iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Tonight at 10pm UK time my video talk goes online as part of the All About That Place conference. Find out more about my One Place Study of a villa in Puschkinallee, Alt-Treptow, #Berlin that changed through time. #AATP #OPS sog.org.uk/welcome-to-a...

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Berat in Albania is an absolute gem. At night it is lit up like a blooming Christmas tree, lovely! #Balkans #RoadTrip #streetphotography

Carousel in pedestrian zone, Berat, Albania, after the rain.

View of river Lumë I Osimit, Mangalem on left, Berat, Albania. Gorica bridge lit up in distance.

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

We've reached Albania! The city of Shkodër is a busy place, older than it looks at first glance: 2,400 years old. It is on Skadra Lake, the largest in the #Balkans. Very friendly people, great food. #RoadTrip #streetphotography

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

At the Black Lake, the Tara river, and the Black Pine Forest, Durmitor National Park. The beauties of #Montenegro. #Balkan #Roadtrip #naturephotography

Crna poda (Black forest), Durmitor National Park

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

The reconstructed Stare Most in #Mostar, Bosnia. If you go there, take a look in the War Museum at what happened there before joining the throngs on the bridge to take a selfie. #Balkan #Tour #streetphotography

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Yesterday in #Dubrovnik, a beautiful city. But very full of tourists and expensive. #Balkan #Tour #streetphotography

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

On the plan it is clear that the wall that still remains used to be much longer and was the coal store. Here's a picture of the remaining wall in 2010 when the kids climbed up on it.

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

On her baptism in Ashford her mother gives "single woman" as occupation. I think it's her. Thank you!

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

In my new 'job' as a Data Doctor on #Wikitree while sourcing orphaned profiles.in Kent, I found this 👇. In 1901, the Kennett family had taken Florence in as a 'nurse child'. By 1911 she had been adopted by them. I couldn't find her birth registration. #genealogy

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

This is the old plan for our house and garden in November 1984 when it was the Kreiskulturhaus Treptow. The Coach House was used as a music school. More about it in my short video talk at #AATP #Puschkinallee5 #OnePlaceWednesday

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Just found this little momento in a box of photos. It is a Dinky Toy Meccano British Railway train from the 1950s. Brought back lots of memories. #familyhistory

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Actually, THIS is the quick peek I wanted to give you of Puschkinallee 5, my One-Place-Study. #AATP #OnePlaceWednesday

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

A quick peek at the subject of my One-Place-Study, Puschkinallee 5, in Berlin Alt-Treptow. More on 13 Oct, #AATP #OnePlaceWednesday

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

My first time giving a video talk at #AATP on 13 Oct 2026 on my One-Place-Study about our house on Puschkinallee in Berlin. Hope you can join me. #OnePlaceWednesday

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

OK, this is interesting. I found another conviction in 1917 in Hastings but under the name Harold Arthur Baxter. Definitely my Harold.

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

No, definitely not him. He married in 1922 and the father is different. And he had over £12,000 when he died.

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Cool event last night at Kreuzberger Festsaal: Berlin Indie Night. Love the location. Not just dancing but a real sing-along. People had a great time and all before 10 pm! #BerlinBerlin #streetphotography

Berlin Indie Night, Kreuzberger Festsaal

View from behind the DJ (no. 2), Berlin Indie Night, Kreuzberger Festsaal

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

I'm not sure who is on this photo, passed down from my uncle. Suggestions are that it might be from around 1904 judging by the clothes. It would have been taken at a mixed race girls' school, probably in Simla, India, that also took boys in the infant class. Any ideas? #genealogy #familyphotos

School photo, about 1904, likely Simla, Punjab, India.

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Going back to the beginning of the Kent Family History Tour: we visited the Kent Archeological Society in Maidstone museum. We found the book Summer Evening Rambles Round Woolwich, a slim volume by our 3x great-grandfather Richard Ruegg which we were even allowed to photocopy. #genealogy #Kent

Summer's Evening Rambles Round Woolwich by Richard Ruegg

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

I made it to the British Library today and got my free reading pass. We headed up to the Reading Room for Asian and African Studies and browsed through the shelves. Found my great-grandfather in an Indian Army list from 1895. #genealogy #BritishLibrary

Reading room for Asian and African Studies at the British Library

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Found a picture of the uncle of the writer Walter die la Mare, William, who was the first incumbent at St Thomas' church in Charlton, Woolwich. The reflected stained glass windows adds a touch of religious devotion that I liked. #genealogy #kent

William die la Mare, first incumbent at St Thomas church, Charlton

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

This is St Edith Well in the lovely village of Kemsing, the last stop on my Kent family history tour. I found the grave of Thomas & Dorothy Acton, my 6x great-grandparents, erected in 1764. I also visited the Kemsing Heritage Centre which has an amazing archive. #genealogy #Kent #familyhistory

Discovery of the 1764 gravestone of Thomas and Dorothy Acton in St Mary's churchyard, Kemsing, Kent.

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Having said that, I appreciate the fact that you went to all the trouble of trying to help. Only it doesn't. I am on Android. When I click on see profile, I get this.

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

This is my Auntie Sylvia and it was her birthday yesterday. Sadly, she died in 2015 but before she went, she passed on a great collection of family photos. This is my favourite one of her, a bridesmaid at my mother's wedding. #AncestralWomen #genealogy

Sylvia Blenkiron, 26 Jun 1954, Oxford. Photo: Hall family archive

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Say hello to the Ruegg family in India. Alfred and Flora Harriet had 5 daughters. Today is baby Flora Eileen's birthday, born in 1912. She lived to be 100. Happy birthday Flora and thanks for all the stories! #AncestralWomen #genealogy

The Ruegg family, abt 1911 in front of Villa Ana in Simla, India. Left to right: Edith Annette, Alfred James, Flora Harriet nee Bwye with baby Flora Eileen, behind her my grandmother Norah, Ada Helen and Ethel Irene. Missing is Alfred William who died as a baby. Image courtesy of Rhiannon Harte Coates, all rights reserved.

