iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Mark Kirby

ecclsoc.bsky.social @ecclsoc.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Delighted to announce that we are initiating an annual autumn lecture series. The lectures will be held on Monday evenings at 6.30pm via Zoom and will last between 45-50 mins, followed by questions. Full details and booking information here: www.tickettailor.com/events/theec...

tickettailor.com

The Ecclesiological Society

The Ecclesiological Society – Welcome to the Ecclesiological Society's ticket website. Here, you can sign up for and buy tickets for all of our events. Almos...

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Mark Kirby @markkirby.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

SS Peter, Andrew, James & John at Lincoln's Inn Chapel. By Richard Butler, 1623. Fair bit of restoration work after 1915 zeppelin raid but still pretty good nick. Wonderful painterly brushwork in the armorials. I love St Peter's swaggering pose.

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Mark Kirby @markkirby.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Please read this by @georgemonbiot.bsky.social ; it's not long. I was diagnosed with ME in 1998 and my life transformed completely, even though what I have is mild compared to many others. I was in bed for a year before beginning to recover a little ... 1/5 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

theguardian.com

Abandoned, dismissed and gaslighted: there is no excuse for the way ME sufferers have been betrayed | George Monbiot

Changes in guidance and science seem to have little impact on millions of devastated lives. It’s a social crisis playing out behind closed doors, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

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Mark Kirby @markkirby.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Nice & very well-illustrated piece about G E Street's St Mary Magdalen, Paddington. Posted here as I don't think Jack Chesher is on Blue Sky. Photo below is Comper's recently restored Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre in the crypt. livinglondonhistory.com/a-visit-to-p...

livinglondonhistory.com

A Visit To Paddington's Jewel: St Mary Magdalene Church - Living London History

Sitting proudly next to the Grand Union Canal, today in its own grassy enclave, you can find the jewel of Paddington: St Mary Magdalene Church. It is a Gothic Revival masterpiece and filled with beau...

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Mark Kirby @markkirby.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The long family history of arthritis has reached me and I've just had my second appointment with a physiotherapist. Various email exchanges confirming appointments etc and suddenly my Instagram feed (usually just church architecture) is full of posts about physiotherapy. Scary.

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Mark Kirby @markkirby.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Padua University, Palazzo del Bo. A tale of two courtyards. C16 Cortile Antico, architect uncertain but possibly Andrea Moroni. Two storey loggia with walls and vault lined with arms of benefactors & students.

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Mark Kirby @markkirby.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Padua, Chiesa degil Eremitani, C13 Gothic with Venetian influences. All too easily overlooked because it is nextdoor to the Scrovegni Chapel and is much rebuilt after disastrous Allied bombing in WW2. Hull ceiling rebuilt after the war.

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Mark Kirby @markkirby.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Palazzo Te in Mantua, built by Giulio Romano (portrait on R) for Duke Federico Gonzaga (portrait on L), 1526-34. A pleasure palace just outside the city walls, built for entertaining and housing the Gonzaga stables. A delightful Mannerist building, breaking all the Renaissance rules.

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Mark Kirby @markkirby.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I had the pleasure of trialling this app. For any church crawler, church historian or ecclesiologist, it really is a must have.

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SAVE Britain's Heritage @savetoreuse.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

📣'Mentmore Towers is an astonishing building capable of modern use. There's no good reason why it should be allowed to fall down as it waits for a purpose' @countrylifemag.bsky.social on #Batman house. It praises @buckscouncil.bsky.social for its stand 👉 t.co/fiOoSLm2L1 📸 Jigsaw Aerial Imagery

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ecclsoc.bsky.social @ecclsoc.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The Fourth Brandwood Lecture: "English Churches in Switzerland" given by James Bettley Tuesday, 15th December 2026 at St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe, London EC4 Book here: www.ecclsoc.org.uk/events/fourt...

