Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 1hLunchtime. Embroidered one baby's dress and shoes - less than a square inch!! 130
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 6hAnd #AllanRamsay, Scottish poet, was #BOTD 15 October 1686 in Leadhills, Lanark. Happy 340th birthday today to the poet! 020
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 8hI can't remember ever STOPPING in King's Lynn! Sutton Bridge, now, I had to stop there for a vehicular emergency once. The bridge itself is quirky ... 010
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 8hI have to say, we've never relished Sleaford-King's Lynn. Too many tractors and warnings of cameras which may or may not be there! You'll probably find new photographic angles that have escaped us, though. Blakeney & Cromer are worth a look, also Thursford, Walsingham (& Elm Hill in Norwich) ... 110
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 8hOoh, Norfolk? My childhood home. Any particular parts? 110
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 23hI can't help wondering. Did Glasgow composer Rose Smith and her mother do the same chores as me? How much time did it occupy? 'Plus ça Change, Plus c'est la Même Chose': Domesticity karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/10/14/p...karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog‘Plus ça Change, Plus c’est la Même Chose’: DomesticityNot long ago, I was bought a copy of The Feminist Art of Walking, by Morag Rose (Pluto Press, 2025). It falls into the category of Gender/Urban Studies, which certainly isn’t in my usual ball… 030
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 14/10/2026Hmm. Amazon 'thought I'd like a new vacuum cleaner.' I'm still deciding how to dispose of the irritating robot one!! 010
Reposted by Dr Karen McAulayDouglas Cheape @douglascheape.bsky.social · 14/10/2026The worst of weather conditions here. Our local RNLI were out in this last night. If you have anything but respect for them, you’re a disgrace. 5505
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 14/10/2026True! My ears really dislike hearing different pitches to what my hands are playing 😉 000
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 14/10/2026My son bought me 'The Feminist Art of Walking', which is how I encountered the #LoiterersResistanceMovement. Occurs to me that this week's walks to cemeteries in search of composer #RoseSmith & her trumpet major dad were slightly similar. I'm highlighting her place as musician. @thelrm.bsky.social 010
Reposted by Dr Karen McAulayJohn Bull @garius.bsky.social · 14/10/2026Murray went on to found Endell Street Military Hospital in London, staffed entirely by women. One of the most successful military hospitals of the war. Its motto was: "Deeds, not Words." When the war ended, she ordered the suffragette flag raised, to the sound of cheers from the male patients. 7410145
Reposted by Dr Karen McAulayDinah Rose KC @dinahrose.bsky.social · 14/10/2026Remembering Gwyneth Bebb today. She passed Oxford law finals with first class marks in 1913, but was refused a degree. The CA rejected her claim to become a solicitor, saying only men were "persons" within the legislation. In 1920 she finally became a Bar student. But died in childbirth in 1921. 16826273
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 14/10/2026Hooray! A bit of diligent searching found a digitised copy of a guy's piano waltz based on an original song by Rose Smith. Plus side: her song, with lyrics, is incorporated. Minus: it's not nearly up to her later standard! #WinSomeLoseSome 010
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 13/10/2026And it's not every day that you find a trumpet major's grave ... karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/10/13/m...karenmcaulaymusicologist.blogMusicologist Goes Further Afield: the Trumpet Major’s GraveMy step-count is exemplary this week! Today, I ventured into deepest Lanarkshire to find Rose Smith’s father’s grave. There’s a map at the cemetery, but it only helps locate the z… 050
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 13/10/2026Well, Lanark's stair-rods fell as drips, compared to our apocalypse. My feet, which there were very wet, in Govan are far wetter yet. I sheltered in a hedge, no less; it didn't help, I must confess.I've wrung my socks & changed my shoes, & now for lunch, in clean, dry trews! #Torrential #downpour 020
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 13/10/2026Thank you 😊. I also went on an exploratory visit to the library - a very worthwhile day. 010
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 13/10/2026Today's expedition! (Wet, dry and all points in between.) I found my Trumpet Major 🎺 karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/10/13/m...karenmcaulaymusicologist.blogMusicologist Goes Further Afield: the Trumpet Major’s GraveMy step-count is exemplary this week! Today, I ventured into deepest Lanarkshire to find Rose Smith’s father’s grave. There’s a map at the cemetery, but it only helps locate the z… 041
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 13/10/2026My feet were dry and now they're wet; The rain came down in stair-rods, yet I'm pleased my mission now is done; The graveyard stood there, bathed in sun. The trumpet major's resting place Now bears a rose's comely face. 160
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 13/10/2026Yesterday - remembering Glasgow composer and #Athenaeum piano teacher of juniors, Rose Smith. @rcsofficial.bsky.social karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/10/12/m... (So, where to today? Ah, wait and see!)karenmcaulaymusicologist.blogMusicologist at Large: Matters of Grave ImportanceFinding myself with more freedom and free time than usual for a short while, I decided I would squeeze every ounce of enjoyment out of my unusually unscheduled days. So what else would I choose to … 020
