Sign in

Christian Algar

@ceebarnacles.bsky.social
971 followers 815 following 1.4K posts

By the books or by the sea. Trying, here and there 🖤🌊

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Christian Algar
Raymond W Gallacher @rgallacher.eurosky.social · 10h
Peace is a habit, you get used to it, then you don't want to lose it.
161
Reposted by Christian Algar
GylesNaMopaleen @gylesnamopaleen.bsky.social · 10h
wow. just wow. and more wow on top. Protestants in Northern Ireland are queueing up to sign an open letter by Rev Karen Sethuraman appealing to the Orange Order and Chris Bryant (SoS for NI) to stop the nonsense.
An open letter to the Rt Hon Chris Bryant MP. Secretary of State for
Northern Ireland, and Helen McEntee TO, Minister for Foreign
Affairs and Trade

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe_rmKUmt0rriVT8oDq_IPPSHsk1FFwBfsV2UTMuXaUzbt9Wg/viewformlong list of names of prominent protestants in NI who have signed the open letter. 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe_rmKUmt0rriVT8oDq_IPPSHsk1FFwBfsV2UTMuXaUzbt9Wg/viewformlong list of protestant names who have signed the open letter
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe_rmKUmt0rriVT8oDq_IPPSHsk1FFwBfsV2UTMuXaUzbt9Wg/viewformlong list of protestant names who have signed the open letter.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe_rmKUmt0rriVT8oDq_IPPSHsk1FFwBfsV2UTMuXaUzbt9Wg/viewform
84321
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 11h
“We have long expected things of another nature from you …” The Levellers had the *best* opening lines, this one to Parliament in September 1648.
020
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 16h
And here’s John Hawkins of Plymouth. A figure that featured greatly in my historical rites of passage as a young person. All of these historical figures have had immense impacts on our lives, yet most British people know so little about it. A Forgotten History it is. That has to change for progress.
Portrait of John Hawkins.
010
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 16h
An important and much-needed history book, ‘Britain’s Slave Traders *A Forgotten History*’. Acquired in the bookshop of Britain’s national library, where the author, Prof. William Pettigrew, undertook much research. The featured portraits of Harley and Sloane are apposite as founding collections.
Front cover of book with a collage design featuring an engraved Britannia and the building of The Royal Exchange. Portrait of Robert Harley. Portrait of Hans Sloane.
120
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 18h
People being released from prisons in the UK today. More than a few being interviewed reveal they’ve been incarcerated for shoplifting. Shoplifters do not belong in prison. People who are a genuine danger to other people do, shoplifters do not belong to be in prisons.
001
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 20h
Ha - he thinks he is John Dee.
020
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 22h
Memo above my desk …
Orange sticker with a work / life motif ‘The Institution will never love you back’
160
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 22h
‘Values’ are always weaponised by those at the top of the triangle against those below.
010
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 22h
Have experienced similar, so sending solidarity. It’s all about control - total control. (Also: top 🎃🔨 reference 👊🖤)
110
Reposted by Christian Algar
Sardonicus @sardonicus.eu · 23h
‘How Long Will The Fuel Hold Out’ George Carlson, 1914 archive.org/details/cari...
A massive, imposing head wearing a helm  'War God' representing the insatiable and destructive nature of militarism.
The Figure of "Europe": A woman labeled "Europe" who shovels human skulls and bones from a vast pile into the fiery furnace of the war god's mouth.
18424
Reposted by Christian Algar
Lee Hurley @hleehurley.com · 30/09/2026
There we go. The former Mayor of Manchester, who was very cosy with the owners of Manchester City who have been found guilty of the biggest cheating scandal in British football, would be "really concerned" if they sold the club www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Andy Burnham 'really concerned' if Man City owners sell up after rule breaches
The prime minister compares the allegations against Man City to the plight of his own club Everton.
1820253
Reposted by Christian Algar
Dr Julia King @julialilinoe.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Coming out of my BlueSky hibernation to share this project I worked on for @bibsoc.bsky.social. We have even more videos on the horizon, so you can watch these and then come back for more more more Caxton!
282
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I like Guardiola’s views outside of football, he’s progressive not reactionary, but I struggle with the fact that he (and other Manchester City figures) never seemed to have any awareness of the grotesque inequality of the club’s finance. Tbf tho I suppose he did say Biesla did things he could not.
000
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This looks amazing! (Especially Laurence Publicover’s ‘Goodwin Sands in the Early Modern English Imagination’ - Laurence is great - and I can walk less than 5 mins from my front door to see Goodwin Sands - when the tide is right) 🌊🖤
010
Reposted by Christian Algar
Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Andy Burnham announces end of triple-lock on the state pension from 2030. It will be replaced by double-lock, slower growth in state pension. Full state pension is already less than 50%of the minimum wage. Poverty awaits future retirees. £500bn of taxes not collected by HMRC since 2010.
