Charles West

@pseudo-isidore.bsky.social

4.5K followers 450 following 2.3K posts

Dragged along by a spaniel 🐕
https://edwebprofiles.ed.ac.uk/profile/charles-west

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Charles West (1816–1898) was a British physician, specialized in pediatrics and obstetrics, especially known as the founder of the first children's hospital in Great Britain, the Hospital for Sick Children in Great Ormond Street, London. .. more

History 43%

Philosophy 19%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Charles West

Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 8h

This is the best explainer I’ve seen on Ratcliffe’s motives for his racist outburst. We shouldn’t enter into any ‘debate’ on immigration on these terms. It’s a deeply dishonest and dangerous call to arms by cynical people who prioritise profit over everything else
www.theguardian.com/football/202...

So yes, there is this point of view. You could very easily be cynical, jaded, lost in realpolitik at the revelation that Ratcliffe feels it useful to pretend Britain is in economic difficulty because of an invading army of foreigners.
And that Nigel Farage, arch deregulator, seems, in his disinterested view, an entirely reasonable voice on this topic.
Let us be clear about what is happening here.
There is very little chance Ratcliffe feels any of this deeply. But he does know that a slash-and-burn Reform government would be good for business. With his Ineos hat on Ratcliffe has spoken publicly about the problems of doing business in the current version of a non-EU UK. He wants a harder out.
Immigration is just a wedge issue in this dynamic, a way of pressing those buttons. If Ratcliffe actually gives a personal toss about this, is actually losing any sleep about its effects on "everyday people", I will gladly eat my own arm. This is pre-electioneering on behalf of the super-wealthy. A powerful person with skin in the game is trying to influence people into voting a certain way.

Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 19h

Had to duck out after 45 minutes but what I heard was great!

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 20h

Breaking News: The Trump administration repealed the bedrock scientific finding that greenhouse gases threaten human life and well being, meaning that the EPA can no longer regulate them. nyti.ms/4rSszQu

Reposted by Charles West

Sleeping Giants FR @slpng-giants-fr.bsky.social · 23h

Pascal Thibaut : "Le comité international olympique qui vend des t-shirts avec comme motif les #JO de Berlin de 1936 (39€ et il n'y en a plus) sans aucun commentaire et sans prise de distance, c'est plus que limite"

capture d'écran du webshop officiel du Comité International des JO, vendant un t-shirt avec le visuel nazi (JO de 1936 de Berlin)

Waffle 🧇 @wafflecut.bsky.social · 1d

“I’ve reviewed over 50 sticky toffee puddings” is an incredibly powerful way to begin a video

Reposted by Pauline Stafford

Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 1d

Strip him of his knighthood.

Sky News @news.sky.com · 1d

'The UK has been colonised by immigrants', says INEOS boss and Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Britain has been "colonised" by immigrants, who are draining resources from the state, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of the country's richest and most influential men, has told Sky News.

news.sky.com

Reposted by Charles West, Sara M. Butler

The English Historical Review @enghistrev.bsky.social · 1d

New article! Barbara Bombi @bbombi.bsky.social on 'Keeping Your Eyes and Ears Open: A Diplomatic Counsel for an Anglo-Aragonese Alliance at the Outbreak of the Hundred Years War'

academic.oup.com/ehr/advance-...

#medieval

Keeping Your Eyes and Ears Open: A Diplomatic Counsel for an Anglo-Aragonese Alliance at the Outbreak of the Hundred Years War*

Abstract. Late medieval diplomacy relied on informal networks to remedy administrative and governmental deficiencies in the management of international aff

academic.oup.com

Sky News @news.sky.com · 1d

'The UK has been colonised by immigrants', says INEOS boss and Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Britain has been "colonised" by immigrants, who are draining resources from the state, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of the country's richest and most influential men, has told Sky News.

news.sky.com

Reposted by Dorothy Bishop, Rosie A. Fisher, Charles West , and 4 more Dorothy Bishop, Rosie A. Fisher, Charles West, Christian E. Weller, Richard Waite, Carolyne Larrington, Klaus Oschema

Prof Chris Jackson @seismatters.bsky.social · 2d

😂

One on left is a black dog and above it the words “Reality”. Below it is “I chased a squirrel”

One the right is a black dog and above it says “LinkedIn”. Below it says,

Proud to announce that I effectively executed a rapid-response squirrel displacement strategy to mitigate potential yard intrusions.

Humbled by the unwavering support of my family and local stakeholders.

This experience reinforced the importance of vigilance, ownership, and continuous improvement.

Looking forward to scaling this impact in future engagements.

Reposted by Charles West

Jay Rubenstein @medievaljay.bsky.social · 2d

You no longer have to download Perspectives and scroll to page 46. My "appreciation" piece for the great Peggy Brown, an amazing historian and much-missed friend, has its own URL. I hope she would have liked it, and I hope you will, too. www.historians.org/perspectives...

Elizabeth A. R. Brown (1932–2024) – AHA

www.historians.org

Reposted by Charles West, Andrew Jacobs

Robert Wiśniewski @relicsclerics.bsky.social · 2d

Warsaw Late Antique Seminar: we are starting the new semester next week. Take a look at the programme.

Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 2d

Looking forward to this talk on the Book of Kells by Victoria Whitworth tomorrow : www.eca.ed.ac.uk/event/estran...

A truism about the Book of Kells is that its artwork is intellectually complex and its script beautiful, but its Latin text is riddled with 'schoolboy' errors. This talk contends that the word choice and layout are intentional, defamiliarising the gospels and making reading into an adventurous spiritual exercise.

Biography

Reposted by Charles West, Margot C. Finn

Neil Younger @neilayounger.bsky.social · 2d

Well this is a very touching local news story.

Leicester Cathedral reveals sign language wedding held in 1576

Cathedral bosses believe the signed service could have been one of the first in England.

www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Charles West

Adrián Maldonado @archaeonado.bsky.social · 2d

Mark your calendars!

Roman Scotland: Life on the Edge of Empire

14 November 2026 to 28 April 2027 at National Museums Scotland

Ancient Roman alters to go on display in Edinburgh

Two Mithraic Roman altars are to be displayed as a part of an upcoming exhibition after being acquired for the nation.

www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Charles West, Fabián Muniesa

Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 2d

Morning.

Reposted by Charles West, Margot C. Finn

Peter Mandler @petermandler.bsky.social · 2d

Third lecture now online - www.history.ox.ac.uk/james-ford-l... - on the New Psychology and ideas of the self. (1/2)

Reposted by Charles West

Florian Louis @florianlouis.bsky.social · 3d

Maryam Aslany - Peasants

Makers of the Modern World

À paraître en septembre chez Flammarion

Reposted by Pauline Stafford

Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 3d

How did large-scale landowning work on the ground, in a society without centralized landownership records? A brand-new article by Julio Escalona suggests it's about 'Dense Local Knowledge': onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

May I pick your brain? Local minds as living cadastres in a Portuguese eleventh‐century lawsuit

In the context of a dispute with the monastery of Lorvão, in the late eleventh century, the monks of Vacariça, near Coimbra (modern Portugal), carried out a field enquiry in the village of Recardães....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 3d

“Oh, it’s beautiful,” says one man, as he snaps some photos using a long-range lens.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

www.theguardian.com

Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 3d

Thank you Pauline!

Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 3d

All is but passing vanity.

Reposted by Charles West

Hugh Willmott @hugh-willmott.bsky.social · 3d

On another damp, fog-bound day here in the Pennines, I thought I’d share a few of the lustrous fragments of Saxon glass that I've just submitted for publication. Deposited in the early 8th century AD, they still sparkle with joy 1,300 years later 🏺✨

Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 3d

Yeah - a 30% increase is a lot.

Reposted by Dorothy Bishop, Will Jennings, Steve Peers , and 6 more Dorothy Bishop, Will Jennings, Steve Peers, Jonathan Wolff, Charles West, Peter Holmes, James Connelly, Christina Pagel, Nicolai von Ondarza

Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 3d

No-one seems to have noticed, but many of the core developments in the Mandelson/Epstein story these last few days have been broken on this website. @pickardje.bsky.social and @petergeoghegan.bsky.social are both posting each breaking development on BlueSky, not X.

Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 3d

It was 266 in 2023, right?

Reposted by Charles West

Emile Chabal @emile-chabal.bsky.social · 3d

Edinburgh-based Francophone friends may like to come along to a conversation I'm having on my book and the state of France with the journalist Étienne Duval at 16:00 on 24 February at the @ifecosse.bsky.social. Venez nombreux! www.ifecosse.org.uk/events-agend...

France — A Paradoxical Nation: New Perspectives with author and historian Emile Chabal - Institut français · Écosse

France today seems to be mired in a deep social and political crisis. But how exceptional is the present wave of discontent? And how should we understand the historical roots of France’s tumultuous po...

www.ifecosse.org.uk

Reposted by Steve Peers, Charles West, Paul Davies , and 2 more Steve Peers, Charles West, Paul Davies, Gerry Hassan, David Spurrett

Helen @heldutson.bsky.social · 3d

Something compelled me to make this

A screenshot of a mocked-up Guardian headline, which reads: "Ignore the smears: I was never the one who ate a full tub of Lurpack off the kitchen counter." The byline is: "My dog." And there's a picture of my dog, posing with a serious expression, like a journalist. She is a black labrador type dog with brown eyes, grey muzzle and shiny, silky fur on her face, wearing a pink collar. Underneath the headline continues: "Listen, I'm a good girl. I don't know how butter stealers thrive in our political culture, but it's clear there was a failure of moral seriousness." There's then a link to another article, headlined: "Footage of Lola eating the butter, which cost her owners £300, was captured on a dog cam." It's a parody of this article from Wes Streeting in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/09/peter-mandelson-wes-streeting-vetting-moral-seriousness

Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 3d

I wonder what the Desert Fathers would have made of Wegovy?

Reposted by Charles West

Helen Gittos @helengittos.bsky.social · 3d

Novels rooted in early medieval spirituality seem to be a thing at the moment. I spotted this in @blackwells.bsky.social recently. Anyone read it?

Norfolk, AD 990. Deep in the Fens, an order of holy sisters lives in quiet isolation...

www.panmacmillan.com/authors/dani...

Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 3d

Cuthbert starts the day by testing another 'indestructible' toy.

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