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Reposted by Mark Kirby

Elle Cordova @ellecordova.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I am the very model of a modern day typographer I know the type tonalities from elegant to jocular I am a master tracker and my kerning is harmonical I know the sacred swatches and can name the hues Pantonical (Full version of Modern Day Typographer now on my YouTube channel)

youtu.be

Modern Day Typographer - Elle Cordova

YouTube video by Elle Cordova

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Reposted by Mark Kirby

The Victorian Society @thevicsoc.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

📢 3 days to OBJECT to stop the adoption of part of the draft local plan for Buckinghamshire which proposes to build 7,450 new houses on the countryside around Grade I-listed Mentmore Towers & two surrounding villages🧵 Object to @buckscouncil.bsky.social Local Plan by 6th Sept tinyurl.com/4kujdeev 🧵

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Mark Kirby @markkirby.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Good to see the government naming and shaming firms who failed to pay staff even the paltry, de-humanising minimum wage. That 5 of the top 10 offenders are heal care providers is an indictment of where those firms (and we) place our values. Shameful. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

B&Q and Five Guys among firms which paid staff below minimum wage

More than 600 companies underpaid staff, with £4m returned to workers, according to the government.

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Mark Kirby @markkirby.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Visited the Carshalton Water Tower on Sunday. Built c.1719-20, possibly by Henry Joynes, who was Vanbrugh's Comptroller of Works at Blenheim & seems to have applied some Blenheim features here. Not bad for a bath house & pumping station. The house is now a school.

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Mark Kirby @markkirby.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Our public services aren’t for a secretive profit-hungry US tech firm. Sign the petition to tell the Government to scrap all contracts with secretive US tech firm Palantir. you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/st...

you.38degrees.org.uk

Stop Palantir taking over our public services!

Our public services aren’t for a secretive profit-hungry US tech firm. Sign the petition to tell the Government to scrap all contracts with secretive US tech firm Palantir.

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Reposted by Mark Kirby

Nettlecake @nettlecake.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Brilliant letter from Stuart Thompson to Jeremy Clarkson about his comments that benefit claimants should write weekly thank you letters to tax payers detailing how they spend their benefits each week.

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Mark Kirby @markkirby.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

One of my proudest achievements is working on the Bank of England's CREST Project - to build a new securities settlement system for the UK. I headed the legal work & designed the stock borrowing & lending functionality. Today is the 30th anniversary of CREST's launch.

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Mark Kirby @markkirby.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Not sure what it says about the Bluesky UK demographic that The Archers ranks No. 3 in Bluesky's global trending list.

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Michael Spicer @michaelspicer.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

If art critics talked like football pundits.

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Mark Kirby @markkirby.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Thrilled that the Bayeux Tapestry has arrived in London. Looking forward to seeing it.

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Mark Kirby @markkirby.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Such a hoot that Count Binface is in the "Trending" box. Is this worldwide or only on UK users' pages? Please tell me it's worldwide. 😀

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Mark Kirby @markkirby.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

This is my niece, Jess. She sang this at a concert yesterday and it brought a lump to my throat. This recording is from a year ago, when she was 15. Proud uncle. www.instagram.com/reel/DWtLm1I...

instagram.com

Instagram

Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.

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Office of Public Works @opwireland.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Explore the Extraordinary at Castletown House, Ireland’s finest Palladian-style country house. Discover magnificent interiors, historic collections, stunning parklands and Ireland’s only fully intact 18th-century print room. Plan your visit: heritageireland.ie #ExploreTheExtraordinary

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Mark Kirby @markkirby.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

I've just had the results of an MRI scan on my head. Described my brain as "unremarkable". Feeling hurt.

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Peter Coffinman @petercoffman.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

There are so many reasons why I love cats. Their tendency toward this kind of mischief is definitely one of them. 😻 www.nytimes.com/video/world/...

nytimes.com

Video: Cat Interrupts “Romeo and Juliet” Ballet Performance

A cat wandered on stage during a performance of the “Romeo and Juliet” ballet in Turkey and stole the show.

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Reposted by Mark Kirby

Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Good thread on the reporting of racist violence.

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Mark Kirby @markkirby.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Astonishing verisimilitude. Painted c.1560.

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Theo Priestley @theopriestley.net · 08/06/2026

We live in the stupidest timeline.

