iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉

Raphael Samuel History Centre @rshc.bsky.social · 4h

Join us for Photographing the Calder Valley: or social history at the “mouth of hell”. Lecture by Matthew Hilton with comment from Aditya Chakrabortty 19 November 2026. All welcome. Queen Mary University, London E1. PhotographingCalderValley.eventbrite.co.uk @qmul.bsky.social @qmcbs.bsky.social

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 5h

His Facebook profile has an actual photo. And photos of motorbikes. Posts about Islamic blasphemy laws and how billionaires are somehow directing the anti-car wars. These people exist sadly.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 6h

When you gently comment on the historical rationale behind the post-war refugee treaties - and someone puts you right. “Didn’t you study history?” Clicking on my bio is just there.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 9h

Magnums, Nuts, Chocolate. All have “fruit” in them.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 9h

Poitiers. The royal army turned up and along with some loyal townspeople defeated the rebels. The church is now a storeroom for bits of stonework and statutory from archaeological digs around the town. Open once a year during heritage week, which I always seem to miss. That is a lovely roof though.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 9h

Apparently the war - some barons bored of peace after the 100 years war finished decided to overthrow the king and install his son Louis instead - resembled a similar conflict in Bohemia just a few years early. 🤷‍♂️ Anyway. The rebels arrived in St M and a boy was sent to alert the king in nearby

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 9h

It was built in 1460 on the orders of King Charles VII at the same time as he granted the town a charter. He was recognising the town’s support during the “Praguerie”. The what? Since when did French civil wars get named after foreign capital cities?

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 9h

Wow. Two of my favourite things. A #churchfromabike and some really obscure French history. (OK, not as obscure as 19th Century memorials to the Vendée, I grant you but pretty damn obscure). This is the largely abandoned 15th Century gothic church of Our Lady of Grace in St Maixent.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 9h

Tbf quite a lot of that shop is actually Intermarché own brand! They just don’t call it that… The bread, yoghurt, one of the cheeses, eggs are all Intermarché

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 9h

My food basically comes from Intermarché when I’m here with just the bike. So I was glad their fridges were all working.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 9h

I am a truly terrible shopper. I make a list. I go shopping. The list: fruit, bread, milk, butter, cheese, eggs. The shop:

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 11h

Homemade sweets, cakes and biscuits are HEALTHY! Trust me, I’m a doctor. (Yes, it’s in obscure French history, but still…)

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Ah. Hantavirus - the great great grandfather of Man Flu.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Blimey. This is an immense thread. You people are mad But no Tolkien as far as I can see. Peter Jackson will be upset. Return of the Kerching.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

It’s a terrible entry drug. Next thing you know you’re scoffing those stupidly expensive fruit jellies from the top shelf at the supermarket. And then it’s downhill all the way to the insulin pump.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Crystallised!! Or confit as the French call it.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Such a simple recipe (from Grub on A Grant so more than 50 years ago) Melt 200g of butter in a pan with 4tbs of golden syrup and 4tbs of soft brown sugar. Stir in 500g of oats/flour/muesli (whatever you have). Chuck in chopped crystal ginger and spices. Into a baking tray. 150 for 45/50 minutes.

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Reposted by Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉

Dave Vetter @davidrvetter.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Feels like not enough people are aware of how fully cooked the internal combustion engine is. My mum's old diesel Honda currently costs £120 to fill up, on which it'll do just under 300 miles. My sister's EV costs £6 for a full charge which will take her 280 miles.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Ah. If I’d only waited until after 6.00. But the tea and flapjack was nice.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

The Ceremony of the First Fire has been performed. I hope all your fires burn brightly through the long nights until Spring.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

It does. Life can be a right bastard. Sorry.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Ah. Yes. The calories. I do love bread. I think I’d give up wine if I had to choose.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

I have these squealer machines all over the house. The mice don’t like them. Allegedly.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

And here is the Le Creuset bread. A satisfying use of the store cupboard ingredients on a dull and cool day. Sadly no cheese in the house, so I will have to go out shopping tomorrow.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Baking as creative art therapy. (Crystallised ginger and winter spices flapjacks)

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Amazingly, given it’s republican themes and story of resistance against conservatism, it survived the furnaces that so many other bronze statues ended in during the Nazi occupation and has been on tour to various museums around France. Now back in its home town.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

His home town, Palaiseau, South of Paris gained permission to erect the statue and eventually 1800 francs from the state to pay for it. It’s really rather lovely. General Thibaudin from the War Ministry, a senator and 3 deputies inaugurated it on 11 September 1881. Bands played. People danced.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Of course, that story was made up by a revolutionary commander accused of incompetence (at best) and seized on by Robespierre as fantastic propaganda. Disputed by the Vendéens too - “a miserable horse thief”. But myths make nations and so it was with Bara. The great artists seized on his corpse

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Bara was an ideal hero for the secular, anti-monarchist Third Republic. His story was in every school history book - refusing to surrender to the vicious Vendéen catholic rebels and murdered for refusing to say “long live the king”. Children, be like Joseph! Serve until death!

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Most of the early ones represented the Great Men of the enlightenment and Republicanism as the new regime imposed its version of French greatness. An early example was this lovely bronze of Joseph Bara (sometimes Barra) born (maybe - like names the poor were a bit vague) July 1779 died aged 14.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

I have a lot of new followers (the Bot factories have been destroyed, so you must be real people) and we haven’t had a Vendée statue fest for a while so… The period between the defeat to Prussia in 1871 and the Great War in 1914 marked an explosion of memorials in France. Statuomanie.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

To nobody’s surprise, the global elite do everything they can not to pay tax. Anywhere. Not even in places they a specifically welcome. There are indeed some immigrants we’d be better off without. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...

theguardian.com

Roman Abramovich aides falsified paperwork to disguise assets and dodge tax, records suggest

Accountancy firm Deloitte Cyprus among those that appear to have backdated records outlining the Russian billionaire’s assets

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Sleep won’t come. Another cup of tieul and menthe? 🤞

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Blimey. How much veg!? I count FIVE! You put us meat and TWO veg cooks to shame

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Take the remains of last nights cassoulet, add in veg soup from the freezer. Simmer for 10 minutes. It’s not “cooking” but it’ll do for a cool autumn night. Who has lit their first fire of the season?

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

My teachers: write in short sentences, break things into individual ideas, don’t over complicate. 19th Century French journalists: regarde-moi faire…

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

They probably only have a billion pound budget. Nothing important to do with it - like SEND or making sure people can get around safely - our neighbours in Essex have decided a little fascist militia would be good.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Hah. You reckon it’ll take days? Yeah, sorry this is too hard, I’m going back to porn and benefits in my mum’s spare room.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Still summer during the day here in Poitou

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

The watch is right. That most typical of French first day breakfasts: poitrine et pain de mie à la poêle

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Hah. Basketball rugby. I love a well constructed try but neither side seemed that bothered about tackling. Think the SA, French and Irish sides are going to be teaching a few brutal lessons again in Europe.

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Most of the people I saw on bikes (a lot!!) seemed to be on the hire ones or riding cargo types - so presumably not parking up to go touristing. I agree that there didn’t seem to be many stands, though I wasn’t looking out for them. I don’t think cycle tourists are their primary target!

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Gareth Oakland 🇫🇷🏏🏉 @goakl.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

I used to cycle commute from Bromley to Charing Cross 4 days a week for a decade. Never been fitter. “What do you miss most about work, Gareth?” “The commute..”

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