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Eleanor Robson

@eleanorrobson.bsky.social

69 followers 52 following 69 posts

Social Media Manager and Volunteer Co-ordinator at Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve; here for cats, crochet, jam and water buffaloes 😸🧶🐃 (Recovering academic and Emeritus Professor of Ancient Middle Eastern History at UCL, but none of that nonsense here) .. more

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Eleanor Robson, is a British Assyriologist and academic. She is Professor of Ancient Middle Eastern History at University College London. She is a former chair of the British Institute for the Study of Iraq and a Quondam fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. She is a Fellow of the British Academy. .. more

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Eleanor Robson @eleanorrobson.bsky.social · Sep 1

🥳 My first day as a USS pensioner!

💕Mighty thanks to all @ucu.org.uk and beyond for your collective action that made this self-liberation financially viable 💪

📚🏡🥰😸Now I can focus on what really matters to me… thinking of it as going freelance, leaving all the bullshit behind 🧶🪴🐃🛤️💐

I shall have lots more time for reading and writing whatever the heck I like, in my garden studio, sans REF

I shall up my commitment to the wonderful people at Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve and the best water buffaloes this side of the Iraqi marshes 🐃

More time with the people I love, at home and away

More time in the garden with this daft beast, making jam and doing crochet

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Reposted by Eleanor Robson

Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve @kingfishersbridge.bsky.social · 11h

👻 🧙‍♀️ Trick or treat? 🦇 🎃

It's TREATS ONLY at Kingfishers Bridge this Halloween, with all sorts of family fun for just £3/person, plus fabulous food from @thekingfishercafe.bsky.social!

🕒 3-8 pm, Friday 31 October

📲 Book now at kingfishers-bridge-nature-reserve.sumupstore.com/category/eve...

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Reposted by Eleanor Robson

Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve @kingfishersbridge.bsky.social · 3d

👻 Dare you visit us after dark on Halloween? 🕷️

🎃 Join us for freaky family fun and fab food from @thekingfishercafe.bsky.social, 3–8pm on Friday 31 October 🧙‍♀️

🎟️ Tickets just £3/person (free parking)
🥔 Baked potatoes £5–£7.50

🦇 Book: kingfishers-bridge-nature-reserve.sumupstore.com/product/hall...

Purple background festooned with pumpkins, bats, ghosts, witches' hats. The text in orange and black reads, "Join us for HALLOWEEN. Creepy craft making, pumpkin carving, toasted marshmallows, face painting from 5pm, spooky stories from 6pm, jacket potatoes and yummy cakes. Fri 31st Oct, 3pm – 8 pm"

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Reposted by Eleanor Robson

Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve @kingfishersbridge.bsky.social · 6d

Become a Supporter of Kingfishers Bridge for just £45/household/year to get:

📰 Regular updates about the Reserve
🥾Priority booking and 10% discount on Guided Walks
🍰 10% discount @thekingfishercafe.bsky.social
🚗 Free onsite parking
💕 Our deepest thanks

www.kingfishersbridge.org/become-a-sup...

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Eleanor Robson @eleanorrobson.bsky.social · 8d

Strong candidate for the best cycling photo ever.

the Inner Ring blog @inrng.com · 8d

Four photos from the Cor Vos agency. This first one is Joop Zoetemelk doing some motor-pacing in a time when road safety and childcare was a bit different...

Reposted by Eleanor Robson

the Inner Ring blog @inrng.com · 8d

Four photos from the Cor Vos agency. This first one is Joop Zoetemelk doing some motor-pacing in a time when road safety and childcare was a bit different...

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Reposted by Eleanor Robson, Stuart White

Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 9d

Whoever is on The Times picture + social media account is reinforcing public misunderstanding of immigration, by using pictures of asylum seekers in boats to discuss the big rise in visa immigration of 2021-24

The Times & Sunday Times @thetimes.com · 9d

Tough new conditions to be imposed on migrants who want to settle in the UK will not apply to more than a million people who arrived in the UK under the post-Brexit immigration surge

Labour’s tough new rules will not apply to migrants already in UK

www.thetimes.com

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Eleanor Robson @eleanorrobson.bsky.social · 13d

Ah, I’m sorry! Sending you comfort from across the water

Reposted by Eleanor Robson, Mary Burke

The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) @themerl.bsky.social · 13d

yeah we're into LLMs (Large Lamb-bridge Models)

A herd of sheep move across a marshy bridge.

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Reposted by Richard D. Gregory, Eleanor Robson

Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve @kingfishersbridge.bsky.social · 13d

💗 We're thrilled to stock some of @katiefullerart.bsky.social beautiful greetings cards in our Visitor Centre shop!
👩‍🎨 Katie is a really talented local printmaker who uses innovative techniques and inks to highlight Fenland wildlife. All printed on sustainable materials in compostable packaging too!

