Martin Polley
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historymartin.bsky.social
Martin Polley
@historymartin.bsky.social
540 followers 510 following 96 posts
Professor Emeritus at De Montfort University, UK, and former Director of the International Centre for Sports History and Culture. Sport, arts, music, places, statues, plaques, heritage, and more.
https://martinpolley.co.uk/
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Martin Polley
petermandler.bsky.social
'Exiting the market' is such a crap euphemism. It's not like the 'university' will then go and apply all its assets to another market. Those assets (human and non-human) will be dispersed, wasted, destroyed. Un-creative destruction. Which we can't afford as a society.
eicathomefinn.bsky.social Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 22h
Chief exec of OfS 'said the OfS believes there are 24 institutions at risk of exiting the market in the next 12 months, seven of which are large providers with more than 3,000 students. There are another 25 or so institutions of various sizes at risk over a two- to three-year period, she added.'
Seven ‘large providers’ at risk of going under in the next year
Skills minister says no higher education institutions are at imminent risk of collapse this year but OfS confirms more than 20 providers are being closely monitored
www.timeshighereducation.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Reposted by Martin Polley
mrcwarwick.bsky.social
Call for papers #CFP

Blood is the Price of Coal: Coal Communities, Health and Welfare in Britain and Beyond from the 19th Century to the Present

18 June 2026: 1 day conference + NUM archive exhibition

Submit abstracts / express interest at warwick.ac.uk/services/lib...

Deadline: 25 Jan 2026
Blood is the Price of Coal: Coal Communities, Health and Welfare in Britain and Beyond from the 19th Century to the Present When and where: University of Warwick, Coventry, on Thursday 18 June 2026. Conference summary: This free one day conference aims to bring together researchers from higher education, community and campaign groups to explore the history of health and welfare in Britain’s coal mining industry. Held jointly by the University of Warwick's Centre for the History of Medicine, Science and Technology, and Modern Records Centre, the event will run alongside an exhibition which will explore some of the themes covered by the speakers through the National Union of Mineworkers' archives. We welcome contributions from new and established researchers, working inside and outside higher education. Confirmed participants include: - Jörg Arnold (University of Augsburg / Institute for Contemporary History Munich - Berlin), author of The British Miner in the Age of DeIndustrialization - Keith Gildart (University of Wolverhampton), Principal Investigator on research project On Behalf of the People: Work, Community and Class in the British Coal Industry 1947-1994 and former miner - Quentin Outram (University of Leeds), Secretary of the Society for the Study of Labour History and co-editor of Coal in Victorian Britain Conference themes: Subjects that could be addressed include but are not limited to: The human cost of coal, including: - Mining disasters, their contemporary impacts and later memorialisation. - Industrial accidents, industrial diseases and workers’ compensation. - Mine safety and the improvement of conditions. - Mining and mental health. Industrial health and welfare, including: - Pre-nationalisation provision in and beyond the colliery. - National Coal Board provision, including the NCB Medical Service, housing and the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation. - Trade union campaigns and benefit schemes. - Sport and social provision as mining welfare. Coal and community, including: - Environmental impact. - Mining families and the intergenerational effects of the mining industry. - Impacts of the industry with particular reference to gender, race and ethnicity. - Coalfield communities after coal: the effects of deindustrialisation. Submission guidelines We wish to make space for dialogue between academic and community-based researchers, and welcome involvement from mining heritage and local history groups / researchers from former coalfield communities. We welcome and encourage alternative presentational styles. Possible formats for contributions could include: - 15-20 minute papers. - 5 minute lightning papers (for example showcasing a particular object or archival source, or highlighting a particular place, event, individual or experience). - Round table discussions. - Posters or displays. Submission deadline: 25 January 2026. Limited funding for travel support will be available, with priority given to early career researchers or participants who cannot draw upon institutional funding. For additional enquiries, please contact the conference organisers at archives@warwick.ac.uk
November 20, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Reposted by Martin Polley
brenttoderian.bsky.social
“The rise in high-fronted SUVs poses a clear and growing threat to public safety, especially for children,” states the report. “With no benefit to society, it’s time for lawmakers at all levels to act.” Via @carltonreid.com in @forbes.com.

Cap SUV/truck hood heights. And ban unsafe designs.
EU Must Cap SUV Hood Heights Urges Report. Crash Test Body Says Not As Simple As That
Higher fronts on cars significantly increase the death rate when pedestrians and cyclists are struck, says new report. EuroNCAP says more complex than that.
www.forbes.com
November 15, 2025 at 7:18 AM
historymartin.bsky.social
3rd London Football Book Market coming up on 15 November at Brixton Library, organised by @stanchionbooks.bsky.social stanchionbooks.com/pages/events
Stanchion Books - Events
Details of our varied and interesting events programme.
stanchionbooks.com
November 14, 2025 at 10:50 AM
historymartin.bsky.social
Tribute to sports journalist and journalism lecturer Rob Steen in @theguardian.com. I'm very saddened to hear of Rob's death - I met him through conferences and worked with him on a university valuation event, and found him entertaining, informative, and dedicated to his students
Rob Steen obituary
Other lives: Sports writer who authored a series of accomplished biographies and a cult football classic, The Mavericks
www.theguardian.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Reposted by Martin Polley
davehitchcock.bsky.social
This is very good and you should read it.
historyworkshop.org.uk History Workshop @historyworkshop.org.uk · 15d
"Historical analysis is fundamentally different and more complex than producing a mass of visualizations and statistics that are the lifeblood of many A.I. programmes."

