iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by JY Saville

Caimh/CK McDonnell @caimhmc.bsky.social · 15h

Out now in paperback - a dark and twisted antidote to all that corporate-approved Crimbo cheer being shoved down your chimney already. Ho ho holy homicidal Santa Claus! Ring The Bells - the latest instalment in the award winning Stranger Times series. link.amazon/B0inZVlTl

A picture of the paperback book of Ring The Bells

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Dan Snow @thehistoryguy.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

This a million times. People of colour being dragged on to debate maniacs about imaginary labels & race science is an abomination. proper ‘how German are you’ Nazi shit Note that people like me with white migrant parentage never asked to defend our identity Englishness. Is. A. Made. Up. Thing

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Definitely endnotes then, for me. I'm reading a 1911 book at the moment and half of each page is footnotes, most of which are sources. I find I'm glancing down and losing the flow.

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I ignore endnotes unless I want to know the source so I can disappear down a rabbithole. If I'm going to miss actual material by doing this, I'd prefer it to be a footnote. With David Kynaston books I have to have 2 bookmarks and scour the endnotes where he hides the odd bit of info among citations.

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I have not dared test this on anything before posting, I need it to be out there, then I close one eye and hit the 'was this written by a robot?' button & thankfully so far it reckons I'm human. (Only a human would have managed to send you the pdf that was for printing out before doing final edits)

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Some thoughts I had on why Wodehouse works best in the early 20th century and how it would be hard to update him jacquelinesaville.substack.com/p/why-wodeho...

jacquelinesaville.substack.com

Why Wodehouse needs to stay in the past

Or am I wrong - can similar stories work in a modern context?

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I'd completely missed this the other day when I reposted my Substack article - we are lacking in archaeological evidence no more...

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Reposted by JY Saville

Richard Smyth @rsmythfreelance.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

This is on Sunday, if anyone has any spare sterling.

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

If all this Bayeux Tapestry chat has put you in the mood for more 1066 history, I delved into some stuff around the battle of Stamford Bridge a while ago

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Picturesquely starving in a garret might go with that sort of attitude, but Trollope wanted a proper dinner, and who can blame him?

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Belatedly realising not everyone is familiar with Trollope, I ought to point out he was annoyed about the situation. His day job was with the post office, but he still wrote books primarily for money, and everyone thought it was disgraceful that he admitted it.

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Have you not grasped the fact that we're supposed to be thrilled to be given the chance to do something we *love*? <points vaguely at the Anthony Trollope autobiog on the shelf, where he makes that point about engineers and butchers being allowed to worry about food and a roof, but not authors>

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I seem to recall Dan Jackson (author of The Northumbrians) was involved, it was a great project. That is a real shame.

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I read another book about cycling past the trenches, this time a 2019 book about a 1919 race, Riding in the Zone Rouge by Tom Isitt jacquelinesaville.substack.com/p/riding-in-...

jacquelinesaville.substack.com

Riding in the Zone Rouge by Tom Isitt

A 1919 cycle race through battlefields, and one man's ride in its wheel ruts a century later

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

This was about the fundamental interconnectedness of all things, as demonstrated by reading an apparently random book lent by a friend jacquelinesaville.substack.com/p/reading-a-...

jacquelinesaville.substack.com

Reading a random book about a paper mill

Because it's never just about the paper mill

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I keep forgetting to share what I've written on Substack, but this was a fun rom-com set in Essex, that I reviewed jacquelinesaville.substack.com/p/better-lef...

jacquelinesaville.substack.com

Better Left Unsent by Lia Louis

Small town rom-com with chaotic main character

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

That row of white houses across the valley was the view from my old flat's front door. Ah, I remember the first time my brother visited, saw that view, & called me a class traitor with envy in his voice.The rent on that flat was about two-thirds the rent on our old house off Dewsbury Rd. Happy days.

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

I saw Megadeth supporting Maiden in Paris and the whole trip probably cost less than that (that was in 1999, when a pint probably still only cost a quid in the student union, but still...)

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

And I got the word just from that comment…

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

A midsummer postcard from Lee-Ann is freshly available on my Substack for you to read, if you're missing my audio sitcom Lee-Ann's Spare Fridays. Gina's getting back to nature for the solstice, and Lee-Ann opens her big mouth. Again. jacquelinesaville.substack.com/p/a-midsumme...

jacquelinesaville.substack.com

A midsummer postcard from Upper Wheatley

More of what Lee-Ann did last summer or maybe the one before that

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Reposted by JY Saville

Dan Snow @thehistoryguy.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

If Starmer goes it will be five PMs in four years. Unprecedented?! No. The post pandemic 1920s saw a new challenger party, and a tousled haired, lecherous, corrupt leader succeeded by a burst of PMs. Five PMs… from three parties …. in two years and a month.

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

I don’t understand why people write memoir that is made up. Why not do it the old-fashioned way, write a novel heavily based on experience & give readers the added fun of working out which bits really happened, and who with? The killer detail that everyone believes but you slipped in to troll an ex.