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Reposted by Eleanor Robson

Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve @kingfishersbridge.bsky.social · 15d

⚠️ We've only got a few places left on this season's Bat Walks, so if you're keen to come, you'd better grab 'em fast!

🦇 this Sunday, 29 September, 6:45 pm — FIVE tickets left
🦇 Saturday 4 October, 6:3pm — just TWO remaining

🗓️ Book at kingfishers-bridge-nature-reserve.sumupstore.com/product/even...

Text: "Evening Bat Walks, Autumn 20245. £15 per person. Includes expert insights from our Warden, parking, and a hot drink from the Kingfisher Café. Book now at www.kingfishersbridge.org".

Background: photograph of Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve at sunset, with a picnic table on grass in the foreground, and an orange sun setting over dark trees in the background. The sky fades upwards from cloudy grey to lighter blue

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Eleanor Robson @eleanorrobson.bsky.social · 16d

Genuine LOL 😹

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Reposted by Eleanor Robson

RSPB @rspb.bsky.social · 16d

Autumn migration is in full swing! 🍁

Have you noticed any of our winter visitors arriving? Stay tuned: we'll be shining a daily spotlight on the birds joining us for the colder months.

Check out the Arrival Boards to see who’s flying in and when! 👇

This arrivals board highlights the first autumn migrants. Birds like Purple Sandpiper arrive as early as June, while Bar-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Grey Plover, and Sanderling follow from August. September brings larger movements, including Brent Goose, Pintail, Pink-footed Goose, and Shoveler. By late September into October, Brambling, Lapland Bunting, and Redwing join the flocks, along with Barnacle Goose and Fieldfare arriving from October into November. Bewick’s Swan is a key highlight of October arrivals.

This arrivals board shows species arriving later in autumn. Goldeneye appear from late September into October, followed by Pochard, Teal, and Rough-legged Buzzard in October. October also brings Glaucous Gull, Great Northern Diver, and the scarce Great Grey Shrike. By late October and November, arrivals include Woodcock, Water Pipit, Whooper Swan, and Long-tailed Duck, with Shore Lark also appearing around this time. Waxwing provides a classic late arrival in November to December, while Knot stands out as a winter arrival in January.

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Eleanor Robson @eleanorrobson.bsky.social · 16d

Handel took the sandals

Eleanor Robson @eleanorrobson.bsky.social · 18d

Miss Mitzi looks irresistible! I'm sure you two will be very happy together 😻

I'm so sorry for the reason she's having to leave her first home, but she and her former owners have lucked out with you x

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Reposted by Eleanor Robson

Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve @kingfishersbridge.bsky.social · 19d

🦇 Bat walks are BACK 🌙🦇

🙋If you're bats about bats, book right now, as our ever-popular twilight trips into the Reserve always sell fast:

🗓️ Sun 28/9, 6:45pm
Sat 4/10, 6:30 pm
Sat 11/10, 6:15pm
Sat 25/10, 5:45pm — only 3 places left!

kingfishers-bridge-nature-reserve.sumupstore.com/product/even...

Text: Evening Bat Walks, Autumn 2025. £15 per person. Includes expert insights from our Warden, parking, and a hot drink from the Kingfisher Café. Book now at www.kingfishersbridge.org.

Background photo: the sun setting over the river Cam at Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve. Green meadows and a picnic bench in the foreground, trees on the horizon, a line of bright orange sky fading to blue with grey and white clouds.

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Reposted by Eleanor Robson

East London Kingfishers @londonkingfishers.bsky.social · 21d

Feeding time on the River Lea.

Watch as this female kingfisher down on Hackney Marshes tries to feed a fish to one of her youngsters.

You can also clearly see how much brighter the plumage of the adult is.

#LondonBirds #nature #wildlife #kingfisher #kingfishers #hackney #riverlea #ukbirds #birds

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Reposted by Wouter Poortinga, Ana S. L. Rodrigues, John Horgan , and 27 more Wouter Poortinga, Ana S. L. Rodrigues, John Horgan, Simon J. Greenhill, Rafael H. M. Pereira, Philippe Quirion, Elizabeth Stokoe, Pierre Bataille, Lesley A. Hall, Peter Campbell, Magnus Johansson, Nils Gustafsson, Smith, Felicity Callard, Melanie C. Green, McKenzie Wark, Christine Kooi, Charlotte Taylor, Michael Veale, Eleanor Robson, Manuel Puppis, David Murakami Wood, Guy J. Curtis, Lisa Diedrich, Evert Meijers, Matti Vuorre, Geneviève Gore, Albin Wagener, Mary McAuliffe, Sarah Brouillette

Ordinary Notes @hystericalblkns.bsky.social · 22d

If you’re on academia dot edu, let me suggest that you strongly consider deleting your account.

