James Elder
@jameselder.bsky.social
Business archivist by day; rowing club archivist by night. So, quite a lot of 19th and 20th century British history, and grumbling about digital and A/V preservation.
Not the UNICEF spokesman.
Be nice, I'm trying my best.
Not the UNICEF spokesman.
Be nice, I'm trying my best.
Reposted by James Elder
Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin
February 12, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin
Incidentally, an amusing irony:
I signed up for a free Economist account in order to read this column. To do so I had to include my profession, from a dropdown list - apparently this part of the Economist's website doesn't think Archivist is a profession; I had to put Librarian.
I signed up for a free Economist account in order to read this column. To do so I had to include my profession, from a dropdown list - apparently this part of the Economist's website doesn't think Archivist is a profession; I had to put Librarian.
February 12, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Incidentally, an amusing irony:
I signed up for a free Economist account in order to read this column. To do so I had to include my profession, from a dropdown list - apparently this part of the Economist's website doesn't think Archivist is a profession; I had to put Librarian.
I signed up for a free Economist account in order to read this column. To do so I had to include my profession, from a dropdown list - apparently this part of the Economist's website doesn't think Archivist is a profession; I had to put Librarian.
Yes, The History Thieves - Ian Cobain.
February 12, 2026 at 4:41 PM
Yes, The History Thieves - Ian Cobain.
And there's the whole vexed and ongoing issue of the Foreign Office Migrated Archive at Hanslope Park (the records of Empire that were repatriated at the time of decolonisation) and somehow then sidestepped Public Records law until their existence came to light as part of a legal case c 2010.
February 12, 2026 at 4:38 PM
And there's the whole vexed and ongoing issue of the Foreign Office Migrated Archive at Hanslope Park (the records of Empire that were repatriated at the time of decolonisation) and somehow then sidestepped Public Records law until their existence came to light as part of a legal case c 2010.
This has also been at the heart of Windrush (there were recommendations made in that Inquiry about records management - how did the boarding cards come to be destroyed? - and it's unclear if they were fully addressed by Government).
February 12, 2026 at 4:36 PM
This has also been at the heart of Windrush (there were recommendations made in that Inquiry about records management - how did the boarding cards come to be destroyed? - and it's unclear if they were fully addressed by Government).
Something you don't mention here is existing Public Records legislation. Hillsborough, in recent years especially, became an issue of archives and records management: what had been kept; what had been thrown out - often in breach of the PRA or the recordkeeping provisions of FOI.
February 12, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Something you don't mention here is existing Public Records legislation. Hillsborough, in recent years especially, became an issue of archives and records management: what had been kept; what had been thrown out - often in breach of the PRA or the recordkeeping provisions of FOI.
Reposted by James Elder
For those enjoying the #WinterOlympics something a little different. Ski jump at Hampstead Heath London, London ski jumping competition an Anglo-Norwegian event organised in aid of the national sports development fund, 25/03/1950 @thetimes.com
February 12, 2026 at 11:14 AM
For those enjoying the #WinterOlympics something a little different. Ski jump at Hampstead Heath London, London ski jumping competition an Anglo-Norwegian event organised in aid of the national sports development fund, 25/03/1950 @thetimes.com
Would have been nice though if DCMS had had anything to say about this, for example: www.404media.co/ai-scraping-...
AI Scraping Bots Are Breaking Open Libraries, Archives, and Museums
"This is a moment where that community feels collectively under threat and isn't sure what the process is for solving the problem.”
www.404media.co
February 12, 2026 at 10:55 AM
Would have been nice though if DCMS had had anything to say about this, for example: www.404media.co/ai-scraping-...
I don't think there's much negativity from the archives sector, but that's simply because it's so rare that *any* DCMS Secretary of State shows any awareness that archives are part of their brief.
It's not like archives and a trustworthy historical record are current issues though, so that's OK.
It's not like archives and a trustworthy historical record are current issues though, so that's OK.
February 12, 2026 at 10:53 AM
I don't think there's much negativity from the archives sector, but that's simply because it's so rare that *any* DCMS Secretary of State shows any awareness that archives are part of their brief.
It's not like archives and a trustworthy historical record are current issues though, so that's OK.
It's not like archives and a trustworthy historical record are current issues though, so that's OK.
Is it just me, or...?
February 11, 2026 at 11:02 AM
Is it just me, or...?
Joe Goddard isn’t producing Harry Styles is he? I’d very much be here for that.
February 10, 2026 at 7:09 PM
Joe Goddard isn’t producing Harry Styles is he? I’d very much be here for that.
Well as I imagine you know he’s had their sometime drummer in his touring band for a while (the excellent Sarah Jones.
February 10, 2026 at 7:08 PM
Well as I imagine you know he’s had their sometime drummer in his touring band for a while (the excellent Sarah Jones.
Archivists are fun people.
Another useful guide from your friends at Buckinghamshire Archives
February 10, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Archivists are fun people.
I get that in London though tbh (and, interestingly, more in my neighbourhood - Putney - than in central London).
Something I find extremely ill-mannered is smoking very strong weed and then immediately getting on a bus. It's so horrible being stuck in close proximity to someone who's done that.
Something I find extremely ill-mannered is smoking very strong weed and then immediately getting on a bus. It's so horrible being stuck in close proximity to someone who's done that.