Gordon McKelvie @gordonmckelvie.bsky.social on the problematic use of A.I. within historical research.
Artificial Intelligence: A Warning for History
Does A.I. have the potential to simplify, and ultimately impoverish, our study of the past? Gordon McKelvie considers the recent explosion in A.I. and what it means for historians facing the current H...
www.historyworkshop.org.uk
November 12, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Reposted by Martin Polley
sportinhistory.bsky.social
Our latest episode from our associated podcast featuring former journal editor @collinstony.bsky.social who held the post between 2001-2007.

If you are publishing with the journal and/or are interested in appearing on the podcast, please drop the podcast page or us a message to be involved!!
sportinhistorypod.bsky.social Sport in History Podcast @sportinhistorypod.bsky.social · 14d
Our latest episode with @collinstony.bsky.social of @icshc.bsky.social & @lborouniversity.bsky.social discussing his book on rugby league legend Roy Francis earlier this year is now LIVE!

Well worth a listen for lovers of rugby league and/or Black British history!

shows.acast.com/sport-in-his...
November 12, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Reposted by Martin Polley
sportinhistorypod.bsky.social
Our latest episode with @collinstony.bsky.social of @icshc.bsky.social & @lborouniversity.bsky.social discussing his book on rugby league legend Roy Francis earlier this year is now LIVE!

Well worth a listen for lovers of rugby league and/or Black British history!

shows.acast.com/sport-in-his...
November 12, 2025 at 12:30 PM
historymartin.bsky.social
The Tennis History Conference 'Trailblazers in Tennis' @wimbledonltc.bsky.social on 10 December. Full programme and booking details here #tennis #tennishistory #sportshistory #conference #wimbledon: bookings.wimbledon.com/stadiumtours...
Wimbledon | Museum & Tour Booking
Wimbledon Museum & Tour Sales System
bookings.wimbledon.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:49 AM
Reposted by Martin Polley
peterjukes.bsky.social
I've always felt that Johnson and Farage put self-interest over the national interest - hence their dallying with Putin and his oligarchs. But directly colluding with a foreign government to take down the BBC feels like an act of supreme treachery
November 10, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Reposted by Martin Polley
ijhs.bsky.social
Expertise in the history of Sport in Asia or Latin America? We are looking for new editors to join us in these areas. Details can be found via link below

Deadline is 3rd Dec

think.taylorandfrancis.com/editor_recru...
Editor needed for The International Journal of the History of Sport
Editor needed for The International Journal of the History of Sport
think.taylorandfrancis.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:57 AM
Reposted by Martin Polley
chriso-wiki.bsky.social
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
November 9, 2025 at 9:23 AM
historymartin.bsky.social
@bssh.bsky.social @ihr.bsky.social Sports and Leisure History Seminar, 17 Nov, 18.00 hybrid. Atlanta Tsiaoukkas of the Centre for Research in Children’s Literature at Cambridge will speak on The Schoolgirl Sporting Heroines of Early Twentieth-Century Girls’ Fiction. tinyurl.com/2y5jhp2x
The Schoolgirl Sporting Heroines of Early Twentieth-Century Girls’ Fiction
This session will explore how early 20th-century girls’ fiction recast the schoolgirl as a sporting heroine, redefining femininity through athleticism, patriotism, and modern ...
tinyurl.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Reposted by Martin Polley
robinireland.bsky.social
Thanks Martin. Glad you like it. Anyone interested can buy Cutting the Mustard here: www.robinireland.com
historymartin.bsky.social Martin Polley @historymartin.bsky.social · 20d
New book alert: Cutting the Mustard: 50 years of dreaming by @robinireland.bsky.social, a history of commercialisation in English football through a case study of Norwich City. Great research, lively style, and brilliant design based around photos of ephemera. #SportsHistory #norwichcity #otbc
The front cover of a book. The title, Cutting the Mustard, appears in gold on a white background. The cover includes a colour photograph of a pile of Norwich City FC shirts in yellows and greens. The author's name, Robin Ireland, appears at the bottom of the cover.
November 6, 2025 at 11:54 AM
historymartin.bsky.social
New book alert: Cutting the Mustard: 50 years of dreaming by @robinireland.bsky.social, a history of commercialisation in English football through a case study of Norwich City. Great research, lively style, and brilliant design based around photos of ephemera. #SportsHistory #norwichcity #otbc
The front cover of a book. The title, Cutting the Mustard, appears in gold on a white background. The cover includes a colour photograph of a pile of Norwich City FC shirts in yellows and greens. The author's name, Robin Ireland, appears at the bottom of the cover.
November 6, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Reposted by Martin Polley
shubhamjain224.bsky.social
CfP open for @cricketacademic.bsky.social Conference @hugheshall.bsky.social @cam.ac.uk!

