholder- it has a life-size statue of a humpback whale.
This is a life-size metal statue of a humpback whale. I forgot to make a note of the artist's name. Sorry, artist. Anyway. It's made of shiny steel, it's quite angular- although it manages to be angular and organic looking, which is very cool. The whale's head is "emerging" from the ground with its eye in a triangle at bottom right. It's beautiful. Behind it is the blue superstructure of the old gasholder, now green with turf and baby trees. Granton gasholder Park. There's one of those playing things where tyres are chained to a metal frame for kids to walk along, and behind that you can make out monkey bars. Behind all of that is the blue superstructure of the gasholder. A child is playing- the child has long blonde hair, a blue school jumper, and is in the process of traversing the tyres.
May 23, 2025 at 8:15 PM
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Grace Petrie and Jasmine Kennedy were fantastic last night in Edinburgh.

And such a lovely crowd.

Anyway, if anyone needs me I will be singing folk songs about how we need collective action against the coming dark. (1/2)
Grace Petrie and her band on stage. The stage is in The Caves in Edinburgh so it's stone backed. The lighting is mostly purple. It's a friendly crowd and the view is good. Grace plays guitar, and the band includes accordion, fiddle, bass - that's Jasmine Kennedy stage left- and you can't see the drummer.
May 23, 2025 at 8:11 AM
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I had a lovely mini break in his mum's old homeland at Easter. These banners were everywhere.
Banner outside a shop in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Reading "Shame on you Donald John!" There's a love is love pride flag in an upstairs window too.
May 21, 2025 at 6:11 AM
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And I have finished my desk sign...
An embroidered sampler on black cord cloth. It has "do not obey in advance" stitched on it. The "do" is peach, looking like handwriting, and the "in advance" is pale pink handwriting. I forget the name of the stitch. The NOT is in block capital red satin stitch and the OBEY block capital yellow. I made a strand of barbed wire in silver thread too. It's very scruffy, which is deliberate.
May 13, 2025 at 10:15 AM
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These are some of the Callanish Stones.

Older than the pyramids.

Older than any records we have in Britain.

These days they are very mysterious and atmospheric but... (more in alt text and my nonsense in replies...)
Part of the Callanish stones. There are three short stones centre left, forming the walls of a burial cyst. You can't see it in this image but someone has left an offering - feathers carefully wrapped in plastic wrap. For the record I think any deities or fae in the area would prefer biodegradable gifts. Anyway. So. Left of shot and centre are some massive flat stones of Lewisian Gneiss, an incredibly ancient stone with veins of crystal through it. And background you can see another three stones. Behind that is a Loch and the path to the visitor centre, an exciting £10million development due 2026 which the sign insists is a new chapter and not, say, a mere piece of punctuation in the journey of time around the stones. Its overcast and gloomy.
April 21, 2025 at 3:59 PM
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My 9 year old, when taken to an idyllic, remote beach, drew an 8 panel comic about how he feels when he can't sleep. On the sand. I love this kid.
An idyllic hebridean beach, under an overcast sky. There's about a mile of golden sand, with a headland in the background. And foreground, an 8 panel graphic novel drawn in the sand. Its mostly illegible. You just have to believe me when I say its actually a complex depiction of my son's eyes asking his brain to let him sleep and his brain refusing.
April 20, 2025 at 6:46 PM
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I'm sure there's a complex political metaphor in this seagulls attitude to my fish supper, but I'm too tired and cold to figure it out.
A very blurred picture of a herring gull at a port side, taken from the passenger seat of the car. The gull is affecting nonchalance.
April 19, 2025 at 7:09 PM
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Took the small humans to the Arnol Blackhouse museum. #hebrides

"Mum it is the HOLIDAY I do not want to be EDUCATED AT"

[Both proceed to spend about an hour pretending to be crofters and bickering over who has to muck out the byre]
Interior of a reconstructed hebridean black house- a traditional stone built, thatched croft house. In the centre is a real peat fire (peat being flammable mud). Dangling over it is a teapot on a black iron chain. The floor is stone flag. Behind the fire is a dresser decked with the best China dinner set and a second dresser, both heavy dark wood. There's a spinning wheel in the cupboard. A child- not mine- is passing through the byre at the back. Said child is not identifiable.
April 16, 2025 at 7:53 PM
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Small son on Harris. He was dead set he wasn't getting out of the car. Once out, it turned out that doing silly dances in the waves was actually the best fun ever. Thank goodness someone invented wellies.
A child stands on the edge of the sea at sunset. He's in silhouette- you can't really see much detail except that he's in wellies and bulky clothes and has long hair. The sun is dipping behind a low hill on the other side of a bay or a sea Loch. Light reflects across the bay and onto the wet sand. There's a trail of welly prints leading to the child and no other sign of life (except clearly I am taking the photo). The sea is reasonably calm and the sky is still mostly blue. A few low grey clouds catch the sun.
April 16, 2025 at 9:29 AM
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These are fulmars.

If you mess with a fulmar- a kind of miniature albatross- it will vomit foul smelling, waterproof oil all over you.

It's a seabird and it lives on the Butts of Lewis.
A fulmar on a cliff. Fulmars are roughly the size of a gull, and look similar on cliffs apart from the cool tube over their nose and their eyes, which look like they nailed smoky eyeliner. This fulmar is sitting wedged in a crack on a black cliff with some greenery around it.
April 13, 2025 at 6:05 PM
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Stornoway. Lots of these signs up. The islands want a word with their most prominent son...
White washed two story house on the harbour- you can't quite make out it's a gift shop/gallery. On the railings outside, black print on a white banner- "SHAME ON YOU DONALD JOHN #democracy" and upstairs, right hand window, a rainbow flag with love is live on it. A door in the back of a shop. Four signs- one tells us there is no toilet, one that the shop has cctv, one is illegible, and the largest- SHAME ON YOU DONALD JOHN #democracy
April 13, 2025 at 7:09 AM