54454264
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Ha! Fludd thought everything could be worked out with loads of numbers (but not as many as Man City have played around with)
010
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Children’s Illustrated?
100
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
“The defendant, wearing a grey t-shirt and holding a copy of the Bible.” The poor little lamb. Immediately thinking about another grifter, Brand, being asked to show his favourite passage during a tv interview with Morgan. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Daniel Thomas refused bail over alleged boat damage in Channel
Daniel Thomas is remanded in custody after appearing at Portsmouth Crown Court.
120
Reposted by Christian Algar
Netpol @netpol.org · 29/09/2026
If anyone is struggling to understand how our media and politicians are still talking about an RAF Fairford "bomb plot" when there were no bombs found, then the Forest Gate raid in 2006 is a useful comparison en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_...
Photo taken by Netpol's campaigns coordinator in 2006 of the end of Lansdown Rd in Forest Gate, closed by police after a "bomb plot" terrorism raid led to the sealing off of the area for a week. One man was shot but fortunately survived – there was no bomb factory, yet the Kahar family were smeared by the media for weeks
25521
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Pet Peeve: that MS Word refers to layout margins that are hugely wasteful with too much white space as ‘Normal’. I’m ’Narrow’ all the way!
Screenshot of the different options for Word Document
Margins.
000
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
You make kind offer, but you must make a living too and it would not be right to spend time and labour for free (and I don’t have funds). I’ll start compiling a list of producers / publishers / works from the records I have and from online catalogues and add it to a list of things to write about 🙏🙂
100
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
He’s the pub bore.
010
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Reform will be fining families that don’t eat boiled beef and carrots and roly-poly pudding. Ffs 🙄
000
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Of course we all expected places (connected to higher education, culture &c) to row back from lofty progressive ‘promises’ and ‘commitments’ to end racism and pursue social justice, but the extent of the vessels being sunk now is some scuppering. And what are the ‘excuses’ / reasons being given?
000
Reposted by Christian Algar
Dr Jo Edge 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @hagenilda.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
once more with feeling (from this week's staff newsletter)
Herts expert explains the history and appeal of coffee Professor Jonathan Morris, Director of Research Culture and Environment at Herts, tells listeners to the Nicky Campbell show on BBC Radio 5 Live about the history and appeal of coffee. Prof Morris explains high-quality coffee only really came to the UK in the 1990s and fits our workplace lifestyle. Yet way back in the 1660s, Britain imported coffee from the Middle East and opened the “first real operative coffee house”.
0101
Reposted by Christian Algar
Dr Jo Edge 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @hagenilda.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This University has just shut down all undergraduate Humanities degrees, including History, where we had some amazing modules on Black and African History for first years. 🤡
Email subject: Development at Herts: Support through change | Career growth | Black History Month
86125
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
That type are second only to authoritarians in terms of being responsible for getting on for 99% of the world’s problems.
020
Reposted by Christian Algar
Claire Boardman @claireboardman.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
CfP: Restorative Justice. Heritage Practices, Narratives, & Futures of Conservation (Vienna Oct 2027). 'How can practices of care advance justice in museums and beyond? And how can museums, archives, universities, and other sites of heritage contribute to more just futures?" tinyurl.com/mtexpbwj
heritagestudiesvienna.com
Call for Papers: Restorative Justice. Heritage Practices, Narratives, and Futures of Conservation — Cultural Heritage Studies Vienna
How can practices of care advance justice in museums and beyond? And how can museums, archives, universities, and other sites of heritage contribute to more just futures? The Global Conservation: Hi...
063
Reposted by Christian Algar
Universal Short Title Catalogue @universalstc.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Arthur der Weduwen, co-director of the USTC, has published 'The Last Invasion of England' investigating the Dutch Republics motives behind the daring invasion of England that led to revolution. Read about how the Dutch utilized print during the campaign at the link! www.ustc.ac.uk/news/the-pri...
12610
Reposted by Christian Algar
Kate Watson @loreandordure.com · 26/09/2026
See, this whole time there really were people reading Playboy for the articles!
38718
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
🙏🎯
010
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I’m not planning on embarking on any major study of the incidence and use of these, more just meditating on their uses and how they were decided upon to be produced.
