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acspring.bsky.social
Alison Spring
@acspring.bsky.social
1.1K followers 100 following 1.3K posts
Glasgow-ish based
Qualified Genealogist @ RQG, specialising in Scottish research https://tinyurl.com/FrugalFH
Speaker - see my talks listed at https://tinyurl.com/yb9cht29
Frugal Family Historian - http://scotsancestors.blogspot.com
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acspring.bsky.social
Alison Spring @acspring.bsky.social · Jun 18
I've just added some new presentations - if you're a family history society or heritage group looking for speakers, take a look at my list of topics at tinyurl.com/2s4jch96 and get in touch!
Leafy postcard with information on it as follows: Alison Spring family history speaker NEW PRESENTATIONS FOR 2025! Introduction to Scottish Church Records Dive Deeper into Scottish Church Records Researching Urban Ancestors in Scotland Plus many other talks including… Getting More Out of FamilySearch.org Glasgow Poor Law Application Records Tools for Your Graveyard Research Kit FULL LIST & DETAILS @ https://tinyurl.com/2s4jch96
Reposted by Alison Spring
dnakath.bsky.social
ATTN GENEALOGISTS: Please read and share this post - important info on #AI and #photo regeneration. @craigenorg.bsky.social #craigen #artificialintelligence
November 25, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Reposted by Alison Spring
projectkin.bsky.social
The power of memoir and storytelling may take generations, but it is real.

Rest in peace, Viola Fletcher.

#FamilyHistory #memoir #tulsa #ViolaFletcher

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/u...
Viola Fletcher, Oldest Survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, Dies at 111
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Reposted by Alison Spring
parodypm.bsky.social
My attendance record in the European Parliament was the 4th worst out of 751 MEPs, yet I managed to turn up to vote AGAINST plans to tackle Russian misinformation.
Thankfully this is of no interest to the media.
November 24, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Reposted by Alison Spring
scottishindexes.bsky.social
Dig deeper into your Scottish roots at the Scottish Indexes Conference on 31 Jan 2026.

Free online talks on marriage, DNA, illicit distilling, church records & more. Save the date!

#Scottish #FamilyHistory #ScottishIndexes #Genealogy #Archives
November 25, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Reposted by Alison Spring
nursesforindy.bsky.social
Jackie Baillie wants to privatise our NHS!!
That's why she continuously lies about the Scottish NHS when it is the best performing NHS in the UK. She's shown her true colours
#RedTory
#LabourLiar
Independence is our only option
www.thenational.scot/news/2443689...
Jackie Baillie backs Wes Streeting's NHS private sector plans
SCOTTISH Labour’s deputy leader has suggested the Scottish Government should follow Wes Streeting’s plans for heavier involvement of the private…
www.thenational.scot
November 25, 2025 at 7:05 AM
acspring.bsky.social
The movie poster depicts lead actor Bill Paterson with an ice cream cone smashed onto his nose. The main text of the poster reads: From the director of ‘Local Hero’ and ‘Gregory’s Girl’ Comfort and Joy (PG) A serious comedy
November 23, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Reposted by Alison Spring
earlymodjustice.bsky.social
To “my students and to anyone who might listen, I say: Don’t surrender to AI your ability to read, write and think when others once risked their lives and died for the freedom to do so.”

www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
I Set A Trap To Catch My Students Cheating With AI. The Results Were Shocking.
"Students are not just undermining their ability to learn, but to someday lead."
www.huffpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Reposted by Alison Spring
regqualgenes.bsky.social
Curious about your ancestors but not sure where to turn next? The Register of Qualified Genealogists (RQG) can connect you with trusted professionals who know how to find the records, stories, and details that bring your family history to life.
#genealogy #familyhistory
November 21, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Reposted by Alison Spring
bugbear6502.bsky.social
“I’ve known Jeff [Epstein] for 15 years. Terrific guy,” Trump told New York magazine in 2002. “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”

Today Trump says he didn't know about Epstein's activities.
November 18, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Reposted by Alison Spring
pastandotherplaces.bsky.social
Plus, AI is inaccurate. #AI = Audrey II. Feed Me!
youtu.be/K6w3xb8gqpE?...
Little Shop of Horrors - "Feed Me" (1986) - (4K)
YouTube video by VideoXL
youtu.be
November 18, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Reposted by Alison Spring
tanjabueltmann.net
🌍 42.5m refugees
Over 70% of them are hosted by low- and middle-income countries.

