iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 21/09/2026

It was +21 C in Donaghadee today and very little wind - the last time I was here my knuckles bled after removing gloves for 5 seconds. Have some offensively bright images bc my weekend ones will take time.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 17/09/2026

I crossed the Forth; anything could happen now.

A fragment of River Forth, looking like a misted mirror, from high above

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 13/09/2026

Fragments of Derry on a very sunny day (which I’m told happens once every three years).

Two black and white portrait images side by side, taken on a very sunny day in Derry/Londonderry. This one is a street view with some beautiful shadows and textures.

View of the steps leading into the First Presbyterian church - like the building’s ‘false’ facade, the intricate design on their side is a later addition.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 10/09/2026

“Waited over 45 minutes for service at this so called restaurant, never even got a menu, crockery or cutlery and was then told to get down from my seat by the owner. Would give zero stars if I could.”

An image of a disgruntled-looking Patterdale terrier, black with a white chest, sat at a table in a leather chair too big for him. The table appears to be completely bare. He is not impressed with the lack of service at this particular restaurant.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 07/09/2026

Unlocked a different type of archive-related challenge: docs folded lengthways, in piles held with string, and left for a couple of centuries. As writing is v. close to edges, no amount/variety of snakes or weights can now help, so had to paw them very gingerly.

An image of an A5 sized book with a sewn spine and a marbled soft cover, containing a list of books, folded mercilessly lengthways and kept in this sad state for 200 years.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 03/09/2026

Pleased I can now enter the GRH through the main door as opposed to a succession of warrens, tunnels and traps at the side. They did have to up their security ⬇️ as those lockers are really flimsy.

The Duke of Wellington statue outside the General Register House in Edinburgh, facing the North Bridge and pointing east.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 30/08/2026

Costa del Donegal, a blissfully underrated place

A portrait shot of coastal rocks and trees, with a glimpse of clear turquoise water.

A beach on a very overcast day; the gathering clouds with rare glimpses of sun highlight the colours better than any saturation could.

Coming down towards a semi-hidden beach through a forested bit and onto a path strewn with tiny white flowers.

Yet another beach with the sea in different shades of green and blue washing it very gently.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 09/08/2026

And this was the weekend, pretty much…

A landscape containing a pale yellow field of barley that becomes another field of barley, this last bit sunlit. Deep tractor tracks start in the bottom centre of the image; they veer slightly to the right, and then as gently, left and right again, out of sight. It is the evening and the blue of the sky had lost its harshness. In the distance, past two dark lines of trees, stands the Prop of Ythsie.

A colourful and wonderfully tasting mess of roast potatoes, chorizo and onions with parsley, on a ribbed white plate.

An image of a slim paperback book by Sir John Ross, with an impossibly long title and contents that every person tirelessly self-proclaiming an interest in the Franklin Expedition should know by heart, but has never read. The book is set against a piece of cloth showing white clouds and the beginnings of a mountain that may well be one of the Croker mountains, but is really Mount Fuji.

A black and white terrier with a light brown mush is sleeping peacefully in the lap of a jeans-clad spare human, one black paw resting on the human’s leg. The dog’s enormously big ears may indicate he is not really asleep at all.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 07/08/2026

The first published yarn re. Sir J.C. Ross promising his wife to go to sea no more comes from… /drumroll please/… his uncle John, in 1855 - allegedly relayed to the latter by Franklin! The promise was apparently given to Lady R’s “relations,” poss meaning father. 1/2 @alexandtheweb.bsky.social

An image of a page from Sir John Ross’ delightful pamphlet with a catchy title, “Rear Admiral Sir John Franklin: a Narrative of the Circumstances and Causes Which Led to the Failure of the Searching Expeditions Sent by Government and Others for the Rescue of Sir John Franklin,” published in 1855. This publication appears to be the first source to claim an alleged promise made by Sir James Clark Ross’ to his wife’s relations, as the reason for that gentleman’s retirement. Sir John Ross alleges he received this information from Sir John Franklin himself.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 07/08/2026

An interior with a Very Naughty dog

A black and white image of an equally black and white Patterdale terrier sitting in a ‘shabby chic’ old-fashioned leather chair next to the window. He is waiting for his humans to get home.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 06/08/2026

Even more off topic, I have just read this and will never be the same again. Think you and @finger-post.blog need to update that guide pronto!

