Fiona Campbell-Howes
@fortrenn.bsky.social
2.3K followers 600 following 1.3K posts
PhD student at the University of Glasgow, researching the early medieval Moray Firthlands in Scotland. Live in Penryn, Cornwall. FSAScot. Posts about early medieval Scottish history and archaeology. Blog: https://fortrenn.ghost.io
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fortrenn.bsky.social
More great research help from Google AI Overview.
Screenshot of a Google search query and Google's AI Overview response. I have searched for 'cowan the post-columban church', as I'm looking for an article called 'The Post-Columban Church' by Ian B. Cowan. AI Overview responds: '"Cowan" appears to be a typo for Columban, referring to Saint Columbanus, an Irish monk who was a pivotal figure in the early Middle Ages, evangelizing and establishing monasteries in Europe and founding Bobbio Abbey. There are many churches and parishes named after him, such as St. Columban Parish in Cornwall, Ontario, which was founded in 1829." Mmm, useful.
fortrenn.bsky.social
If you enjoyed the @pictishartssociety.bsky.social conference, you may like to know that our online lecture season is about to kick off. Talks on textual influences in Pictish art, aDNA and isotope analyses of Pictish burials, and a new approach to the Pictish symbols, among others. Details below.
pictishartssociety.bsky.social
Our new lecture season kicks off on Friday 24 October. Dr Mike King will explore texts that could have influenced the subject-matter of Pictish stone carvings - from ancient tales to hagiography, the bible and more. Lectures are for members only, but there's time to join before the season starts!
Lectures | The PAS
The Pictish Arts Society monthly online lecture syllabus for 2025-2026.
www.thepictishartssociety.org.uk
fortrenn.bsky.social
I came across a huge queue last Wednesday night in Glasgow, and assumed people were queuing for a concert or a club. Turned out they were queuing to get into a new branch of Uniqlo!
Queuing: Is waiting in line for hours the new cool thing to do?
Whether it's waiting in line to try a new bakery, or to grab a bargain at a sample sale, queuing is becoming an activity in itself.
www.bbc.co.uk
Reposted by Fiona Campbell-Howes
pictishartssociety.bsky.social
Looking forward to day 2 of our online conference today, diving into the latest archaeological discoveries from Pictland with @northernpicts.bsky.social, and new research on Pictish sculpture from Prof Jane Geddes, Dr Victoria Whitworth and Dr Susan Youngs.
Conf | The PAS
www.thepictishartssociety.org.uk
fortrenn.bsky.social
My new laptop has a special Copilot button - I think I can safely say that's never going to be pressed.
Dell laptop keyboard with a button with the Microsoft Copilot logo between the Alt Gr button and the left arrow button.
fortrenn.bsky.social
Ahh, thank you - it was very much a team effort. Glad you enjoyed it! They were all excellent papers, with a surprising amount of new finds and research, and more to come tomorrow!
fortrenn.bsky.social
There was a great talk on woodland management and charcoal at the @highlandhet.bsky.social conference last weekend, in relation to the craftworking site at Culduthel. IIRC the speaker was Dr Scott Timpany from UHI.
Staff - Dr Scott Timpany
www.uhi.ac.uk
fortrenn.bsky.social
A write-up of my talk from last weekend's Highland Archaeology Festival Conference. Featuring some new (and still developing) thoughts on Curetán's late seventh-century bishopric of Ross, and whether we can see a glimpse of it in Adomnán's Life of Columba. All thoughts and feedback welcome!
The early church in Urquhart, the Aird and Strathglass
This blog is more or less a transcript of a talk I gave last weekend at the Highland Archaeology Festival in Inverness. It was a great conference and it was wonderful to meet so many people in person...
fortrenn.ghost.io
fortrenn.bsky.social
Full-on day - did two bits of client writing work, had a briefing call with another client, conducted seven online soundchecks for the @pictishartssociety.bsky.social conference tomorrow, and did some urgent amends for a third client. Time to lie down now.
Reposted by Fiona Campbell-Howes
fjhuisman.bsky.social
The Journal of Wetland Archaeology has moved from Twitter/X to BlueSky! Follow @jnlwetlandarch.bsky.social for the latest news and updates and please spread the word!
jnlwetlandarch.bsky.social
Hello & welcome! 👋 This is the new @JnlWetlandArch account, sharing news & updates on all things wetland archaeology. 🌿💧 Follow along for the latest news and updates!
fortrenn.bsky.social
Looking forward to seeing lots of Pictophiles at this weekend's @pictishartssociety.bsky.social conference. If you don't have a ticket yet, there's still time!
pictishartssociety.bsky.social
Last chance to book! The 2025 Pictish Arts Society Conference takes place on Zoom tomorrow and Sunday. We have 8 expert speakers on Pictish sculpture, metalwork and metalworking, plus an update on the latest exciting discoveries from @northernpicts.bsky.social. Full agenda and booking link below.
Conf | The PAS
www.thepictishartssociety.org.uk
fortrenn.bsky.social
For comparison, a KitKat and a packet of reasonably upmarket crisps just cost me £2.90 on a First Great Western train. Surely the £3.39 peppermint tea is a rip-off.
fortrenn.bsky.social
Just paid THREE POUNDS THIRTY NINE for a takeaway peppermint tea in Wolverhampton train station. It's barely more than a cup of hot water!
A takeaway coffee cup (with mint tea in it), balanced on a suitcase on a station platform.
Reposted by Fiona Campbell-Howes
katejj.bsky.social
The University of Glasgow groundspeople are going to be quite annoyed when they come in to work tomorrow...
Reposted by Fiona Campbell-Howes
malkydungeon.bsky.social
Bluesky if I wanted to sell some of my comics as a digital download is there a best site for that? like Ko-fi, Gumroad? any in particular?
Thanks!
fortrenn.bsky.social
Nooooo ProQuest Ebook Central has gone down JUST as I was about to find out how many saints are named Colmán in Pádraig Ó Riain's Dictionary of Irish Saints. How can I live with the suspense?
fortrenn.bsky.social
The result of Dominic Cummings's ludicrously 'entrepreneurial' attitude to government procurement.
lizziedearden.bsky.social
Amazing nuggets in the PPE Medpro High Court ruling

