iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The Horniman Museum are crowdfunding, some decent prizes available! (The Caledonian Sleeper is perhaps less of a novelty for me...) www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/win-caledo...

crowdfunder.co.uk

Inspiring Nature Prize Draw

Support the reopening of the Horniman's Nature Gallery for your chance to win a luxury return trip for two on the Caledonian Sleeper!

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Dr Vanessa @hpsvanessa.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

#skystorians and other academics - are you femme presenting and have you been involved in a PhD defense at a Finnish university? If so I would love to know what you wore! (I haven't had to do academic formal for >13yrs & purged all black from my wardrobe on discovering I was a navy/grey neutral 😬)

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Top tip employers, don't announce "exciting new opportunities" on LinkedIn the same day as you tell other departments they're facing redundancies.

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Ironically in the archives sector that’s a decent salary and a reasonable job spec.

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Two years on and it’s still slightly incredible, but that’s my term as ARA chair complete. I have learned A Lot, and mostly enjoyed the experience! I will say that losing a parent and changing jobs twice during a term as chair is Not Ideal but everyone was incredibly supportive.

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Dr Jo Kershaw @mthrjo.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

The RNLI have some of the best people in Britain volunteering for them. They put their lives on the line when they are called on and they will rescue anyone who needs them. Because every life matters, and offering help is the right thing to do. You can donate here: rnli.org

rnli.org

RNLI - Royal National Lifeboat Institution - Saving Lives at Sea

The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. We do this through lifeboat search and rescue, lifeguards, water safety education and international interventions.

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I look forward to fewer enquiries in the work mailbox!

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🕸️ @holojester.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

we should give more money to museums. cause i went to one recently and it was really sad how old some of their stuff is

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

How to feel important, be reading this:

A volume with a label on the cover that says “secret, see notice inside cover”

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Kenny Stewart @kennystew.art · 20/08/2026

‘Squirrel’ and ‘girl’ rhyme but they both have two syllables and any other take is anti-Scottish discrimination.

Ludicrous. Likewise, some of those polled mistakenly pronounced "squirrel" as a single-syllable word to rhyme with "girl", instead of a two-syllable word that doesn't rhyme with anything.

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

A once in a lifetime opportunity to see an eclipse.

A sky that is mostly grey clouds. No visible signs of the sun, let alone an eclipse.
Plus side, lovely view of a green hilly island.

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Prospect Union @prospectunion.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Our members at Royal Museums Greenwich are out on strike today and tomorrow over terms and working conditions. Solidarity with everyone taking action ✊💚

Prospect members on strike at Royal Museums Greenwich

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Today it is not raining on Iona.

Medieval Celtic cross standing against a blue sky and fluffy white clouds.

Iona Abbey, a grey sandstone building against a blue sky.

A path leading through grass and rocks to a bay beyond, with blue sea and blue skies. It’s beautiful.

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

#ARA2026 packed out room for the Digital Collecting Strategies workshop - we have a small group sitting on the floor at the back (note to self, stop chatting to people outside and get to sessions on time)

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

I'm obviously looking forward to ARA Conference for the chance to see people, hear interesting talks, be challenged etc. But I'm also really looking forward to the weather.

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

100 years ago my granny was 21 and a freshly qualified new primary school teacher. I'd rather be given my grandfather's job, which was "inspector of the poor" (social work). I think the motorbike he had to get round was optional rather than part of the job though.

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New-Cleckit Dominie @ncdominie.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

This is just to say I have OCRed the text thet was in tne arch:ve and whicb yov were prabaldy seamhing for "breahtast" Fargme ms fheg mem debo:w5 sb ?mccf mmb 5c oc1b

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

A digital preservation question - if you take in hard drives/CD-roms/floppy disks etc, what do you do with the physical thing when you've transferred the files?

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Temperature now ideal for sitting in the garden with a glass of Aeolian Island wine (admittedly the sunflower photo is a set up) #ConfinedCocktails

Glass of white wine in front of a red sunflower and bushes

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

An unexpected morning in Venice. Instead of sleeper and trains, we’re now having to go to Verona to fly home otherwise we wouldn’t be back in time for work!

The canal by the station in Venice, with a big domed church

Bridge over a canal, reflected in the water.

Canal with boats, a brick wall, trees and blue skies

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

We made it to Venice and there is complimentary Prosecco #ConfinedCocktails

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Slowly making our way up Italy by train, we’ve got 2.5 hours in Venice to get dinner before a sleeper train. Does anyone have any recommendations for decent places conveniently close to the station? (Extremely specific request, I know!)