Close up of Flora Eileen Ruegg, born 1912.

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Yesterday, I did a search for a family member and British Newspapers turned up a load of articles in The Tatler and The Sketch, with photos of him as a young man with lots of debutantes. He ended up marrying a model who was also featured, so cool.

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

I had a close encounter of the AI kind this week that made me really annoyed. After spending ages thinking up a prompt that would prevent hallucination, it still just made up a source. When I asked for the link, it admitted that it didn't exist. Read on... #AncestryHour

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Anyone else seeing this when they try to call up the FreeBMD site? #genealogy

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

The Bwye One Name Study is coming along nicely. All the research enabled me to write a story in two parts on my 2x great grandfather Henry Bwye, who was a landscape gardener first at Cyntathfa Castle in Wales, then Ram Bagh in Amritsar, India, and finally at Annandale, Simla, india. #OneNameTuesday

Aerial view of Cyntathfa Castle and Park near Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan, Wales. Photo: Date and photographer unknown.

Map of Ram Bagh, Amritsar, from the ‘Gulghast-i-Punjab’ by Total Ram, 1860. Image: public domain

Old photo of Annandale grounds from 1798. Photo: 502hsuya/CC BY 4.0

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

This is the Bwye family in Simla, India. I have now added so many Bwye profiles to #Wikitree that I've decided to start a #OneNameStudy on the surname #Bwye Do you have any Bwyes in your tree? #genealogy

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

The owner of 'Haus Rüegg' told me that some Rüeggs went to Argentina, maybe in the time that the weaving business collapsed, or because of the failed harvests in the Year without a Summer (1816) when a volcanic eruption in Indonesia blocked out the sun and led to crop failures and starvation. #Ruegg

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

They have this thing of writing the family names on the beam under the roof, as well as the date of when the house was built. In Tablat I found two such houses, one from 1767 and the other 1819.

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

I am thrilled to bits that four of my family history stories about Ancestral Women have been published in this ebook, edited by Robin Stewart of #Genealogy Matters. Read it here: archive.org/details/ance...

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Blooming Bottlebrush (Callistemon), Greece 🌱

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Latest quickie done at the end of a session at the studio yesterday, just using up leftover paint. What does it remind you of? I see a colourful waterfall. Acrylic on canvas board, 20 X 20 cm. #art #artwork #painting

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Enjoying the British India Challenge today on #Wikitree. I managed to work on 18 profiles today. Admittedly, most of them only needed a tweak here and there. See you tomorrow for more! #genealogy

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Καλό Πάσχα! #GoodFriday procession in Koroni in front of the Elysia church. #OrthodoxEaster #GreekEaster

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Negotiating tactic or a nuclear threat? Was Trump serious when he threatened to kill "a whole civilisation in one night"? Just the ravings of a madman, or the basis of the concept of nuclear deterrence? Read my post on @ippnw.bsky.social Peace and Health Blog: peaceandhealthblog.com/2026/04/10/w...

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Finished this painting today in the studio. Not sure what to call it yet. Experimenting with painting with my hands, scraping with a palette knife, then using a glue gun to add texture, and then adding highlights with fingers. Acrylic and glue on canvas, 30 X 40 cm. #art #artwork #painting

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Inspired by Greece, these are my first paintings since getting back into the Koroni studio in March. "Summer to Winter" is already reserved; Spring is still on offer. Enjoying myself immensely, trying out new media. #art #artwork #painting

Reserved: Summer to Winter, 24 X 30 cm, acrylic and paper on canvas board. © Xanthe Hall

Greek Spring, 20 X 20 cm, acrylic and cotton strips on canvas. © Xanthe Hall

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

My voice for today's book by a woman: There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak 📚💙 #TheWriteWomen

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Back in blooming Greece! Love my little Greek garden. Λατρεύω τον μικρό μου ελληνικό κήπο 💚🌱

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

It's #OnePlaceWednesday and I've been digging deeper into Simla, now called #Shimla, in India, looking for my grandparents house. With a lot of help from Hugh of Pagoda Press I've found it! They lived in Ada Villa just on the northern edge of Simla. #genealogy

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

Kino International on Karl-Marx-Allee reopens after major renovation. Today was open day and the results are stunning. #Berlin #streetphotography

Glass showcases outside Kino International. Photo: Xanthe Hall

Staircase from the foyer to the panorama café and cinema salon, Kino International. Photo: Xanthe Hall

The foyer at Kino International. Photo: Xanthe Hall

Ticket office at Kino International. Photo: Xanthe Hall

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Researching my grandmother Norah's life in British India at the beginning of the 20th C. My cousin sent me this wonderful photo. The dogs were big, but she was also tiny. I know so little about her and we never met, but I really want to know more. #familyhistory #genealogy

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Took a break to do some Zen tangling on this little canvas board (20x20 cm) using acrylic paints and pens. #art #zentangle

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

Today, one day after my presentation on Speakers' Corner, I received confirmation of the date of death for Samuel Leonard Thomas Ashworth, or "Uncle Len", who killed his third wife. #storytelling #familyhistory #truecrime

Death certificate for Samuel Leonard Thomas Ashworth

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

Did this little picture for Christmas. 20x20 cm, acrylic on canvas board. #art #painting #zentangle

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XanthH @xanthh.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

Read 29 books this year. Some of them were new, some old classics, 11 of them got five star ratings from me (got to be a record). Think I'll set my goal for 35 next year. 📚💙💚🧡

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