@rafnicholson.bsky.social @drcricket.bsky.social @bayfirth.bsky.social @bssh.bsky.social @sportinhistorypod.bsky.social @jeremylonsdale.bsky.social @russinthezone.bsky.social

idrottsforum.org/call-for-pap...
Call for Papers | Cricket Research Network Annual Conference | Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge (overlooking Fenner’s Cricket Ground), February 26, 2026. Call ends November 21, 2025
What looms on the horizon for cricket in 2026? In England & Wales we are contending with new ownership of The Hundred teams and the threat of player strikes in the Men’s County Championship, while loo...
idrottsforum.org
November 4, 2025 at 4:48 PM
historymartin.bsky.social
Now that's what I call a celebrity endorsement... 10 years on, Anil's Cafe in Chaar Dukaan, Landour, India, still celebrates the time that cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar came for breakfast. #cricket #india #sachintendulkar
A print-out of a tweet stuck to a glass door with a wooden frame. The tweet is by Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, and reads "Happy New Year! Breakfast at Chaar Dukaan, Mussoorie. Has a amazing bun omelette and parathas with dahl and pickle". It includes a photograph of three people eating.
November 4, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Reposted by Martin Polley
bookshop.org
Amazon is helping fund a $300 million build of a ballroom for the White House.

Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity.

They are not the same.
October 30, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by Martin Polley
ledbydonkeys.org
Farage: epic grifter
October 27, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Reposted by Martin Polley
royalhistsoc.org
This week we look forward to meeting with historians at the University of Suffolk along with archivists from Suffolk Archives for the next RHS Visit.

The day closes at The Hold, Ipswich (5.30pm, Weds 22 October) with a guest lecture by Prof Tim Grady to which all are welcome: bit.ly/43oqsKb
Britain and the Memory of the Two World Wars
A public lecture as part of the Royal Historical Society's visit to historians at the University of Suffolk, with Professor Tim Grady
bit.ly
October 19, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Reposted by Martin Polley
kthabitproject.bsky.social
Exciting News! The project's very own @d-oneill.bsky.social will be talking about tobacco sponsorship in F1 and its associated public health challenges at the Silverstone Museum next weekend. Do consider attending if interested. Info is in the linked post.
d-oneill.bsky.social Dan O'Neill @d-oneill.bsky.social · Oct 10
I'll be presenting at @silverstonemuseum.bsky.social on Saturday 18 October as part of their annual research forum. Hear me talk about the history of tobacco sponsorship in Formula One and the challenges this posed for public health. Info and tickets here: www.silverstonemuseum.co.uk/whats-on/eve...
Silverstone Museum Research Forum: 75 Years of Formula 1
Join Silverstone Museum’s Research Forum celebrating 75 years of Formula 1, featuring expert talks, museum exhibition access, and refreshments.
www.silverstonemuseum.co.uk
October 10, 2025 at 2:25 PM
historymartin.bsky.social
New blog post on my website: La Piscine: A Swimming Pool Re-Imagined #gallery #roubaix #france #lapiscine #heritage
martinpolley.co.uk/2025/10/09/l...
The inside of an art gallery built around a swimming pool. The pool, filled with water, runs through the centre of the gallery. On the poolside are statues of human, and visitors walking around. At the end of the pool is a yellow and orange stained glass window depicting the sun.
October 9, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Reposted by Martin Polley
neilgregor.bsky.social
For Oxford colleagues - 21 October:

talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/326...
The Symphony Concert in Nazi Germany: Orchestras and their Audiences
talks.ox.ac.uk
October 9, 2025 at 7:02 AM
historymartin.bsky.social
New English Heritage Blue Plaque at 65 Audley Street, Mayfair, for actor and UNICEF humanitarian ambassador Audrey Hepburn (1929-93) #audreyhepburn #blueplaque #englishheritage www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/search...
Blue Plaque for Silver Screen Icon Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn, the Oscar-winning star of Roman Holiday and one of the most enduring icons of film and fashion, has been honoured with an English Heritage blue plaque. The plaque marks 65 South Audley...
www.english-heritage.org.uk
October 8, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Martin Polley
fabiolacreed.bsky.social
📙 Bluesky is the only platform where I haven’t circulated my book, as I’d recently joined and was waiting for the physical copy. So here it is (last book post, I promise) 📙

☀️ Sunbed in Britain: Tanning Culture from Fad to Fear is free to download via: dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781...
October 8, 2025 at 11:05 AM