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 12/10/2026An expedition to a cemetery? It was something I had to do, for the sake of the woman musician I've been researching. karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/10/12/m...karenmcaulaymusicologist.blogMusicologist at Large: Matters of Grave ImportanceFinding myself with more freedom and free time than usual for a short while, I decided I would squeeze every ounce of enjoyment out of my unusually unscheduled days. So what else would I choose to … 051
Reposted by Dr Karen McAulayEmma Mitchell @silverpebble2.bsky.social · 12/10/2026A tiny posy of October garden flowers in a cobalt blue Victorian ink bottle. There are small spots of dopamine-inducing floral colour out there if you search for it...🌿 10769108
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 12/10/2026Mission accomplished. Now to get home again. I'm going to blog later, so hold on to your curiosity! #MusicologistAtLarge 000
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 12/10/2026On a loosely research based expedition, suitable for the semi-retired part of my day. What's unusual, is not having to confirm when I'm returning. This feels rather daring and unconfined!static.klipy.comNational Geographic Arctic TrekALT: National Geographic Arctic Trek 040
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 12/10/2026Yes, I get that every time I take my life in my hands and allow #HeWhoShallNotBeNamed to drive me anywhere ... 010
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 12/10/2026Seeing 89 y/o off on a short trip feels a bit like sending your child on their first school away-trip. (PJs? Hankies? Pen and paper? Phone charger?) And whispering to the taxi driver, 'Please help them get out of the taxi' ... 0120
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 12/10/2026What happens if you forgot that you'd previously pressed the 'transpose' button on your clavinova ...? 100
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 11/10/2026In the interest of research, I shall seek out this nectar ... 110
Reposted by Dr Karen McAulayShadows of Control @shadowsofcontrol.bsky.social · 11/10/2026Psychological manipulation in relationships is a serious issue that can deeply affect your mental and emotional well-being. Know how to spot the signs. #PsychologicalAbuse shadowsofcontrol.com/articl...shadowsofcontrol.comPsychological Manipulation in Relationships: Know the SignsPsychological manipulation in relationships is a serious issue that can deeply affect your mental and emotional well-being. Learn to spot the signs. 052
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 11/10/2026Dearest Scamly Emailtwat, you're absolutely adorable, ESPECIALLY (only) when you're tumbling clothes as a good tumble dryer should ... 020
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 11/10/2026Played the organ. Had lunch, watched #ChoristerOfTheYear. Cooked Sunday dinner AND took hypercritical spouse (you wouldn't think I've been driving 41 years & have an enviable no claims bonus 😏) for his vaccination during the cooking. #WhereDidTodayGo? And can I have a medal for long-sufferingness? 050
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 10/10/2026Every day a school day, as the cool kids say 😉 010
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 10/10/2026The other one is a replacement that I got on eBay, as I had used my original copy so much that it looked a bit of a mess! 010
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 10/10/2026Sunday tomorrow. Music sorting was tonight's delight. Untangling Someone's music copying for *their* church was less frustrating than having to confirm my initial assessment that I'm unimpressed by a song on my own list. Chords will be changed; can't stand ungrammatical harmony! #GrumpyOrganist 110
Reposted by Dr Karen McAulayOsbert Lancaster @osbert.org · 09/10/2026I believe we need to pay more attention to belonging. Not just because of its potential as a tool for good and evil, but at a deeper level because belonging is a fundamental human need that is too often weak or absent from our lives. What do you think? thrivablescotland.com/a/3mxgnv4hp5...thrivablescotland.comA crisis of belonging?Why feeling accepted, valued and connected to others is a fundamental need – and both an opportunity and a threat. 194
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 10/10/2026I thought I'd try keeping a diary, to see where the time goes. Day 1. Laundry. Baked muffins. Time-honoured domestic duties, unchanged over the years... 160
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 10/10/2026Yes, a godmother did that to us. But went home after tea... 070
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 09/10/2026#FridayFrivolity The sky was blue; the sun shone bright; The wind was soft and gentle. No sooner was my washing out ... The rain was elemental! 130
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Writing progress ... thank heavens for the old typing qualifications, 'cos I'll never make a calligrapher! karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/10/08/l...karenmcaulaymusicologist.blogLeng Medal Update No.8 – WritingI’ve started writing an article about the Leng Scots Song contests. I haven’t yet decided where it’s going to be submitted, or how long it’ll be! I just want to get a rough … 020
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 08/10/2026Chips. That's the only way to redeem the evening. (Basically hangry, and disappointed with my clumsy, left-handed self. Also rather chilled and damp.) 000
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 08/10/2026No. I'm still a clumsy left-hander. An 'introduction to #calligraphy' class has not rendered me elegant or stylish. Still, it was fun trying. I shall never have beautiful handwriting! #Lefties 000
Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 08/10/2026Whilst everyone swooned over May's reenactment of Elizabeth Siddal in a barge, Julia decided on a more modern interpretation of the Oxbridge boat race. #GirlsOwnCC 040