“Have Yourself A Merriam Little Christmas”
Merriam, a career-oriented lexicographer from the city, returns to her small town for the holidays and meets Webster, a ruggedly handsome librarian, who shows her the true DEFINITION of Christmas.
Not at all. Happy to admit to misadventures with Cointreau
Having never drunk neat Archers, I don't know
Is that the orange one?
Have you been at the peppermint schnapps again?
Ok, not if you follow the "language is constantly evolving" argument, but ykwim
Words have solid definitions and meanings, Brannan
For one horrible moment, I thought you were doing this irl and announcing it to the world
Hi Hugh. I'm sorry, but I am no longer the archivist for Keble. My successor is Peter Monteith. Please contact him at archives@keble.ox.ac.uk
Snickers bar and a metal whistle
Parents, please check your kids’ candy this Halloween. I’ve just found an ancient metal whistle with the inscription “QUIS EST ISTE QUI VENIT" inside a Snickers bar. I blew it and heard a note of infinite distance, and now I’m haunted by a figure in pale, fluttering draperies. Be safe.
Dorse of a deed
A deed
A lovely endorsement on the back of this deed, "this deed was cancelled by cause it is forged" TNA C 147/1097
Rainbow over Holywell Street, Oxford
Accidentally took the mathematically perfect shot of our local cat.
🫣
Insult your local politicians, even your friends, like a true Shakespearean!
Congrats!
Front cover of 'East Lynne' by Mrs Henry Wood
Title page of 'East Lynne' by Mrs Henry Wood
I adore 'East Lynne' - it's so fantastically trashy! The stage version is even more over-blown. I've never been able to work out what edition my copy is
Blackthorn bush with sloes
Same here earlier this week!
A man with a spectacular 1970s mullet, wearing big wellies and a v-neck jumper over a T-shirt, looks at camera as he stands on a boat which is itself standing on the muddy bottom of an empty canal. He is holding up an enormous wooden plug on a long chunky chain
Today is the 47th anniversary of this clearly unimprovable photo, from a story so absurd that it shouldn’t be true, but is: the day a team of workers from British Waterways pulled the plug out of the Chesterfield Canal, and all the water emptied out
Photo of a scratched forearm
The price of sloe gin
Photo of a blackthorn bush with fruit
Struggling to believe the sloes are ripe so early this year, but they are soft and have their waxy coating. Time to make gin (and worry about the weather)
ok cool not a big deal at all
[Blogged] The AI powered Library Search That Refused to Search - From Clarivate's Summon to Primo Research Assistant, content‑moderation layers meant mostly for chatbots are "quietly" blocking controversial topics from being searched
aarontay.substack.com/p/the-ai-pow...
good morning. on the blog today, a piece i wrote in 2003 about love, marriage and what happens when "i love you" becomes meaningless to only one of you. it's about witnessing the end of someone else's relationship. please read to the addendum at the end michelecatblog.wordpress.com/2025/07/29/i...
En garde
Book opened to highly illustrative title page
Close up of highly-illustrative page of text
Close up image of the word "Christ" woven from silk
Close up image of silk fibers forming the letter C
Have you ever seen a book made entirely of silk? One item getting a lot of reading room attention recently is this "Livre de Prières." This book was manufactured with the Jacquard process, which relied on perforated punch cards to operate a loom, and is considered a precursor to early programming.
Time to update... nay downdate your slang!
Fabric samples pinned to a large piece of paper
Ooo more!
Four labelled squares of white linen on top of an old envelope
Completely charmed by these fabric samples found in a file of Sir Louis Mallet's papers relating to Anglo-French trade agreements 1826-1877 #BalliolArchives
I dare you to whisper this bsky.app/profile/ccur...