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cotswoldtalespast.bsky.social
FionaStone
@cotswoldtalespast.bsky.social
180 followers 170 following 170 posts
Family and Local History of the Cotswolds area especially Gloucestershire. AGRA Associate.
One Place Study for Lechlade-on-Thames in Gloucestershire. Advocate for the underdog.
Posts Replies Media Videos
cotswoldtalespast.bsky.social
Great to hear.
December 23, 2025 at 9:28 AM
cotswoldtalespast.bsky.social
Sad news:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c0...
Chris Rea: Driving Home For Christmas singer dies aged 74
A statement from his wife and two children says he
www.bbc.co.uk
December 22, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Reposted by FionaStone
ancestralenq.bsky.social
William Parr, the electrician from Wigan who went down to the engine room of the Titanic & kept the lights on & the lifeboats davits working as it sank. 👇
BBC News - Titanic hero who kept the lights on as doomed line sank - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Titanic hero who kept the lights on as doomed line sank
Electrician William Parr, who was born in Wigan, kept working below deck as she ship split in two.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 22, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Reposted by FionaStone
oneplacestudies.bsky.social
As well as publishing the December issue of Destinations today, our website has been updated with the first 6 of our #OnePlaceStudy blogging, vlogging and social media prompts for 2026. These prompts are for anyone seeking inspiration for their OPS-related blog and social media posts—and videos too!
Blogging and Social Media Prompts January - July 2026. January: #OnePlaceAdverts. February: #OnePlaceNetworks. March: #OnePlaceClothing. April: #OnePlaceVisitors. May: #OnePlaceArchaeology. June: #OnePlaceCarers. Image: Woman sitting at a desk with a keyboard and large computer screen. Link: www.one-place-studies.org/blogging-prompts/ One-Place Studies, where family history and local history unite.
December 19, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Reposted by FionaStone
groomb.bsky.social
Emily Brontë died on this day 1848 at Haworth. Solitary and reclusive, the most mysterious of the Brontës.
December 19, 2025 at 8:40 AM
Reposted by FionaStone
danielloftus.projectinfant.ie
A hearty thank you to @adultadoptee.bsky.social for letting me speak to their members about the work we do at @projectinfant.ie in trying to restore the names of those who died in mother and baby homes, industrial schools & Magdalene Laundries around Ireland… watch here! ⬇️

youtu.be/eJJ9TjeauJU?...
Daniel Loftus speaks to adoptees about Project Infant (26 Nov 2025)
YouTube video by Adult Adoptee Movement (UK)
youtu.be
December 3, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Reposted by FionaStone
federationfhs.bsky.social
With thanks to our excellent guests, who can be found on Bluesky here! 🙌 @scientistsoph.bsky.social @miagen.bsky.social @janetfew.bsky.social @whoamiftr.bsky.social @cherrytreeheritage.bsky.social @chiddickstree.bsky.social @janehamlett.bsky.social @researchdogsbody.bsky.social
December 3, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Reposted by FionaStone
saloplarus.bsky.social
An hour ago, on Sunk Island in East Yorkshire, the sky lit up with #aurora. Dancing pillars and vivid reds to the naked eye, despite the almost full Moon! Welcome to winter! 💃
Aurora borealis over a tree-lined driveway with a particularly sharp pillar stretching past the Plough Aurora borealis over a tree-lined driveway as activity started to ramp up Aurora borealis over a tree-lined driveway, the reds visible easily to the naked eye Aurora borealis over a tree-lined driveway as activity reached a peak and a second band of green appeared above the red
December 3, 2025 at 8:55 PM
cotswoldtalespast.bsky.social
Prices going up everywhere!

www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/news/tna-fee...
Substantial new cost announced for WW2 service record access | Who Do You Think You Are Magazine
The National Archives has announced a new ordering system for Ministry of Defence records, with fees starting at £42.25
www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com
December 2, 2025 at 9:02 PM
cotswoldtalespast.bsky.social
Someone had to start somewhere!
greenleejw.bsky.social Surprised Eel Historian, PhD @greenleejw.bsky.social · 21d
It's Matthew Paris time!

That's right: 13th century England's premier mapmaker and monk! A friend to kings, & the kind of man who could draw an elephant right.

He drew the first maps of England (like the one below) and he's the subject my December bonus newsletter:
www.patreon.com/posts/144769...
The Cotton Claudius map of Britain, drawn by Matthew Paris in the 1250s. It shows the island as somewhat distorted, and much more straight up and down than we'd expect. North is at the top, and Scotland appears to be its own separate island. Britain is cut by lovely blue rivers, and is surrounded by a pale green sea. There are many cities and legends spread cross the map, and there are notations all around the outside of it. The map tells many stories. As they all do, really.
December 2, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Reposted by FionaStone
whoamiftr.bsky.social
This is great!
@pharostutors.bsky.social are featured in the FamilyTreeDNA Gift Guide!

