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Dr Alison Baxter

@alisonrbaxter.bsky.social

220 followers 130 following 82 posts

Reader, writer, historian. Author of A Cornish Cargo https://amzn.eu/d/82n7ovn and Another Song at Sunset https://amzn.eu/d/8G3915h Home Library volunteer and Trustee of Asylum Welcome.

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Dr Alison Baxter @alisonrbaxter.bsky.social · Nov 15

Just published - my new book! Available in paperback and kindle editions. For anyone interested in Scottish history, the Scots language, or the work of Lewis Grassic Gibbon amzn.eu/d/heuqCJU

Another Song at Sunset: Jean Baxter, Scots poet and friend of Lewis Grassic Gibbon: Amazon.co.uk: Baxter, Alison: 9798340910509: Books

Buy Another Song at Sunset: Jean Baxter, Scots poet and friend of Lewis Grassic Gibbon by Baxter, Alison (ISBN: 9798340910509) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

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Dr Alison Baxter @alisonrbaxter.bsky.social · 18d

In Trieste, city of literature, for a few days. Museums closed for a general strike in support of Gaza (and why can’t we do the same?), but here are Italo Svevo, James Joyce, and Umberto Saba.

Dr Alison Baxter @alisonrbaxter.bsky.social · 27d

To mark ten years of Sanctuary Hosting, I wrote about migration. With thanks to @asylumwelcome.bsky.social for the fact checker.
open.substack.com/pub/writingf...

'Don’t think your boys, far away as they are, ever forget'

A story of migration

open.substack.com

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Reposted by Dr Alison Baxter

Asylum Welcome @asylumwelcome.bsky.social · Sep 7

This Sept, we're celebrating 10 years of Sanctuary Hosting!
www.asylum-welcome.org/services/san...

300 guests helped, 40,000 nights of safe sleep & countless acts of kindness - thanks to our wonderful hosts 💙

🎧 Listen to the story on our podcast #Welcomecast:
creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/...

Three women sit at a table with food and drinks, talking during a community event with bunting in the background.

An older woman and a younger woman wearing a headscarf sit together at a kitchen table, with books and papers spread out in front of them.

Four women smiling at a Sanctuary Hosting event, with musicians performing in the background.

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Reposted by Dr Alison Baxter

Asylum Welcome @asylumwelcome.bsky.social · Sep 2

"We sat in stunned silence… wondering: what will this mean for the people we support now & those who will need us in future?" — Dr Hari Reed, our Co-CEO.

For many refugees, reunion is the only hope they have left. Suspending that right puts women & children at risk, @yvettecooper-mp.bsky.social.

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Dr Alison Baxter @alisonrbaxter.bsky.social · Aug 28

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Back in time for school

A successful Victorian businesswoman

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Reposted by Dr Alison Baxter

Greg Jenner @gregjenner.bsky.social · Aug 27

The Bear Tapestry

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Reposted by Dr Alison Baxter

Asylum Welcome @asylumwelcome.bsky.social · Aug 26

Today, Nigel Farage used Oxfordshire to launch plans for “mass deportations” of people seeking asylum if he becomes Prime Minister.

We believe in a different vision: one rooted in dignity, safety, and welcome. Please add your name to our open letter: tinyurl.com/aw-letter

A call for Unity and Compassion in Oxfordshire (and beyond)

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Dr Alison Baxter @alisonrbaxter.bsky.social · Aug 12

A piece of Scottish family history to mark a significant date in the sporting calendar.
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The Glorious Twelfth

Grouse shooting - a controversial sport

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Dr Alison Baxter @alisonrbaxter.bsky.social · Jul 28

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Bombsight Bertha

A wartime heroine of the Royal Aircraft Establishment

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Dr Alison Baxter @alisonrbaxter.bsky.social · Jul 21

This week’s story is about bad behaviour at the Royal Aircraft Establishment open.substack.com/pub/writingf...

The case of the illegal pigs

The Royal Aircraft Establishment in wartime

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Dr Alison Baxter @alisonrbaxter.bsky.social · Jul 3

I’m sure my grandmother would have been dismayed at this threat to the burial place of her friend Lewis Grassic Gibbon.

Neil Drysdale @neildrysdale.bsky.social · Jun 30

This is an important story for anybody interested in arts and heritage. Vivien Heilbron, who played Chris Guthrie in “Sunset Song”, is among those campaigning to save Arbuthnott Church! www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/6788...

Sunset Song: 'Our fight to save the Aberdeenshire church that inspired famous Scots novel'

Arbuthnott Church which inspired Sunset Song is being sold off by the Church of Scotland but campaigners are fighting to save it.

www.pressandjournal.co.uk

Dr Alison Baxter @alisonrbaxter.bsky.social · Jul 3

Thanks for the mention, Neil. I imagine there was no space for my quote but my grandmother would definitely be backing this campaign.

