ultima thule
@thethousandthpart.com
C18-19 British/Irish history | RN/polar exploration | Photographer; librarian; independent researcher of life and career of Capt. Francis Crozier. www.thethousandthpart.com
Another day, another side of the lough...
November 9, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Another day, another side of the lough...
Looking across the Narrows towards Strangford and the Mournes in the background. Sound up for the bells, birds and wind.
November 2, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Looking across the Narrows towards Strangford and the Mournes in the background. Sound up for the bells, birds and wind.
Mount Stewart is colouring up nicely (even though that bright yellow was brown in less than two days)...
October 26, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Mount Stewart is colouring up nicely (even though that bright yellow was brown in less than two days)...
Read this while on the road, and though there may not be enough 'pure' history for some, it's thoughtful, [darkly] funny and absorbing. It didn't bring peace to my uneasy relationship with museums/heritage sites (nothing could do that), but I enjoyed the book! #HistBookChat
October 24, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Read this while on the road, and though there may not be enough 'pure' history for some, it's thoughtful, [darkly] funny and absorbing. It didn't bring peace to my uneasy relationship with museums/heritage sites (nothing could do that), but I enjoyed the book! #HistBookChat
Very pleased to have spotted Captain Crozier among the famous locals in the Down County Museum, between Francis Hutcheson and Thomas Andrews Jr. (the latter of the Titanic fame).
October 10, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Very pleased to have spotted Captain Crozier among the famous locals in the Down County Museum, between Francis Hutcheson and Thomas Andrews Jr. (the latter of the Titanic fame).
Timeline cleanse, with lots of foam and none of that North Sea rubbish.
October 5, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Timeline cleanse, with lots of foam and none of that North Sea rubbish.
Quick run (well, a brisk walk) before sunset; pleased to report none of that cloudless summer nonsense remains.
September 21, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Quick run (well, a brisk walk) before sunset; pleased to report none of that cloudless summer nonsense remains.
Finally starting to read this in its entirety, having previously enjoyed extracts here and there. Someone really ought to repeat his route next year to mark its 230th anniversary! #HistBookChat #IrishHistory
September 19, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Finally starting to read this in its entirety, having previously enjoyed extracts here and there. Someone really ought to repeat his route next year to mark its 230th anniversary! #HistBookChat #IrishHistory
Cupid’s Arrow/Crow Conversation
September 7, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Cupid’s Arrow/Crow Conversation
Foggy river this morning instead of the sea - could it possibly mean the start of the season known elsewhere as "autumn" and practically invisible here?
August 31, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Foggy river this morning instead of the sea - could it possibly mean the start of the season known elsewhere as "autumn" and practically invisible here?
Picked up "Second Identity" for commute reading; yet to break through its multiple waves of history to the main topic, but enjoying some of Cobb's observations a little too much. I could almost forgive him his dislike of hills and Scotland (not in a million years, Sir😀) #HistoryBookChat
August 29, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Picked up "Second Identity" for commute reading; yet to break through its multiple waves of history to the main topic, but enjoying some of Cobb's observations a little too much. I could almost forgive him his dislike of hills and Scotland (not in a million years, Sir😀) #HistoryBookChat
Layers and stairs (another sunny day ignored ☑️)
August 24, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Layers and stairs (another sunny day ignored ☑️)
Learning from @hartleyspecialc.bsky.social that the Duke of Wellington was once sent a dog, ship's biscuit and preserved meat from an Arctic voyage, I suspected John Ross - wrongly, bc it seems the goods came from Parry's 2nd expedition. The sender is Capt. Hill en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hi... 1/3
August 22, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Learning from @hartleyspecialc.bsky.social that the Duke of Wellington was once sent a dog, ship's biscuit and preserved meat from an Arctic voyage, I suspected John Ross - wrongly, bc it seems the goods came from Parry's 2nd expedition. The sender is Capt. Hill en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hi... 1/3
Spot the odd one out on the horizon!
(She is B.A.P. Unión, the Peruvian training ship, fifth from the left - and is, I hope, rightfully scornful of the lowly supply boats around her).
(She is B.A.P. Unión, the Peruvian training ship, fifth from the left - and is, I hope, rightfully scornful of the lowly supply boats around her).
August 17, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Spot the odd one out on the horizon!
(She is B.A.P. Unión, the Peruvian training ship, fifth from the left - and is, I hope, rightfully scornful of the lowly supply boats around her).
(She is B.A.P. Unión, the Peruvian training ship, fifth from the left - and is, I hope, rightfully scornful of the lowly supply boats around her).
Been left with the spare human and am indignant. Send treats pls.
August 9, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Been left with the spare human and am indignant. Send treats pls.
Continuing my pictorial protest against bright sun, blue sky and shouty neighbours all at once; I'm sure there's an idea for a project here somewhere.
July 27, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Continuing my pictorial protest against bright sun, blue sky and shouty neighbours all at once; I'm sure there's an idea for a project here somewhere.
A delightfully irregular house in Norwich. If I owned this, it would be called Apertures (don't judge:)).
July 11, 2025 at 3:22 PM
A delightfully irregular house in Norwich. If I owned this, it would be called Apertures (don't judge:)).
Whales have gained a somewhat unexpected champion in Princess Lieven. Sir W. Congreve and his rockets, on the other hand…
July 10, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Whales have gained a somewhat unexpected champion in Princess Lieven. Sir W. Congreve and his rockets, on the other hand…
For anyone who may need to see/hear the sea today (sound up):
July 1, 2025 at 2:58 PM
For anyone who may need to see/hear the sea today (sound up):
One of the reasons I hate summer on the east coast of Scotland is that scenes like this last for about 5 seconds and the rest of nearly every day is a hell of non-colour, stuffy air and no atmosphere whatsoever.
June 22, 2025 at 9:17 AM
One of the reasons I hate summer on the east coast of Scotland is that scenes like this last for about 5 seconds and the rest of nearly every day is a hell of non-colour, stuffy air and no atmosphere whatsoever.
Light and shadow early this morning.
June 5, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Light and shadow early this morning.
If the point of a biography is to make its subject live, this recent one unfortunately leaves Parry as reliably dead as its two rather ‘meh’ predecessors did, with a difference that it reads like a near-endless scroll of badly joined up Wikipedia entries of variable quality. 1/2 #histbookchat
May 9, 2025 at 9:57 PM
If the point of a biography is to make its subject live, this recent one unfortunately leaves Parry as reliably dead as its two rather ‘meh’ predecessors did, with a difference that it reads like a near-endless scroll of badly joined up Wikipedia entries of variable quality. 1/2 #histbookchat
Sadly, they don't write footnotes like this any more. Luckily, they don't practise Mr. Edgeworth's methods of child rearing any more.
May 8, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Sadly, they don't write footnotes like this any more. Luckily, they don't practise Mr. Edgeworth's methods of child rearing any more.
Very upset that the Tunnock Prize is a cash prize rather than a massive tea cake…
May 3, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Very upset that the Tunnock Prize is a cash prize rather than a massive tea cake…