February 9, 2026 at 4:44 PM
I get that in London though tbh (and, interestingly, more in my neighbourhood - Putney - than in central London).
Something I find extremely ill-mannered is smoking very strong weed and then immediately getting on a bus. It's so horrible being stuck in close proximity to someone who's done that.
Something I find extremely ill-mannered is smoking very strong weed and then immediately getting on a bus. It's so horrible being stuck in close proximity to someone who's done that.
The one thing I will say about Lisa Nandy is that although she hasn't had anything to say about the archives sector (which is part of her brief), neither did any of her recent predecessors.
We're used to being ignored.
We're used to being ignored.
February 9, 2026 at 3:37 PM
The one thing I will say about Lisa Nandy is that although she hasn't had anything to say about the archives sector (which is part of her brief), neither did any of her recent predecessors.
We're used to being ignored.
We're used to being ignored.
I'll add in the bit of that thought that was in my head but didn't make it into the post:
One of George Monbiot's threads on this (advancing the idea that Starmer's whole career has been about a burning ambition for power) crossed my timeline and, maybe I'm naïve but it didn't ring true to me.
One of George Monbiot's threads on this (advancing the idea that Starmer's whole career has been about a burning ambition for power) crossed my timeline and, maybe I'm naïve but it didn't ring true to me.
February 9, 2026 at 3:22 PM
I'll add in the bit of that thought that was in my head but didn't make it into the post:
One of George Monbiot's threads on this (advancing the idea that Starmer's whole career has been about a burning ambition for power) crossed my timeline and, maybe I'm naïve but it didn't ring true to me.
One of George Monbiot's threads on this (advancing the idea that Starmer's whole career has been about a burning ambition for power) crossed my timeline and, maybe I'm naïve but it didn't ring true to me.
One of George Monbiot's threads on this (advancing the idea that Starmer's whole career has been about a burning ambition for power) and, maybe I'm naïve but it didn't ring true to me.
February 9, 2026 at 3:20 PM
One of George Monbiot's threads on this (advancing the idea that Starmer's whole career has been about a burning ambition for power) and, maybe I'm naïve but it didn't ring true to me.
Historical rowing gleanings that seem somewhat unlikely:
In the 1870s, the employees (or, as this article, has it employés) of the Gaiety Theatre and of the Canterbury Music Hall both had their own rowing clubs.
In the 1870s, the employees (or, as this article, has it employés) of the Gaiety Theatre and of the Canterbury Music Hall both had their own rowing clubs.
February 9, 2026 at 3:16 PM
Historical rowing gleanings that seem somewhat unlikely:
In the 1870s, the employees (or, as this article, has it employés) of the Gaiety Theatre and of the Canterbury Music Hall both had their own rowing clubs.
In the 1870s, the employees (or, as this article, has it employés) of the Gaiety Theatre and of the Canterbury Music Hall both had their own rowing clubs.
Reposted by James Elder
The flaw in the McSweeney/Starmer project can be summed up with "the people whose pitch to the electorate was they were serious also had no interest in policy", and when stated that bluntly it seems extraordinary it got this far
One of many things that Starmer and McSweeney have in common is neither is particularly interested in policy, and I think the lack of 'I need goodwill in order to deliver change' and the 'our planning for government goes to another school' all come from that.
What went wrong? Managing to lose goodwill and aggravate your own MPs, party members and voters is certainly an achievement of sorts
That goodwill is what you need to deliver the level of change promised seems to have been lost on McSweeney
That goodwill is what you need to deliver the level of change promised seems to have been lost on McSweeney
February 9, 2026 at 11:29 AM
The flaw in the McSweeney/Starmer project can be summed up with "the people whose pitch to the electorate was they were serious also had no interest in policy", and when stated that bluntly it seems extraordinary it got this far
I know it's spelled differently, but my immediate reaction to this was the Home Improvement grunt (one for the Gen Xers, I guess).
Tim Allan quits as 10 Downing Street director of communications after around five months in the job
“I have decided to stand down to allow a new No10 team to be built. I wish the PM and his team every success," he says in a short statement
“I have decided to stand down to allow a new No10 team to be built. I wish the PM and his team every success," he says in a short statement
February 9, 2026 at 12:06 PM
I know it's spelled differently, but my immediate reaction to this was the Home Improvement grunt (one for the Gen Xers, I guess).
I commend to you Juliet Stevenson's audiobook reading of it - hugely enjoyable.
February 9, 2026 at 9:59 AM
I commend to you Juliet Stevenson's audiobook reading of it - hugely enjoyable.
Bet Abby Tomlinson’s suddenly getting a lot of DMs.
February 8, 2026 at 5:16 PM
Bet Abby Tomlinson’s suddenly getting a lot of DMs.
I believe this is who the Huntley Room at the London Archives is named after?
Eric Huntley, who has died aged 96, was the co-founder with his wife, Jessica, of the radical publishing house Bogle L’Ouverture, set up in London in 1968 to showcase black writing talent.
Eric Huntley obituary
Activist and co-founder of Bogle-L’Ouverture, one of the most important black publishing houses in Britain
www.theguardian.com
February 8, 2026 at 2:21 PM
I believe this is who the Huntley Room at the London Archives is named after?