EDC - stationery edition THE CASE I am not a huge believer in pencil cases: I love things that come in cute tins, boxes, pouches etc, and so typically I reappropriate those types of things whenever I need to store anything. My old pencil case was a box that some Taylor Swift merch came in,... Continue Reading →
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“imagine having the confidence of…”
You can do better than mediocrity.
Fantôme – Chapter 10, Part 1
In which Raoul experiences the pangs of depression.
Faceless does not mean AI
The purpose of this article is only to tell you I'm not a robot, but it's maybe made me feel worse? I write this on behalf of my secretive account, to let you know I am not AI and do not use AI for so much as prompts or punch-ups for articles. If anything, my... Continue Reading →
Writing is reciprocal but this is not
I had an epiphany recently: this *gestures* is all noise. I've been confusing it for influence, ideas, and insight, but I am getting nothing from it, and neither are you.
The Kids Think Differently
How can you educate when your own education was a lifetime ago? I recently had the obligation of transcribing for a young student during an exam. Like any educator I find acting as a scribe difficult: your role in this context is to write exactly what they say, ask no leading questions, and not comment... Continue Reading →
Three Stories From Folklore
My job is strange. For World Book Week, I encouraged several of our staff[1] to read out stories rooted in their own heritage to my students. All my colleagues, however, are incredibly busy, so I agreed to source the stories. I am not the kind of librarian to do things by half, so what follows... Continue Reading →
Fandom is the reason I can’t give up the internet
I can't be the only one stuck in this loop... Oh god, do I want off the internet. The list of things I need a phone to do is so small that I am seriously considering going back to a 2013 Blackberry. My ability and desire to read, write, and communicate have been improved by... Continue Reading →
Library Fashion
Or, If I'm Staring At You It's Because I Want To Be Friends Did anybody tell you, when you were young, that 'it's not a fashion parade'? I see you. I see you and your meticulous eye for detail, your desire to live the fantasy version of yourself. Because yes - yes it is a... Continue Reading →
“What Are My Words Worth”: the role of academia’s ivory tower in cultural transmission
my talk given at the Creative Industries Festival 2026 “What is left, what is remembered and what is still fit for use in the heritage of classical bourgeois culture?” It is with these words that Eric Hobsbawm opens his 2012 essay ‘Heritage’. Hobsbawm, a historian in his 95th year when this was written, is concerned... Continue Reading →
Late Romantic 