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Reposted by Mark Kirby

Simon Knott @simonknott.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Exploring the churches of Norwich with Christopher Howse: www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/bca9e2a...

telegraph.co.uk

Exploring the city with most medieval churches

A new handbook brings to life the ancient churches of Norwich

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Reposted by Mark Kirby

ecclsoc.bsky.social @ecclsoc.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

The Council of the @churchmonuments.bsky.social offers a biennial prize of £500, to be awarded for the best essay submitted in the relevant year. For a copy of the rules and the guidelines to contributors, see churchmonumentssociety.org/get-involved...

churchmonumentssociety.org

Essay competition – Church Monuments Society

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Reposted by Mark Kirby

ecclsoc.bsky.social @ecclsoc.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

A exhibition in Norwich, "Living by the Rule: Contemporary meets Medieval", is complemented by the book, "Living by the Rule: Contemporary Art & the Medieval Monastery", by the curators Dr Jessica Barker & Dr Ed Krčma, published by Lund Humphries. www.ecclsoc.org.uk/news/living-...

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Mark Kirby @markkirby.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Specially for @susanklaiber.bsky.social, here is Leon Battista Alberti's Sant'Andrea in Mantua. I stayed in an apartment on the other side of the square with this heavenly view from the window. The west front, derived (somewhat loosely) from a Roman triumphal arch at Ancona.

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Mark Kirby @markkirby.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Palazzo Ducale, Mantua, from the lake. Sprawling palace of the Gonzaga dynasty. Seems to have been successively added to and earlier parts semi-abandoned rather than demolished or remodelled. Starts with C14 castello and carries on to the C18.

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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Rishi Sunak tells Radio 4 that "AI is changing every aspect of our economy and our lives, and if I was back in office and looked at my diary and where I was going to spend my time, I would spend it on that" At no point does he or the BBC mention the £373,000 given to him every year by an AI company

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Church Monuments Society @churchmonuments.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

New book! The British Cemetery: Architecture, Landscape, Sculpture. Long-awaited study by Brent Elliot and Roger Bowdler. Details and how to order at churchmonumentssociety.org/2026/05/21/n...

Cover of The British Cemetery: Architecture, Landscape, Sculpture. Cover image is an Egyptian-style mausoleum.

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Harry Spillane @harryspillane.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW: 'Selling the Word of God: The Early Commercial History of the English Bible' - £25 A study of how the English Bible became a bestseller, charting the innovations, errors, rivalries and bankruptcies behind the 'book of books' Coming September 2026 tinyurl.com/2p3cdmwp

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

I wrote this about Boris Johnson in 2021. It also applies to those, like Nigel Farage, who aspire to become prime minister. When a candidate for high office is taking millions of pounds in personal gifts, that is not a private matter. gladstonediaries.blogspot.com/2021/05/forg...

A prime minister cannot serve two masters. If a Head of Government is receiving large financial payments from a private donor, totalling tens of thousands of pounds, a democracy has a right to know. Those payments might be entirely innocent: a simple token of esteem, from one person with more money than he needs, to another with less money than he wants. But the public cannot make a judgement on that if the arrangement is kept secret.

We cannot know if the donor was bidding for government contracts, or lobbying for a change in their tax arrangements. We cannot know if they were looking for a seat in the House of Lords, or an appointment to a public body. We would not be told if they had received an honour, or access to ministers, or a regulatory change that saved their business millions.

The line from ministers seems to be that, so long as the taxpayer didn't pay, the source of the money is "none of our business". In fact, the reverse is true. It is because the taxpayer isn't paying that it is so important we find out who is. Who handed benefits worth tens of thousands of pounds to our prime minister, and what they might want in return?

A second line of defence notes that, when the story began to leak, the prime minister changed course and paid the bill himself. But that suggests that he knew the arrangement was indefensible. In that respect, it reinforces the importance of public scrutiny as a defence against misconduct. We do not know whether other such arrangements are in place. And we still do not know - because the prime minister refuses to tell us - from whom he initially accepted the donation.

If someone relieved me of a bill for £58,000, I would feel greatly in their debt. The only debt a prime minister should feel is to the electorate. If a prime minister cannot live on his official salary, but is dependent on financial gifts from wealthy patrons, we need to be certain that this is not coming with conditions that pit private against public interests.

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Bright D Limm 임대중 @bdlimm.myatproto.social · 12/05/2026

ME/CFS, a condition of extreme fatigue that doesn't improve with rest, affects ≥3 million people in the US. For decades, there hasn't been a serious attempt to map the genetic codes of those who experience it; thanks to public funding in the UK, thousands will now be mapped. #ShareGoodNewsToo

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