The company was incorporated on 12 May 2020 and referred to the Covid "VIP lane" by Michelle Mone *the same day*, despite having no track record in manufacturing PPE

Who could have predicted that anything would go wrong?
Reposted by Fiona Campbell-Howes
pictishartssociety.bsky.social
Still time to get your ticket for this weekend's online conference! Full agenda and booking link at the link below.
pictishartssociety.bsky.social
Next weekend! The Pictish Arts Society conference 2025, with 8 expert speakers on Pictish metalwork and sculpture - from the legacy of Roman silver to new insights on Sueno's Stone, cross-slabs at Skinnet and Ulbster, and Pictish bull carvings. 4-5 Oct, online via Zoom. Agenda and booking link:
Conf | The PAS
www.thepictishartssociety.org.uk
fortrenn.bsky.social
My husband on a podcast! On what it's like to go from screenwriting to writing a successful novel (while also doing the childcare, cooking and ironing, oh no, this is making me feel terrible).
jamesbluecat.bsky.social
I'm on the Always Take Notes podcast, talking Pagans and scriptwriting. Enjoyed this one as lot as it's quite into the process end of things as well as covering how you actually make a living and balancing writing with childcare stuff.

open.spotify.com/episode/2OOb...
#222: James Alistair Henry, screenwriter and novelist
open.spotify.com
fortrenn.bsky.social
Excellent news for independent researchers. Great to see academic work made more accessible.
post-doc-club.bsky.social
Great news!
JSTOR now have a free account with an Independent Researcher category. You can access 100 documents per month

www.jstor.org/action/showL...
Reposted by Fiona Campbell-Howes
stoutstoat.co.uk
I wrote a massive TTRPG setting guide encyclopaedia about the ancient Scotland and the Picts who lived in it. It covers everything scholars currently know about life in the 7th century, from landscapes to kingdoms to faith, magic, settlements, and so much more.

Check it out!
carvedinstone.scot
Carved in Stone
A storyteller's guide to Pictland. Available now for pre-order!
carvedinstone.scot
fortrenn.bsky.social
It is indeed more complex, but I'm thinking of Adomnán writing about the dorsum Britanniae, across which lay the region or province of the Picts.
fortrenn.bsky.social
Wait, what is a myth? Whether Fortriu was in the north or not, it's still part of Pictland, and thus in the 'Pictish east'.