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 02/08/2026

The loveliest sound of summer to me (sound ⬆️)

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 25/07/2026

Here's [the future] Lord Castlereagh's grandfather disposing of some leftover money "for the use of the brave Corsicans" in June 1769. Excuse me, Sir, do you even know whom you're casually sponsoring there? #C18

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 23/07/2026

Splendid name alert - made even better by the fact that the Page part was a later [non-frivolous] addition. Someone had already expressed regret over his not having been an MP for Reading, so you don’t have to.

A screenshot from Wikipedia of Pompeo Batoni’s portrait of Sir Gregory Page-Turner, an eighteenth-century politician and apparently an avid book collector. There is alas no known connection between his name and an idiom for a particularly exciting book.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 20/07/2026

The Bone Tree is trying to look inoffensive and normal in the height of summer. It is trying too hard.

A portrait shot of a deceptively innocent tree on an Aberdeenshire estate. Covered in lush foliage from top to bottom, it almost manages to conceal its twisted true nature, visible in winter.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 06/07/2026

Why letting volunteers near an archive’s official blog is a bad decision (I hope/pray this wasn’t authored by a member of staff): 1 paragraph, several errors and purple passages that have no bearing on either the FE or said archive’s holdings. Also, what's an 'aide-de-cape' when they're at home?

A screenshot from an archive's blog post that tries - and fails - to explain the provenance of one of their collections. At 7 lines long, it is a perfect recipe for a word salad, containing a variety of simple and interpretational errors, irrelevant gossip, bizarre conclusions and misplaced sense of significance that does nothing to either highlight the collection's importance or outline its scope. It does make the reader laugh and the historian, cry.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 05/07/2026

In case anyone needs to cool down, we are having a glorious day of smirr here varied by heavier rain. I’m drenched as it’s still too warm for waterproof trews, but not complaining at all. Posting of ‘wish I was there’ pics, interrupted by the glorious wet, will resume next week.

A boring view of the main lake on the Haddo estate, surrounded by many shades of green with a heavy sky above, promising at least a few hours of rain.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 01/07/2026

Prize money! Out on 14th July - May be of interest to some of you #NavalHistory #NapoleonicHistory

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 28/06/2026

Am not doing anything today except reading and maybe walking, and wishing I was still here instead of one of my least favourite places to be.

A vertical shot with nothing much in it except some fluffy white clouds, an expanse of water and a thin line of distant hills. But the water is crystal green.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 21/06/2026

Some quality side eye for you from an ancient beast of Newtown-Ardes. Don’t ask me how it knows that you haven’t been doing as much research as you should have. It knows.

A detail of one of several mythical beasts surrounding the Old Market Cross in Newtownards, Co. Down. This beast has a catlike head, but that is where any similarity with cats ends. Its involuntary side eye is surprisingly human.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 08/06/2026

She came to rest on Rathmullan beach, awaiting shipwrights and supplies from Chatham, while her crew were warmly welcomed locally. Across the lough, in Buncrana, Dr. John Evans looked after the sick until they could be transported to Devonport. [Sketch by Owen Stanley, copyright RMG]. 4/9

A historic sketch of HMS Terror on Rathmullan beach, made by Owen Stanley in 1837, showing damage the ship sustained.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 08/06/2026

The emotions they felt on seeing the "soft and lovely landscape" around them in the morning, after months spent in the ice, were later summarised by Back as “enjoyment to be felt but once in life.” Their ship, meanwhile, was sinking despite all efforts, so a decision was made to run her ashore. 3/9

A simple view of Rathmullan beach in Donegal, under a threatening sky and the sand sidelit for a split second by the hiding sun.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 08/06/2026