The new TOC from academia dot edu.

By creating an Account with Academia.edu, you grant us a worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable license, permission, and consent for Academia.edu to use your Member Content and your personal information (including, but not limited to, your name, voice, signature, photograph, likeness, city, institutional affiliations, citations, mentions, publications, and areas of interest) in any manner, including for the purpose of advertising, selling, or soliciting the use or purchase of Academia.edu's Services.

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Eleanor Robson @eleanorrobson.bsky.social · 22d

THIS but London Nocturne (RIP), Tour of Britain (Hommes et Femmes), Paris-Roubaix, the lovely new Cambridge crit — and track cycling x 1,000,000 🔔 🚴‍♂️🚴‍♀️🚴

Escape Collective @escapecollective.bsky.social · 22d

You should go to a bike race

escapecollective.com/you-should-g...

You should go to a bike race

It's about feeling, not knowing.

escapecollective.com

Reposted by Eleanor Robson

Escape Collective @escapecollective.bsky.social · 22d

You should go to a bike race

escapecollective.com/you-should-g...

You should go to a bike race

It's about feeling, not knowing.

escapecollective.com

Eleanor Robson @eleanorrobson.bsky.social · Sep 9

September splendour in @fenlandstation.bsky.social garden

Reposted by Eleanor Robson

Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve @kingfishersbridge.bsky.social · Sep 8

🐃 Visitors often ask why we keep Asian Water Buffalo on the Reserve. We explain that they fill a vital ecological niche left by extinct wild cattle, managing fenland habitat.

🦬 It’s hard to believe that Steppe Bison once roamed East Anglia, but here’s some wonderful evidence that they did ⬇️

A small herd of water buffalo in a grassy field by a gate at Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve. Trees in the background, blue skies above

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Eleanor Robson @eleanorrobson.bsky.social · Sep 8

House cat flap? No visibility, no stick, no shoe box: no problemo. In and out so often she’s worn the paint off the bottom of the door.

Absolutely baffled…

Eleanor Robson @eleanorrobson.bsky.social · Sep 8

Mission accomplished 😽

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Eleanor Robson @eleanorrobson.bsky.social · Sep 8

At last! The penny drops

The grey cat tentatively approaches the cat flap in the glass door — which is propped open by a wooden stick, just out of shot, and has a nice solids cardboard box as a step on the inside. She’s done this 1000 time and yet still she hesitates

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Eleanor Robson @eleanorrobson.bsky.social · Sep 8

I fitted a cat flap in the door of my garden office FOUR YEARS AGO for this ridiculous animal. And she has a shoe-box step on the inside. Yet here we are, every single day… 🤷‍♀️

#eliza

A grey cat looks pitifully through a glass door on the left hand side, refusing to acknowledge the existence of the cat flap in the other pane, on the right of the photo. Reflections of office furniture in the glass above her head

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Eleanor Robson @eleanorrobson.bsky.social · Sep 7

Sunday vibes

#tobm #crochet #eliza #patiolife

Men’s Tour of Britain bike race on the laptop screen; crochet work-in-progress in front; back mug and grey sleeping cat behind. All on a wooden table in a green garden

Reposted by Eleanor Robson

Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve @kingfishersbridge.bsky.social · Sep 7

😎 What a glorious day to be out on the Reserve!

👒 Bring sun cream, water, a hat and binoculars, and make the most of our woodland walks and riverside willows as well as the big open skies 🏞️

👀 What will you see on your visit? 🐴🦋🐃🌸🐝🌿🪶

☕️🍦🍰🌮 And @thekingfishercafe.bsky.social is open 10-4 every day!

A black water buffalo stands sideways on in grassland with hedges behind, looking straight at the camera at Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve

Meadowland with trees on the horizon under a blue sky with mackerel clouds at at Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve

A hedge, wooden gate and golden grassland with trees behind, as the sun shines though light cloud at Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve

Coffee, milkshake and food on white plates on the wooden counter of The Kingfisher Cafe, drinks fridge and door in the background. at Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve

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Eleanor Robson @eleanorrobson.bsky.social · Sep 7

🤦‍♀️

Reposted by Eleanor Robson

Katie Fuller @katiefullerart.bsky.social · Sep 5

Some people call the Fens ‘big skies’ country. Great clouds on a beautiful morning at @kingfishersbridge.bsky.social today, plus

☑️ 3 ravens
☑️ prolonged bittern fly-past
☑️ spotted flycatcher
☑️ lesser whitethroat
☑️ marsh harrier

Looking north across meadows and mere through trees towards Ely Cathedral, with dramatic clouds in a blue sky

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Eleanor Robson @eleanorrobson.bsky.social · Sep 1

Pro tip: You just need more shelves