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Dr Karen McAulay

@karenmca.bsky.social
1.9K followers 1K following 4.8K posts

Musicologist historian, RCS Fellow, @iashedinburgh.bsky.social alumna. Athenaeum research award: Dundee's Leng Scots Song comp. 2 Routledge 'Music in C19th Britain' bks. Passable organist. karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog Wary of folk w/o profiles!

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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 1h
Thank you 😊
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 1h
Lunchtime. Embroidered one baby's dress and shoes - less than a square inch!!
Vintage embroidery transfer of children hanging out washing. Only partially embroidered so far.
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 6h
And #AllanRamsay, Scottish poet, was #BOTD 15 October 1686 in Leadhills, Lanark. Happy 340th birthday today to the poet!
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 8h
I 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 ...
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 8h
Doesn't surprise me! Lucky it wasn't sugarbeet!
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 8h
I 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) ...
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 8h
Ooh, Norfolk? My childhood home. Any particular parts?
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 23h
I 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’: Domesticity
Not 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…
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Hmm. Amazon 'thought I'd like a new vacuum cleaner.' I'm still deciding how to dispose of the irritating robot one!!
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Reposted by Dr Karen McAulay
Douglas Cheape @douglascheape.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
The 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.
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
True! My ears really dislike hearing different pitches to what my hands are playing 😉
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
My 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
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Reposted by Dr Karen McAulay
John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Murray 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.
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Reposted by Dr Karen McAulay
Dinah Rose KC @dinahrose.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Remembering 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.
Screenshot of a Facebook post recording the fact that on this day in 1920, women were awarded Oxford degrees for the first time. Image of graduating women.
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Hooray! 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
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Quite an unusual sight!
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
And it's not every day that you find a trumpet major's grave ... karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/10/13/m...
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog
Musicologist Goes Further Afield: the Trumpet Major’s Grave
My 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…
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Well, 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
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Thank you 😊. I also went on an exploratory visit to the library - a very worthwhile day.
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Today's expedition! (Wet, dry and all points in between.) I found my Trumpet Major 🎺 karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/10/13/m...
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog
Musicologist Goes Further Afield: the Trumpet Major’s Grave
My 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…
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
My 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.
Tiny rose plant at the foot of Trumpet Major James Smith's grave.
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Yesterday - 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.blog
Musicologist at Large: Matters of Grave Importance
Finding 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 …
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Goodness, those birds are vocal!
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
An 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.blog
Musicologist at Large: Matters of Grave Importance
Finding 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 …
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Reposted by Dr Karen McAulay
Emma Mitchell @silverpebble2.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
A 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...🌿
A tiny posy of flowers found in the garden and a very few very common ones from a nearby hedgerow, in a cobalt blue Victorian ink bottle
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Mission accomplished. Now to get home again. I'm going to blog later, so hold on to your curiosity! #MusicologistAtLarge
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
On 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.com
National Geographic Arctic Trek
ALT: National Geographic Arctic Trek
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Yes, I get that every time I take my life in my hands and allow #HeWhoShallNotBeNamed to drive me anywhere ...
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Seeing 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' ...
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
What happens if you forgot that you'd previously pressed the 'transpose' button on your clavinova ...?
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
In the interest of research, I shall seek out this nectar ...
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Rather like India of Inchinnan?
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
No. No, surely nothing beats Yorkshire Tea 👌
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Reposted by Dr Karen McAulay
Shadows of Control @shadowsofcontrol.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Psychological 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.com
Psychological Manipulation in Relationships: Know the Signs
Psychological manipulation in relationships is a serious issue that can deeply affect your mental and emotional well-being. Learn to spot the signs.
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Dearest Scamly Emailtwat, you're absolutely adorable, ESPECIALLY (only) when you're tumbling clothes as a good tumble dryer should ...
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Played 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?
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
A reaction to so many universities' cutbacks?
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Eh? Says who?
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Every day a school day, as the cool kids say 😉
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
The 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!
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Sunday 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
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Quite tall, from my perspective!
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Reposted by Dr Karen McAulay
Osbert Lancaster @osbert.org · 09/10/2026
I 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.com
A crisis of belonging?
Why feeling accepted, valued and connected to others is a fundamental need – and both an opportunity and a threat.
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
I 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...
Old baking books from the 70s. Be-Ro and McDougalls. Fan ovens were yet to come on the scene.Butterfly cakes. Two have flown already! And blueberry muffins.
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Yes, a godmother did that to us. But went home after tea...
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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!
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Writing progress ... thank heavens for the old typing qualifications, 'cos I'll never make a calligrapher! karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog/2026/10/08/l...
karenmcaulaymusicologist.blog
Leng Medal Update No.8 – Writing
I’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 …
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Chips. That's the only way to redeem the evening. (Basically hangry, and disappointed with my clumsy, left-handed self. Also rather chilled and damp.)
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
No. 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
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Dr Karen McAulay @karenmca.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Whilst 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
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