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Now only a week away - come and spend an evening listening to stories and music at the quiet edge of Ilkley.

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

If only you’d known it was that easy to get out of

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

@smylers.uk @devaneemily.bsky.social do you know any local enjoyers of words and music who might want to come to this? £7 on the door and they even have a card machine now :-)

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

2 weeks today in Ben Rhydding! Come and join Skinner and T'witch, Mandy Sutter and I at the Purple Room, St John's Church. I've finalised my running order this morning - looking forward to sharing new & old postcards from Lee-Ann, a new Midsummer story & an old summer favourite.

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Spent a lovely afternoon last weekend watching the great tits in my dad’s garden. The youngsters fledged midweek, he tells me.

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

47 year old me still puts the record collection front and centre. You have clearly grown more than I have since the age of 20 :-)

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Absolutely, I mean you know I’m all about the science. It would be shirking a duty, now I know of their existence.

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

I’m sceptical that dark chocolate would work. But I would be willing to give them a try.

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

If you're in or around Ilkley 4 weeks today, I'll be reading some stories at the Purple Room in Ben Rhydding alongside Mandy Sutter, with music from Skinner and T'witch. Will include brand new (short) Lee-Ann adventures, for those who have listened to my audio sitcom & might be excited by that news

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

I read an odd book about a cycling tour through France during the first weeks of WW1. Long out of print but I've linked to an online copy ( @nickjhistorian.bsky.social it occurs to me you might be interested in it if you've never run across it) open.substack.com/pub/jacqueli...

open.substack.com

Across France in War Time by W Fitzwater Wray

A 1914 travelogue skirting the trenches

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Ah, that’s a whole other list - gigs you wish you hadn’t missed :-)

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Wow! AC/DC in Keighley, that’s fabulous. Can’t believe I forgot Sabbath when I was making my list, should have put them in place of Thunder.

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Introduce yourself with 10 bands you’ve seen live. Iron Maiden Terrorvision The Damned Megadeth The Wildhearts Little Angels 3 Colours Red Thunder Half Man Half Biscuit Maximo Park

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Fair enough. I shall do my own list when I’ve had my tea…

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

I think I might have seen Pulp at some kind of free thing at Roundhay park in about 1995. Technically probably a festival but there you go. Didn’t have a ticket, I was just in the park on a bench, watching from a distance.

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Reposted by JY Saville

Joe Cozens @joecozens.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

200 years ago the handloom weavers of Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire engaged in a 10-day rising, destroying over 1,100 power looms. To learn more check out our interactive StoryMap: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/9a84... #19thCentury #skystorians @sslh.bsky.social @esriuk.bsky.social

storymaps.arcgis.com

Witnessing the Weavers’ Rising of 1826

A digital mapping project created by The National Archives and The Open University

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

That’s great, a really nice presentation of a forgotten story.

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Reposted by JY Saville

RSPB @rspb.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Now May is here, it’s time to pause the seed and peanut feeders and switch to safer summer feeding with small amounts of mealworms or suet. Remember, feeders can spread disease, so keeping them clean matters. Click the link below for our full guidance on keeping garden birds healthy year round 👇

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Reposted by JY Saville

JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

3 more Purple Room spoken word & music events in Ben Rhydding this Spring/Summer, Ilkley folks. One of them includes me and Mandy Sutter (midsummer, 21st June)

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Reposted by JY Saville

Lev Parikian @levparikian.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

It’s the time of year to be sharing this.

An infographic flow chart describing what to do if you find a baby bird. Some key points:
– if the baby bird is injured, remove it from danger and contact local wildlife rescue
– if it is featherless, you can find the nest, and the nest is undamaged, replace it in the nest and observe from a distance
– if it is featherless and you can’t find the nest or the nest is damaged, contact local wildlife rescue
– if it has lots of feathers, it’s normal for it to be on the ground, so look to see if the parents are around. If they are, and if they’re feeding the fledgling, then all good. If not, you can gently shoo the fledgling under cover and observe to see if the parents return.
– whether the baby bird is featherless or feathered, if the parents don’t return to feed it (or if a predator turns up and starts attacking it), contact local wildlife rescue

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Podcasts with adverts, the economic reality… I thought £20 via ko-fi was peanuts on 2 series of my (advert-less) podcast sitcom but maybe I’m doing ok!

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

3 more Purple Room spoken word & music events in Ben Rhydding this Spring/Summer, Ilkley folks. One of them includes me and Mandy Sutter (midsummer, 21st June)

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Ah, well at one time I was responsible for the annual campus map update so all the arcane knowledge of building levels and staircases seems perfectly normal to me

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

I used to work at the top of that staircase :-)

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Should be in your substack backend, if nowhere else

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JY Saville @jysaville.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

I would maybe be interested, though feel free to ignore if you’re after writers of books specifically. I haven’t had a regular writers’ group since March 2020 and it’s the social side I probably miss the most. It’s probably early 2020 the last time I saw you in person, too.

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