🇬🇧 548k refugees
= 0.78% of the UK population.

It is not refugees who tear our country apart, it is the mainstreaming of far right policies. And that’s a risk to all of us.

My letter to my MP.

#asylum #Mahmood

🧵
Dear [my MP’s name], As the Home Secretary prepares to announce sweeping changes to the UK’s asylum system, I see it as both my duty as a citizen and responsibility as a migration expert to do all I can to urge policymakers to oppose the proposals—not only for what they will do to refugees, though that is the first concern, but also for what they will mean for all of us and the future society we live in.  That is why I am writing to you as my MP. This letter explains why I consider the need to oppose the Home Secretary’s proposals urgent and, at the most fundamental level, in the national and your constituents’ interest. I was born in Germany, a country whose history taught me how quickly societies can go down dark paths; how quickly our leaders can fail in the choices they make. But the history of the displacement of people that the Nazi regime was responsible for also shaped my understanding of why refugee movements occur—and why our response to any of them can never compromise what are, and must always be, universal human rights. Which is why what is happening in the UK now is so deeply alarming. A manufactured crisis As of June 2025, there were 42.5 million refugees globally. Over 70% of them are hosted by low- and middle-income countries; most of them immediate neighbours. Overall, five countries—Colombia, Germany, Türkiye, Iran and Uganda—host a third of the total number of refugees; Germany is the main host in the EU, hosting 2.7 million. The UK hosts 548,000 refugees; that is 0.78% of the UK population. About 110,000 people are in receipt of asylum support; that is 0.15% of the UK population.
November 16, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Reposted by Alison Spring
benpatrickwill.bsky.social
Can I quietly ask we stop talking about what "AI" *could* do in education and identify instead what's actually happening with AI in education? I'll start...
November 15, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Reposted by Alison Spring
jackryeo.bsky.social
At the
November 14, 2025 at 7:39 AM
acspring.bsky.social
And today's discovery combines my two great loves: NBC's Law & Order, and family history (I think it's to do with detective work). A distant paternal cousin has made it into the records in the Bronx. #GenHour
A document which reads: State of New York Department of Correction Sing Sing Prison George MacDonald Received 6-22-33 From Bronx
November 13, 2025 at 8:12 PM
acspring.bsky.social
My first big find this week was about a distant cousin. Her husband's 1st wife left him + kids for a man who'd killed a PC in London. Big tell-all article in a Sunday scandal sheet from the 1st wife's pov. Later a (much) smaller article in the local paper announced the ensuing divorce #GenHour
November 13, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Reposted by Alison Spring
jtullock.bsky.social
No no no begs every archivist. You are never going to be able to find anything. Please don’t start using emojis in file names. Who asked for this? What fresh hell is next?
Screen grab from Dropbox saying Emojis in file names are finally here!
November 12, 2025 at 10:38 AM
acspring.bsky.social
New post on the Frugal Family Historian blog. Free records for Remembrance weekend, YouTube, podcasts. It's all about researching, and picking up new skills. Learn more, do more, spend nothing. #GenHour scotsancestors.blogspot.com/2025/11/lear...
Learn/do more, spend nothing
scotsancestors.blogspot.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:00 PM
acspring.bsky.social
New post on the Frugal Family Historian blog. Free records for Remembrance weekend, YouTube, podcasts. It's all about researching, and picking up new skills. Learn more, do more, spend nothing. #AncestryHour scotsancestors.blogspot.com/2025/11/lear...
Learn/do more, spend nothing
scotsancestors.blogspot.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Reposted by Alison Spring
hedgehogsociety.bsky.social
This bonfire night, check bonfire piles for #hedgehogs.
Don't burn a hedgehogs home.
Look BEFORE you light.
🦔 🦔 🦔