Dr Alison Baxter @alisonrbaxter.bsky.social · Jul 2

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A new post that may be familiar to readers of A Cornish Cargo!

A cargo of broccoli

Or how to encourage your children to eat their greens

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Dr Alison Baxter @alisonrbaxter.bsky.social · Jun 17

An example of transferable skills? How a sea captain who learnt his trade on square riggers became a pilot in World War 1.
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From sea to air

Walter Price, master mariner turned pilot

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Dr Alison Baxter @alisonrbaxter.bsky.social · Jun 1

Delighted to get my copy of this superb biography of Lewis Grassic Gibbon. With a couple of my family photos included!
amzn.eu/d/hXNRv0C

History of a Revoluter: The Life of James Leslie Mitchell/Lewis Grassic Gibbon: Amazon.co.uk: Malcolm, William K.: 9781910858387: Books

Buy History of a Revoluter: The Life of James Leslie Mitchell/Lewis Grassic Gibbon by Malcolm, William K. (ISBN: 9781910858387) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligi...

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Dr Alison Baxter @alisonrbaxter.bsky.social · Jun 1

Back to maritine history for my latest family story
open.substack.com/pub/writingf...

Sailing to the Gold Coast

Captain Perceval Pennefather Dupen

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Reposted by Dr Alison Baxter

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · May 18

A more personal substack post today about the first refugee I hosted through @refugeesathome.bsky.social .

It's not something I talk about much but I felt I needed to write something in response to the increasingly hostile environment for refugees.

christinapagel.substack.com/p/the-path-t...

The path to citizenship the UK has choked off - to our detriment

A story of hope and anger and one man called B.

christinapagel.substack.com

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Dr Alison Baxter @alisonrbaxter.bsky.social · May 18

Very sad. And in the same week that the definitive biography of Grassic Gibbon by Bill Malcolm is published.

scott lyall @scottlyall.bsky.social · May 18

I'm in the Mail on Sunday, of all places, lamenting the proposed closure of Arbuthnott Church, where Lewis Grassic Gibbon, author of Sunset Song, is laid to rest.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

Church that inspired famous Scots novel to be sold off by Kirk

Arbuthnott Church - the real-world inspiration for the setting of Sunset Song and the final resting place of its author, Lewis Grassic Gibbon - is to be sold off.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Dr Alison Baxter @alisonrbaxter.bsky.social · Apr 24

New Substack post, of special interest to anyone with ancestors in the north east of England open.substack.com/pub/writingf...

'Like a mole groping in the dark'

Coal miners of Northumberland and Durham

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Reposted by Dr Alison Baxter

Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · Apr 22

Fuckity bye

RIP, the Guardian-Observer 1993-2025. It wasn't a natural death.

The biggest journalistic bloodletting in a generation.

Rest in power ✊

open.substack.com/pub/broligar...

Fuckity bye

RIP, the Guardian-Observer 1993-2025. It was not a natural death.

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Dr Alison Baxter @alisonrbaxter.bsky.social · Apr 13

Asylum Welcome is looking for new trustees. If you’re based in the Oxfordshire area, do consider joining us.

www.asylum-welcome.org/trustee-recr...

We are looking for new trustees! - Asylum Welcome

We are looking for two new trustees to join our board - a treasurer and a trustee with lived experience.

www.asylum-welcome.org

Dr Alison Baxter @alisonrbaxter.bsky.social · Apr 9

This has turned out to be one of my most commented on posts on Substack so far.
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My uncle the bomber pilot

Dealing with problematic family history

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Dr Alison Baxter @alisonrbaxter.bsky.social · Apr 3

I can’t get to London today but I’m still supporting the day of action by @societyofauthors.bsky.social

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Dr Alison Baxter @alisonrbaxter.bsky.social · Mar 30

Dr Kildare! (Before your time of course.)

Reposted by Dr Alison Baxter

Meher Oliaji - @mehero.bsky.social · Mar 28

This is the sort of thing I would expect to see on the front page of the BBC website. But I can't find this anywhere.

Arrests in a place of worship, because people were planning peaceful protest!

Quakers in Britain @quaker.org.uk · Mar 28

🚨 Outrage as 20 police officers break into Westminster Quaker Meeting House and arrest six. 🚨
This shocking violation of a place of worship is a direct result of crackdowns on protest and dissent - freedom of speech, assembly and democracy are at risk.🕊️
👉 www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-eve...

Quakers condemn police raid on Westminster Meeting House

Police broke into a Quaker Meeting House last night (27 March) and arrested six young people holding a meeting over concerns for the climate and Gaza.

www.quaker.org.uk

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