I LOVE being a Pharos Tutor 🥰
November 21, 2025 at 10:25 AM
cotswoldtalespast.bsky.social
Nature in action!
thismanyyearsago.bsky.social History Daily - This Many Years Ago @thismanyyearsago.bsky.social · Nov 20
205 years ago, on the 20th of November 1820, American wailing ship 'Essex' was rammed and sank by a sperm whale, inspiring Herman Melville's 1851 novel 'Moby Dick'. #otd #history 🗃️
A whale striking Essex on November 20, 1820, depicted in a sketch by Thomas Nickerson
November 20, 2025 at 8:52 AM
cotswoldtalespast.bsky.social
The variation in dialects, even within counties, is one of the best aspects of our country. So interesting.
wokestudies.bsky.social Dr Ian McCormick @wokestudies.bsky.social · Aug 29
Those wonderful sheep-counting words from the North of England.
#language #dialect
November 18, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Reposted by FionaStone
ancestralenq.bsky.social
She is largely forgotten because the Titanic sank the day before. Harriet Quimby was the first woman to make a solo flight across the English Channel from Dover to Boulogne on 16th April 1912 using a plane borrowed from Louis Bleriot. /1
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Harriet Quimby, the forgotten cross-Channel female flying pioneer
The first woman to fly across the Channel, the news was overshadowed by the sinking of the Titanic.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 15, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Reposted by FionaStone
rwldproject.bsky.social
Well worth coming along to this public lecture if you can make it - from my @uophistory.bsky.social friend & colleague, @karlbell.bsky.social!

👇
karlbell.bsky.social Karl Bell @karlbell.bsky.social · Oct 22
Join me for 'Tidal Terrors: Folklore and Supernatural Storytelling at Sea', a public talk @ Portsmouth University on 3rd February (5.30-7 pm). It is free, but you need to book a place @ www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tidal-terr...
@uopmaritime.bsky.social @uophistory.bsky.social @reaktionbooks.bsky.social
Tidal Terrors: Folklore and Supernatural Storytelling at Sea
Public lecture: The real life lessons from supernatural stories of the sea.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Reposted by FionaStone
deadsleuth.com
Where there’s a Will - there IS a way!

If you need a guiding hand researching or deciphering a Last Will and Testament - help is at hand.

Why not let your fingers do the talking and tap a message to [email protected]?

#DeadSleuth #StillSleuthing 🔍
November 6, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Reposted by FionaStone
archive.org
A landmark moment. Supervisor Connie Chan led a unanimous San Francisco Board of Supervisors resolution honoring the #InternetArchive & establishing Internet Archive Day.
archive.org/embed/establ...
🧵
More ⤵️
blog.archive.org/2025/11/03/s...

#Wayback1T
November 4, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Reposted by FionaStone
We’re still checking transcripts of Hearth Tax lists for Yorkshire North Riding before publishing them on Hearth Tax Digital. There are about 11,000 entries on my rough calculation. So checking them all is taking a while. We’ll keep posting tidbits here to whet appetites.
November 4, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by FionaStone
simondmd.bsky.social
If anyone's curious about WeAre.xyz collaborative archiving platform, I'm presenting to GeneBloggers Sun 9th at 3pm ET. Will meander over ancestral country lanes, Kansas creeks & WW1 trenches; support from Kevin the drone
#FamilyHistory #Genealogy
Free, register here:
us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
November 5, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Reposted by FionaStone
archive.org
We are deeply saddened by the loss of Greg Newby, who led Project Gutenberg ( @gutenberg.org ) with passion and purpose. Greg’s belief in free and open access to knowledge continues to inspire us and so many others working to preserve our shared culture online. gutenberg.org/about/newby....
Greg Newby
October 22, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Reposted by FionaStone
groomb.bsky.social
Not all knocker-uppers were men. Mrs Bowers, of Sacriston, County Durham, was a familiar sight with her dog Jack. She got up at 1am each day to wake miners, starting in world war one and continuing for many years (Beamish Museum).
October 20, 2025 at 7:19 AM
cotswoldtalespast.bsky.social
That well known place in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire! Thanks Ancestry for the good laugh. Nil points for accuracy.
October 4, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Reposted by FionaStone
drlindseyfitz.bsky.social
In 1848, railroad worker Phineas Gage survived a 13-pound iron rod blasting through his skull. He lived, but his personality was never the same. His accident would change how we understand the brain forever. 🧵/1
A photo of Phineas Gage holding the iron rod. The photo is in black and white, and is in a gilded frame. Phineas left eye is closed - from the damage he received to his skull from the accident.
October 4, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Reposted by FionaStone
drlindseyfitz.bsky.social
Are you exhausted by the world? Come take refuge in my weird and wonderful corner of #Bluesky - where I post medical history content that will make you happy to live in 2025!

Medieval urine wheels! Opium toothpaste! Cemetery guns! I got it all. I love sharing my passion for this niche subject.
A photo of Lindsey dressed in a blue jacket with a medieval urine wheel, holding a sign that reads: "taste the urine!"
October 4, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Reposted by FionaStone
pharostutors.bsky.social
What a fabulous day we’ve been having, chatting to people about Pharos courses, meeting some of our students and catching up with old friends
#TheFamilyHistoryShow #Genealogy
October 4, 2025 at 1:51 PM