Please #ShareToMakeAware 🙏

#RememberHedgehogs #LookBeforeYouLight #WildlifeWednesday #bonfirenight #bonfirewarning #wildlifewarning
November 5, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Reposted by Alison Spring
alexvont.bsky.social
Well-meaning Americans in my mentions: kindly do not recommend extremely illegal actions that could land people in the UK with a ten year prison sentence
Reply to a post about the incident in Huntingdon from a US account: “ I cannot stress this enough to people. Carry a small canister of pepper spray and keep it accessible when you’re out in public especially trapped in a train. It’s an easy protective measure we can all take.” Reply from me: “I cannot stress enough to you that pepper spray is illegal to possess, buy, or carry in the UK under the Firearms Act 1968. I strongly recommend anyone reading does not do this under any circumstances.”
November 2, 2025 at 10:29 PM
acspring.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves #Day31 #MementoMori The clasped hands on this stone, in Collace churchyard, symbolise the hoped-for reunion in heaven with loved ones.
A pointed grey gravestone sits in a grassy churchyard. At its head is a carved symbol of clasped hands. Beneath is the inscription "In Loving Memory Of ANN McLAREN Wife Of DAVID GRAY Who Died 16th February 1911 Aged 69 Years And Of Their Family ISABELLA Who Died 7th April 1889 Aged 9 Years And 8 Months CHRISTINA Died In Infancy The Above DAVID GRAY Who Died 10th April 1913 Aged 75 Years And Their Daughters ANN Who Died 14th January 1940 Aged 62 Years CECILIA Who Died 9th June 1946 Aged 87 Years" Photo Credit: Mentiplay on Findagrave
October 31, 2025 at 8:08 AM
acspring.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves #Day30 #Colour In Scotland, the Surname BLUE is almost entirely confined to the west and its islands. One would think it pretty rare, until you scroll through a census and find villages significantly populated by Blues. This particular stone is in Kilkerran Cemetery in Campbeltown.
A wide grey granite headstone is dedicated to as follows "In Loving Memory of Thomas Blue Baker and Confectioner Died 3rd Nov. 1937 aged 48 years also his son Alastair Farquhar, R.A.F. Killed 3rd Dec. 1943, and interred in Brandon, Manitoba aged 21 years Alice Farquhar Wife of Thomas and Mother of Alastair Died 14th March 1974 aged 82 years" Photo credit: Pixturmn on FindaGrave
October 30, 2025 at 8:06 AM
acspring.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves #Day29 #Occupation This memorial is in Elgin Cathedral churchyard and is possibly a relative. My 5th great-grandparents, George Sellar (also a miller) & Janet Arnot, married in 1794, have a stone here but it is impossible to read now. Transcription of this stone is in the alt text.
A simple headstone set directly into the turf bears the inscription "In Memory of WILLIAM SELLAR late Miller in Old-mills who died the 1st of May 1796 Aged 68 years."
October 29, 2025 at 8:03 AM
acspring.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves #Day28 #Column All right, so it's not a column, but it IS one of only two such structures in Scotland, copied from the Irish round tower style. It's now attached to Brechin Cathedral, but was originally free-standing. More at www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-plac...
Beside the cathedral stands a 25-metre tall round tower which comes to a turret-shaped point. Set in its wall, 2 metres off the ground, is the original arched doorway. In the foreground are gravestones and shrubbery.
October 28, 2025 at 7:41 AM
acspring.bsky.social
#31DaysofGraves #Day27 #Tree A springtime visit this year to the Scottish county of Angus found me in St Vigeans churchyard amidst some beautiful blossoms on the trees.
A path leads through the gravestones of a churchyard towards its gate. Flanking the gate are two trees full of pink blossoms, standing out against a pale blue sky. A row of stone-built cottages can be seen beyond the gate. A close-up of the pink blossoms shows their beautiful petals and the stems that attach them, in clumps, to a tree. A gravestone leans to the right in the background.
October 27, 2025 at 7:59 AM