Soon after, her rudder was damaged in a severe gale. Her exhausted crew, managing to secure it with 17 turns of whale line, now feared for her fate more than their own. Ireland’s coast was sighted around 2pm on 3 Sept. 1837, though it was nearly midnight when the ship anchored in Lough Swilly. 2/9

A close-up view of the waves in Lough Swilly, from the Rathmullan-Buncrana ferry. It is taken from a cabin, and the drops of water on the window could equally be rain or the waves splashing against it.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 08/06/2026

Greetings fm Donegal (not your usual polar hotspot) where HMS Terror paid a visit almost 189 years ago, on her return from George Back’s expedition to Hudson Bay. "Crazy, broken, and leaky," she was bound for Stromness when it became clear to Back that a nearer harbour was needed desperately. 🧵 1/9

A seascape with some hills in the distance and gentle waves in the foreground, in a very lovely part of Ireland.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 07/06/2026

Someone just can’t get enough of Strangford Lough…

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 01/06/2026

Mount Stewart is looking beautiful now summer is properly here (very late this year). Dog included especially for @illuminator.bsky.social

A very colourful image of the Mount Stewart house and gardens in between the showers: blooms in just about every colour including green, orange, violet and white.

A single white foxglove against a bright orange background

A lichen-covered statue of a very good dog sitting patiently on the wall

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 24/05/2026

Mrs. Humphrey's Mirror, Stromness

A square snap of a section of a house in Stromness. It is dominated by a window showing a distorted reflection of a part of Mrs. Humphrey's House which in 1835-36 served as "temporary hospital for scurvy ridden whale men who had been trapped in the ice for months," according to its blue plaque.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 18/05/2026

Just found MJR does say it in PP:

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 17/05/2026

An old favourite reminder that with historical handwriting, beautiful does not equal readable. James Clark Ross, everyone! (It would still totally make for a stunning silk scarf design)

A square image of a cross-written section from a letter by James Clark Ross to Edward Sabine, with the original colours changed to gold on black background to emphasise the meticulous, flowing lines.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 16/05/2026

40. Also heartened to discover they chose this cover image for one of these I did not enjoy:

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 08/05/2026

Finally getting stuck into this, @whigduke.bsky.social - the balance between great research and engaging story makes for very enjoyable reading! #HistBookChat #NapoleonicHistory

An image of the cover of “War and Diplomacy in the Napoleonic Era” by Reider Payne.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 04/05/2026

Some side-of-the-track colour for you

An image of a bright yellow sky rapeseed field under a heavy dark blue sky, with Bennachie in the distance.

Bright pink flowers over the drystone wall

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 02/05/2026

It’s been really fine and warm in NE Scotland the past few days, but I still love the clouds this time of year!

A portrait colour image of some ominous-looking, but beautiful clouds over farmland somewhere in Aberdeenshire.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 26/04/2026

Probably the most well-known Waterloo monument in darkest Aberdeenshire - to Sir Alexander Gordon. The other day I was there early enough to read the inscription (it's well hidden in the shadow for most of the day). #NapoleonicHistory

A simple obelisk commemorating Lieut-Col. Sir Alexander Gordon who died of a wound following the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815.

The inscription on the base of the obelisk reads: "To the memory of Sir Alexander Gordon K.C.B. Colonel of the Scots Guards and Aide de Camp to the Duke of Wellington. After serving his Country with distinction He was killed at the Battle of Waterloo June 1815. This monument was erected by his brother George 4th Earl of Aberdeen."

