Samantha E Thompson
@harchivist.bsky.social
Brit-Canadian archivist-librarian, government records and local history museum staffer, trad-classical musician, post-academic philosophy PhD (on Augustine), and other hyphenated things. Can't help it: so much to learn.
Worst time of winter and and a long way to go yet. Brits and their snowdrops can buzz off.
February 4, 2026 at 4:15 PM
Worst time of winter and and a long way to go yet. Brits and their snowdrops can buzz off.
Pressing tofu. Yes I still have a dictionary. Sometimes I even read it, not that you'd know by my spelling.
January 18, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Pressing tofu. Yes I still have a dictionary. Sometimes I even read it, not that you'd know by my spelling.
I am sad that this is so personally familiar.
January 17, 2026 at 5:32 PM
I am sad that this is so personally familiar.
Just finished processing new purchases for the parish library. (I tend to emphasize accessible books the public library likely won't have.) I miss working with books. They're so mellow compared to archival records which resist corralling at every turn.
January 4, 2026 at 8:23 PM
Just finished processing new purchases for the parish library. (I tend to emphasize accessible books the public library likely won't have.) I miss working with books. They're so mellow compared to archival records which resist corralling at every turn.
I actually have a problem with self-disgust in this regard. I don't know Thérèse (of Lisieux) near as well as C. S. Lewis (of whom I'm a real fan) but this by her helps me on this front.
January 3, 2026 at 4:42 PM
I actually have a problem with self-disgust in this regard. I don't know Thérèse (of Lisieux) near as well as C. S. Lewis (of whom I'm a real fan) but this by her helps me on this front.
A somber motet for tonight. Apt for the times.
December 24, 2025 at 11:30 PM
A somber motet for tonight. Apt for the times.
My Hudson's Bay biscuit tin from just a few years ago. Too nice to throw out.
December 24, 2025 at 6:49 PM
My Hudson's Bay biscuit tin from just a few years ago. Too nice to throw out.
We don't get many manicules in this archive. Small Christmas present.
December 23, 2025 at 3:47 PM
We don't get many manicules in this archive. Small Christmas present.
The night is far gone; the day is near.
November 30, 2025 at 7:52 PM
The night is far gone; the day is near.
I'm not used to seeing actual books in a clinical context anymore.
November 13, 2025 at 9:07 PM
I'm not used to seeing actual books in a clinical context anymore.
Random church shot. Embroidered chasuble draped on the altar rail during preparation. Beautiful work, almost always by women.
November 9, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Random church shot. Embroidered chasuble draped on the altar rail during preparation. Beautiful work, almost always by women.
"Please do not use Yamaha recorders for any other purposes besides musical performance."
November 8, 2025 at 10:34 PM
"Please do not use Yamaha recorders for any other purposes besides musical performance."
Got an ALTO Yamaha recorder at a thrift store for $2. Not a professional grade instrument but all Yamahas are good. It can be dunked in the sink to clean it. Now I just need time and energy to learn the wretched F fingerings. Tenor was easier for an ex-flutist.
November 8, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Got an ALTO Yamaha recorder at a thrift store for $2. Not a professional grade instrument but all Yamahas are good. It can be dunked in the sink to clean it. Now I just need time and energy to learn the wretched F fingerings. Tenor was easier for an ex-flutist.
This is a copy of a death mask decorating the county jail. The fellow's head popped off as a result of the only public hanging in the county. (That really happened.) Haunting began when the mask was removed and stopped when it was put back (legend).
October 22, 2025 at 4:37 PM
This is a copy of a death mask decorating the county jail. The fellow's head popped off as a result of the only public hanging in the county. (That really happened.) Haunting began when the mask was removed and stopped when it was put back (legend).
At Oxford County (Ontario) for regional archivists' meeting and ran into some great folklore. The old county building (ca. 1890) sports random monkey grotesques. Legend has it they represent ten councillors the builders disliked or are the result of a curse.
October 22, 2025 at 3:42 PM
At Oxford County (Ontario) for regional archivists' meeting and ran into some great folklore. The old county building (ca. 1890) sports random monkey grotesques. Legend has it they represent ten councillors the builders disliked or are the result of a curse.
Lovely little stone walking bridge near Hamilton, Ontario. My city would have this down in a hot second.
October 21, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Lovely little stone walking bridge near Hamilton, Ontario. My city would have this down in a hot second.
Anglican church cupboard is 50% carbs.
October 12, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Anglican church cupboard is 50% carbs.
Unexpected and moving art installation in the rock garden pools at Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens, presumably for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
September 30, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Unexpected and moving art installation in the rock garden pools at Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens, presumably for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Fall raspberry leaves.
September 27, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Fall raspberry leaves.
Did anyone else's grandparents pass around the boiled sweets on any car trip over 30 minutes?
My dentist would hate my daily commute for the last decade...
My dentist would hate my daily commute for the last decade...
September 26, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Did anyone else's grandparents pass around the boiled sweets on any car trip over 30 minutes?
My dentist would hate my daily commute for the last decade...
My dentist would hate my daily commute for the last decade...
Two bridges.
September 25, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Two bridges.
