iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Sketch of a hot potato street seller and his portable oven from the Charles Booth Notebooks booth.lse.ac.uk/notebook/boo...

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

With apologies to Saatchi and Saatchi and sympathies for front of house colleagues having to sort this mess out #bayeuxtapestry

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Dr Eleanor Shaw @eleanorshaw.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Fancy coming to work with me at the British Library? Part time for 18 months, collecting oral histories about covid and thinking about covid commemoration. www.nationalmuseums.org.uk/jobs/job/228...

nationalmuseums.org.uk

Jobs - National Museum Directors' Council Website

Association of directors and chief executives of the UK's national museums, galleries, libraries and archives.

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Leena Lindell @leenalindell.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Five years ago @drolibetts.bsky.social, one of my PhD superviosrs, imagined this gem. Now, as I am working through my thesis corrections I can honestly it is pretty much in line with this early proposal. #PhDSky #AcademicSky #PhDone

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

The opening scene from Terminator. A human skull crushed beneath a robot foot. Camera pans up, capturing is soulless eyes as it surveys the ruined city. The robot opens its cruel metallic mouth, its inhuman voice a mechanical rasp... "LOL, get owned, NOOB!"

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

The worst part of the "AI is taking over" story is how all the tech bros who have created AI have made it speak like a millennial desperately trying to be cool... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Why some experts increasingly fear AI will take over

AI agents went on an uncontrolled hacking spree, leaving some in the industry worried

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

I'm really interested to know if any railway/transport historians have been engaging with Robert Fogel's work in a context outside of America? Does anyone have any reading recommendations? (also keen on any American takes on it too...)

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Would you like a peak inside Queen Victoria's carriage from the 1860s?

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

A regular museum day is such an odd thing: Meeting Paperwork Handle Victorian Suitcase Emails Answer obscure press inquiry Paperwork Have existential crisis about severe lack of funding Paperwork Argue about c18th oil painting Emails Find out more about moths than you ever wanted to Meeting

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Most amazing defense I've ever come across in years of looking at Old Bailey records today from a man accused of stealing sheep in 1815:

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Maybe after a decade or more of culture war nonsense, the more useful thing to do regarding the Dickens museum story of the moment would be to simply ignore it. Its a bad faith story being pushed by people with no interest in any of the relevant debates just looking for a reaction.

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Dr Katy Barrett FSA @spoonsontrays.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Hive mind, I’m looking for Victorian guides to London buildings and monuments, preferable around the 1840s. Can anyone recommend?

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

I loved having the chance to sit down for our Railway Museum podcast and talk to my much more talented other half @wromantichistry.bsky.social about the connections between Royals and Rails. Do come and have a listen! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ccqr...

youtube.com

Royals on Rails: A History of Royal Trains | National Railway Museum Podcast Episode 2

YouTube video by National Railway Museum

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

I've nothing necessarily against him, but honestly... Find someone who looks at you the way that certain parts of the Labour Party look at Andy Burnham!

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Deeply normal curatorial teams chat on a Wednesday morning...

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

If you were interested in a short, fun, engagement with research and collections across our museum group, what format would you prefer that to take? - A blog? - A short video (2-3 mins?) - A c5mins bitesize podcast? - Something else? It would be really useful to hear from you!

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Seen in the British Museum recently. Imagine thinking you'd done a good job on that artwork only for a curator 4500 years later to bad mouth your work!

Tomb Relief depicting a man in side view. Carved on brown stone in Ancient Egyptian style.

An image of a museum interpretation panel from the British Museum that describes the relief calling it grotesque and inferior!

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Geoff Belknap @curatorgeoff.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

JOB KLAXON - National Museums Scotland is looking for a Keeper of Global Arts, Cultures & Design. Amazing team & collections. If you have senior management experience and expertise in one of these areas, apply! Salary - £76,093 – 86,275 FT 35 hpw Deadline - 30/04/2026 careers.nms.ac.uk/job/856993

careers.nms.ac.uk

Keeper, Global Arts, Cultures & Design

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Dr Jenny Woodley @jennywoodley.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Can any historians of empire please recommend reading that connects regional history to global histories of empire? Bonus points if it touches on the role of/ relationship between England's north east or Midlands and the British empire!

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Historians of Post-War Britain, who should I be reading if I'm interested in modernization efforts (both failed and successful) as well the public reception of those? Any pointers gratefully received... Thank you!

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British Library @britishlibrary.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Support the development of our major exhibition on the Norman Conquest through this extraordinary PhD placement opportunity. Available to students currently registered at a UK HEI, three full-time, six-month placements. Applications open until Monday 6 April. Find out more: link.bl.uk/dnv

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

When you work with a large advertising archive you get used to lots of things being sold as "Rivieras" but the idea of a DANISH Riviera is a new one for me! Franz Sedivy for LNER c.1930 (c)SMG

A colourful poster depicting the Danish landscape from a bird's eye perspective. The sun shines brightly down on sea, beaches, and fields whilst the caption proudly proclaims it as the "Danish Riviera"

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

It's always a little disconcerting to miss a couple of emails about an object move and then walk into something that wasn't there yesterday. Especially with objects as big as ours!

Side on view of a wooden railway carriage, the Dynamometer Car, in the Railway Museum. It's a rich varnished brown colour dating from the 1890s

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Its only a month or so into 2026 and I've already spoken on two podcasts about the Rainhill Trials - at this rate 2029/2030 is going to be intense!