An information board giving some brief details about Sir Alexander Gordon's death at Waterloo, Duke of Wellington's letter to the Earl of Aberdeen announcing the news and the two monuments erected by Sir Alexander Gordon's family.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 12/04/2026

Strangford with the Mournes in the background, from last year

A landscape photo of Strangford, looking over from Portaferry just after the sunset.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 08/04/2026

Did it a while ago, so not sure path is same, but # in top right (on iOS) sd give you a list of your feeds, and you sd be able to unpin/disable Discover (or others). It still appears in my list, but not as a tab - nor do I see posts from it:

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 05/04/2026

Sick of the months’ worth of high-pitched wind howling? Here are the sounds we should be hearing more of by now, like birds - and a delightful Mr. Swan doing his beauty routine.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 02/04/2026

I love the stories on duchas.ie - too bad they have so few for Co. Down. I also appreciate that it took this particular chap in Donegal a good while to connect the rats in his porridge with the clay he took from the Abbey plot, but he did get there 😇.

A snippet from one of the folk stories digitised by the National Folklore Collection UCD, detailing the hapless adventures of a man who took some clay for his field from a plot belonging to an abbey in Donegal. "...he took it out of the Abbey plot, and it is said that he was haunted by a plague of rats, which were even jumping out of the pot of porridge on the fire, and at last he had to leave the townland."

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 29/03/2026

Finally went up Lord Aberdeen's solitary chess piece (before the howling winds came back). While the immediate surroundings aren't wild enough for my liking, loved the light.

A quick image of some fields with Bennachie in the distance taken pre-sunset. The combination of pale gold and new green is very pleasing, even though it's quite an ordinary shot otherwise.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 27/03/2026

Ye typical modern polar biographer's phraseology (with translation):

A snippet of text describing phrases that regularly crop up in modern polar history writing (especially biographies), and their hidden meaning.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 25/03/2026

Apparently, we are well into spring…

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 22/03/2026

There are some trees that truly are poor, innocent victims of storms (l) and there are others who are clearly out to get you, like the Bone Tree [not its real name] (r).

Vertical close-up image of a storm-damaged tree trunk contorted into a very interesting shape

A close-up vertical image of a tree whose name I am blissfully ignorant of, and which I call "Bone Tree" on the account of its trunk looking like skeleton bones topped by a massive bird nest. Not a real nest, obviously.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 21/03/2026

For #WorldPoetryDay, I'm resurrecting the thing wot I wrote while terribly impressed by one of Lady Franklin's dramatic, self-contradicting journal entries. 'Tis a joke, though more historically accurate than a lot of polar writing. Dedicated to @finger-post.blog as all my high poetry invariably is.

A screenshot of a long-winded poem written by myself a few years back after reading Lady Franklin's journal describing her decision to not purchase, then to purchase Betsey Island; Sir John Franklin's thoughts on the subject; and her offering to sell it to Captain Crozier later on. She recorded the whole story in rather tedious detail which begged for a humorous treatment. Her writing style and conventions have been observed most carefully throughout.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 20/03/2026

Picked this up on a whim for light reading and finding it hard to put down. Recommended - it might make you cry, but it definitely will make you want to buy more notebooks... #HistBookChat

A cover illustration of Roland Allen's The Notebook: a History of Thinking on Paper. The image is not nearly as exciting as the book!

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 15/03/2026

Since this is the first weekend in forever when I’m not looking for new digs, packing, unpacking or moving, I bring you Haddo House in all its glory.

Fireplace at Haddo House, apparently fashioned from an ancient bedstead. Made of intricately cut dark wood, it is clearly a fireplace to end all fireplaces.

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 13/03/2026

Reworked this old favourite, chiefly for amusement of sad people like myself - credit owed to the original author except I don’t remember their name and not even sure I ever knew it.

A cartoon of four images, representing a pre-sleep dialogue between a girl and her brain.

Brain: “Did you enjoy that non-fiction history book?”
Girl: “Yes, Brain. It was well written. It was a good story. Why?”
Brain: “Did you notice it had a vague bibliography and NO referencing?”
Girl: (says nothing, eyes open wide, all hope of sleep gone)

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ultima thule @thethousandthpart.com · 20/02/2026

Quietly wondering whether the first Duke was planning to paper the walls with those, or had another practical use in mind for them...

A screenshot from the Georgian Papers Programme website stating that the papers of two monarchs, George IV and William IV, were found at Apsley House and transferred to the Royal Archives in 1912.

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