David Luck
@dluckarchivist.bsky.social
Archivist at Bethlem Museum of the Mind, London, UK. Singalonglong to the gateway song. All poorly thought out views his own, don't blame his peers/employers. Contact at 'archives' on https://tinyurl.com/58tkxrb7
He/him.
He/him.
Now, the Bethlem book is bland. But her work on Willowbank is utterly anonymous. She could be talking about any institution here...
January 22, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Now, the Bethlem book is bland. But her work on Willowbank is utterly anonymous. She could be talking about any institution here...
Evelyn Cross has written a number of history books, all about institutional scandals. Here's a sample of some of her Amazon list...
January 22, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Evelyn Cross has written a number of history books, all about institutional scandals. Here's a sample of some of her Amazon list...
There's a lot wrong here. A lot. Part of the problem is that the first history by Geoffrey O'Donoghue has also got a lot wrong, and it's undoubtedly been LLM ingested.
But what records are they talking about here? Nothing exists pre 1557!
But what records are they talking about here? Nothing exists pre 1557!
January 22, 2026 at 8:40 PM
There's a lot wrong here. A lot. Part of the problem is that the first history by Geoffrey O'Donoghue has also got a lot wrong, and it's undoubtedly been LLM ingested.
But what records are they talking about here? Nothing exists pre 1557!
But what records are they talking about here? Nothing exists pre 1557!
So, part of my job is to see what people are making of the history of our Hospital.
Bethlem partly exists in the gothic, horror-adjacent end of history, and so attracts a certain kind of presentation.
Restraints, gore, electrodes, I thought I'd seen it all. Until...
...I stumbled onto this book.
Bethlem partly exists in the gothic, horror-adjacent end of history, and so attracts a certain kind of presentation.
Restraints, gore, electrodes, I thought I'd seen it all. Until...
...I stumbled onto this book.
January 22, 2026 at 8:23 PM
So, part of my job is to see what people are making of the history of our Hospital.
Bethlem partly exists in the gothic, horror-adjacent end of history, and so attracts a certain kind of presentation.
Restraints, gore, electrodes, I thought I'd seen it all. Until...
...I stumbled onto this book.
Bethlem partly exists in the gothic, horror-adjacent end of history, and so attracts a certain kind of presentation.
Restraints, gore, electrodes, I thought I'd seen it all. Until...
...I stumbled onto this book.
Well, Matt certainly graduated from 'oh, who's he? The other Irish one?' in this episode.
January 9, 2026 at 9:20 PM
Well, Matt certainly graduated from 'oh, who's he? The other Irish one?' in this episode.
Barbican all-dayer for One Battle After Another and now the Divine Comedy. We did have time to pop out for a quick drink at sunset though...
October 11, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Barbican all-dayer for One Battle After Another and now the Divine Comedy. We did have time to pop out for a quick drink at sunset though...
Scaffolding up at what is simultaneously South East London's best and worst building, the mini-Crystal Palace Homebase on the Bellingham-Beckenham border.
I fear we will not see the like again.
I fear we will not see the like again.
September 17, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Scaffolding up at what is simultaneously South East London's best and worst building, the mini-Crystal Palace Homebase on the Bellingham-Beckenham border.
I fear we will not see the like again.
I fear we will not see the like again.
Took the boy to his first gig to see his favourite band- The Pogues!
The only downside is that he's going to have to learn that not all gigs are going to be as great as this one was.
(Blurry image as he was bouncing around so much)
The only downside is that he's going to have to learn that not all gigs are going to be as great as this one was.
(Blurry image as he was bouncing around so much)
May 3, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Took the boy to his first gig to see his favourite band- The Pogues!
The only downside is that he's going to have to learn that not all gigs are going to be as great as this one was.
(Blurry image as he was bouncing around so much)
The only downside is that he's going to have to learn that not all gigs are going to be as great as this one was.
(Blurry image as he was bouncing around so much)
In 'Irish history is a complicated place' news, we had a service station coffee supervised by a life size Michael Collins a couple of miles away from where he was ambushed. A little unsure what to make of it tbh.
April 15, 2025 at 8:40 PM
In 'Irish history is a complicated place' news, we had a service station coffee supervised by a life size Michael Collins a couple of miles away from where he was ambushed. A little unsure what to make of it tbh.
My first gig- Frank Black at the Forum. My last gig (for the moment)- Frank Black at the Palladium.
February 6, 2025 at 11:44 PM
My first gig- Frank Black at the Forum. My last gig (for the moment)- Frank Black at the Palladium.
Oooooooooh!
(From Leisure Link magazine)
(From Leisure Link magazine)
February 6, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Oooooooooh!
(From Leisure Link magazine)
(From Leisure Link magazine)
Huh, that's not our chapel...
December 6, 2024 at 4:14 PM
Huh, that's not our chapel...
Just opened my door...
December 2, 2024 at 3:38 PM
Just opened my door...
Men's toilet at Whitstable Town FC, nailed up and closed, presumably after acts too horrendous to contemplate occurred.
November 30, 2024 at 7:11 PM
Men's toilet at Whitstable Town FC, nailed up and closed, presumably after acts too horrendous to contemplate occurred.
As a hospital archivist I certainly am- there's not many of us around! You can get some idea here, all furniture rescued by my boss, the former Archivist.
November 21, 2024 at 10:37 AM
As a hospital archivist I certainly am- there's not many of us around! You can get some idea here, all furniture rescued by my boss, the former Archivist.
Archives House spotted in Deptford. I can't see any reason why it's called that though...
October 7, 2024 at 11:23 AM
Archives House spotted in Deptford. I can't see any reason why it's called that though...