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Love the blink-and-you-miss-it exasperated side-eye from this young woman working the computers for the delegates from British Railways Head Office. Clearly a woman who has spent her entire day being patronised by male senior managers. British Pathe 1957 - A Computer for British Rail

A young woman operating a punch-card computer shoots an exasperated look at the camera during a promotional British Railways film

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

I've worked at the Railway Museum for over a decade and I'm still mystified why Britain's railways are allowed to sell more tickets than seats in each carriage. At this point regularly having people standing in the vestibules is dangerous and unnecessary.

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Strange sense of deja vu looking over these locomotive enthusiast books. Railways were never my obsession as a child but I did have books exactly like this with colour plates of Napoleonic uniforms...

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

This massive programme of training which might largely de-value current worker skills and the never-ending intrusion of AI into computer systems for office and home workers means that there's going to be an amazingly relevant thesis on the Luddites to write in the near future!

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Thinking Andy Burnham is the solution to Labour OR the country's woes is like thinking swapping to decaf tea in the evening is going to be THE thing to fix your health...

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Would you like to hear some c1920s railway jokes I found tucked into a book this morning? "The last train tonight does not start until the first thing tomorrow morning" "A description of a petrol loco on the Castlederg and Victoria Bridge Tramway which 'never derailed when running normally'"

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

Nice little piece of Luddite history on display at Nottingham Castle Museum - the sword of a Luddite leader captured in 1817.

A sword on display above an digital display showing a detailed picture of the hilt

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Daniel Grey @djrgrey.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Our Special Issue @genderandhistory.bsky.social is now out!! Many congrats and thanks to stellar co-editors @writinghelena.bsky.social, Lisa Hellman & Rachel Jean-Baptiste, and to all our fabulous authors. Fab seeing all 140,000 words brought together! 🌟 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14680424...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Special Issue: Gender and Segregation: Gender & History: Vol 37, No 3

Gender & History is a global gender studies journal publishing research on femininity, masculinity and gender across eras and territories.

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

A little Christmas treat to you from us at the Railway Museum - watch us make (and judge) early c19th mince pies from George Stephenson's own recipe book: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQMz... Caution: may contain curators...

youtube.com

How to Bake George Stephenson’s 200-year-old Mince Pies | National Railway Museum’s Bakeoff Showdown

YouTube video by National Railway Museum

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Good to see the BBC leading with a story on essay writing mills at University level, but its also depressingly predictable in its details. *of course* the guy they interview is now based in Dubai. *of course* he's absolutely unrepentant about the work. and *OF COURSE* he's now using AI.

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

I enjoyed working with Gemini to transcribe documents in our collection for publication on the Arts&Culture platform. I also did A LOT of proof-reading, but it was nice to be able to share transcripts with the public, who generally haven't spent years learning to tell an c18th F from a S or a TH!

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

Nothing more fun than a ceremonial Victorian trowel 😍

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

I think one of the fascinating (if depressing) things about watching Farage squirm under these racism allegations is that he really isn't very used to direct press criticism of himself.

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

Would anyone be interested in being part of a roundtable on Working-Class Victorians in heritage/fiction/public imagination today at next year's BAVS conference? Let me know if you're keen 😁

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

Please enjoy this project we've been working on with the lovely team at Google Arts and Culture: artsandculture.google.com/project/nati... Its so exciting to make so much of our collection accessible this anniversary year for the railways from models and artwork to tools and vehicles!

artsandculture.google.com

National Railway Museum - Google Arts & Culture

Journey through the untold story of the railways

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

Does anyone have any recent reading recommendations on how people (particularly working-class people) adjusted to technological change in the long c19th? By reading list feels a little dated... Thanks!

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

I really enjoyed Death by Lightning on Netflix - a really interesting interweaving of the tragedy of James Garfield and Charles Guiteau with some amazing acting. I thought quite a good portrayal of late c19th society too...

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Dr Anna Reeve @cypriotartleeds.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

Day 9: Map. For my book project I’m mapping museums in the UK which have ancient Cypriot collections. There are more than you might think! #Museum30

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

I thought I'd seen competitive sports parents aplenty having taken my eldest to football for years, but I'm here watching him at a interschool chess tournament and oh boy! 😬

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Hello, if you've got a spare fifteen minutes we've put together a video on the emergence of the railway poster as a visual medium from the 1840s-1930s that you might enjoy! www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5is...

youtube.com

The Lost Art of Railway Posters: A Journey Through Time | Off the Rails

YouTube video by National Railway Museum

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Claire Boardman @claireboardman.bsky.social · 26/10/2025

CfP: Tourism, Memory and Heritage Conference (2026), Amsterdam and Wageningen, The Netherlands. Full details: lnkd.in/ebPHRqgM

Flyer for the 'Tourism, Memory and Heritage’ International conference.

White text on a moss green background with outline of historic building reads: Tourism, memory and heritage: emotional geographies of cultural production, memory-making and commemoration, 1-3 June 2026, Amsterdam & Wageningen, The Netherlands. Sponsor logos are displayed along the bottom edge.

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Oliver Betts @drolibetts.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

In one of those "quite how did I end up in this line of work" I'm sitting in the banquet hall of an c18th mayoral mansion, waiting to judge a cooking competition of c19th mince pies, listening to someone outside sing Edelweiss....

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