000
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Thanks - where has the annotated list been maintained? My interest in 19th-c facsimile reprints has been generated by the great number of them in a particular collector’s library, a person deeply immersed in and knowledgeable about early printing and transmission of texts.
200
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Public library visits [in Ireland] increased by two million nationwide in two years 🥹💚 www.rte.ie/news/ireland...
rte.ie
Public library visits increased by two million nationwide
Visits to public libraries around Ireland have increased by two million in the last two years, new figures show as National Public Libraries Open Day takes place nationwide.
010
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
💪👊🙏
010
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Years ago I read this stunningly emotional novel ‘The Angel of History’ by Bruno Arpaia. It tells the story of one of the many refugees / exiles fleeing Nazi Germany. It reminded me of Erich Maria Remarque’s amazing (& underrated) ‘refugee’ novels on this theme. So sad, Benjamin’s harrowing plight.
Front cover of paperback edition of Bruno Arpaia’s novel ‘The Angel of History’. The artwork is based on a 1930s or 40s era photograph that captures a solitary man in raincoat and hat descending a public staircase in the driving rain. It is evocative of isolation, exposure, meditation, and vulnerability. Back cover of the book with synopsis text.
010
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
🙂👊
000
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Good points! I’ve been thinking about the, usually limited numbers, rare early texts that booksellers familiar with the antiquarian trade put out from time to time. Sometimes it seems to respond to trends of interest amongst collectors or scholars. Think I’ll collate examples from auction catalogues
100
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
#bookhistory question: is anyone working on the incidence / history of early 19th-century facsimiles / reprints of early printed works (especially in English)? Does anyone know of any past studies into this category? 🙏
31317
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
All power to ‘the wrong type of white woman’, like Rachel Marsh. The weaponisation of white women as a rallying banner for macho shit, social media educated, white supremacist men is nauseating and an immense danger to our society’s common wellbeing.
010
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Expect a reply this pm. 🙂
110
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
*waves in a library work way* 😀
static.klipy.com
Fred Flintstone Surfs Up!
ALT: Fred Flintstone Surfs Up!
120
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
“Sir Archy Mac Sarcasm is a pseudonym.” Cataloguers, huh?! 😀
Screenshot of a catalogue record for an 18th-century English printed book.
282
Reposted by Christian Algar
Alasdair Mackenzie @alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Fascinating piece which reminds us that, far from being some sort of aberration or recent departure, the likes of “Danny Tommo” are quintessentially, and horribly, English
11310
Reposted by Christian Algar
Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
My latest blog post about Cree geographic knowledge in 17th-century cartography is now live with the British Library’s blog, focusing on some research that I completed this summer at the library as a 2026 Eccles Fellow. www.bl.uk/stories/blog...
bl.uk
Charting Indigenous lands and waterways
Cree geographical knowledge at the British Library and the early cartography of the Hudson Bay watershed.
01918
Reposted by Christian Algar
Dave Andress @davidandress.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
How many "English" grandparents do you need to be "English"? I bet you one hundred pounds that folk like this would look at a photo of someone with one German, one Dutch, one Irish and one Polish grandparent, and go "Yep, English". But if one of those grandparents was Jamaican...
4207
Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Great book! Distributed copies for a Community Reading Circle a year or so ago (it’s been remarked that many Black British people learn about Black history from American circumstances more than from British; says so much about how history is taught here).
A pile of copies of Percival Everett’s novel ‘James’ - a retelling of Mark Twain’s ‘Huckleberry Finn’ through the eyes, mouth - and pen of the enslaved man characterised by Twain as ‘Jim’.
020
Reposted by Christian Algar
Tristan Grayford @tristangrayford.scot · 23/09/2026
Andy Burnham says this as his Government steadfastly refuses to stand up to the far right on our streets as they violently harass refugees and the RNLI. Andy Burnham's UN speech has been one big lie.
Nothing brings the British people together across age, race and class more than their hatred of injustice – the misuse of power against the powerless.

We will always stand for the underdog against the bully.
27529
Reposted by Christian Algar
👻 🎃 🦇 Bela Lughosti's Dad 🏳️‍⚧️ 🇵🇸 @belalugosisdad.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Over 3,500 people are currently facing terrorism charges in the UK for holding signs saying "I support Palestine Action".
theguardian.com
Far-right activist Daniel Thomas slashes dinghy in Channel with blade while rescue worker onboard
Thomas called followers to protest against arrival of asylum seekers in Gosport, but Border Force instead transported them to Dover
11347154