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

This thread, but this post in particular because they’re also cutting the archivists.

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Another Iain @anotheriain.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

The North is the A9 from Inverness to Wick. The North-West is everything west of that and above the Great Glen. The North-East is everything east of the Cairngorms and north of Dundee. These things can be debated. Manchester, Liverpool, Lake District, Newcastle? Don't waste our time. Southerners.

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Today we’re going from Sicily to Salerno, which means we’re getting the train that goes on a boat! Starting in Milazzo this morning, with bonus pic of the Aeolian islands from Lipari from yesterday.

Italian station platform with a sign saying “Milazzo”, all the buildings are white and the sky is blue

Blue skies and the sea, in the distance you can see big lumps of rock which are islands (Stromboli is hidden behind the others)

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Dr Jo Kershaw @mthrjo.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

A travesty, and also I would point out that it would be better for everyone - better for the refugee, better for integration, cheaper for the state - if we just let refugees work.

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

The Palermo archaeology museum has turtles in their decorative pool!

Turtles! Some swimming in the pool, some just basking slightly above the water on a pile of rocks.

Pool with a statue in the centre, in the middle of a courtyard.

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

You can go on the roof of Palermo Cathedral and there are views and a breeze and it didn’t give me vertigo!

View of rooftops with mountains in the distance and blue skies

Tiled floor beside a series of tiled cupolas which are part of the roof of the cathedral. More cathedral behind them.

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Made it to Palermo, via many trains and half a day in Milan. So far, so hot.

Palermo cathedral tower, against a blue sky, with trees on the square in front of it.

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Archives and Records Association UK and Ireland @araukie.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Voting now open for the ARA Excellence Awards 2026. Find details of all the nominees for New Professional, Record Keeper and Recordkeeping Service of the Year - plus the voting link here www.archives.org.uk/ara-awards Vote closes 5pm on 16 July.

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Spent Father’s Day doing a mock grading for my kickboxing brown belt (not doing the full version any time soon). Given my dad was a judo black belt, this seemed kind of fitting? And so the time passes.

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Got to talk about something relevant to my university senior honours course today, so feeling very smug about proving wrong all those people I knew 20+ years ago who told me a history degree wouldn't be useful.

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Proper long evening in the Highlands, this was 10pm!

A footpath with yellow whin bushes on either side and trees, with a grey cloudy sky

Grassy moor land with trees and a grey cloudy sky

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Big Green Books @biggreenbooks.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

If you've not read Persepolis, I have three copies to give away. It's a phenomenal books. UK only.

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

The evergreen position of being relieved I'm not an archives listserv moderator anymore.

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Archives aren't dusty, and if cataloguing was funded properly we'd "find" a lot more stuff!

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Lovely to have to dodge hail on my trip between buildings in *checks notes* mid-May.

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Jo Grady @drjogrady.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Yesterday Kier Starmer announced Labour will nationalise British Steel, and save 2700 jobs. Today, the Uni of Nottingham put 2700 staff at risk of redundancy. This is just one university. Across the UK 15,000 higher education jobs need saving. Where is the rescue package for our universities?

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Very much a UK archives post here, but: Given recent events, people really shouldn't send stuff to the archives mailing list with the title "for posting on the archives list" - my first thought was it was going to be bad and even though I'm no longer a list mod it was an instant stress response.

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

If you see this post something orange from your gallery.

Cans of Irn Bru (photo taken in NZ so the price is NZ$ 2.50)

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

If you’re keeping wine for “an occasion” please just drink it. This advice brought to you by someone who has just had to empty 20 bottles of wine down the sink, none of them with an intact cork, and who will not be drinking red wine for some time.

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

#UnconfinedWalks to the shop with a view, beautiful day today.

View of distant mountains, blue skies, whin bushes and houses

My feet in converse, on a fairly dull looking footpath

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Gen3cats @gen3cats.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Paleography and language help needed, please! I'm cataloguing papers from early 1900s and come across this... I think includes something about next Tuesday?! It is in a bundle of correspondence to Arthur Stanley. Any help gratefully received!

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

In retrospect, perhaps this institution making me redundant 18 months ago was actually the best outcome.

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Ruth MacLeod @scottishruth.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

#ConfinedCocktails is sparkling wine in front of a pile of washing up that someone else* is doing after Easter Sunday dinner. *I cooked and did some of the dishes already, so husband gets the washing up.

Total chaos of pans in the background, my hand holding a gold glass full of sparkling wine in the foreground.

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