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alliethinks.bsky.social
Likes history, genealogy, art, movies, small furry animals and terrible jokes. Possesses a (mostly) logical mind and a vivid imagination. Born and rared in Belfast, and back there after wandering round Scotland and London.
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Posts 27 Comments 23

Making this my 'Out of Office'.

submitted 1 hour ago • 0 comments

submitted 3 hours ago • 14 comments

I hate feeling so downbeat about the updates to the two main Irish genealogy sites, and fear I'm coming across as a moan / voice of doom. I freely admit I'm allergic to change, but I'm finding too many things I relied on just don't work any more, or are more cumbersome, with nothing gained.

submitted 2 hours ago • 2 comments

The National Archives census image links seem to have changed again - I'm currently revising the image browse tool #IrishGenealogy

submitted 3 hours ago • 2 comments

Terrific new book on Ireland's round towers by Christiaan Corlett! It's beautifully illustrated with Chris's fantastic photographs, making for a very accessible and insightful study of these iconic Irish monuments.

submitted 4 hours ago • 1 comment

'COUNTRIES GUESS WHO THEY ARE' - Our first post here, hope you enjoy. #comedy #irishcomedy #sketchcomedy

submitted 5 hours ago • 49 comments

"Aaaaggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

submitted 6 hours ago • 14 comments

Also includes ads for Condor pipe tobacco, Cadbury's Dairy Milk, Swift's meat products, and Golden Homes magazine.

submitted 19 hours ago • 0 comments

In progress, snippets of plant-dyed linen becoming bag panels. Including indigo, meadowsweet, reed flower and madder.

submitted 20 hours ago • 5 comments

Small irritations: A search for someone with the given names (e.g.) Alexander George won't return any Statutory Register results on ScotlandsPeople, because it contains more than 15 characters; it can only cope with Alexander Georg. #Genealogy

submitted 21 hours ago • 2 comments

⭐️ Request for Information ⭐️ We have a large collection of sketches by costume designer Richard Croft, who worked on television shows including Dr Who, Blackadder and By the Sword Divided. However, we know very little about him. 1/2

submitted 1 day ago • 7 comments

Bit late for #OnePlaceWednesday in any timezone, but I've just come across this great postcard I hadn't seen before of the old Bank Buildings in Belfast (c.1890), where Henry Hawkins of Kin Edar had his drapery business (Hawkins, Robertson & Co; later Robertson, Ledlie, Ferguson & Co; now Primark).

submitted 23 hours ago • 1 comment

This reminds me of one of the best holidays I ever had, c.20 years ago, visiting Pictish stones. I was on my own and stayed in Inverness, taking buses, postbuses, minibus, ferry, a request-stop train, and when all else failed, a taxi, to see and photograph as many of the area's stones as possible.

submitted 1 day ago • 2 comments

#timelinecleanse Just two red squirrels in my garden…

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

The photography here is the work of Francis Chrystal, the closest the poorer districts of Edinburgh ever got to an Atget or an Abbott after about 1880. Lots of his work on the superb Capital Collections site.

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

My eyes see 'Dunblane', my brain thinks 'Dunblane', my fingers type 'Dublin'.

submitted 1 day ago • 2 comments

We are excited to be running a free online Evening with National Trust Archaeologists, hosted by @archaeologyuk.bsky.social on the 12 March at 7pm: www.archaeologyuk.org/get-involved/events-and-activities/event-calendar/an-evening-with-national-trust-archaeologists-2025.html. Book your place now!

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

St.Andrews A busy day at the harbour, postcard used in 1915 #fife #standrews #oldpostcard

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

A camel in early medieval Ireland? You can find this depiction of a camel half way down the shaft of the fine high cross at Drumcliffe, Sligo. It is thought to represent a Bactrian camel, a species that is more commonly found in the steppes of Central Asia rather than early medieval Sligo.

submitted 1 day ago • 4 comments

You've done something naughty, haven't you, Steve....

submitted 1 day ago • 10 comments

For #FamilyHistory this week we were looking at some items my mum found at the bottom of my dad’s wardrobe, including this - #whatisitwednesday? #OnePlaceWednesday

submitted 1 day ago • 2 comments

As I strolled through aisles past folding tables and blankets at a California, swap meet, I saw a plaque tossed on the ground. Under the word “to,” the soldier’s name was typed in all caps. Under “for,” there was only one simple word: “HEROISM.” thewarhorse.org/story-behind...

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

How are Scottish censuses organised, in terms of the hierarchy of places? i.e. If you had the physical volumes in front of you, what information about the location would you need in order to find a household? #Genealogy #ScottishGenealogy

submitted 2 days ago • 2 comments

Re the latest mad video from Trump, here's the point of it, from Mein Kampf:

submitted 2 days ago • 6 comments

So I was playing this dumb, bootleg wordle-ish game on my phone at lunch and I noticed that STICK, STOCK, STUCK, and STACK are all legit words—but STECK is not. Got me wondering: Are there any 5 letter words like that (i.e., only one vowel in the middle) in which ALL five vowels could substitute? 🧐

submitted 2 days ago • 36 comments

Primroses at Gosling Sike the Cumbrian Wildlife Trust’s northern base.

submitted 4 days ago • 1 comment

#Genealogy #Genearosity #FamilyHistory I'm at my local #FamilySearch #AffiliateLibrary this afternoon. If any genies need an image from the restricted records, let me know. #PayItForward

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments