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Matt Nicholas

@mattnic.bsky.social
380 followers 433 following 560 posts

#Archaeologist. European. Likes music, non-ferrous metallurgy & left(ish) politics. Personal account not associated with anywhere you think I might work. Also interested in #running, #cycling & #ActiveTravel

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Matt Nicholas @mattnic.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Interesting discussion here. I was thinking the other day that it's noticeable that, apart from Holly Herndon's 2019 album Proto, it feels like there's been a dearth of attempts to use AI to create interesting music.
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Matt Nicholas @mattnic.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Hot take: professional archaeology in the UK accidentally invented the perfect modern career path. Break your back digging holes in your 20s and 30s, then spend the rest of your working life squinting at sherds and planning documents from behind a desk.
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Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
If attendance at a major women's conference was down 80% due to a boycott fighting against trans *inclusion*, it would be all over the Times, Telegraph, Mail etc. This last weekend, attendance at a major women's conference was down 80% due to a boycott fighting against trans *exclusion*. Crickets.
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annacycles.bsky.social @annacycles.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I ran Ealing half marathon today dressed as a plane to protest against the race being sponsored by Wizz Air. Airlines shouldn’t be sponsoring running events. They really are taking the wizz. (As opposed to these guys, who are taking a wizz)
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Retain & explain in Edinburgh where Henry Dundas sits 150 foot high on the Melville Monument, now contextualised, albeit not without controversy, over his role
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Marion Page @marionpage.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The new Heritage Gateway is now live, giving access to more than a million English heritage records. And more is to come....Try it out Heritage Gateway | Historic England share.google/LemczW9XclS1...
share.google
Heritage Gateway | Historic England
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Time for Andy Burnham to appoint a Culture Secretary.
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Alastair MacIntosh @alastairmac.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Cowardice, if not complicity. Why did Burnham spend all that time sleazing his way into no 10 if it wasn't to act like a prime minister and stand up to the enemies of our democracy? Was it simply vanity?
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road.cc @roadcc.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
“People who cycle should not have to fear for their lives every time they use the roads”
road.cc
“A car is also a weapon”: Calls for mandatory lifetime bans for “killer motorists” as driver charged with murder following cyclist’s death
1,500 cyclists attended a protest calling for mandatory lifetime driving bans for “killer motorists”, after a driver was charged with murder following a shocking hit-and-run collision which killed a c...
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Matt Nicholas @mattnic.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Men wait for train at station with limited facilities
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Matt Nicholas @mattnic.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Even with a few threatening rain clouds (in fact after this summer *especially* with some threatening rain clouds) I don't think there's a more beautiful festival setting than Green Man, nestled away in the folds of Bannau Brycheiniog
The view from the hills above Greenan Festival The view from the hills above Greenan Festival. The festival site can be seen in the bottom of the valley in the centre of the frame.
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The Green Runners @thegreenrunners.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
🎤🎧 New episode drop alert Many members have shown an interest in either joining or leading their own Local Meet Up. LMU founder Kev chats with Laura about just that & explained how simple & rewarding it is to connect with fellow members. Watch on YouTube, or listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
thegreenrunners.com
Kevin Bowen: The Grassroots Trail Blazer - The Green Runners CIC
Everything you always wanted to know about Local Meet Ups, but were afraid to ask: join host Laura Briggs as she chats with seasoned endurance runner and super volunteer Kevin Bowen, founder of the or...
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General Boles @generalboles.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
If only we had a Culture Secretary to address this www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
European Athletics Championships: Criticism as thousands of empty seats in Birmingham
Nearly 10,000 seats were empty at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium on Monday.
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
I genuinely cannot understand how the Labour government has now had two, genuinely cultured prime ministers who both looked at Lisa Nandy’s record there and went “I’m pleased with this. I want this to continue.”
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Ollie Randall @ollie-randall.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
This morning I'm genuinely dismayed by Team Andy's contention that "the reason our country is in a mess and Labour's base hates the government is that we weren't drilling for oil enough, pensioners need tax cuts, and Mahmood wasn't given enough levers to stop immigration"
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Ben Goldacre @bengoldacre.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
SUVs are higher at the front and three times more likely to kill a child when they hit them. SUV drivers drag the child under their vehicle, and then they crush the child to death. It's incredible that SUVs don't have higher tax, and why not lower speed limits. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Britain’s cars and SUVs are growing bigger – but there is a way to stop this deadly ‘carspreading’ | Christian Wolmar
Larger vehicles crowd our roads and are far more dangerous to pedestrians. Let’s curb them before they do even more damage, says says transport commentator Christian Wolmar
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Nick Covington @covingtonedu.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Proclaiming an illiteracy crisis has become a cottage industry in its own right, and it's created a feedback loop of clickbait headlines that has, ironically, short-circuited our ability to critically examine the claims and construct a working definition of literacy itself.
YouTube video recommendation titled America's Literacy Crisis featuring a thumbnail of someone looking at their phone with the words CAN'T READ
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Dr Tom Elliot @t-elliot.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
Week 1 over here at #ArthursStone, #Herefordshire, and we already have some exciting prospects on the stone circle showing up, as well as another large feature appearing on the other side of the avenue. @englishheritage.bsky.social
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Matt Nicholas @mattnic.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Hopefully, some of DCMS' sponsored ALBs who've shamefully remained on X will now follow suit
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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Further evidence that the Coalition was an immensely destructive force in so many areas.
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Matt Nicholas @mattnic.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
The kid and I took advantage of the glorious weather to join in with Nottingham #KidicalMass this morning. What an absolutely joyous event. We'll definitely be doing this again!
Children on a Kidical Mass bike ride in Market Square, Nottingham.Children on a Kidical Mass bike ride taking back the streets beneath Nottingham Castle. The kids are sheltered by large trees, waiting at a junction to cross to a cycle path on the opposite side of the road.
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Alison Stenning @alisonstenning.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
North Tyneside Council spent a big Historic England grant on restoring Georgian Northumberland Square in North Shields - it looks good, but is often completely empty, so it was lovely to see of full of people today, playing, chatting, listening to music, and finding out about local community groups.
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Ian McMillan @imcmillan.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
BEATNIK ARCHEOLOGISTS ON A FIRST DATE I dig you I dig you too, you dig? I dig
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Samira Shackle @samirashackle.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
I have to say, it's making me feel a little insane hearing commentators say Ed Miliband shouldn't be chancellor because of his "ideological zeal" for Net Zero, in a week where temperatures are so extreme that my kids are being sent home early every day and it's regularly 30 degrees inside my house
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James Austin @jamesdaustin.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
One of the most interesting questions is, I think, why left leaning people don't generally recognise it as such.
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C20 Society @c20society.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
☀️ Summer Solstice from Stonehenge and Ratcliffe-on-Soar. Neolithic megaliths and their modernist counterpoints looming over the surrounding landscape, as captured by two of the great photographers of the 20th century. • Stonehenge, 1947 by Bill Brandt • Ratcliffe-on-Soar, 1984 by Michael Kenna
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Lord Beestonia @beestonia.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
I could really get on board with a social media ban for people aged over 65, tbh. Maybe let them on after 9.30 and before 4.30, like we do with the buses
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Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
The planned closure of the Archaeology institute at Humboldt-Universität Berlin is still on the table. So if you haven't signed the petition yet, please do (and share). Archaeology has been a part of Humboldt-Universität's academic tradition for almost 200 years weact.campact.de/petitions/sc...
weact.campact.de
Schließung des Instituts für Archäologie an der HU-Berlin
Die Archäologie gehört seit fast 200 Jahren zur wissenschaftlichen Tradition der Humboldt-Universität. Ihre Schließung bedeutet den Abbruch einer gewachsenen Forschungstradition und eine dauerhafte Sc...
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The Green Runners @thegreenrunners.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
1/2 - Join us for our Nottingham Local Meet Up. Runners welcome, walkers welcome! ⏰️ 20 June 08:45 📍 Gedling parkrun 🤝 Meet outside Café 1899. 🚆 Sustainable travel options in alt-text 🟢 Look for @superkev79.bsky.social to find the group. Run parkrun at your own pace 🏃🏃‍♀️
We encourage sustainable travel wherever possible. There are regular Nottingham City Transport bus services (44, 60, 61) from Nottingham to Gedling Country Park. 🚌
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Julianna 💎 @batariangal.eurosky.social · 02/06/2026
Red Wall discourse has so clouded Labour’s mind that they’re sleepwalking into doing to university towns what Thatcher did to mining towns
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Jonathan Last @johnnythin.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Fascinating reassessment of potential cave art in south Wales, with link to the original 1912 article - but isn’t the 17ka date considerably older than any other post-LGM evidence for humans in Britain?
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Matt Nicholas @mattnic.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
​A fantastic half-term bike ride from the house to Gedling Country Park today. The FollowMe Tandem proved to be the perfect tool for helping small legs up hills on a hot day.
A child stands next to their bike, which is attached to an adult bike using a FollowMe Tandem.
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Matt Nicholas @mattnic.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
A glorious morning yesterday for small feet exploring the gritstone around Longshaw.
A woman and child trace their way across the rugged gritstone of Higger Tor, framed by a brilliant blue sky and a network of vapor trails stretching toward the vanishing point.
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Matt Nicholas @mattnic.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Huh, never realised Geordie Greep was Mick Hucknall's trumpet player back in '86. Wonder how he stays looking so young? #TOTP
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Matt Nicholas @mattnic.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Niche thing, but I love that someone is still paying to host the UKIC website, despite it having merged with other conservation organisations to form ICON back in 2005: www.ukic.org.uk
ukic.org.uk
United Kingdom Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works
UKIC promotes conservation of historic and artistic works through training, accreditation, and public engagement.
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Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
This government’s defining quality is cowardice and now it has wobbled its way to a policy that 10 years ago was confined to the most extreme Republicans. Shameful
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Will Cooling @willcooling.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
I really don't get what the fuck Bridget Philipson thinks she's doing. This guidance is worst than useless. Why not just push through legislation to tell the Supreme Court they're wrong?
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Matt Nicholas @mattnic.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Always great to see Historic England producing high-quality geophysical survey research on fascinating sites such as Castilly Henge
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Matt Nicholas @mattnic.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
As an archaeologist, I regularly think about chunks of time spanning thousands of years without blinking an eye. But Everything Must Go turning 30? No. Absolutely not. My bones are turning to dust.
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Jonathan Last @johnnythin.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
If you work in development-led archaeology in England, whether it's curatorial advice, consultancy or running projects, Historic England and Reading University would welcome your feedback on HE's guidance on the Palaeolithic 🦣🏺 Please follow this link to access a short online survey: bit.ly/3PcKMul
historicengland.org.uk
Curating the Palaeolithic | Historic England
The importance of the English Palaeolithic record in its Pleistocene context and best practices for protecting it through the planning process.
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Prof. Ian Walker @ianwalker.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
So much about this has me screaming into my motonormativity cushion. Why further subsidise all the wealthy people who drive? Why NOT subsidise the poorer people who don't drive?
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Tyron @tyron.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Wes can't win, Wes won't win, and Wes shouldn't win, but thank god someone's pulled the trigger
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Matt Nicholas @mattnic.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Her cuom mycel hæþen here on Angelcynn
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Rebecca Wynter @rebeccawynter.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
The result of government abandonment means disgraceful local decisions around who and what's worth saving. Someone, somewhere has got to take holistic control of the collapse of HE.
theguardian.com
Birmingham City University urged not to axe Black studies MA
More than 100 figures sign open letter criticising closure, just months after MA was launched
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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
This has become an expected experience for children walking to school in Birmingham, which leads more parents to want to drive their kids and also pavement park, and quickens the downward spiral that makes our city more unequal and more unpleasant. Time to eliminate this symbol of urban decline.
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sturmyarcher3.bsky.social @sturmyarcher3.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Have you heard about these dangerous bikes perhaps? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Car crashes into 'multiple pedestrians' in Arnold town centre
One person suffers life-threatening injuries as police work to trace the driver.
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4 Day Week Foundation @4dayweek.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
2023: Lib-Dem controlled Council starts trialling a 4-day week on full pay 2024: trial saves Council £400,000 and improves services 2025: 4-day week made permanent 2026: voters return Lib-Dems to control with increase in votes / cllrs Upside from 4-day week is huge. Other Councils should try it!
South Cambridgeshire Council election results - Liberal Democrat’s hold Lib Dems + 4 councillors at time of counting
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Twlldun @twlldun.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Never trust Plaid
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